poetry jigsaw activity

Distinguishing Fact from Opinion

The One and Only Ruby Teaching Ideas

How to Teach Meter and Rhythm in Poetry

• By Gay Miller in Literacy

February 5, 2024

• Comprehension Skills

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Poetry Puzzle

I’ve done this with Years 4 and 5, and the children loved it.

A little preparation – type out about ten classic poems, including sonnets, haikus, ballads, odes, free verse, etc. (quite a few different types). Cut out & arrange on a sheet (A3 is easiest) and copy enough for one between two.

Get the children to sort the poems in pairs using their own criteria. e.g. rhyme, rhyme pattern, no rhyme, length, etc.

Discuss their reasoning with them as you go around. Then reveal to the children how you would have grouped them and given them the correct terms. Ask the children to choose their favourite poem of the set and write it out as handwriting practice. We always decorate poems in the margin to add to their presentation.

Then write sentences:

• what you like about the poem;
• what you think it means;
• what type of poem it is/why.

They could also read the chosen poem to a partner and to the class after ‘rehearsing’ – including their commentary. They could collect new vocabulary from the poem in their word book and look it up in the dictionary. The poem set can then be used in subsequent lessons to – cut up and present as poetry ‘jigsaw puzzles’ (works best with rhyming ones) – be used to highlight rhyme, simile, alliteration, etc. – be used to make a ‘cut up’ poem to stick into the book.

This was a really good way into poetry for my last class – an enjoyable lesson followed by 1 or 2 independent follow-up tasks that the children loved.

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Jigsaw [15 Words or Less Poems]

• December 15, 2016

Hello, and welcome! This is 15 Words or Less Poems, a low-pressure way to wake up your poetry brain ( guidelines here ), and I’m very glad you’re here. 

Going through the Atlanta airport for NCTE recently, I was enchanted by this ceiling in one terminal hallway. It was dark and hushed, and then wildlife sounds would play. And in the center was an open section of “sky.” Occasionally, a flock of birds would fly across the blue screen. It was so relaxing. An instant de-stresser. A great reminder that reality is what we perceive at any moment. Yes, it’s a busy, hectic world. But also, there is beauty and calm, and rainforest noise to ease our moods. This image makes me think of several things:

• finishing a jigsaw puzzle to realize ONE piece is missing
• camouflage pants
• “The Veldt,” by Ray Bradbury (love that story–click here to see just the text in a Word doc)

And here’s my first draft. I was thinking about sound effects and computer generated images and weird, jagged pieces could create the feeling of something manmade and violent or something natural and relaxing–a little escape.

It’s your turn! Have fun and stick to 15 WORDS OR LESS ! (Title doesn’t count toward word count.)

• Categories: Poems for Teachers
• Tags: 15 Words or Less Poems , photopoetry , poetry prompts

31 Responses

I can see why you were enchanted with this ceiling. What a wonderful addition to an airport! The more I read your poem, the more I love it. Great word choice!

Sunrise on the Pond

Golden rays caress rippling balsam reflections and drifts of lily pads. Blue sky peeks through.

Ha! I was on the “other side” of the pond!

Thanks! Ooh, I love the specifics here. Balsam makes me smell the trees (that’s my favorite evergreen scent, I think), and I can see the lilypads…you’ve put me right in this scene.

Would love to experience that hallway!

PERSEVERING

Puzzle pieces everywhere, Hope turns to despair.

Trying one by one, finally gets it done.

I almost wrote a puzzle poem — my dog just at the most recent puzzle after the cat knocked about 20 pieces on the floor for her (we’ll never know how many, as she ate many and I’m not finishing the puzzle!). But don’t you love puzzles?

It really is spectacular. You can see people’s demeanor change (most people) as they go through it. They take a deep breath, shoulders unhunch, etc. Your cheerful poem made me think of “Put One Foot in Front of the Other,” which is now playing in my brain. (We watched Santa Claus Is Coming to Town the other night.)

Poem by Jessica Bigi

Painting By Numbers

Teacher sad easy fallowing numbers matching colors one two three red blue green messy-messy ‑massy

Clever! It does look like a paint-by-number!

Love the plaintive voice in this, Jessica. Even “easy” projects don’t come out the way we hope, sometimes!

This looked like the sky through a leaf covered surface of a pond or lake, and made me think of a fish’s voice who lived there.

The World is Water

Above is waterlight Below is waterdark I move inwaterbetween Don’t take me to Waterout.

Oh, I love your created words here. Makes this a whole fantastical world!

Wow — fantastic fish view. Love the third line.

I love trees in any season. I also like when airports, which are often so dull and industrial looking, display art.

A dream of leaves rustling green. Wake up to bare branches against gray winter sky.

Kate Coombs

I agree on all counts, Kate! What a beautiful, surreal, and melancholy feel this has. Feels like part of a wonderful folk song.

Spring again soon… love the feel of this!

Rain Forest Sunrise

Light Refracting, ricocheting Timid fingers through the leaves Warming cold earth

Perfect “timid fingers” of light!

Laura, I love jigsaw puzzles and I have been in that particular terminal hallway. You captured it beautifully.

Mother Nature’s Palette

She lays colors mixes, slathers onto blank canvas adds bit of red for the season.

Ha! I had to go back to the picture to see the bit of red! Special!

Oh how pretty.

Thanks, Martha. I love Mother Nature as a painter. Great verbs!

I love the bright colors of this photo, and especially the sigh of a rainforest sky.…but my brain has turned them white, like the world outside my window.

Crystals meet and mingle– a crazy quilt stitched together to blanket the morning in white.

Another great envisioning! It does have the look of frost crystals on a window. I remember them on my bedroom window as a child. Better insulation and better windows has almost made that a thing of the past for houses!

Ooh–beautiful! Love that first line especially!

Next time I am in the Atlanta airport, I will have to look up. The poems are fun today.

my sight gone to pieces glancing through a kaleidoscope

Oh, of course! A kaleidoscope! Thanks for bringing that to mind.

Hehe–love the pun!

Oh Laura, wasn’t it so beautiful? I took a video as we passed through. The shared image reminds me of the collage of people I met and hugged and hung out with at NCTE.

Bright yellow welcomes deep green, Blue sky holds orange hands, a rainbow of friends.

Oh, that is beautiful, Margaret! Your brief poems lately have just resonated so with me.

A maze of uncertainty Reveals what lies within Your heart and soul for all eternity

Anne McKenna

(first in a while)

Welcome back, Anne! This makes me see that jigsaw ceiling as a kind of Rorschach test:>)

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40 Inspiring Poetry Games and Activities for Kids and Teens

They are poets, and they know it!

