Winter provides a whimsical and magical backdrop for exploring many forms of poetry in the classroom. With blustery winds, bright white snow, beautiful wintry landscapes, and fun snowmen, this season fosters immense inspiration for writing poetry. These elements set the stage for 5 winter poetry ideas for the classroom that will ignite creativity and engage students in meaningful writing activities.
We have compiled five winter poetry ideas for the classroom and picture books to help you use wintertime to teach poetry in the classroom. These activities and books will spark poetic expression and creativity in your students.
#1 Winter Haiku Poems
A haiku is an ancient form of Japanese poetry that centers around nature. With its effortless template and short requirements, haikus are a non-intimidating way to introduce poetry to your students. Since haikus revolve around nature, utilizing the weather and landscapes of winter is perfect for this type of poetry. Haikus follow a simple 3-line pattern, with the first and third lines having five syllables and the middle line having 7 syllables. Since it doesn’t have to rhyme, haikus are a straightforward type of poetry for students of all ages.
Winter Haiku Poetry Books
Laura Purdie Salas, author of more than 100 books of poetry and nonfiction, has the perfect haiku poetry book to inspire your students.
Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons is a picture book full of haiku poems that glean themes from nature and the four seasons, especially winter. Read this book to students to help model winter haiku poetry.
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Haiku meet riddles in this wonderful collection from Laura Purdie Salas. The poems celebrate the seasons and describe everything from an earthworm to a baseball to an apple to snow angels, alongside full-color illustrations.
Winter Haiku Poems: Classroom Ideas!
Write winter-themed ideas on slips of paper and place them in a hat. Students pick 3 ideas to help inspire them to write their own winter haikus. The themes can range from snowflakes to evergreen trees and icicles.
Snag our NEW Winter Poetry Workbook that explores 8 different types of poetry including haikus. Complete with templates, informational resources about the parts of a poem, examples of each type of poem, 10 extra poems, and poetry analysis, this workbook has everything you need to teach students to read and write winter poems.
#2 Pastoral Winter Poetry
Just like haikus are centered around nature, pastoral poems are similar. A pastoral poem is longer in length than a haiku and typically rhyme, but do not have to. Pastoral poems talk about the beauty of nature, such as landscapes, animals, fields, forests, and the peaceful beauty of country life. A pastoral poem can be about shepherd watching over their sheep, a dusting of snow, or a blustery blizzard. The beauty of nature is highlighted in a pastoral poem, making it a perfect type of poetry to teach in the winter time.
Pastoral Winter Poetry Picture Book
Owl Moon written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by John Schoenherr is a wonderful picture book all about a young girl who goes on an adventure with her father late at night in the dead of winter to spot owls. Owl Moon is an example of a narrative poem and a pastoral poem wrapped up in one. With its vivid descriptions of winter, lovely imagery, abundance of figurative language and beautifully peaceful illustrations, Owl Moon is a wonderful example of mentor text to teach pastoral poems.
Pastoral Winter Poetry Classroom Ideas!
To help students visualize wintry landscapes for their own pastoral poem, go on a brisk walk outside to gain inspiration. Another idea is to look at winter paintings. Students can choose a specific art piece to write a poem about. Check out the link below to view a virtual winter painting gallery you can show your students.
Virtual Winter Painting Gallery
Our NEW Winter Poetry Workbook explores 8 different types of poetry including pastoral poems. Complete with examples from Owl Moon and more pastoral poems to inspire students, this workbook will turn your students into true poets.
#3 Concrete Poetry
I haven’t met a student who hasn’t enjoyed writing concrete poetry. Even the most reluctant writers have fun with this type of poetry. Also known as a shape poem, concrete poetry is arranged in such a way that a poem’s lines, verses, and stanzas form a picture. This picture is what the poem is mainly about. Concrete poetry varies in length and does not have to rhyme. There are a plethora of winter ideas students can choose from to write their own concrete poems. From snowflakes to snowmen, from a winter hat to winter mittens, there is unlimited ideas for students to write winter concrete poetry.
Concrete Poetry Winter Poetry Picture Book
Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems by Bob Raczka is an amusing and delightful book of concrete poetry for children. The illustrated poems will allow students to see firsthand how creative and inventive concrete poetry can be.
Order now and start turning pages!
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Who says words need to be concrete? This collection shapes poems in surprising and delightful ways. Concrete poetry is a perennially popular poetic form because they are fun to look at. But by using the arrangement of the words on the page to convey the meaning of the poem, concrete or shape poems are also easy to write! From the author of the incredibly inventive Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word comes another clever collection that shows kids how to look at words and poetry in a whole new way.
Classroom Ideas!
Gather various winter items for students to look at and choose for their own concrete poem. With a 3-D example right in front of them, they’ll be able to describe their object in great detail for a winter concrete poem and form the shape of the poem as they write. Some items can include mittens, scarves, hockey pucks, wreathes, a stuffed polar bear, or just print out pictures of snow, icicles, and snowmen.
