While traditional assessments have a place in the classroom, I always look for innovative ways to assess my students’ learning. In my search, I’ve found that poetry encourages students to think deeply and analyze text. It’s also a way for them to articulate their thoughts in a manner that goes beyond traditional tests and quizzes.
When students create poetry to show what they know, they interact and engage with knowledge in a new way. This has transformed my classroom, so let’s explore some examples of how you can leverage poetry to assess learning in your middle school ELA classroom.
Getting Started
Your students don’t need to be taught an entire unit on elements of poetry and analysis before they can craft a poem on their own. They’ve learned enough about figurative language, rhyming, and basic line format in previous grades to get started. Teach a mini lesson on a poem format, throw in a quick review of the skill you want to test, and your students have everything they need to successfully complete the task.
Using poetry as an assessment tool works especially well for reading and vocabulary. I choose short poem formats and have students highlight the focus skills which make it easy for me to quickly evaluate their work. It’s important to create a rubric of skills, so students know what to expect.
Examples to Use in Your Classroom
Here are two examples you can use in your classroom tomorrow. These take little preparation and will engage and motivate your students.
ACROSTIC: Use with a reading or literature selection
Focus Skills: Theme topic (could also be used for character analysis) and vocabulary
Students select a theme topic (not statement) of the reading and choose two vocabulary words from our list. They write an acrostic poem providing evidence to support their theme choice and spell/use the vocabulary words correctly.
Example: Reading – HATCHET; theme – HOPE; vocabulary – massive, brilliantly
Holding on to memories and dreams
Overcoming massive odds
Pushed to his limits
Everything works out brilliantly for Brian in the end
From the poem, I’m able to see that the student chose an accurate theme from the novel, was able to support the choice, used the two vocabulary words correctly, and wrote an acrostic poem in correct form. It is evident the student clearly understands what a theme is and was able to demonstrate his learning. If I wanted to take the assignment one step further, I could ask him to write a second poem using the same theme as it applies to his life to get a text-to-self connection.
HAIKU: (American version)
Focus Skill: Inference
Students make inferences from text or images. They write a Haiku that expresses their inference about a specific text, paragraph, etc.
Example: Nonfiction selection – Yellow King Penguin Found on Island; Inference – King penguins can have color mutations.
Yellow King Penguins
Might not all be black and white
Some can be yellow
In this Haiku, I can determine the student made an accurate inference from the reading and followed Haiku format. This is a fun way to assess inference and provides you with student work samples to display on your classroom or virtual bulletin board.
Analyzing Poetry
Poetry is a treasure trove of literary devices. When we have our students analyze them, we can gauge students’ understanding of skills like theme, figurative language, symbolism, and other important elements of writing. I like to assign a poem and ask students to identify and explain the literary devices employed within it. For example, you could use Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” to assess their comprehension of metaphors, similes, and themes. If you are working on a specific grammar skill like sentence structures, you can have students include those in their analysis. In this way, you’re able to evaluate several learning standards in one response.
When you begin planning assessments for a new year, I hope you’ll consider poetry as a versatile and engaging tool for assessing learning in your ELA classroom. By incorporating these strategies, you can foster a deeper appreciation for language and literature while evaluating your students’ growth in language arts skills. From analyzing literary devices to crafting original poems and performing recitations, the possibilities are endless. So, let your students’ voices soar through the power of poetry and witness their growth as confident readers, writers, and thinkers.
If you want to read more about why students should be writing poetry, head over to this post and grab a free tile poetry activity!
Poetry can be a great way to assess student learning. What are some of your favorite ways to use poetry in the classroom? Let us know in the comments or join the conversation on Instagram or Facebook!