Tired of hearing groans when you announce it’s time for some poetry? Poems can be hard for kids to connect with, so it helps to have some clever poetry games and poetry activities up your sleeve. Try these with our favorite poems for sharing with elementary students and middle and high school students !

Our Favorite Poetry Games and Activities

1. Watch poetry videos

Let YouTube do some of the work for you with this roundup of poetry videos for elementary students. Watch authors read their own poems, learn about poetry terms, and more.

Learn more: Poetry Videos for Elementary School

2. Climb a hill with Amanda Gorman

Young poet Amanda Gorman took the world by storm when she read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration. Kids can really relate to her and her words, so try this roundup of poetry activities to introduce her in your classroom.

Learn more: Celebrate Poetry Month With Amanda Gorman

3. Take inspiration from nature

Nature has always provided inspiration for poets, and it can help your students find their own way to a love of poetry. Find out how poet David Harrison uses nature to help kids tap into their poetic sides.

Learn more: Science and Poetry

4. Read a novel in verse

Help kids find more meaning in poetry by reading novels told in verse. When they have a story to follow, they’re more likely to be engaged and open to learning about the poetic elements. Here are some of our favorite novels in verse for students of all ages.

Learn more: Best Novels in Verse

5. Stack up book spine poetry

Pull some books off the shelves and stack them so their titles create a poem. Kids can take a pic, write the titles down as they are, or use their stack as inspiration for a more fleshed-out masterpiece.

Learn more: How To Create Book Spine Poetry

6. Build a Humpty Dumpty wall

For most of us, nursery rhymes were the first poems we read, and they’re the perfect place to start with poetry games. Write words on building blocks ( try this set of Giant Cardboard Blocks from Amazon ), then stack them up to build a wall. Kids will get a kick out of these poetry activities by knocking the wall down and then building it up again!

Learn more: Nursery Rhyme Wall

7. Plant a poe-tree

“ I think that I shall never see / a poem as lovely as a poe-tree!” Hang a paper tree, then fill it with leaves covered with poetry from your students.

Learn more: Plant a Poe-Tree

8. Try paper bag poetry

Introduce poetry to little ones with a paper bag filled with several items of different sizes, shapes, textures, etc. Kids reach into the bag without looking and describe what they feel in a few words. These words make their first poem. This is one of the great poetry activities for younger students.

Learn more: Paper Bag Poetry

9. Explore a Poem of the Week

We love the idea of using a pocket chart with sentence strips to post a poem broken down by lines or phrases. Do a different activity each day throughout the week to help students make a connection.

Learn more: Poem of the Week

10. Go on a poetry speed date

This is a cool way to introduce older readers to a poetry unit. Gather up all the poetry books you can find, and invite students to bring their favorites too. Students spend the class period “speed dating” the books—they simply browse and skim, looking for poems and authors that catch their eye. Encourage them to make notes of their favorites for further reading.

Learn more: Poetry Speed Dating

11. Have a poetry book tasting

Here’s a cool spin on the speed-dating idea—a book tasting! Set up your room to look like a restaurant, play classical music in the background, and then invite students to sit down and try a variety of poetry books.

Learn more: Ideas on how to hold a book tasting

12. Pair up songs and poems

One of the easiest ways for many students to connect with poetry is by linking it with song lyrics. Visit the link below to find 15 fantastic song and poem pairings. Then, challenge your students to make their own pairings and explain the reasoning.

Learn more: Poem and Song Pairings

13. Read poetry in different ways

Poetry is all about the reader’s (or listener’s) experience. Experiment with that idea by having kids read poems out loud in a variety of ways. How does it change the experience when you read a sad poem in a silly voice or a funny poem in a scared voice?

Learn more: Poetry Voices

14. Spin to generate discussion

A poetry discussion can be hard going for kids at first. Use this free printable spinner to give them conversation starters or to help them choose a topic for further exploration.

Learn more: Poetry Spinner

15. Create colorful paint chip poetry

This is easily one of the most popular poetry games, and for good reason. Colors are so easy to relate to and evoke lots of feelings and memories. Paint chip poetry works for every age group, too, and makes for a neat classroom display.

Learn more: Paint Chip Poetry

16. Expand on paint chip poetry

Feeling a little guilty about furtively stuffing paint chips in your pocket at the store? These printable paint chip poetry games are here to help. They include multiple ways to use paint chips for poetic inspiration too!

Learn more: Paint Chip Poetry Without the Guilt

17. Have a “Hey Diddle, Diddle” puppet show

Nursery rhyme poems were just made to be acted out! Create stick puppets for “Hey Diddle, Diddle” using the instructions at the link, then expand to your other favorite rhymes to assemble a whole puppet show.

Learn more: Hey Diddle, Diddle Nursery Rhyme Craft

18. Compose acrostics

Acrostics are simple enough for beginning poets, but even Edgar Allan Poe used this style to create beautiful works. Writing one is almost like putting together a puzzle!

Learn more: Acrostic Poems

19. Match DIY rhyming dominoes

Rhyming poetry games are a lot of fun, and this one starts with some DIY dominoes made from sentence strips . This is a clever way to help kids find rhymes for writing their own poems.

Learn more: Rhyming Dominoes and Speedracer Game

20. Scoop up some ice cream poetry

Jack Prelutsky’s “ Bleezer’s Ice Cream ” is a kids’ poetry classic, and it’s sure to spark your students’ imaginations. Have them write and illustrate their own ice cream poems, with a focus on alliteration and other literary devices.

Learn more:  Awesome Alliteration Activity

21. Give haiku a hand

Haiku poems with their standard 5-7-5 syllable structure are fun to write. And let’s face it, most of us count the syllables on our fingers when we do! So this haiku helping hand is a perfect tool for kids. Have kids trace their own hand and write a haiku on it too.

Learn more: Haiku Poetry

22. Fetch a doggie haiku

Once you start with haiku, there’s just so much you can do! Elementary kids will love hearing the story of Doug, a dog looking for his forever home, in Dogku by Andrew Clements . As you might guess, the tale is told entirely in haiku. After you read the book, have kids create and illustrate their own “Dogku” poems.

Learn more: Doggie Haiku Poems

23. Roll the haiku dice

These are so cool! Haikubes are perfect for all sorts of poetry games. Roll the cubes and create a haiku, or draw a handful from a bag and use them to make your poem. You can use these for other poetry activities too.

Buy it: Haikubes at Amazon

24. Craft 3D tunnel haiku books

Haiku are fun to write, but a 3D tunnel haiku book is next-level awesome. This project looks harder than it is; all you really need are index cards, basic school supplies, and a lot of creativity.

