Thursday, November 29, 2012

What Makes a Good Poem?

Today we will ask the experts.  Students in Reading Workshop, what makes a good poem?  Or, what makes a poem good?  As you looked through poetry books the last two days, what did the best poems have in common?

When you looked through a book, what made you want to keep reading it?  What made you want to put a book back and try another one?  What made the difference between a book that grabbed your attention and gained your interest from a book that bored you?



Image from http://www.dailywaffle.co.uk/2012/09/my-five-favourite-pieces-of-poetry/poetry/

54 comments:

Gabrielle said...

I think a good poem has to be exciting. It has to have some stuff that will pop out at you. I don't mean literary. But you know, draw you in to it. That's what I think a good poem is. And its hard to do that. That's why I think a exciting poem is a good poem. Some can be like a story. Some can be in actual poem from. Well there's my opinion about a good poem. See ya!

Brittany said...

To me I had to put my first book back because I didn't think it was good.

Poetry pulls me in when the poems doesn't rhyme. Like my third book I like it because it doesn't rhyme. I don't know why I don't like rhyming books I guess I just don't.

Kelly said...

A poem that is good is one that captures my attention. Like there's hands reaching out of the book and shaking me saying "Hey you, Yes I mean you, you should read this poem." So when a poem captures my attention
you know that I'm going to love that poem.

Connor W said...

The first book I got I didn't want to put it back. It was good and the reason it was good was because it had rhymes in ever line. The I put back some books is because they didn't really have that many rhymes. I put them back because I like poetry with rhymes.

Adriana Campbell said...

I like some poetry because some are funny and some can be like you. Like the one that I am reading name Wham It's A Poetry Jam and the poem name is Angry it relate to me when I get mad and it is on page 31.

Brianna said...

Good poems to me are the one that sound real,and the ones that we live around.I put some books back, and got another one because some of the poem didn't sound real, I got another one to see if I like that kind of poems.The book that got my attention sounded real and really good,The ones that bored me didn't sound real, or good to me.

Joshwah V. said...

All the poems I read made me want keep reading because, they were interesting and I never knew what was coming next. Here's a stanza I liked. It's from " If I Were On Top of The World". " If I were on top of the world I'd cancel oatmeal, Monday mornings, Allergy shots, and also Sara Steinberg".

Mason said...

What makes a good poem is your interest on what you like or what catches your eye. What the books we have read in Mr.Mcguire's class have some things in common.

They all have someone's point in interest. Well when I seen Which Way to the Dragon it caught my eye and I said to myself I love dragons and that is why I picked this book.

Sam A. said...

I think what makes a poem good is the rhyming. Because some of the poems that I read do not have any rhyming in it. It just does not make any sense. The book that i'm reading is called Celebrations Which has a lot of rhyming. What made me keep reading it? What made me keep reading was all the detail in the book. All the drawings and color in it. Its the stuff in the book that makes you want to keep reading. What was the difference from the other book that made me read more? Because this book has rhyming and other things that I like in it.

Hailey said...

What makes a poem good? I think when you can relate to the poem that you are reading it is a good poem for you, also if the poem is dragging you in that also makes it a good poem.

An example of a book that I can relate to that drags me in is My Parents Think I'm Sleeping. There is a lot of poems in that book especially I'm awake I'm awake. I think everyone should try to read some of this book.

If I ever read poetry I want it to drag me in as soon as I start reading it, but I also want it to be a poem that I can relate to. If I get a book of poetry and it is really boring and it's not something that I can relate to I would probably put the book back.

Some books are boring so I put them back, but then a get a book that is exciting but yet something I can relate to and it has to drag me into the book. I think it is important for a book to drag you in on the first page!

Sydney said...

What makes a good poem? A good poem takes hard work, entertainment, and details. To make a good poem you just got to start writing a story in paragraphs and make it sound like a poem. A good poem is real. It is suppose to be a good little story kinda. A good book with good poems is Poetry For Young People by: Carl Sandburg.

Gracie said...

I am reading the book Sometimes I Wonder If Poodles Like Noodles. I picked this book because it is really funny and i like funny poems because I normally don't like poems unless their funny.

