Inspire High School Students to Write Poetry In Three Simple Steps

Are you looking for ways to teach poetry to high school students? Many students are reluctant to write poetry – often they are intimidated by the form or simply don’t understand the purpose of poetry. Fear not! This tried and true trick will inspire even the most reluctant student to write poetry:

Poetry Inspiration Trick: Teach a Mimic Poem

A mimic poem is an easy way to guide students in creating poetry while simultaneously exposing them to beautiful or interesting poetry. Follow the three easy steps below and your students will be writing mimic poems before the end of the period!

Mimic Poem Step 1: Choose a Poem for Students to Read

Mimic Poem Step 2: Students Respond to some thought-provoking questions about the poem.

For Emily Dickinson’s poem, “I’m Nobody, Who Are You?” I have students answer the following questions:

1. Examine Dickinson’s use of capitalization. What do you notice? Why do you think she chose to capitalize “Nobody”?
2. Look at Dickinson’s use of punctuation. What type of punctuation does she use? How many periods are in the poem?
3. Which two things is Dickinson contrasting? Do you agree with her? What are the implications of what she has to say considering the oversharing that happens with social media today?

Mimic Poem Step 3: Guide students in the step-by-step process of creating their own version of the poem:

Click Below to download the FREE mimic assignment for Emily Dickinson’s “I’m Nobody, Who Are You?”

It’s that simple! You will be shocked at the creativity and originality in the poems. Plug and play this formula and you will create a classroom full of inspired poets!

Looking for a New Year’s Mimic Poem? Download this FREE assignment for “Ring Out, Wild Bells” by Alfred Lord Tennyson!

Looking for more? If you are looking for NO PREP poetry resources, look no further! Click for a Writing Poetry Packet to guide students in writing 22 different types of poetry! If you are looking for an in-depth resource, check out my 3-Week Poetry Unit in which students learn poetic devices, read many famous poems, create a portfolio of their own poetry, and take a poetry quiz.