Learn more: Haiku Tunnel Books

25. Be a copycat

We’re normally opposed to copying in the classroom, but for this activity, it’s A-OK! Kids write poems that mimic one they’ve been reading in class. This helps open their minds to the creativity they need to write their own unique verses later on down the line.

Learn more: Copycat Poem

26. Draw a concrete poem

Concrete poems are art and poetry rolled into one. Kids write a poem on any subject they like, then craft it into a shape reflecting their topic. Tip: Use a light board to allow kids to trace shapes if they find drawing a bit too challenging.

Learn more: Concrete Poems

27. Play Poetry Bingo

Is there anything bingo can’t do? Turns out it even works for poetry games! Get free printable sheets to use for this Poetry Bingo game that reviews literary devices and vocabulary terms.

Learn more: Poetry Bingo

28. Keep a poem in your pocket

There are lots of poem-in-your-pocket activities out there, but we love this one for its sheer creativity! During independent reading time, kids explore and find their favorite poem to share with classmates. After they share, they tuck them in a pocket on this spectacular hallway bulletin board for others to find and read. (Turn this into an online activity by using an online bulletin board program like Padlet .)

Learn more: Sharing Poems in Our Pockets

29. Design your own poetry dice

Learn about clauses when you make a set of dice to use for poetry games. Grab this set of Dry-Erase Blocks from Amazon and write dependent clauses on one and independent clauses on the other. Roll the dice and enjoy the verses you create!

Learn more: Poetry Dice

30. Learn limericks with a rhyming word bank

Kids love limericks —and really, who doesn’t? Their biggest challenge is usually coming up with the rhymes they need. This cool poetry activity creates a bank of rhyming words students can pull from as they craft their own lovable limericks to share.

Learn more: Silly Limericks for Kids

31. Color in blackout poetry

Blackout poems are a unique way of looking at the written word. This activity is easily differentiated for students from elementary through high school, and the results are often stunning.

Learn more: What Is Blackout Poetry (Plus Inspiring Examples and Ideas)

32. Post some pushpin poetry

Remember when poetry magnets were all the rage? You can still buy them ( find them on Amazon ), but you can also just create your own from paper scraps and pushpins. This is a low-cost way to open the door to so many poetry games and activities.

Learn more: Pushpin Poetry

33. Make magnetic poetry online

Speaking of poetry magnets, did you know you can play with them online? Really! This clever site gives you new words every time, so there are always fresh new ideas to explore.

Learn more: Magnetic Poetry Online

34. Say it with sticky notes

We love using sticky notes in the classroom , and they’re fantastic for poetry games. Have kids write a selection of words of their choice and stick them to the wall or whiteboard. Then let each student select words to use for their own verses.

Learn more: L iterary Analysis

35. Prove that opposites attract

Even polar opposites can share similarities. For this poetry activity, students choose two opposite subjects, like the ocean and desert shown here. The middle line of the poem highlights the one similarity between the pair and acts as a transition (in this case: sand). Illustrations help tell the story.

Learn more: Diamante Poetry

36. Find poetry everywhere

Found poetry is likely to become one of your students’ favorite poetry games. Give them a stack of magazines, newspapers, or books to look through, along with a pair of scissors. Have them cut out words and phrases they like, and then arrange them into a brand-new poetic masterpiece!

Learn more: How To Write Found Poetry

37. Start with simple cinquains

Cinquains are five-line poems with a specific structure. There are a variety of styles, but this poetry activity walks kids through the creation of a simple cinquain on any topic they like. This is a neat way to work on “-ing” words (known as gerunds ). Bonus: This free printable Character Cinquains worksheet can be used with any book or story.

Learn more: Poetry Unit

38. Learn metaphors and similes

Similes and metaphors are two of the most common literary devices found in poems. Help kids learn to tell the difference with this free printable game.

Learn more: Activities for Teaching Poetry

39. Take inspiration from metaphor dice

The right metaphor is the gateway to a unique and meaningful poem. Roll these dice to find a metaphor that will inspire and challenge your young poets.

Buy it: Metaphor Dice at Amazon

40. Host a poetry slam

Round off your poetry unit with a poetry slam ! These events are a combination of recitations and poetry games, like freestyle rhyme battles. This is the ultimate event for poetry lovers of any age. Hold it in person, or stream it on Zoom so anyone can easily attend!

Learn more: How To Host a Poetry Slam and Slam Poetry Examples

Don’t miss our FREE printable poetry worksheet bundle !

What are your favorite poetry activities come share your ideas on the we are teachers helpline group on facebook ., looking for more poetry to use in the classroom check out our list of the best poetry books for kids in grades pre-k through 12 ..

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• BookWidgets Teacher Blog

Verse in the Virtual World: 30+ creative poetry classroom activities

In celebration of National Poetry Month , International Haiku Poetry Day , and William Shakespeare’s birthday in April, we have a plethora of poetic pursuits, perfectly poised to kindle a keen fondness for verse in learners of all ages. Whether it’s through game-based learning, animated annotations of poetic devices, or exploring expressions of the natual world with ecopoetry , our aim is to make teaching poetry with technology easy for educators and enjoyable for every student with this collection of free, interactive poetry activities. Whether you use these free lessons for a poetry day or teach poetry everyday, we have 30+ creative poetry classroom activities.

From interactive classroom games that bring the timeless verses of Shakespeare and other poets to life, to creative tools that guide students in crafting their own poetic masterpieces, I’ve grouped these engaging digital poetry lessons into three sections for integrating poetry in the classroom:

Gamifying Poetry: Interactive Exploration

Poetic elements: interactive introductions, elevating expression: poetic prowess.

💡 Before we begin: If you are new to BookWidgets, BookWidgets is a content creation and evaluation tool for teachers. We provide the tools to support your students’ learning process from beginning to end with customizable templates (aka widgets) for creating activities and a reporting dashboard to track your students’ progress. I have a digital poetry activity for many of our 40 widget types. You can create your own or duplicate the ones I share by opening the activity and making a copy in your account . After duplicating, you can make changes to the activity, customizing it for your students. By clicking on this link you can access all the digital poetry activities mentioned in this blog post. 💡 Keep in mind : If you integrate BookWidgets into a Learning Management System like Google Classroom , Microsoft Teams , Moodle , Canvas – & more! –, you can use “ Live Widgets ” to keep an eye on your students’ progress in real time to give feedback and support when needed.