This book is about a girl who writes poems about everything and has really cool dreams and I always wonder if you could do that in real life.

Holden E. said...

For me, what makes a good poem, is a funny poem. Now, I like other poems too. But, funny things really seems to catch my eye.

An example of this is one of the poetry books I've read, called, Scranimals. Weird name right? Anyways. I like this poem book because the author took reagulat animals. . .and. . .well, turned them into food. For example. Thee HIPPOPATAMUSHROOMS. Or the PORCUPINEAPPLE. Can you understand what I'm getting at?

It's just so weird. But, yeh. That's what I think makes a good poem. When the author does something so weird, it makes you laugh and continue reading the poem.

Wait? Did I say something nice about poetry?

Kylie said...

I am reading the book Seeing The Blue Between by Paul B. Janeczko.
The reason I like this book is because I like poetry that is odd and funny.

This book is made up of all kinds of poetry,[odd,funny,reasonable and about life],but my favorite poem in this book is "I'd Mark with the Sunshine" because it talks about what pen this person would write in and why she would write with the pen.

The poetry that bores me is poems about things that happen when you get older because it makes no sense to me.

I got so into this book that I did not get another poem book, that is how much I liked this poem.

Emily said...

What I think is a good poem is one that has rhyme and character to it like the poem Balloon by Colleen Thibaudeau in the book A Poke in the I.
The best poems to me have rhyme (like I said)and a bit of a laugh with it.
but if I had to pick out my favorite poem it would be Giraffe by Maureen W. Armour in a book called (again) A Poke in the I. It's my favorite because it makes sense to me and I for one love Giraffes.
This book got my attention because it's a REALLY bright red and because in second grade we read this book and it's my favorite poem book ever!

Luke said...

What makes a good poem? A good poem is when the poem is funny and actually tells a story. To have a good poem you have to basically just write a story that rhymes.Like one story in the book called Running Late it tells a story about being late for the school bus but it was also funny because he couldn't be late because he was the driver. Then one called Chocolate Milk it was about a class with all of the kids had something wrong with their face like one had a zit and one had chocolate milk and all kinds of crazy things and how their moms were gonna be mad because it was picture day. A good poem book with funny and poems that tells a story is When A Teacher Isn't Looking And Other Funny School Poems by Kenn Nesbitt illustrated by Mike Gordan.

Tristen said...

I think what makes a good poem is funny poems. I don't like slow boring poems that make me yawn.

The book I'v been reading is SOMEBODY CATCH MY HOMEWORK by David L. Harrison. These poems are out of this book are funny because you read and it doesn't make scenes until one word hits you and it's hilarious.

Ryan said...

Good poems to me are the ones that sound like real poems. I picked the book Put Your Eyes Up Here And Other School Poems by Kalli Dakos. I picked this book because it has funny poems and funny poems are my favorite kind of poems.

I myself think that when you can make a poem relate to you that is a good thing because then you might want to start reading more poems.

But what makes a good poem? I think what makes a good poem is hard work.

Brandon W. said...

My book is about Class Clown by Nikki Grimes. This book attracts me by the illustrations and when I open the book the writing keeps from getting other book.
The book is about a girl named Danitra Brown a girl that is going though with troubles but their is aways hope when Danitra there. If you keep reading the book you will learn a life lesson of what this girl is going though.

Maddie said...

To me a good poem is something that stands out to me.I am reading A Year Full Of Poems and the poem that I am reading is August By: John Updike.

This is a really good poem because it does stand out to me and august is the month that I was born. My favorite stanza in this poem is "The sprinkler twirls. The summer wanes. The pavement wears. Popsicle stains.
I would recommend this book to all of my friends because it talks about every month in the year and it just stands out.

Megan said...

I think that a good poem needs to have feeling. Like if a person is mad why would they write a poem about being happy? I love it when they express their true feelings, and you can definitely tell!

My favourite type of poems are poems that rhyme, because I feel like anyone could write sentences and call it poetry.

A good example of my kind of poetry is in the books; By Definition by Sara Holbrook and The New Kid On The Block by Jack Prelutsky.

