Comparing and Contrasting Types of Poetry: A Teaching Guide for Elementary Teachers
Ah, poetry. It might be one of your favorite units to teach or one of your most dreaded. When I taught poetry each year, I was always looking for ways to make it different and interesting for my students. Something that worked for me was having students use what they already knew about poetry and different types of poetry formats from lower elementary in new contexts for example, comparing and contrasting poetry on the same topic written in different styles.
SO, WHERE DO I START?
When teaching poetry in elementary school, a lot of the learning will be front-loaded. To be able to conduct poetry comparisons, students will need to know about the different poetry types in-depth. A good place to start is to teach students (or remind them) about the different types of poetry formats out there. Being able to recognize the different types of poetic styles is similar to understanding different nonfiction text structures (read more about those here).
When students can recognize different types of poems, they can approach the genre with a greater understanding of the organizational structures, patterns, and elements of each type. (And they just might realize that not all poems rhyme!)
WHAT TYPES OF POEMS ARE THERE?
There are many different types of poetry. When comparing and contrasting poetry, students will need to understand the elements of these different types. In my free Comparing Poetry Resource, you will find nine of the most common types of poetry for elementary students. I recommend teaching each type one at a time. Incorporate mentor texts into your lessons and allow students to practice writing the different types of poems.
Acrostic
- First letter of each line spells out a word or phrase, which is the topic of the poem
- First letter of each line is usually capitalized so it’s easier to see the word spelled out vertically
- Doesn’t need to rhyme
Haiku
- Haiku
- Japanese poem
- Three lines
- The first and third lines have 5 syllables; the second line has 7 syllables
- Doesn’t need to rhyme
- Usually about nature (though they can be about anything)
Diamante
- Diamante
- Invented in 1969 by American poet Iris McClellan Tiedt
- Length of the different lines gives the poem a diamond shape (“diamante” is Italian for diamond)
- Seven lines long
- Lines 1 & 7: One noun
- Lines 2 & 6: Two adjectives
- Lines 3 & 5: Three verbs
- Line 4: Four nouns
- Example:
- 1. Noun
- 2. Adjective, Adjective
- 3. Verb, Verb, Verb
- 4. Noun, Noun, Noun, Noun
- 5. Verb, Verb, Verb
- 6. Adjective, Adjective
- 7. Noun
Cinquain
- Created about 100 years ago by American poet Adelaide Crapsey
- Five lines long
- Lines 1 & 5: Two syllables
- Line 2: Four syllables
- Line 3: Six syllables
- Line 4: Eight syllables
- Can end up looking like a diamond
- Short but tells a story (include descriptive words, an action, a feeling, and a conclusion)
- Doesn’t need to rhyme but can
Concrete
- Also known as shape poems
- Words of the poem form a shape that goes with the topic of the poem (the words can be arranged into the shape itself or can form just the outline of the shape)
- Can rhyme but doesn’t have to
Free Verse
- Has no specific rules
- Can rhyme or notCan be about anything
- An opportunity to play around with rhythm and rhyme, as well as different figurative language such as similes/metaphors, personification, alliteration, imagery, etc.
Narrative
- Tells a story
- Typically longer than other forms of poetry
- Has a clear beginning, middle, and end
- Includes characters, setting, plot, conflict/resolution
- Typically told from the point of view of a narrator or speaker
- Epic poems are a type of narrative poem
- Might rhyme but doesn’t need to
Limerick
- Limerick
- Short poems that rhyme and often are funny
- Five lines long
- Follow an AABBA rhyming scheme:
- Lines 1, 2 & 5 rhyme
- Lines 3 & 4 rhyme
- Have a specific rhythm with emphasis on certain syllables:
- da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
- da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
- da DUM da da DUM
- da DUM da da DUM
- da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
- First line usually ends with a name of a person or place
- Last line is usually funny
Ode
- First written in ancient Greece to celebrate athletic wins
- Short, lyric poem that praises something
- Often more formal
- Traditionally written in three sections or stanzas
- Can rhyme but doesn’t have to
As you discuss each type of poem, work together with your students to create an anchor chart for each type.
You can also hand out the printables below to students to use as a reference. Check out my full Poetry Comparison resource here!
HOW DO I KEEP MY STUDENTS ENGAGED WITH POETRY?
Now that your students know about the different types of poetry, it’s time to stretch them to apply this knowledge in new ways. Review the different elements of the types of poems you learned about and display them for some poetry comparison activities.
You can use the comparison chart below as a class or distribute one to students to use independently as they work on comparing and contrasting poetry of different styles. I recommend having students compare a haiku and a free verse, as well as a diamante poem and an ode to help them prepare for answering the questions in the free Poetry Comparison resource.
Remind students to refer to the anchor charts or printables they have about the elements of each type of poem. As students grow comfortable with comparing and contrasting different poetry types, you can also have them write their own poems on the same topic in different styles or, you can use the topics provided in the Poetry Comparison resource and see if students can write a poem in a third style for each one! Download my free poetry comparison chart here!
Poetry of the Week
Are you looking for the perfect resource to captivate your elementary students during your poetry unit? My Poem of the Week Bundle offers a year’s worth of carefully curated poems along with paired passages. Each poem includes reading comprehension questions, poetry analysis sheets, and daily fluency tasks. The resources in this bundle are designed to make teaching poetry enjoyable and effortless.