The types of poems that people are most familiar with have words that rhyme at the end of each line. There are several rhyming styles, though, and variations of rhyme in poetry. In perfect rhyming, the words will sound almost exactly the same. Imperfect rhymes sound similar, but are less alike than perfect rhymes.
Students should pay attention to and learn about the rhythm of poems. A great way to teach this is to recite the poem out loud and ask your class to recite it as well. The rhythm is made up of how certain words are stressed, the volume at which certain words or sentences are said and how your voice rises and falls throughout the poem. Poems have units called feet, and the most common types of feet are the iamb, trochee, anapest and dactyl. Every foot has one beat. Poems can have several beats in one line.
Give an overview of the different forms of poetry when teaching the subject in middle school. Common forms include the ballad, haiku, limerick, sonnet and free verse poetry. You can ask your students to compose a poem utilizing one or more of these types of form.
A large part of poetry is paying attention to the moods, emotions and feelings poems inspire. Ask your students to read the poem silently, to themselves, and to pay attention to how they feel as they read the poem. You may want to ask them to jot down notes as they're reading so they can go back and see the range of emotions they felt while reading.
One major part of learning about poetry is developing critical thinking skills. It's important that students know that all literature, including poetry, can be interpreted and explained. It's common for people of all ages to not immediately understand a poem and have difficulty interpreting it. However, one major part of teaching literature is guiding students to find a way of interpreting what they're reading.