In this first set of virtual poetry activities, we merge poetry with game-based learning to spark curiosity and engagement in a gamified instructional manner. Students might guess if a line of poetry is Shakespeare’s or a Hip Hop artist’s, spin a wheel to select a recitation style, match poets to their works, or solve jigsaw puzzles revealing poems. These playful activities make poetry accessible and fun, and transform learning into an interactive adventure, encouraging students to approach poetry in the classroom with enthusiasm and confidence.

1. Is it Hip Hop or Shakespeare?

Why Hip Hop? The lyrics in Hip Hop often follow poetic structures, utilizing techniques such as rhyme, alliteration, assonance, and metaphor to create impactful narratives and imagery. Like poetry, Hip Hop gives voice to personal and societal experiences, exploring themes of identity, struggle, social justice, love, and community. Hip Hop also brings the rhythm and beat of poetry to life through performance: the dynamic interaction between performer and audience in Hip Hop mirrors the recitation of poetry, where the delivery, tone, and pace are crucial to the interpretation and impact of the words (which will serve as a great introduction to poetic meter in our later poetry interactive lessons!).

This first virtual activity connects contemporary lyrics to Shakespeare by having students use this Flash Card widget to guess whether a line of poetry was written by William Shakespeare or various Hip Hop artists such as Tupac, Blackalicious, or Eminem. Can you accurately guess the author of each line? 👇

💡 Pro tip : You can easily transform a Flash Card widget into another widget-type using the import feature . Here I imported the Flash Cards from above to create this Pair Matching activity. Can you accurately match the author with the line? Click to open

2. Playful Poetry Recitations

In this activity, made with a Randomness widget , students take turns spinning two wheels: one to select a poem and the other to choose an emotion or style for their recitation. This playful approach not only breaks the ice, but also encourages students to experiment with expression and intonation, bringing the selected poems to life in unique and sometimes unexpected ways.

Whether it’s reading a classic sonnet with joy or a short verse in a tone of suspense, this engaging classroom poetry exercise is designed to make students comfortable with speaking aloud, exploring the diverse range of emotions poetry can evoke. You can follow each recitation with a discussion about what tone or emotion the poet was actually trying to evoke in the reader.

💡 Pro tip : Open this widget on a smart board for a whole class activity or share this widget via a QR code to create a station activity that gets students up and moving about the room. If using this as part of a station, you could have students record their recitations using Microsoft’s Flip .

3. Digital Magnetic Fridge Poetry

You don’t need an actual refrigerator or physical magnets for this fun poetry exercise! Using a Worksheet widget , teachers can create an interactive poetry activity that helps students practice fine motor skills as they “answer” a Text Drag and Drop question to compose poems on their virtual refrigerator.

💡 Pro tip : Duplicate this widget and edit the words in the word bank by adding in new vocabulary or seasonal terms to create variations that can be used throughout the year.

4. Match the Poem with the Poet

In this Pair Matching poetry activity, students connect poems with their poets, gaining a deeper appreciation for poetry by either reading the verses or listening to the poets’ own recitations. Hearing the poets deliver their work brings the text to life, revealing the intended emotions, tones, and rhythms. Just as with the Flash Card widget , you can use the import feature to transform this Pair Matching activity into another widget type.

💡 Pro tip : In the General tab of the widget editor, be sure to select the option to show matched card pairs “using colors and symbols” so that students with perceptual impairments can recognize when they’ve made a match.

5. Do Now: Solve the Poetry Puzzle

You can have students reveal a poem and listen to its recitation by pairing an image of a poem with a recording as the reward audio in a Jigsaw Puzzle widget . Use this classroom poetry activity as a Bellringer or Do Now during a poetry unit or to connect poetry to other subject area content, then follow up with a whole class discussion or partner-talk on what the students think about the poem or how it connects to the days’ lesson. After you’ve introduced the poem, add it to a Whiteboard widget to create an annotation activity. I have plenty of examples in the next section!

💡 Pro tip : In the General tab of the widget editor, you can check the box to “show hint”. Students will then click the “?” icon in the top right corner to see a preview of the completed image.

6. Book Spine Poetry

Whether during a visit to the school’s library or utilizing your in-class collection of books, students can create a Book Spine Poem by stacking 5 books with different titles. Students can snap a picture of their Book Spine Poem and upload it to this Worksheet widget activity that includes a Photo question .

7. Color Poem - Yellow & Green

Teach poetry to younger students in such a way as to tap into students’ visual creativity in this Whiteboard widget poetry activity. Students use the drawing tools to decorate the poem accordingly. Duplicate the widget, swap out the poem, and change the color by accessing the Design features in the Preview (Student View) of the widget.

💡 Pro tip : You can save exemplary student submissions as PDFs and share them to your class’ LMS or print them for display in the classroom. When printing student work, check the option to have everything in one PDF for efficient printing of an entire class.

8. Brainstorm “Random” Rhyming Words

Use this Randomness widget activity to activate students’ brains when teaching poetry. They spin the wheels and think of 3 rhyming words–one for each word in the wheel. Open this widget on a smart board for a whole class activity or share this widget via a QR code to create an engaging poetry station activity that gets students up and moving about the room.

💡 Pro tip : Increase or decrease the difficulty level by adding or removing wheels. You can also create wheels with images for a visual challenge!

9. Artistic Interpretation

Make understanding poetry accessible by having students visually represent the text with this Split Whiteboard widget that includes a poem on one side and a drawing canvas on the other. Students can use the tools to draw or add images to represent the poem.

💡 Pro tip : Make this a multi-media experience by embedding a YouTube video of the poet reciting the poem and adding a background image to set the scene. Check out this example poetry activity featuring Amanda Gorman’s poem, The Hill We Climb. Click to open 💡 Pro tip : Add a graphic organizer as a background image so that students can visually represent their interpretation into a comic strip or storyboard. As in this example featuring Alexander Pope’s Sound and Sense. Click to open

10. Cross-Curricular Connections

Whether you are teaching poetry exclusively or want to infuse poetry exercises in other content areas, this Split Whiteboard widget example activity combines History, Geography, and poetry so that students learn about and trace Sybil Lundington’s ride which was as (& maybe even more!) daring as the famous ride of Paul Revere during the American Revolution.

11. French Connections

Poetry in the classroom can be infused into French language instruction in this Split Worksheet widget poetry exercise where students watch and listen to a video recitation of L’Accent then drag and drop the lines of the poem into the correct order.

💡 Pro tip : Looking for other interactive French lessons? Check out this blog post with 10+ Engaging and Ready-To-Use French Lesson Plans for Teachers and Students .

