Magnetic Poetry Words: A Successful Tool for Teaching Teens to Write Poetry

One thing I love doing more than most anything is teaching high school students creative writing. I can not describe the joy it brings me to hear how their minds think and how they create. I love to watch their eyes light up as they see the words they've written, and the confidence they acquire once they realize they can be writers.

It may seem harsh, but all students in my creative writing classes are required to participate. They are also required to read what they've written before their peers -- believe me I know it's difficult to read what you've written, but they can do it! By the end of classes, the students are reading with confidence.

I typically teach flash fiction and use writing prompts in my classes. I've always wanted to teach poetry, but the boys (more often than the girls) complain and moan about writing poetry. Since I want to keep the students engaged, I've been skipping the poetry lesson -- until now.

Recently, I started playing with the magnetic poetry set my husband bought me for my birthday. I've had it for years locked in it's original bottle. I guess I was a little leery to open it, but I am so glad I did. I enjoyed using it so much that I started writing a lot of poetry with those words.

At first I found it difficult, but with time I realized that the beauty of the exercise was not just in the finished poem, but the journey it took to get there. Writing this way takes a little longer, but it is well-worth it. (By the way, you still have to edit.)

I decided before my first creative writing class of this semester, that for the very first class I was teaching poetry. I printed out several pages of words. (I created one and used a pre-made printable word list.) And, my daughters and I cut them out and placed them in Ziploc baggies.

I took the words to class and the students used them. There were no complaints, and two students even asked to take a bag of words home (both boys!) One of my students wrote three poems in class, and a couple of students decided they would use the words to write some flash fiction, too. All in all the exercise was real success.

I have an old set of words which still work great, but I've found a couple of magnetic poetry sets that I want to get in the future. The first is the Edgar Allan Poet Kit -- which looks like it would be a lot of fun, and really useful for teaching teens. It is a "box of words filled with mystery and fear."

I think using this with a lesson on Poe's poetry like the Raven. Would be awesome!

Another poetry set that I have on my wish list is the Nature Poet Magnetic Poetry Kit. I enjoy writing a lot of nature poetry, and like I said I have really grown to love these kits.

These sets are also good idea generators. Sometimes I see a word that I've not considered for a subject, and the words just flow. If you haven't used them in the past, I hope you consider giving them a try!



Bare Feet

Encompassed in trees
here I stand
breathing the beauty
of this wooded land.

At peace with myself,
I stand free to dream.
So slipping off shoes,
I run through the green.

My burdened soul’s uplifted
in the pale morn light,
a new day has broken,
gone is the night.

My tightly tethered heart
has grown white silken wings
and flies through the sky
up where the jay sings

(c) Susan Elliott


Have you ever used a magnetic poetry kit?

Golden Nuggets for the Poet: Writing Poetry That Sells

(c) Susan Elliott

Writing good poetry is more than expressing emotion. Good poetry must contain certain elements of style, and must be cohesive. These are absolute musts for anyone who wants to sell poetry.

Some common mistakes include: forced rhymes, mixed metaphors, non-directional, unnecessary repetition, bad meter and random wording.

Example of BAD poetry:

She stood upon the cold, cold ground

She stood and looked all around

She saw the snow, and ice, abound

She felt that on the ice she would go down.


This example shows forced rhyme, especially in the last line, as well as a loss in rhythm (or meter).
While a change in meter can be appropriate at times, the above example is obviously in need of improvement.

The repetition of the word "she" and starting each sentence with the idea that she did something does not work in this example.

There are some forms of poetry where repetition is desired, but remember this repetition is not necessary in every form of poetry.


Ways to re-write the example poem:

Re-write the beginning line.

Original line 1: She stood upon the cold, cold ground
Revised line 1: Standing upon the cold, cold ground

Or use the original line and re-write the second.

Original line 1:She stood upon the cold, cold, ground
Revised line 2: Timidly looking all around

Notice the use of the "ly" and "ing" endings. This helps the poem to move forward at a faster pace, and it cuts out the repetitive boring nature of the first poem.

So, now we have:

Option 1

She stood upon the cold, cold ground
Timidly looking all around

Option 2

Standing upon the cold, cold ground
Timidly looking all around

Notice the difference in the flow of the poem when compared to the original version.

Consider the forced rhyme in the last stanza. This is a common mistake.

Notice the last line:

Original last line: She felt that on the ice she would go down.

This line is like nails on a chalkboard. It has sloppy wording, and bad meter.

Options: remove part of the line, re-write the entire line, or remove the last line entirely.

Now, contrast the original with the rewritten version.

Original:

She stood upon the cold, cold ground
She stood and looked all around
She saw the snow, and ice, abound
She felt that on the ice she would go down.

Revised (Still Not Perfect, but BETTER):

Standing upon the cold, cold ground
Timidly looking all around
She saw the snow, and ice, abound.

Things to Remember:

1. Don't force rhyme or meter.
2. Repetition can be good, but is not always necessary.
3. Poetry does NOT have to rhyme, but it does have to flow well, written and spoken word poetry both.
4. Don't be afraid to cut the poem down. Revision always helps to polish your work.
5. Try to keep metaphors, and similes related, or extend your metaphor for the entire work. Remember poems, are generally short works that don't work well with too many unrelated similes or metaphors.
6. Don't use "raw" or unrefined emotion in the poem. Often times "raw" emotions only make sense to the person writing the poem.
7. Always read your poem aloud, to yourself first, and then to another. This will help determine if your work has good flow.
8. Don't be afraid to ask for critiques. Critiques are beneficial to all styles of writing.
9. Sometimes after writing a poem, it is important to set it aside for a while, especially when dealing with an extremely personal topic.
10. Have fun, and write as often as you can!


Why not give poetry writing a try? 

Don't forget to check out the poets Susan Elliott, and Teresa Hampton.