In the book By Definition a poem that I like is called Adrenaline I really like it because it is set up like a conversation here is one line of it;

You should have arrived
sometime next week

You blew my cool
You made me freak

You see what I mean, I can picture that in my mind and I really like how it is set up like that too.

Poetry comes in all shapes and sizes and I have mixed feelings about it, but sometimes, even I will come across a great poem that really pulls you in.

ElizabethC5555 said...

What makes a poem good? What makes me look at a poem and say wow? When I look at a poem I look for things being compared. I think that when you read a poem and things are being compared you want to keep reading it, so you can see what will be compared next!

Do you want to read some very good poems and poems that are being compare? If you do then read the book Soft Hay Will Catch You. A lot of different people wrote these poems. My favorite poem in this book is The Secrets. In this poem it compares stuff like, People are forest with many hidden glories. The reason I like when things are being compared to other things is because its easier to like the poem, or its easier to relate to it.

Sarah said...

What makes a good poem? To me a good poem is funny and they have picture that are colorful. They are also entertaining.

A book I'm reading called The Bug in Teacher's Coffee has poems that are funny, has pictures that are colorful, and entertaining. There's this poem called Gym. The poem it's self didn't get me to read it. When I saw the picture that got me to read it. The picture is of a basketball hoop and people are throwing basketballs at it. While the basket is getting balls thrown at it the hoop is saying the poem.

Loganw8 said...

What makes a poem good? I think that the best way to relate to a poem is having it rhyme because I always read poems that rhyme.

The book I chose to do this on is Good Rhymes,Good Times because it rhymes in every poem and that is what made me keep reading it.

The next book I tried was A Rumpus Of Rhymes and what made me want to put it back was because the poems to me weren't that good like the book before.

Then I went back to reading Good Rhymes,Good Times because I wanted to finish the book because every time I read a poem I just wanted to read the next poem and when I did I wanted to read it again. I must have read the book 3 times

The poem in the book that really hooked me is a poem called Good Books,Good Times and I'm gonna share it with you.
Good books.
Good times.
Good stories.
Good rhymes.
Good beginnings.
Good ends.
Good people.
Good friends.
Good fiction.
Good facts.
Good adventures.
Good acts.
Good stories.
Good Rhymes.
Good books.
Good times.

That's what makes me want to read this book.

Chloe said...

What makes a good poem? To me for a good poem I think it should rhyme. Just because it gives the poem a personality. It also makes the poem catchy. That's also what makes me want to keep reading on. Plus it should have a funny or cool picture to go along with the theme. If it has a good picture then it might catch someones eye. Make them think hey that looks interesting. Sometimes the picture even tells you what the poem is gonna be about. So then the poem could pull a reader in.

The book that I read was called It's Halloween. It has catchy , rhyming poems and great pictures. Which pulled me in right away. It tells Halloween traditions. Like trick-or-treating , monsters , black cats , haunted houses and many more spooky things. My favorite poem was Happy Halloween because it reminds me of how trick-or-treating was for me. It brings back good memories from the past years I've gone trick-or-treating. So that's what I think a good poem is or should be.

Heath said...

What makes a good poem for me is that it has to be really funny. It also has to make sense.What I mean by make sense it can`t have made up words or when they put words together

A book I`m reading is The New Kid On The Block it is really funny especially the poem Miraculous Mortimer it`s about a master magician who cuts his assistant in two. Then it says he can`t recall how to reverse the condition. After that it says does anyone one have any glue?

I think that poem is really funny because the magician does not know how to put her back into being one whole person again.What also makes it funny is the picture because the guy is looking with a saw in his looking at the crowd ( actually their is no crowd but you assume there is ) with a saw in his hand and it looks like he`s saying " Now how do I get her back together."

Sarah said...

Yesterday I was reading An Angel for Solomon Singer by: Cynthia Rylant. I figured out that poetry wasn't as bad as I thought.

I think that I kept it in my hands because I could sort of relate to it because it's about this man named Solomon that wishes he could move back to Indiana where he grew up. He wanted to move back because he wanted to move to New York to see if it was what he really wanted. But it turned not to be. So one night he goes to a cafe called Westway Cafe, and that's where all of his dreams came true.