12. Bad Bard Jokes

Have fun with this Flash Card widget poetry activity that will surely make your students laugh or at least groan when they read each joke.

💡 Pro tip : You can add text, images, and audio to flashcards, as well as hints to help students study. Check out this blog post with 20 ways to use digital flashcards in your classroom .

This next group of classroom poetry activities covers a broad introduction of poetic forms and techniques, inviting learners to explore and experiment with different styles, from the rhythmic intricacies of traditional sonnets to the free-flowing expression of modern verse. These interactive poetry lessons emphasize the importance of narrative structure in poetry through storyboarding exercises, while also highlighting the art of rhyme and meter. A special focus is placed on the Imagist movement, encouraging students to convey complex emotions and ideas with precise imagery. I’ve included both analytical and creative digital poetry activities so that students can practice applying what they’ve learned when penning their own compositions.

13. Types of Poems Flashcards

Introduce students to various poetic structures via this Flash Card widget poetry activity. Students can practice memorizing the various types of poems.

💡 Pro tip : You can easily transform Flash Card widget into another widget-type using the import feature. Here I’ve imported the terms and descriptions to a Word Search and Crossword widget activities. Click to open Click to open

14. Poetic Terms Quiz

This classroom poetry exercise made with a Quiz widget can be used for summative or formative assessments to check students’ understanding of poetic terminology such as alliteration, consonance, hyperbole, enjambment, and allusion.

💡 Pro tip : You can also transform a Quiz widget into a Worksheet widget using the import feature. You can duplicate an entire widget or individual questions. The possibilities are endless for differentiated instruction! Check out this blog post for 40 Innovative Ways Teachers Can Digitally Differentiate Their Lessons with BookWidgets .

15. Check for Understanding and Storyboard Poems

With a Split Worksheet widget , you can provide a multimedia poetry experience for students by embedding videos, audio, or web pages in one panel and tasking students with answering questions in the other panel. Students can also showcase their creativity for understanding a poem by drafting a storyboard of the poem or practicing their annotation skills in a Whiteboard question .

💡 Pro tip : You can save exemplary student submissions of Whiteboard question as PDFs and share them to your class’ LMS or print them for display in the classroom. This is a great way to recognize their artistry and skill in annotation!

16. Check for Understanding and Language Connections

This Split Worksheet widget , also provides a multimedia poetry experience for students studying French. Students read information, watch a video, and listen to the audio recitation of the poem before answering the questions and drawing their own “face of happiness” in a culminating Whiteboard question .

17. Rhyme Scheme of Sonnet 130

In this quick Worksheet widget poetry exercise, students practice identifying the rhyme scheme of Sonnet 130 by Shakespeare using the mark sentence question type . This activity could be used as a Do-Now or Exit Ticket, and by having students click the button to reveal answers, they can receive feedback in real time.

💡 Pro tip : Duplicate this widget and swap out Sonnet 130 for another sonnet for students to practice annotating. After repeating this quick activity multiple times, students should be able to easily spot the rhyming pattern. And as an added bonus, you could compile the individual sonnet annotation activities by importing them into a quiz, since all of your questions are banked!

18. Imagist Exploration

In this Split Worksheet widget poetry activity for middle or high school classes, students explore the Imagist movement by examining three example poems. This activity can serve as a quick introduction to the Modernism and Imagist movements of poetry and the evolution of poetic expression and the breaking away from traditional forms. These movements, emphasizing clarity, precision, and economy of language, alongside innovative imagery and free verse, reflect the broader cultural shifts of the early 20th century. Understanding these movements enriches students’ appreciation of poetry’s diversity and its power to capture complex human experiences and emotions in a rapidly changing world.

💡 Pro tip : In addition to text, images, and videos, teachers can also embed web pages on one side of the Split Worksheet widget .

19. Composing with Images

Teachers can harness the power of imagery to inspire all students in their poetry writing–no matter the structure, whether it be a haiku, free verse, or sonnet–using the Random Images widget . By providing vivid, thought-provoking images, educators can stimulate students’ imaginations and encourage them to explore their thoughts and feelings through verse and poetic techniques learned in the other interactive poetry activities. This approach not only aids in the development of creative expression, but also enhances observational skills and emotional literacy, providing a rich foundation for students to craft their unique poetic voices.

💡 Pro tip : No need to scour the world wide web! Use the Pixabay integration to locate images for inspiration.

20. Composing Haikus with Images

Haikus may seem easy to write with their three lines of 5-7-5 syllables, but don’t be fooled by their conciseness. This traditional form of Japanese poetry demands precision and economy, challenging poets to convey depth, emotion, and often an observation of nature within a tight framework. The artistry lies in the subtle interplay of imagery and juxtaposition, inviting readers to uncover layers of meaning in just a few lines. Inspire students to compose haikus using this Random Images widget .

💡 Pro tip : Open this widget on a smart board for a whole class activity or share this widget via a QR code to create an engaging poetry station activity that gets students up and moving about the room.

21. Exploring Themes Through Verse

This quick, digital poetry research project, made with a Timeline widget , tasks students with selecting a topic that has consistently inspired poets and reflects universal human experiences and emotions. After students select their topic, they are tasked with finding poems from various cultures and historical time periods and compose a short paragraph for each, explaining how the poem addresses the topic as they add text and images to each box on the timeline. This activity can be used as part of the brainstorming phase for writing a more extensive poetry explication essay.

💡 Pro tip : Use this Checklist widget to provide a roadmap for students to follow in writing a poetry explication essay. Click to open

This last group of classroom poetry lessons blend engagement, fun, and skill mastery of advanced poetry techniques. Students do a deeper dive into poetry movements, poetic meter, and Shakespearean sonnets, practice advanced analysis via digital annotation activities, and are challenged to show what they have learned as they compose their own verses.

22. Exploring Poetry Movements Mindmap

This digital poetry exercise enhances listening, speaking, and research skills, suitable for various settings including whole class, groups, or pairs. When exploring influential poetry movements such as Romanticism and the Harlem Renaissance, students can use a digital Mind Map widget activity to systematically organize and present their research. In a lecture-based approach, students add notes from the teacher’s presentation on each movement to their mindmaps. Alternatively, in a collaborative setting, students are grouped to investigate specific movements, then the groups are reconfigured for sharing and compiling other findings into their individual mindmaps. For even more mindmapping activities, check out this blog post: 15 Powerful Mindmap Lesson Ideas for Teachers to Unlock Creative Teaching.

