Before you can ask your students to begin writing poetry, you should spend a substantial amount of time reading age-appropriate poetry. Poems by renowned children's author Shel Silverstein are often a good place to start, as are poems by Aileen Fisher or Eloise Greenfield. During this stage, do not ask your students to analyze the poetry; simply read it for fun and discuss what the students liked or disliked about it.
After you have exposed your students to a variety of poems, you can ask them to begin analyzing poetic form. At this age, you can focus on identifying simple rhyme schemes, simple similes, repetition or imagery. For now, avoid asking them to analyze more complex, abstract literary devices such as metaphor.
Before you ask your students to write a poem completely on their own, have them fill in the answers to a "partial" poem. For instance, you could create a worksheet based on your students' likes and dislikes, and ask them to fill in the blanks: I like ______, my favorite color is ______, my favorite song is ______, and so on. Tell them to be as creative as possible and that there are no limits to what phrases or words they can use to complete the poem. Allow them to be silly or serious. Giving your students artistic freedom will yield spectacular results.
After your students have completed their practice poems, they are now prepared to write their own original poems from scratch. Assign a specific, concrete topic, such as a sports team, an animal, a friend, a favorite activity or favorite food. As students write, do not require them to rhyme or adhere to any particular format. Rather, encourage them to be as creative, silly or dramatic as they wish. After students have completed their first drafts, review them, either by collecting them or conferencing with each student individually. Help them revise any areas that you feel might need more clarity. Push them to rewrite parts of the poem in which you feel they could be more imaginative. Be sure to praise their efforts to this point and continue to encourage your students to keep writing.
Ask students who are willing to share to read their poems to the class. It is always helpful for students to receive feedback from their peers. According to Scholastic, hearing peers' work sends the message that "Kids just like you wrote these poems. You can write poems too."
Once students have completed the revisions of their original poems, you can choose how to assess their work. For instance, you could provide them with a simple completion grade, a letter grade, or even publish them into a classroom book as the unit progresses.