Kate Williams

Poems come in all shapes and sizes, and you’re free to add your own design to the pile. Children love this versatility – the fun of trying out new formats and the freedom of inventing their own. 

Here are a few style suggestions to introduce through the term, or year, generally recommended for top infants and juniors (Yrs 2-6):

Action rhymes
Rhyming couplets
Recipe poems
Haiku
Riddles
Acrostics
Spells and Wishes
Shape poems
Cinquains
Kennings

Links to examples of each are given below – poems and poem frames of mine, mostly with teaching tips. (Downloads are mostly for a small fee – below recommended lowest – but you can pick up ideas just from browsing, if that suits you better.)

Action Rhyme example (free):
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/jungle-jungle-simple-4-verse-rhyme-12233258

Rhyming couplet examples:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-seabed-rhymes-fun-rhyming-couplet-frames-ks2-11892578

Recipe example:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/recipe-for-a-sea-12153962

Haiku example (free):
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/christmas-haiku-winter-wands-12608575

Riddle example:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/what-jungle-creature-am-i-riddle-poem-frame-y3-6-11916160

Acrostic example:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/planet-acrostic-poem-frames-easier-harder-examples-12057197

Spell/wish examples:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/halloween-spooks-and-spells-12588003

Shape poem example, published in The School Magazine:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/poem-albatross-by-this-author-published-12421831

Cinquain example, published in Funny Poems for Christmas, Scholastic, 2005:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/christmas-bauble-poem-12607617

Kenning poem example – on YouTube, and published in The School Magazine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWcn_L3EMMw

More resources:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/katewilliams_poetry

(You can also find more examples of the above formats online, of course, and probably in your school poetry anthologies.)

Workshops – in school or online: 
https://poemsforfun.wordpress.com/workshops/

YouTube videos for schools: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO_w75QsEJYLsH6ickyeI0g

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Happy poetry sessions!

Kate

Kate 
Email: katewilliams.poetry@gmail.com
Twitter: @Katypoet