💡 Pro tip : You could assign a movement to groups using this Randomness spinner! After students are paired up or grouped, have them spin the wheel to reveal which poetry movement they will research. Click to open

23. Introduction to Poetic Meter

In this Split Worksheet widget poetry activity, students are introduced to poetic meter. They read the text on one side of the screen and answer the questions on the other. Understanding poetic meter sets the stage for composing and reciting their own spoken-word poetry.

💡 Pro tip : Students can resize the reading pane by dragging the center line to the left or right to make the text wider or more narrow as needed.

24. Annotation Practice

The Whiteboard widget is an ideal tool to use for poetry annotation practice. Simply capture a screenshot of the text of a poem and use it as a background image on the canvas. Students can use the tools to mark up the meter, rhyme scheme, poetic term examples, and more! Check out this example featuring Alexander Pope’s poem, Sound and Sense.

💡 Pro tip : In the General settings of the widget editor, select “Allow Download” enabling students to download their submission as PDF and/or PNG for offline and app-smashing access. After saving their annotations as a PNG, students can upload the PNG into a Word or Google doc when writing a poetry explication essay or they could add the images to other online creative tools they may be using in the classroom. Check out this blog post, The Student as Content Creator- 15 Content Creation Apps for in the Classroom , for ideas!

25. Blended Learning Annotation Practice

For a blended learning experience combining digital tools and paper, use a document camera to record yourself annotating a poem on a page then upload that recording to YouTube and embed the video in a Quiz , Worksheet , or Video Quiz widget. Here is an example I made using a Quiz widget for annotating the Prologue to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet . Students follow along with the video, pausing and rewinding as needed, to annotate their paper copy. How do I know they watched my video? Well, I include a Photo question for students to upload an image of their annotated paper and ask some additional auto-scored questions to check their understanding.

💡 Pro tip : Interested in creating your own explainer videos? These blog posts, The 5 Most Important Questions about Flipping the Classroom with Edtech , and How Your Video Lessons Can Be Even More Successful When You’re on Screen , provide plenty of tips and tricks for recording and incorporating video into your instructional practices.

26. Why Shakespeare Loved Iambic Pentameter

In this Video Quiz made with a video from TED-Ed , students answer the age-old question, “Why did Shakespeare write in iambic pentameter?” In addition to checking their understanding of the content in the video, this digital poetry lesson culminates with a whiteboard question where students use the drawing tools to practice annotating one of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

27. How to Write a Shakespearean Sonnet

In this Video Quiz , students can learn about the structure of Shakespeare’s sonnets and practice composing their own.

28. Finding Your Voice with Spoken Poetry

This Video Quiz features the artistry of Pages Matam , a National Poetry Slam champion originally from Cameroon, Central Africa. Matam’s Tedx Talk featured can inspire students to find their voice and communicate their passion, and serve as an introduction to Poetry Slams, a competition where poets compete in spoken word performances before a live audience and a panel of judges. Interested in more examples of Slam Poetry? Check out 25 Slam Poetry Examples to Inspire Students of All Ages by *We Are Teachers. *

💡 Pro tip : Incorporating Audio Response questions inside of Video Quizzes allows students to see and practice doing the techniques being modeled in the video. You can then do a live poetry slam or a digital one using tools like Microsoft’s Flip .

29. Composing “Random” Poems

Use this Randomness widget activity for a dizzying and quick fire poetry writing session. Students spin the wheel to reveal a poetic structure and topic for which they will compose a poem.

💡 Pro tip : For an analytical spin, you can ask ChatGPT to generate the poem and have students analyze the quality of the poetry generated by the artificial intelligence. Students could discuss the characteristics of the type of poem and discuss ways in which the poem could be improved. Here is ChatGPT’s DREAMS Acrostic annotation activity made with a Whiteboard widget . Click to open

30. Poetry in the Parks

Ecopoetry, a compelling branch of contemporary literature, intertwines the poetic voice with an acute awareness of the environment and our place within the natural world. This genre not only celebrates the beauty and majesty of nature, but also confronts the urgent ecological issues of our time, serving as a bridge between human emotion and the landscapes that sustain us. For an in-person ecopoetry experience, have students visit the National Parks in person and check out the poetry installations by Ada Limón , the nation’s 24th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, who in partnership with the Library of Congress and the Poetry Society of America will feature site-specific poetry installations in seven national parks .

But if unable to do a class field trip in person, this last poetry activity inspires students to virtually explore 20 of the 63 National Parks in the United States through an annotated Google Map widget . Students click on the map marker, read the information for each location, view the images, and even visit any linked resources. They can then choose a location as inspiration for a poem writing. Students can also explore each location via Street View with the Google Map widget .

💡 Pro tip : You can also use an Image Carousel widget to group images together for students to explore. Think of this as an image slideshow on steroids! Add text or image hotspots on multiple images that students can click, and map the images to an associated location on Google Maps. Here are three Image Carousel widget I made featuring sites in Acadia National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. Click to open Click to open Click to open

This collection of 30+ free, online poetry lessons should serve as inspiration to make poetry engaging and accessible where every click can cultivate a couplet and every screen can spark a sonnet. I invite you to rhyme, revel, and resonate with your students, turning tech into the ultimate muse for tomorrow’s poets. Let every keystroke kindle creativity, as you continue on this journey where pixels paint poems and screens become the canvas for our collective poetic spirit!

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Home » Blog Posts » ELA » Engaging Poetry Activities for Upper Elementary

Engaging Poetry Activities for Upper Elementary

Want some fresh ideas to make learning poetry fun for your students? This post shares 7 engaging poetry activities for upper elementary students that can be used all year long.

Plus, you can grab a FREE digital poetry activity to use in your classroom!

Fun, Year-Long Poetry Activities for Upper Elementary Students

I LOVE reading and teaching poetry to my 4th graders!

Each year, I look for ways to infuse poetry reading and writing activities in our class throughout the year–not just for National Poetry Month in April.

Here are some general tips that will help you incorporate fun, year-long poetry activities in your upper elementary classroom:

• Include poetry games and activities with your on-going literacy centers.
• Use poetry to help your older kids with phonics. Often times, my students complain that phonics activities are “baby-ish,” but they enjoy reading poetry. Many poems with a simple rhyme scheme has word / phonics families that they need to practice, so it’s a win-win!
• Teach your students to look for poetic forms through read-alouds or novel studies. (I’ll go into more detail with this one below.)

In addition to these general tips, I use music, brain breaks, and online games to teach poetry all year long.

Now I’ll dig into more details with these engaging poetry activities below!

“Poetry Hour” Makes Reciting Poetry So Much Fun

Poetry Hour is one of my favorite poetry activities for upper elementary students!

