Poetry Ideas for Teens Who Hate It

Ever since my kids were young, whenever I mentioned poetry, I was met with moans and groans. As they got older, it didn’t get any better. Whether it was writing a haiku, an acrostic, or a limerick, nothing seemed to spark much interest. Sure, we read our share of Shel Silverstein that produced some giggles back in the day, but when it came to writing their own, they would choose a math assignment instead. They didn’t get that from me, because I love things where there are really no wrong answers! So, I had to come up with some poetry ideas for teens who hate it.

Perhaps hate is a strong word. Maybe poetry is one of those things that a person either likes, or they just don’t. When I started searching for activities, “Poetry Teatime” seemed to be the thing to do in many homeschool circles. I knew that wouldn’t be my highschooler’s “cup of tea” – we missed that opportunity years ago! However, I found many things to try and most were a hit with teens who hate poetry – or at least a lot less painful for them (and you)!

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Artsy Poetry Ideas

Anytime you can combine art with another subject, it just brings it to life! Art and poetry share that common goal of expressing emotions, ideas, and experiences, just through different mediums.

• Paint Chip Poetry – grab a handful of paint chip cards from your local hardware store, and create poetry with the words on the card! You can arrange the chips so the paint names make sort of a poetic sense. Another idea is to write tiny poems on the cards that relate to the color or name or anything at all, really. There are no strict rules, just allow creativity to flow freely. You can use one paint chip card, or cut them up to mix and match them. You will find the names of the paint chips are quite poetic in themselves: Pensive Skies, Laughing Taffy, and Windswept Cliff are just a few of the names that are on the cards I chose.
• Tree Ring Poetry – sketch tree rings with the same number of rings as your age. Write a single line describing milestones, memories, or experiences that happened in each year of your life. You may need to get out the photo albums, but it would be quite a treasure when complete!
• Black Out Poetry – the words are already in the magazine, old book, or newspaper – you just have to find them! Find the words by skimming the page for words or phrases that catch your attention. Next, lightly circle or box those words and mark out the unwanted words. A quick Google search will produce tons of examples!
• Magazine Poetry -the idea comes from those fun magnetic word tiles. You can inexpensively do it yourself by cutting words from magazines and glue to paper to create poetry. This idea could be accomplished by setting up a creation station complete with cut-out words, glue sticks, and cardstock in the corner of the room. Let creativity run wild!
  

Poetry Games

• Rhyme Time – is a fun game that involves nothing but a piece of paper, pen, and your family. After reviewing different rhyming patterns, start the first two lines of a poem with the rhyming pattern of your choosing. Pass the paper to the next person, and let them add their two lines, then the next person adds two lines, and so forth. If you have a whiteboard or chalkboard, it could be a fun activity to do throughout the day, and read it all together as a poem for dinner entertainment!
• Paint Chip Poetry – like the above idea, but in the form of a board game. Plus, it comes with 400 paint chip cards, which is many more than one can reasonably swipe from the home improvement store!
• Poetry for Neanderthals – we have this game and it is so much fun! Channel your inner cavemen and earn points by using one syllable words for teammates to guess the words and phrases. Mess up, and get bonked with an inflatable No Stick! The game is literally a hit!
• Writing Dice – I have the art version of these. There are multiple ways to play, both individually as well as as a group. The dice will also work well with any kind of creative writing.
• I’m a Poet – From the box….”Tis a bonkers good time filled with riddles and rhyme”! Sounds like a good game to me!

Poetry Books

Something that helps me before reading the work of a poet is reading their short biography. It makes me feel like I know them in some kind of way, and I am able to appreciate and understand their style much better. I highly recommend Lives of the Writers. It contains short snippets full of facts, humor, sadness, with an added measure of what may sound like juicy gossip. These are perfect get-to-know the writer books!

• Where the Sidewalk Ends – Our first introduction to poetry. I know this post is targeted for teens and tweens, but this collection belongs on everyone’s bookshelf – it just does.
• Poetry for Kids: Robert Frost – A collection of his best-loved work includes 35 poems specially chosen for children ages 10+.
• Poetry for Kids: William Shakespeare – Introduces children to the Bard and more than thirty of his most famous and accessible verses, sonnets, and speeches.
• Also in the series are Emily Dickenson, Carl Sandburg, and others. You may also want to check out a few from Poetry for Young People – Edgar Allen Poe, Langston Hughes, and more.
• A few years ago, I purchased the Kindle version, but wish I would have gotten the hardback of 150 Most Famous Poems. It truly is an incredible collection.
• Poetry Comics – This comic book-style poetry caught my eye. It looks fun for poetry lovers as well as reluctant readers.
• if your teens are interested in something more modern, Leave This Song Behind is a collection of poems written by teens, for teens.
  

More Poetry Ideas

• Have you ever heard of a Zip Ode? A zip ode is a five-line poem about your zip code. Write the numbers of your zip code down the left-hand side of the page. Each number determines the number of words in that line. Got a zero? No worries! Use it as a wild card.
• Bible verses, hymns, and song lyrics are great places to become inspired by great poetry! To me, the best bible poetry can be found right in the middle: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. For full poetic effect, as well as highest overall accuracy, you will want to use the King James Bible.
• Do you have a lot of books? Book Spine Poetry is fun to try by stacking books to create a poem – each title becomes a line in the poem!
• Grab a few twigs and string up your poems to hang on a “Poe”Tree! It makes a perfect table centerpiece, and your kids will love to see their work creatively displayed.
• While enjoying the lovely centerpiece, why not have an onomatopoeia luncheon! Make a menu of noisy foods such as potato chips, celery, fried chicken, crackers, and even bubblegum for a noisy lunch!

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.

Robert Frost