What's in a Poem
- amiller8979
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
April 1, 2025
by Amber Miller
April is National Poetry Month. Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month is a special occasion that celebrates the integral role of poets in our culture and highlights the importance of poetry.
How do you see poetry? How do you presently use it in your instruction? Many people who enjoy poetry when they are young come to dislike poetry because they have been "forced to dissect a poem to analyze its meaning" (Horning, 2010, p. 68). Former Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis once said:
“Poetry, in my opinion, is literature’s less loved stepchild. Unlike so many other countries, America does not nurture poetry and poets, who are considered a breed apart. Those who dare to travel through that gate should not abandon all hope, but they should realize that the attention for their work is never going to be more than marginal.”
Attending to poetry increases children's sophistication with interpretive acts, both oral and written. The increased sophistication that children develop in classrooms that focus on poetry pays off in many ways in terms of their literacy and literary development.
How do you see poetry? How do you presently use it in your instruction? Many people who enjoy poetry when they are young come to dislike poetry because they have been "forced to dissect a poem to analyze its meaning" (Horning, 2010, p. 68). Former Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis once said
“Poetry, in my opinion, is literature’s less loved stepchild. Unlike so many other countries, America does not nurture poetry and poets, who are considered a breed apart. Those who dare to travel through that gate should not abandon all hope, but they should realize that the attention for their work is never going to be more than marginal.”
What makes a good poem?
Of course, one of the wonderful things about poetry is that there is no single way to make a 'good' poem. As with all the books we've explored this semester, rather than considering whether a poem is good, consider whether it is 'good for ...' In other words, we return to the purpose. Why are we reading the poem? There are many good reasons to read a poem (we'll get to them on the next module page). When evaluating a poem for our purposes, we can consider the content, the sound, the language, the structure, and the visual appeal:
Content: Does it appeal to a child? Is the meaning clear? Does it connect to other things we are learning?
Sound: How does it sound to read the poem aloud? What's the rhythm? Is there alliteration, assonance, consonance, or onomatopoeia? Does it rhyme? Does the rhyme add to or constrain the meaning of the poem?
Language: How is figurative language used? What do you notice about the poet's word choice?
Structure: Is the poem lyric or narrative? Does it follow a particular format (haiku, limerick, etc.)? Does the structure suit the content?
Visual Aspects: How are the words arranged on the page? Does it add to the meaning? Are there illustrations that enhance the poem?
Finding Great Poems
Today, we find children’s poetry in many formats and winning awards in the children’s literature category. For example, see Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming, winner of the 2014 National Book Award as well as the 2015 Newbery Honor Award, the 2015 Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the 2015 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor Award. You might also check out the 2015 Newbery Award winner, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, and the 2012 Newbery Honor Award winner, Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai.
Poetry Awards for Children
NCTE Award Winners
Multicultural Poem Lists
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