Most students have been writing basic rhyme poems since early elementary school; this lesson allows them to explore rhyme more in-depth by reading and writing poetry.

It is all about sound. This poetry lesson on rhyming poems allows students to be creative with words and rhyming. Rhyme poems have a pattern or a rhyme scheme that can be any pattern that the student chooses.

Preparation for the Poetry Lesson on Rhyme Poems

• Collect poetry books to share with the students that showcase rhyme patterns. Two great books to use with this lesson are A Kick in Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms [Ala Notable Children's Books. Middle Readers, 2005] by Paul B. Janeczko (Compiler), Chris Rashaka (Illustrator) and Poetry and Humanity [Royal Fireworks Press] by Michael Clay Thompson. Thompson's book is for the advanced poetry writer.
• Choose what poetic techniques to emphasize, if any at all. It is fun to include alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, personification and/or hyperbole in rhyming poems.
• Design a rubric. Grading poetry can be somewhat subjective, so decide on the criteria and the level of quality the students need to reach to be successful in this lesson.
• Create a handout for the students that explains rhyme and gives directions for writing rhyme poems with examples on it.

Example Items for a Handout on Rhyme Poems

Rhyme Poetry Vocabulary

Rhyme -- identical sounds at the endings of words

• dock and rock

Near Rhymeor slant rhyme -- is a rhyme that is close

• place and daze

Eye-rhyme or sight rhyme -- They are rhymes that look alike but do not sound alike; they rhyme to the eye, not to the ear

• through and tough

Masculine Rhyme -- one-syllable rhyme

• dip and rip

Feminine Rhyme -- two-syllable rhyme

• muddle and puddle

Internal Rhyme-- rhyme inside a lines of a poem or a word inside a line that that rhymes with a word at the end of a line

• As she spoke the child began to choke

End Rhyme-- rhyme at the ends of lines of poetry

• Time frozen on a face
• Dreams drift to a place

Rhyme Scheme or rhyme pattern -- using letters to show the arrangement or pattern of rhyme

Rhyme Scheme of example poem Summer Breeze: aa bb

Summer Breeze

Flowers bloom in sultry air A

Blue skies wash away the glare A

The breeze flutters, leaves dance B

A cardinal flies and kittens prance B

Types of Poems and Their Rhyme Schemes

• limerick: a abb a
• sonnet (English): abab cdcd efef gg
• sonnet (Italian): abbaabba cdecde
• septet: ab abb cc

Teaching the Rhyme Poem Lesson

1. Share three-to-five great examples of rhyme poems. Read them with enthusiasm to the class from the books or from an overhead. Point out the rhyme scheme in each poem. Leave the poetry books in a central location for students to peruse later.

2. Give students the handout on rhyme poems.

3. Discuss rhyme vocabulary with good examples from poetry books.

4. Middle school students easily can create six-line poems with a planned rhyme scheme. For the more advanced writers, ask students to write a limerick, sonnet, or septet. If the students understand stressed and unstressed syllables, the teacher can explain the importance of this in the limericks, sonnets and septets as well.

5. Before students begin writing the rhyme poem, suggest topics for the poetry. It is easier for students to write poetry about something in which they have an interest.

5. Give time for students to start a draft of a poem in class. Walk around and make suggestions.

6. Assign students to illustrate the rhyme poem for homework.

Other relevant articles: Poetry Project with a Theme

Concrete Poem Lesson & Syllable Count Poem Lesson