Make poetry fun by inviting students to write humorous poetry. Help students get inspired by reading funny poetry by poets, such as Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss. Encourage students to create their own out-of-this-world characters or silly words in their poems, suggests the website Scholastic. Help students focus on the rhyme and rhythm of the words they write. Once students have completed their poems, invite them to create an illustration with paints and markers, and share their poem and picture with the class.
Encourage students to write a descriptive poem about themselves, recommends "Writing with Writers," an online publication by Scholastic. Ask students to write their name in the middle of a blank piece of paper and circle it. Show students how to draw a Web from their name, listing words or phrases they can use to describe themselves, such as short, freckled, shy or smart. When students are finished, encourage them to turn the descriptive words they clustered into a poem. Explain to students that the poem does not have to rhyme and show some examples of free verse poems.
Use a collage technique to show students how to create unique poetry. Give students magazines, newspapers and scissors, and invite them to cut out words. Provide each student with paper and glue, and encourage students to glue the words onto the paper to create a poem or piece of literary art work. Alternatively, work together as a class to create a large, collage poem on a bulletin board and invite students to add illustrations.
Write words on index cards and place them in a basket. Words might include nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Ask students to pick one or several cards from the baskets and to compose a poem inspired by, and containing, the words they picked. To help students get inspired, provide dictionaries and show students brainstorming techniques to get them started.