Easy-to-Use—But Challenging—Activities Series
Comprehending POETRY
Grades 4-8
by CharlesF
Comprehending Poetry
The WHY
April is National Poetry Month, but poetry belongs in classrooms all year round. Poetry
standards appear across the grades, and because students have a lot they can learn when it
comes to poetry, they need lots of exposure to a range of types, features, and so forth. Yet,
teachers and students might tend to shy away from it, making it one of the least read genres.
The good news is that the more you read it, the more you “get it”—and there are easy-to-use
scaffolds and strategies for getting it.
The WHAT
“Comprehending POETRY” is part of the easy-to-use—but challenging—activities series by
CharlesF. There are five activities that can be easily adjusted for grades 4 through 8 by
choosing poems that are appropriately challenging for your particular students. The activities
primarily focus on interpreting poetry (Common Core Reading/Literature standards 2, 5, and 9,
depending on the grade level), but also require students to show their understanding of
structure, inferring, story elements, and so forth. Here’s what’s waiting inside:
Contents
1
The Critic’s Corner
2
I Saw That Coming
3
Get in Line
4
These Are All About . . .
5
I Spy
The High Points
 ALL of the activities are literature based, so they will work well with whatever poems
you already have planned for your students.
 Each activity has a “TEACHER PAGE” that tells you what you need to know. The
“WHY” section lets you know quickly why you would want to do the activity and the
“HOW” section provides a step-by-step plan.
 When needed, a “MODEL” is included to help students understand the task.
 Some activities have a “VARIATION” or an “EXTENSION”— ideas to use now or in the
future.
 ALL of the activities are easy for the teacher to prepare and easy for the student to
follow. But this isn’t fluff. Thinking caps required here!
ART CREDIT: All clip art is believed to be royalty free for commercial use. Credit information follows: Wordle (www.wordle.net); poetry poster
(www.poets.org); notepad (www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=15769&picture=notebook-with-pen); honesty sign
(www.clker.com/clipart-honesty-1.html); paper with F (www.clker.com/clipart-failed-paper.html); sandglass (www.clker.com/clipart6250.html); book stack (www.clker.com/clipart-63776.html); autumn tree (http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/viewimage.php?image=17972&picture=autumn-smiling); arrow (www.clker.com/clipart-archer-1.html); field (www.public-domainphotos.com/landscapes/fields/field-37-1.htm); sun (www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=40490&picture=sun); detective in
long jacket (www.clker.com/clipart-ipygfepyf.html); magnifying glass 1 (www.clker.com/clipart-magnifying-glass-26.html); magnifying glass 2
(www.clker.com/clipart-14444.html); magnifying glass 3 (www.clker.com/clipart-stretched-magifying-glass.html)
(TEACHER PAGE)
THE CRITIC’S CORNER
The WHY
Sometimes students can be overwhelmed when trying to articulate their thoughts about a
poem. This activity provides students with a relatively simple framework they can use to
organize their thinking. Depending on how much experience your students have with poetry,
you may need to start with the “Less Challenging” framework provided in the “Variations”
section, or you may want to try the “More Challenging” option. Whatever the case, use these
frameworks again and again to grow students’ comfort with responding to poetry. Once
students have a good handle on noticing critical aspect of poems, they should enjoy the “I Spy”
activity at the end of this packet.
The HOW
1. Read a poem as a class.
2. Display the handout.
3. As a class, decide how to fill in the blanks.
4. Explain to students that they will select and read a poem independently and then complete
the handout for that poem as preparation for sharing their poem with a small group. Provide
poetry collections.
5. Allow students to work independently.
6. Place students in small groups. Instruct students to take turns reading their selected poem
aloud and then sharing what they wrote about the poem. Then other group members should
share their thoughts on the poem as well. (This step could also be done whole-class.)
7. Discuss as a class, asking students how filling in the blanks helped them be able to focus on
important aspects of the poem.
VARIATIONS
Less Challenging: If students need to a simpler way of getting at the big picture of a poem,
begin with this structure: The speaker feels _____ about _____. (Example for Donald Graves’s
poem “The Bully”: The speaker feels honored to have a friend who sticks up for him against a
bully.) Use students’ responses to gauge their understanding of the speaker’s emotion and the
topic/meaning of the poem.
More Challenging: If students are ready to take on more aspects of a poem, add to the
structure, perhaps with a few of these starters: It is a _____ (e.g., lyrical) poem. The mood of
the poem is _____. In line(s), the poet uses figurative language to _____. This poem has the
same topic/theme as _____.
