Teach Your Students to Analyse Poetry 

Understanding poetry can be challenging for our students. After all, there are a lot of elements to think about when reading, deciphering and appreciating a poem. 

One way of making this process more manageable is by examining one element of the poem at a time using the SMILE poetry analysis technique. This technique helps students to analyse a poem by focusing on the following components:

• Structure – How the poem is organised (stanzas, line length, rhyme scheme)
• Meaning – The overall message or themes conveyed by the poem
• Imagery – Visual descriptions and sensory language that create mental pictures
• Language – The specific word choices, literary devices and tone of the poem
• Effect – The emotional or intellectual impact the poem has on the reader

Teach Starter’s Poetry Analysis Teaching Presentation is a comprehensive teaching tool designed to help upper primary students understand how to break down and analyse poems effectively using the SMILE technique. The presentation includes:

• An explanation of what each letter in the acronym stands for
• An example analysis of the poem Night by Stephanie Mulrooney
• An opportunity to complete an analysis of the poem In My Eyes by Stephanie Mulrooney

This resource is a perfect tool to scaffold students’ poetry analysis skills, encouraging a deeper appreciation for poetry in an engaging and structured way.

Using This Analysing Poetry Slide Deck in Your Lessons 

Here are some suggestions as to how you might use this analysing poetry presentation in your poetry lessons:

1. Introduction to Poetry Analysis – Begin by explaining the SMILE poetry analysis technique to the students using the slide deck. 
2. Guided Poetry Analysis – Work through the example analysis of the poem Night as a class, encouraging students to contribute ideas about the poem’s structure, meaning, imagery, language and effect.
3. Independent Practice – Have students work in small groups, pairs or independently to apply the SMILE technique to the poem In My Eyes. This allows students to apply what they have learned to a new text.
4. Group Discussion – Facilitate a class discussion where the students share their analysis of the poem. Discuss the similarities and differences in each group’s interpretation of the poem.

Download Analysing Poetry PowerPoint

This slide deck downloads as a Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation. Use the Download button to select your preferred file format. 

Project the resource onto your screen and work through the slides as a class for a paperless poetry lesson!

More Resources for Analysing Poetry

Teach Starter boasts a wide range of poetry resources perfect for primary school students. Click here to explore a selection from our library.

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