Teach the Different Forms of Poetry

When it comes to teaching poetry forms to your students, there are so many options!

Introduce your students to the many different forms of poetry with this engaging and comprehensive slide deck. Our teacher team designed this detailed teaching resource to help students explore and understand eight of the most popular and well-known forms of poetry. By engaging with this resource, students will learn about the purpose, structure and rhyming patterns of each type of poem. An annotated example to illustrate key features is also included for each form of poetry.

The forms of poetry explored in this presentation are:

• Acrostic
• Kennings
• Haiku
• Cinquain
• Shape Poem
• Ode
• Limerick
• Ballad

Ideas for Exploring Forms of Poetry

This slide deck is an excellent starting point for teaching your students about the purpose, structural elements and language features of eight different forms of poetry. Due to the amount of information in the presentation, we recommend covering the content over several lessons.

Looking for some suggestions as to how you might use this slide deck in your classroom? Here are a few thoughts from our experienced teacher team:

• Whole-Class Instruction – Use this resource to introduce students to the variety of poetic forms through direct instruction. Project the slides and discuss each form as a class, encouraging students to ask questions and share their thoughts.
• Small Group or Independent Work – Assign specific slides for small groups to study in detail and then present their findings to the class. This promotes collaboration and deeper exploration of each form.
• Creative Writing Prompts – After reviewing each form, encourage students to create their own poems using the structures provided. This hands-on practice reinforces learning and allows students to experiment with different poetic styles.

This poetry presentation is an ideal tool for introducing students to the various different forms of poetry. It provides a solid foundation for students to appreciate and create different forms of poetry with confidence.

Download This Forms of Poetry PowerPoint

This slide deck downloads as either a Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation. Use the dropdown menu on the Download button to access your preferred version. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides presentation before accessing it.)

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

Browse More Poetry Writing Resources

Click below to browse more resources to use when teaching forms of poetry to your students.

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Write a Diamante Poem Worksheet

Set your students up for success when writing a diamante poem with this set of scaffolded, easy-to-follow worksheets.

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Types of Poetry Posters with Annotations

Use this set of 9 annotated posters when introducing structured forms of poetry to your students.

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Write a Ballad Worksheet

Set your students up for success when writing a ballad with this set of scaffolded, easy-to-follow worksheets.