Name: ____________________________
The Critic’s Corner
The poem __________________________________________________
(title)
by _________________________________________________ is about
(poet’s name)
__________________________________________________________.
(main meaning/message)
I like lines __________ because ________________________________.
(line numbers)
Write those lines here:
I noticed that the poet _______________________________________.
(identify a technique, feature, or style)
Tell more about that:
I hope you will like this poem too.
(TEACHER PAGE)
I SAW THAT COMING
The WHY
Rhythm is crucially important in understanding a poem’s meaning. But rhythm can be difficult
to teach explicitly. An explanation like “It’s kind of like the musical beat that lies beneath the
lines” may be lost on students! In this activity, some of the words of a poem are missing, so
students have to think about not just the ideas of the poem but also the rhythm and the
language of the piece in order to figure out what words might belong. By focusing on a word
level while thinking about the poem as a whole, students should recognize that the language
and rhythm are important in comprehending poetry.
The HOW
1. Distribute the handout that features the poem that is most appropriate for your students.
Provided are the poems “The Boy Who Never Told a Lie,” “Idioms,” and “Take Time.” (Or
create your own handout with a poem you want your students to read, adding blanks for words
that the context should help them be able to determine.)
2. Read the directions. Emphasize that the goal is to choose the exact word as the poet—or at
the least, a word that is similar (for instance, a movement word, a kind of emotion, a word that
rhymes with another word). Also emphasize that students should pay attention to the rhythm
as a clue.
3. Read the poem aloud, saying “blank” when a word is missing.
4. Allow students to work independently.
5. Have students share and compare their work in small groups.
6. Display the handout and as you read, pause to allow students to shout out a word they
selected; discuss similarities and differences. Then read the poet’s version. Discuss as a class
how the language, rhythm, and style (voice, tone, mood, etc.) did or did not help them figure
out the missing words.
7. End by stressing that because poetry is concisely written, each word is often important to
notice in order to make meaning.
Name: ____________________________
I Saw That Coming
Can you fill in the blanks of this poem with the words the poet actually used? Give it your best
shot by using the ideas, rhythm, and language of the other lines as clues.
The Boy Who Never Told a Lie
—Anonymous
Once there was a little boy,
With curly hair and pleasant eye—
A boy who always told the truth,
And never, never told a lie.
And when he __________ off to school,
The children all about would __________,
“There goes the curly-headed boy—
The boy that never tells a lie.”
And everybody loved him so,
Because he always told the truth,
That every day, as he __________ up,
‘Twas said, “There goes the __________ youth.”
And when the people that stood near
Would turn to ask the reason __________,
The __________ would be always this:
“Because he never tells a lie.”
The Boy Who Never Told a Lie
—Anonymous
Once there was a little boy,
With curly hair and pleasant eye—
A boy who always told the truth,
And never, never told a lie.
And when he trotted off to school,
The children all about would cry,
“There goes the curly-headed boy—
The boy that never tells a lie.”
And everybody loved him so,
Because he always told the truth,
That every day, as he grew up,
‘Twas said, “There goes the honest youth.”
And when the people that stood near
Would turn to ask the reason why,
The answer would be always this:
“Because he never tells a lie.”
Name: ____________________________
I Saw That Coming
Can you fill in the blanks of this poem with the words the poet actually used? Give it your best
shot by using the ideas, rhythm, and language of the other lines as clues.
Idioms
by Charles Fuhrken
The Idiom Test was coming up soon.
I pulled an all-nighter, then studied ‘til noon.
But during the test, I ran out of steam.
I stared out the __________ and started to dream.
All the next day I was a bundle of nerves
I waited and waited for what I __________.
On top of my paper was “F” all in __________.
Idioms, well, they are over my head.
I started to get all bent out of shape.
Then Teacher said “RETEST”; my mouth was agape.
My peers and I were in the same boat.
More time to our __________ we had to devote.
That night in my __________, I sat all alone.
I studied my best ‘til the cows had come home.
By the next morning, I had them down pat.
I knew the __________ at the drop of a hat.
So . . . how did I do? Let’s cut to the chase:
My score was much __________—a total disgrace!
Idioms, well, they did not grow on me.
I never use them—that’s __________ to see.
Idioms
by Charles Fuhrken
The Idiom Test was coming up soon.
I pulled an all-nighter, then studied ‘til noon.
But during the test, I ran out of steam.
I stared out the window and started to dream.
All the next day I was a bundle of nerves
I waited and waited for what I deserved.
On top of my paper was “F” all in red.
