Putting Poems to Use

Poetry can often seem like an inaccessible medium for students (and adults!). How does poetry fit into my real life? In this project, students first brainstormed lists of moments when poetry could be useful. We thought of weddings, funerals, birthdays, a toast, a speech, or in a relationship. After listening to a number of poems and examples of poetry found in real life (Dead Poet’s Society!), students looked through the Poetry Out Loud website to read more poems and find more inspirational lines they could use in a written piece.

Students were tasked with finding lines they thought they could use in one of these situations. After finding lines that they identified with, students needed to integrate those lines of poetry into a story or letter. The setting and characters could be fictional or real, and students had creative freedom with the writing of the piece—as long as they incorporated the lines of poetry!

Enjoy reading their short pieces! When is a time you have used poetry in your life? Are there lines of poetry you still remember?