Once a month, I allow my students to choose a poem they want to stand up and recite to the class.

It can be a poem I have provided in class or one they found on their own. I even have students recite a poem they’ve written themselves.

In addition to reading the poem, students are allowed to dress up as a character if they want. They do not have to memorize the poem, but many of them do it anyway.

Then I give them a toy microphone from The Dollar Tree, plus a decorated podium to make it seem like a “stage.”

My kids LOVE getting up to share their poems! We even “snap fingers” instead of clap at the end of each recitation.

Teaching Students to Talk about Poetry with “Poetry Talks”

I’ve never had a group of students that didn’t like to talk!

So, I find ways to channel their chattiness into our learning activities. Poetry Talks allow students to work with partners and discuss poetry with one another.

Then I give my students sentence stem cards to help them discuss their poetry appropriately. This also helps me hold them accountable to stay on track while they talk about their poems with one another.

We use this poetry activity during our poetry centers and after a whole-class mini-lesson on poetry.

“Poetry Puzzles” Provide Excellent Hands-on Poetry Practice

It should come as no surprise that 3rd through 5th grade students thrive with hands-on literacy activities.

So, one of the poetry activities for upper elementary students that I use is a poetry puzzle.

Here’s one way you can use this in your classroom too:

• Find a poem you want to teach your students.
• Cut each stanza or line apart in strips and place in sandwich baggies or envelopes.
• After analyzing the poem with the whole class, split students into small groups of 2-4 kids in each group.
• Give them the poem in baggies and have them put it back together again like a puzzle.

Not only is it hilarious to see what they come up with (since they don’t have the poem memorized), but it really strengthens their understanding of stanzas, line breaks, and rhyme scheme!

Poetry Writing Task Cards for Upper Elementary Students

I don’t just want my students to read poems more, but I also want them to write more poetry.

So I use task cards to build up their poetry writing muscles.

Task cards are easy to incorporate, plus it allows me to expose my kids to different types of poetry.

The diverse writing prompts push students to write all sorts of interesting poems!

Not only this, but my students keep a writing journal, which holds all their written poems for the year.

It’s always so fun to see how much they’ve grown with poetry writing by the end of the school year.

Analyzing Poetry Through Music

During our Poetry Hour, I had a student ask if he could perform rap songs. I told him yes and helped him choose appropriate examples to recite.

Needless to say, it was a huge hit with my students!

Thankfully, music and poetry have so many similarities that allow them to go hand-in-hand.

So, analyzing music of all genres provides excellent exposure to different examples of figurative language in poetry.

Incorporating Poetry through Read-Alouds for Upper Elementary Students

Another one of my favorite poetry activities for upper elementary students is to find examples of it through read-alouds.

Just like with music, books showcase poetry examples that help students get on-going exposure to it.

In my class, students use literacy choice boards , which include an option called “The Poetry Finder.”

I teach them how to identify different types of poetry when they’re reading independently.

The more poetry students see in different forms, the stronger they get with interpreting figurative language and inferencing while reading .

Play Online Poetry Games

If you’re looking for ways to connect poetry with technology, you’ll love this poetry activity.

Poetry Games ( poetrygames.org ) is a free website that does three things:

• Defines different types of poems
• Gives examples of each poetry type
• Provides a built in writing template where students will type their own poem into a “Poetry Machine.”

The poetry machine will “spit out” the student’s typed poem. I love how the templates provide scaffolded writing tips and lines to help students write/type their poems independently.

Plus, it will not allow students to click the “Create Your Poem” button until they fill in each blank in the template.

It’s one of my favorite, no-prep ways to include poetry practice with our technology centers!

Poetry Lesson Plans for Upper Elementary Teachers

Teaching poetry can seem intimidating; especially if you feel short on time–which most of us do!

This is why all of my PowerPoint Lesson slides and step-by-step lesson plans for my poetry units are available in my shop HERE.

Each poetry unit also has printables and poetry assessments + rubrics included that help you teach poetry to your 3rd through 5th grade students.

They are designed for whole class mini-lessons AND poetry centers that can be used all year long.

More Poetry Resources

Bookmark or pin these poetry posts to infuse more poetry activities into your classroom:

• How I Teach Haiku Poetry
• Poetry Books That Also Celebrate Diversity
• Books That Teach Figurative Language

Don’t forget to grab your free digital poetry activity before you go. This freebie is only available to my email subscribers.

When you sign up, you’ll also be subscribed to my newsletter, where you’ll get more exclusive content from me.

Happy Poetry Teaching! 🦋

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Helping Busy Teachers and Homeschoolers

5 fun and engaging poetry activities your students will love.

Poetry can be used for teaching so many different reading skills. Using poetry activities for building fluency, deepening comprehension, and teaching vocabulary are just a few. Below, I’ll share just a few of my favorite poetry activities with you, and you’ll see just how much I love teaching with poetry. 

poetry scavenger hunts, one of my favorite poetry activities

One of my favorite ways to teach poetic devices and figurative language is through a scavenger hunt. Any time you can make one of your poetry activities a game, it’s a win with the students. Kids love the search and the “found it” win.

This resource includes two poetry scavenger hunt options as well as an assignment card to get them started. Students are tasked with finding text evidence to support their responses. It’s challenging, yet lots of fun.

Here’s what one teacher had to say about the activity,

“ Figurative language can be tricky for middle schoolers, and I like really this scavenger hunt as an introduction to any text in which we will focus on the language standard L.5. The students enjoyed the hunt, and I will use this again in the fall.”

figurative language Flashcards and worksheets practice

In addition to scavenger hunts, another important poetry activity is to teach key vocabulary. I have included flashcards that you can use in games or put on a ring for kids to review. With the figurative language flashcards, you can work on matching terms and definitions, use them to mark examples as you read, or use them with the graphic organizer.

We all know that students need a variety of poetry activities to master concepts. Each student has a unique learning style, so I try to use a variety of options to meet the kids’ needs. 

Use practice and assessment to decide your next steps

As we are working on poetic devices and figurative language, we can use the activities for formative and summative assessments. I have included a practice page/quiz as well as a summative assessment to help you with knowing your next steps. 

Recommended Reading & Answer keys provided

Of course, with just these activities, you’re students will likely need additional poetry activities and practice. I have included a list of my favorite go-to books for teaching poetry along with answer keys to make your work a little easier. 

Below, you can grab these activities by signing up to my email list, and I’ll drop into your inbox with additional poetry teaching ideas and activities. You’ll see below how much I love teaching with and creating poetry activities. I look forward to sharing more on my blog . I hope you’ll take a moment to visit my TPT store if you love teaching with poetry too. 