Idioms, well, they are over my head.
I started to get all bent out of shape.
Then Teacher said “RETEST”; my mouth was agape.
My peers and I were all in the same boat.
More time to our studies we had to devote.
That night in my room, I sat all alone.
I studied my best ‘til the cows had come home.
By the next morning, I had them down pat.
I knew the answers at the drop of a hat.
So . . . how did I do? Let’s cut to the chase:
My score was much lower—a total disgrace!
Idioms, well, they did not grow on me.
I never use them—that’s plain to see.
Name: ____________________________
I Saw That Coming
Can you fill in the blanks of this poem with the words the poet actually used? Give it your best
shot by using the ideas, rhythm, and language of the other lines as clues.
Take Time
—Anonymous
Take time to work –
It is the price of success.
Take time to think –
It is the source of __________.
Take time to play –
It is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to __________ –
It is the foundation of wisdom.
Take time to be friendly –
It is the __________ to happiness.
Take time to __________ –
It is the hitching your wagon to a star.
Take time to laugh –
It is the __________ of the soul.
Take Time
—Anonymous
Take time to work –
It is the price of success.
Take time to think –
It is the source of power.
Take time to play –
It is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read –
It is the foundation of wisdom.
Take time to be friendly –
It is the road to happiness.
Take time to dream –
It is the hitching your wagon to a star.
Take time to laugh –
It is the music of the soul.
(TEACHER PAGE)
GET IN LINE
The WHY
When we read fiction, we use the author’s ideas and structure to predict what might happen
next. Readers of poetry should do that too! Doing so can cause us to think more deeply about
how the poet is shaping the ideas. In this activity, students have to take the lines of a poem
and put them in the correct order. To do so, they have to think about the deliberate decisions
the poet made in structuring the ideas. By focusing on a poem’s structure in this activity,
students should recognize that thinking about structure is important to comprehending poetry.
The HOW
1. Distribute the handout that features the poem that is most appropriate for your students.
Provided are the poems “Book Sale,” “Autumn Fires,” and “The Arrow and the Song.” (Or
create your own handout with a poem you want your students to read, scrambling the lines.)
2. Read the directions. Emphasize that the goal is to arrange the poem exactly as the poet did.
Tell students to use the clues provided.
3. Place students in pairs or small groups. Distribute scissors, tape, and a large sheet of paper.
4. Allow students to work together.
5. Display the students’ work on a blank wall. Ask students to circulate to compare their
version with how others arranged the poem.
6. Display the original and discuss as a class similarities and differences.
7. End by stressing that thinking about the structure of the poem can help them understand
the poem as a whole by drawing attention to the poet’s decisions about ideas, language,
rhythm, and style (voice, tone, mood, etc.).
VARIATIONS
Less Challenging: If cutting apart the lines is too challenging for students, cut apart the stanzas
of an appropriate poem with about six stanzas. Ask students to arrange the stanzas in the
correct order.
More Challenging: If cutting apart the lines is not sufficiently challenging for students, cut apart
each word in each line of a poem with about six to eight lines. Ask students to reassemble the
lines of the poem, word by word. (If students struggle while working, provide the number of
words in each particular line.)
Get in Line
The lines of this poem are in disarray! Can you get them back “in line”? Cut apart the lines and
then tape them in the correct sequence on a sheet of paper.
Here are some hints:
 The poem’s title is “Book Sale.”
 The first line is “I’m going to the book sale” and the last is “my brain, I need to feed.”
 There are 6 stanzas, each with 4 lines.
I’m going to the book sale.
I think I like these best.
Going to the book sale
I’ve got books about the circus
Have to get myself a read.
all neat upon my shelf.
And tons about the planet Earth
’cause I have to fill a need.
I read all by myself.
I’ve got pages full of pictures
But what about badminton?
And stacks of science fiction—
I know nothing of the sport.
I always come up short.
Who flew the first airplane?
And when I talk of humpback whales,
And what’s the news on fossil fuels?
Have to get myself a read.
And how ’bout acid rain?
And who invented fishing poles?
Going to the book sale—
So I’m going to the book sale.
about the Old Wild West.
my brain, I need to feed.
Book Sale
by Charles Fuhrken
I’m going to the book sale.
Have to get myself a read.
Going to the book sale
’cause I have to fill a need.
I’ve got books about the circus
all neat upon my shelf.
And tons about the planet Earth
I read all by myself.
I’ve got pages full of pictures
about the Old Wild West.
And stacks of science fiction—
I think I like these best.
But what about badminton?
I know nothing of the sport.
