Connecting Reading and Writing: Poetry

Goals:

  • Learn more about where poets get ideas for their poems
  • Begin a journal and start collecting ideas for poems

Writers get ideas for poems from many places.
They read many books.
They notice and think about interesting words.
They observe the world around them – including people, animals and nature.
They pay attention to their emotions.

James Carter wrote a poem about where he gets ideas for poems!
Please read his poem “Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?”
In the poem, James Carter explains that his ideas come from his imagination and his experiences.

Author Joyce Sidman explains how she finds ideas for poems in this recording. She also reads two poems from her book Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. (Press the play button on the orange media bar to start playback.)
Joyce Sidman explains that she learned more about the animals of the forest before she started writing poems for her book.

Over the next several days, start to gather ideas for your own poetry writing.

Find a way (on paper or on a computer) to record:

  • Interesting words and phrases you find when you are reading
  • Interesting things that you notice (e.g. a bird singing outside your home, spring flowers growing)
  • Sketches of interesting things you see and imagine

You can also read and listen to other poems at The Children’s Poetry Archive for new ideas

Later this month, we will use your ideas to write some poems of our own.

Other Opportunities:

  • You don’t have to wait to write poetry, you can try it now! Write a poem about something important to you. Share your poem with a family member.
  • Keep on reading books you choose every day! When you find a good book, share a recommendation with the form My Book Recommendations.