Back to School Poem

What You Need:

• Paper
• Pencil

What You Do:

1. Brainstorm poem topics with your child. What do they love about school? Make sure they choose a school-related object or even a school subject that they really enjoy. They'll have an easier time writing the poem if they truly likes what they're talking about.
2. Once your child has a topic, introduce the concept of a personification poem. These types of poems are written from the point of view of an inanimate object. If they choose to write about their math book, for example, then the poem will be written from the math book's perspective. Make sure to explain that the personification poem can be as silly as they want it to be. Maybe their pencil is exhausted or her backpack wishes it could go outside more often. Encourage your child to really stretch their imagination.
3. The next step is deciding what poetry form they will write. They could write in free verse or an aa, bb, cc rhyming pattern. Other poems, like haikus, focus on syllable counts. If your child is curious about these types of poetry, help them research the options online.
4. Before your child writes, talk about the poem's message. It is often easiest to consider this before you write the poem. What would this school-related object want to say if it could talk?
5. Draft out the poem. Then rewrite! No poem is perfect the first time, and it always takes more than one try to create a good poem.
6. After your child completes the poem, encourage them to read it to friends and family. Let their loved ones guess what object the back to school poem has personified!