And when I talk of humpback whales,
I always come up short.
And what’s the news on fossil fuels?
And how ’bout acid rain?
And who invented fishing poles?
Who flew the first airplane?
So I’m going to the book sale.
Have to get myself a read.
Going to the book sale—
my brain, I need to feed.
Get in Line
The lines of this poem are in disarray! Can you get them back “in line”? Cut apart the lines and
then tape them in the correct sequence on a sheet of paper.
Here are some hints:
 The poem’s title is “Autumn Fires.”
 The first line is “In the other gardens.”
 The last line is “Fires in the fall!”
 There are 3 stanzas, each with 4 lines.
 Stanza 1 mentions autumn; stanza 2, summer (twice); stanza 3, summer and fall.
In the other gardens
From the autumn bonfires
The grey smoke towers.
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
Sing a song of seasons!
The red fire blazes,
And all up the vale,
Something bright in all!
See the smoke trail!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!
Autumn Fires
—Robert Louis Stevenson
In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!
Get in Line
The lines of this poem are in disarray! Can you get them back “in line”? Cut apart the lines and
then tape them in the correct sequence on a sheet of paper.
Here are some hints:
 The poem’s title is “The Arrow and the Song.”
 The first line is “I shot an arrow into the air.” The last line is “I found again in the
heart of a friend.”
 There are 3 stanzas, each with 4 lines.
 The first and second lines of the first and second stanzas are similar.
 The first and second lines of all three stanzas are punctuated the same.
 The second stanza contains a question.
I shot an arrow into the air,
That it can follow the flight of song?
And the song, from beginning to end,
Could not follow it in its flight.
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong
I breathed a song into the air,
Long, long afterward, in an oak,
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
I found again in the heart of a friend.
The Arrow and the Song
—Henry Longfellow
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterward, in an oak,
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
(TEACHER PAGE)
THESE ARE ALL ABOUT . . .
The WHY
Structure influences meaning in poetry. So it just makes sense that when we can get students
to think about the poem’s structure, they will have a deeper understanding of the poem
overall. In this activity, students will look line-by-line at the poem’s structure. By doing so, they
are likely to notice ideas and craft that they missed upon first reading the poem.
The HOW
1. Display and read “Far From the Maddening Crowd.” Ask a few volunteers to tell what it is
about.
2. Read the poem again, stopping after each stanza. Ask students which particular lines go
together and to explain why. (Example: Lines 2 and 3 go together because they give examples
of sounds the speaker wants to get away from.)
3. Display the annotated version of the poem (provided). Ask students to compare their
responses with these annotations. Then discuss how looking closely at how the author
structures/presents his ideas helps readers understand the overall meaning.
4. Distribute the handout with the poem “Things Work Out.” Read the directions (which match
the process you just modeled with the poem “Far From the Maddening Crowd”).
5. Allow students to work independently (or in pairs). (Display the annotated version of “Far
From the Maddening Crowd” for students as a reminder of what to do.)
6. Have students share and compare their work in small groups (or by combining pairs).
7. Display the annotated version of the poem (provided). Discuss similarities and differences.
8. End by stressing that thinking about the structure of the poem can help them understand
the poem as a whole by drawing attention to the poet’s decisions about ideas, language,
rhythm, and style (voice, tone, mood, etc.).
EXTENSION
To encourage students to notice particular poetic techniques in other poems, create a “Poetry
Pairing” display where students can post copies of poems that share a particular quality. On
post-it notes, students can identify the technique (e.g., repetition) and highlight the
representative lines in both poems.
Far From the Maddening Crowd
—Nixon Waterman
It seems to me I’d like to go
Where bells don’t ring, nor whistles blow,
Nor clocks don’t strike, nor gongs sound,
And I’d have stillness all around.
Not real stillness, but just the trees,
Low whispering, or the hum of bees,
Or brooks faint babbling over stones,
In strangely, softly tangled tones.
Or maybe a cricket or katydid,
Or the songs of birds in the hedges hid,
Or just some such sweet sound as these
To fill a tired heart with ease.
If it weren’t for sight and sound and smell,
I’d like the city pretty well,
But when it comes to getting rest,
I like the country lots the best.
Far From the Maddening Crowd
—Nixon Waterman
It seems to me I’d like to go
Where bells don’t ring, nor whistles blow,
Nor clocks don’t strike, nor gongs sound,
And I’d have stillness all around.
Not real stillness, but just the trees,
Low whispering, or the hum of bees,
Or brooks faint babbling over stones,
In strangely, softly tangled tones.
