Rhyming poetry is a basic building block of early language. Young children enjoy mixing rhyming sounds. This action trains their ear to listen for word sounds and teaches them language. When listening to poetry, children move one step beyond simply matching rhyming sounds. Poetry mixes the rhyme with rhythm to give language a sense of music.
The rhythm and rhyme of poetry helps children remember the words. Rhymes give listeners a sense of anticipation. Teachers can stop at the end of the line and ask their students what comes next. By listening to the clues in the stanza and knowing the rhyme, children can guess what fits in the poem. As they look at rhyming picture books, they use this same skill to decode words they are not yet able to read. Rhymes in picture books help the students remember the order of the words. Children also learn to match the words they remember with the words on the page.
Poetry also introduces the children to the idea of metaphor. Children use imagery all the time as they try to describe new experiences and emotions. Poetry expands on the child's natural desire and refines it, offering new metaphors and similes to the child's vocabulary. Poems also expose young children to homonyms. These are tricky to describe objectively. Many comedic poems juxtapose two homonyms. The poem that contrasts the shoe on a foot to shooing a fly helps the child understand this important concept in a humorous way.
Poetry is also a vital part of our culture. Portions of many classical poems such as "Jabberwocky," "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening," or even Shakespearean sonnets are quoted in a wide range of movies, TV shows and even newscasts. The poetry of Langston Hughes or T.S. Eliot describe the perils and promise of the modern age. Even children's poets such as Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein and Jon Scieszka explore issues such as the environment, self-esteem and family.