Help students concentrate on writing their concrete poem versus illustrating with the various concrete poem templates included in our Winter Poetry Workbook. This resource also contains winter concrete poetry examples, a step-by-step guide to create their own concrete poem, and a list of shape ideas as well.
Grab yours today!
#4 Winter Poetry: Cinquain Poem
Much like a haiku, a cinquain is short and follows a simple pattern. With five lines with a certain number of syllables or words, a cinquain is a straightforward type of poetry. It is normally centered around a single idea, image, or object.
Cinquain Poem Picture Book
A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Chris Raschka is a fun book that introduces students to various types of poetry, including cinquains. With engaging illustrations and clear-cut examples, this book helps teach poetry in an interesting and accessible way.
Why wait? Grab your copy today!
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Readers will have the good fortune to experience poetry as art, game, joke, list, song, story, statement, question, memory. A primer like no other.” School Library Journal (starred review) In this splendid and playful volume, second of a trilogy, an acclaimed creative team presents examples of twenty-nine poetic forms, demonstrating not only the (sometimes bendable) rules of poetry, but also the spirit that brings these forms to life. Featuring poems from the likes of Eleanor Farjeon (aubade), X. J. Kennedy (elegy), Ogden Nash (couplet), Liz Rosenberg (pantoum), and William Shakespeare, the sonnet king himself, A Kick in the Head perfectly illustrates Robert Frost’s maxim that poetry without rules is like a tennis match without a net.
Winter Poems: Classroom Ideas!
Collaborate and create whole-class cinquain poems together for students to refer back to. Students can give cinquain topics and then work together crafting ideas to fill the various lines of a cinquain poem.
In our Winter Poetry Workbook, cinquain templates and examples are provided.
#5 Winter Poetry: Free Verse Poems
One of my favorite types of poetry to read and teach is that of the free-verse variety. With limited rules, creativity and imagination know no bounds. A free verse poem does not have to rhyme or have a set number of lines. It can be about anything and can be as unique as possible. This type of poetry allows students the freedom and flexibility to stretch their poetry-writing muscles.
Free Verse Winter Poetry Picture Book
A fantastic free-verse poetry book for children with a fitting winter theme is Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman and Illustrated by Rick Allen. I love how this book is cross-curricular, combining the beauty of the written word within poetry, with the science of animals and their habits in the wintertime.
Transform your classroom bookshelf, grab today!
Publisher’s Synopsis:
In this outstanding picture book collection of poems by Newbery Honor-winning poet, Joyce Sidman (Song of the Water Boatman, Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night), discover how animals stay alive in the wintertime and learn about their secret lives happening under the snow. Paired with stunning linoleum print illustrations by Rick Allen, that celebrate nature’s beauty and power.
Winter Poems: Classroom Ideas!
Once students write their winter free-verse poem, give them some watercolor sets and have them illustrate their poetry. Allow them to be artistically creative and free just as they were when writing a free verse poem.
Students can display their poems and artwork with our Winter Writing Bulletin Board Set.
Also, grab our Winter Poetry Workbook, complete with various winter free verse poems by Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Our workbook also contains information about free-verse poems and a beautiful paper to publish their free-verse poem.
Winter Poetry Workbook
Looking for your students to not only learn how to write various poetry, but to read it as well? This workbook does just that. Utilize the workbook as an independent activity, a writing center, or as whole-class collaborative language arts lessons.
It contains:
- All About A Poem Details (Includes stanza, lines, meter, rhythm, and rhyme scheme.)
- Figurative Language a Poet Uses (Simile, Metaphor, Hyperbole, Alliteration, Onomatopoeia, and Personification.)
- Concrete Winter Poem Writing & Poem Templates
- Bio Poem Writing
- Winter Haiku Writing
- Pastoral Poem Writing
- Imagist Poem Writing
- Structured (Diamante) Poem Writing
- Cinquain Poem Writing
- Free Verse Poem Writing
- Tattle Analysis Sheets/TATTLE Poster
Your students will glean inspiration from the beauty of winter to become wonderful writers in this engaging workbook.
Conclusion:
Winter is the perfect season to spark writing ingenuity and creativity in your students. With these ideas, poetry picture books, and our Winter Poetry Workbook, your students will be engaged in writing and exploring poetry, and will also see the beauty of nature and how the winter season can deeply inspire their writing. Dive into the magic of winter poetry with your students and watch their writing skills become a flurry of creativity!
Author of Blog
Want even more? Ready to transform your classroom into a Poetry Powerhouse? Discover 9 creative ways to make your students LOVE poetry. Dive in and spark some poetic magic today!”
Poetry doesn’t have to feel dull during those long, dreary winter months. Say hello to the Poetry Madness Challenge! Think drama, passion, and just the right amount of chaos, all tied together with clever words. Curious? Head over to the blog now and grab your FREE Poetry Madness Challenge Brackets!