Or maybe a cricket or katydid,
Or the songs of birds in the hedges hid,
Or just some such sweet sound as these
To fill a tired heart with ease.
If it weren’t for sight and sound and smell,
I’d like the city pretty well,
But when it comes to getting rest,
I like the country lots the best.
These lines give examples of sounds
the speaker wants to get away from.
The idea of “stillness” links stanzas 1
and 2; in stanza 2, the speaker
explains what is meant by “stillness.”
These lines give examples of sounds
the speaker believes can be enjoyed
in the country.
This line spells out the speaker’s
desired outcome.
These lines, like the stanza 1,
contrast the city and the country.
They state the speaker’s argument
that the country has much to offer.
explicitly.
Name: ____________________________
These Are All About . . .
Can you figure out what the poet is up to in this poem? What’s the structure the poet is using
to present the ideas? Draw boxes around particular lines and then in the margin, tell about the
poet’s structure and/or how the lines relate to the others.
Things Work Out
—Edgar Guest
Because it rains when we wish it wouldn’t,
Because men do what they often shouldn’t,
Because crops fail, and plans go wrong —
Some of us grumble all day long.
But somehow, in spite of the care and doubt,
It seems at last that things work out.
Because we lose where we hoped to gain,
Because we suffer a little pain,
Because we must work when we’d like to play —
Some of us whimper along life’s way.
But somehow, as day always follows the night,
Most of our troubles work out all right.
So bend to your trouble and meet your care,
For the clouds must break, and the sky grow fair.
Let the rain come down, as it must and will,
But keep on working and hoping still.
For in spite of the grumblers who stand about,
Somehow, it seems, all things work out.
Things Work Out
—Edgar Guest
Because it rains when we wish it wouldn’t,
Because men do what they often shouldn’t,
Because crops fail, and plans go wrong —
Some of us grumble all day long.
But somehow, in spite of the care and doubt,
It seems at last that things work out.
These lines give examples of
complaints. Each line begins with
“Because.”
Because we lose where we hoped to gain,
Because we suffer a little pain,
Because we must work when we’d like to play —
Some of us whimper along life’s way.
But somehow, as day always follows the night,
Most of our troubles work out all right.
These lines mirror lines 1-3 and give
more examples of complaints.
So bend to your trouble and meet your care,
For the clouds must break, and the sky grow fair.
Let the rain come down, as it must and will,
But keep on working and hoping still.
For in spite of the grumblers who stand about,
Somehow, it seems, all things work out.
This stanza begins differently. These
lines contain advice from the
speaker to the reader, signaled by
the word “So.”
This line tells the result of lines 1-3.
These lines reflect the optimistic
title. “But” signals a change.
This line states the idea in line 4 in
different words.
These lines state the idea in lines 56 in different words.
These lines reflect the optimistic
title and restate the last lines of the
preceding stanzas.
(TEACHER PAGE)
I SPY
The WHY
Reading and analyzing a poem can be intimidating to students. Students can become paralyzed
by having to “get” it, especially when a poem has a lot going on in it. In this activity, students
focus on just three things—of their own choosing! Then a lot of conversation follows because
students are curious to see what their classmates have noticed in the poems. Use this activity
again and again (and add to the list over time) as a strategy for helping students learn to pay
attention to important aspects of reading and understanding poetry.
(Note: Ready-made I Spy activities are available for other genres and skills; see, for instance, the titles
“comprehending informational texts” and “comprehending plot” in the “Easy-to-Do—But Challenging—Activities
series at my store, CharlesF, at www.teacherspayteachers.com.)
The HOW
1. Read a poem. Make sure students have a copy at hand.
2. Display the I SPY statements. Explain that they will spy into the poem to notice important
features. Read each statement; discuss as needed.
3. Distribute the handout and read the directions. Answer any questions.
4. Allow students to work independently.
5. Have students share and compare in small groups.
6. Discuss as a class.
I SPY a line(s) or stanza(s) that . . .
helps identify the poem’s type.
identifies the setting.
provides an important idea/detail about the speaker.
shows the speaker’s emotion.
states or hints at a conflict.
resolves a conflict.
helps convey the theme or a major/central idea.
transitions from one major idea to another.
is meant to add humor.
uses punctuation purposefully.
uses spacing purposefully.
groups similar things/ideas/events.
uses repetition purposefully.
uses figurative language.
creates imagery.
Name: ____________________________
I Spy
In each magnifying glass, write an I SPY statement. Then next to it, provide the line(s), stanza
number(s), and/or specific information from the poem.