Check out the other poetry resources in my shop

Using the Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Technique

About this Strategy Guide

In this strategy guide, you will learn how to organize students and texts to allow for learning that meets the diverse needs of students but keeps student groups flexible.

Research Basis

Strategy in practice, related resources.

The research that originally gave credibility to the jigsaw approach—creating heterogeneous groups of students, diving them into new groups to become expert on a topic, and then returning them to their home groups—touted its value as a means of creating positive interdependence in the classroom and improving students’ attitudes toward school and each other (92).

The structure it provides also lends itself naturally to differentiating instruction.  Because learning experiences can be differentiated by content based on student readiness and interests, the jigsaw technique allows students to learn from text that is matched to their interests and independent reading level while also learning from their peers, who have worked with text that is appropriate for them.

Aronson, Elliot, and Shelley Patnoe.  The Jigsaw Classroom: Building Cooperation in the Classroom .  2 nd ed.  New York: Longman, 1997.

• As with any learning process with independence and interdependence as the goals, effective use of the jigsaw technique begins with teacher modeling.  Explain to students that they will be working in different cooperative groups to learn content: a jigsaw or home group, made up of students who have read different texts, and expert group that all reads the same text.
• How can I put these ideas into my own words?
• What connections do I see between this material and things we’ve already learned, or from my own life?
• How will I tell the members of my jigsaw, or home, group about this material?
• Is what I’m saying helping the others learn the material?
• Are people understanding what I’m saying and making connections between their reading and mine?
• Based on your knowledge of the students in your classroom, organize a set of texts that students will read in their expert groups and report on to their home groups.  You may wish to find texts that complement each other, but offer varying challenges in difficulty.  It may be useful to assemble a text set that offers contrasting views on the same topic.  Or, your learning goals may lead you to select text that offer information on various facets of a concept that will become clear only when students come together in their home groups after working with their expert groups (such as three books, each about one of the states of matter).
• Organize students in their home or jigsaw groups and share with them the learning goal or guiding question for the lesson.  Remind them of the modeling they saw.
• Re-organize students into their expert groups.  You may find it useful to use numbers for home groups and letters for expert groups (student 3-B for example, will read text B with a group of students and then report back to group 3, where a student has read text A, C, D, and E).  Students in the expert group should read the text and make sure everyone has a strong enough understanding to share with their home groups.  It may be a good idea for students to produce a written summary or short list of ideas they plan to take back.
• Throughout the jigsaw process, circulate the room and observe the groups as they read and discuss.  When you notice difficulties, try to put the responsibility for finding a solution back on students to enhance the cooperative benefits of jigsawing.
• Reconvene the home groups and ask students to share their expertise with one another.  Students should write about the way their expert knowledge was changed or enhanced by listening to their peers.
• Print this resource

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Use Your Eyes to See What Can't Be Seen

When you must remember what you see, you tend to look more carefully..

Posted May 14, 2024 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

• What Is Resilience?
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• We can use taking pictures to enhance our presence.
• Groups who can see a clear picture of a concept, mission, or goal are energized by the visual.
• Clear images draw our minds toward them.

When I encountered the book Inner Excavation: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry and Mixed Media by Liz Lamoreux, I saw a new way to explore that all-important sense of identity so critical to resilience .

Lamoreux says in the opening of her book, “We explore this inner journey through three mediums: photography, poetry, and mixed media.” What struck me was that photography allows you to explore your life stories without one word spoken or written.

Even as a bestselling author, I struggle to find words or to write coherently. Working in a visual medium feels most comfortable for me. One of my favorite pastimes is putting huge jigsaw puzzles together. Spending time with shapes and colors, I can go for hours without a word and never get bored .

You don’t need any words to do puzzles so taking pictures felt great. Putting the images together and beginning to see the thread that flows through them all was a delicious thought for me.

Lamoreux’s book offers ideas of what to look for just in case you need prompting. For example, take photographs of your feet so you can see them in more concentrated detail. The book also suggests answering questions through photos. Two exemplary questions were: “What color is your morning? What are the shapes of your day?” You can’t find images unless you are present to what is around you. It’s hard to see things when your mind is elsewhere.

So, here was a book that allowed me to explore ideas and concepts using my camera and my creative brain.

A Picture That Captured the Invisible

I had joined two friends who wanted to plan for a conference. Our conversation began with each of us updating the others on our current activities. About an hour in, the conversation became focused on the conference. We discussed possible themes, and, suddenly, it was clear we each had a clear vision of where we were heading, and it was the same. Wow! That really made it so easy to move to action planning, which unfolded almost effortlessly.

It was summer, and we were working outside on a patio. As I looked through the glass top of the table where we had been working, I saw a picture that I didn’t remember ever seeing before. Three pairs of feet, all dressed in sandals, our toes pointing to the center of the table. That simple image reflected our working together toward the same goal. I took the picture. It was a perfect example of being present to my friends, allowing the image to capture our relationship from that afternoon. It was also a perfect example of capturing a concept of working together.

Applying the Visual

Resilient people tend to have a strong sense of identity/purpose and supportive relationships with others. As a leader who desires to build resilience in my teams, I am challenged to help the team establish a real sense of purpose through a clear mission and strong relationships between the members.

When I have a meeting, instead of asking How's the project going? , I begin by asking, Who did you see on your way to this meeting? The question demands that the person be able to recount in their mind’s eye what and who they had seen. This unexpected question often disconcerts staff the first time. Yet, when asked the same question in the next meeting, they find they are more aware of their surroundings. That awareness seeps into their participation in the meeting as well.

Using Eyes to See the Invisible

Being aware of your surroundings enhances presence. Being present, attentive, and engaged in a meeting always improves the discussion as your mind is working in higher gear. Just imagine the stimulation of new ideas and implications through engaged interaction and how this would benefit any decisions or actions taken. It would be hard not to enjoy such a meeting.

Being aware and observing your surroundings puts you in the moment. Tomorrow, just for fun, try to take a picture of something that reflects your favorite feeling.

Inner Excavation: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry and Mixed Media by Liz Lamoreux, 2010

Madelyn Blair, Ph.D., on the faculty of Columbia University, offers strategies for you to unlock resilience. Known for storytelling and knowledge management, she is a popular speaker, author, and instructor.

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Romantic Poem Jigsaw Questions

Description

This is a blank copy of a jigsaw activity for romantic poetry. You can select your own poems for students to read in groups and then have them answer these questions. After they do this, each group should be able to teach the other groups about their assigned poem. Can also be edited for students to do individually.

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