He made new friends there at the Westway Cafe. But the one thing that really made him happy was that he felt at home, and that's all he wanted. I think we related in the way that we both have dreams and want them to be achieved. I think all of us have goals. If you like poems that you can relate to you should read this book!

Kelsey said...

What I like about a poem is when I can relate with it. I read a poem book called A Fifth Poetry Book and found a poem called Four o'clock Friday written by Derek Stuart. It is about a boy who goes to school and kids make fun of him every single day and finely its four o'clock on Friday and he is excited because he doesn't have to deal with bullies anymore for two whole days.

Whitney D. said...

I think a good, fun poem is interesting. Like the book Walking on the Boundaries of Change by Sara Holbrook. I like all the poems in that book and they are fun to read. My favorite would have to be Lies. it's about telling lies. I really like that poem. I could read it over and over again. That's what I Think a good poem is.

Payton said...

Poetry is fun to read. It is all about the way you read it. You can't read it like a story because then it wouldn't make sense. You have to read it slowly where you can understand it better. I am reading The New Kid On The Block . My favorite poem in this book is No I won't Turn Orange.
That is my favorite poem because it is nice and easy to understand and it is really funny.

Mackenzie said...

The poem that I read was It's Halloween. It is a really good poem. I like poems that are funny happy and scary but my favorite type of poem is a scary poem. But the poem that I read was not scary. The poem is called Black Cat. A cat as black As a blackest coal. Is out upon His midnight stroll. His steps are soft, His walk is slow, His eyes are gold, They flash and glow, And so I run And so I duck, I do not need His black-cat luck. I like all the poems but this one is my favorite poem. The anther is Jack Prelutsky and the pictures are by Marylin Hafner.

Makaila said...

My book is Sometimes I Wonder if Poodles Like Noodles it is a really good poem book. It is written by Laura Numeroff. It is funny and riming. I think poodles do like noodles but I really don't think that lions use irons or they will burn their self. But that is the funny part about it. Also I think lots of people should read it.

taneshia said...

Danitra Brown Leaves Town
This book is by: Nikki Grimes and illustrated by:Floyd cooper. How do I know when a poem or book is right for me. I know because I read the back of a poetry (book). I really like the poem called First Night. It was funny, sad at the beginning of the poem Danitra wrote to Zuri. saying I wish that you were here.I camped out my first night in my aunt's backyard sleeping was hard with all the sparkling beauty hanging overhead. Night-lights, Zuri, everywhere! Clusters of fireflies dancing around my head, keeping me from bed for hours.

Brittany M. said...

A poem is good when you can relate to the poem. Its also good when you thank it is funny. When I look through a book what makes me want to keep reading? The action in the poem Turning Off The Faucet. I say there is a lot of action in this poem because the boy or girl that is in the poem goes through a lot by having to turn of the faucet.

Hannah said...

Poetry is about rhythm and rhymes and feelings to me like...
You oughta meet Danitra Brown
You oughta meet Danitra brown the most splendorous girl in town. I oughta know cause she's my friend.

She's not afraid to take a dare.
If something's hard she doesn't care. She will try her best no matter what.

She doesn't mind what people say. She always does things her own way. Her spirits old my mom once said.

I only know I like her best cause she sticks out like all the rest.
she's only she-Danitra Brown

I like this poem cause it is sweet and simple and strait to the point of who she is!

Cierra C. said...

I think that a poem that is fun and something that the reader can relate to. Something that is new and not known by meany people. The poems that I don't like are the ones that have things that are about school. Some of the ones that are funny to me is because they are unlikely to happen. Like Shel Silverstens poem what to do when A Twenty-four Foot Python Says I Love You from the book A Light in the Attic .

Carly said...

What makes a poem good is when it would rhyme. If a poem rhymes and has a few pictures someone may catch on to it.
The poem i'm reading is Put Your Eyes Up Here.The poem I like is Not A Single Sound.The reason I like it is because, I'm a little like that poem I don't talk at all and because I like to be in quiet places.7

Mac said...

What makes a poem good is? A poem sometimes can be good. I think the things that can make a poem good are the writing the rhyming and the things they write about....... I think the things that make poetry are really interesting because they say some of the most craziest weird things..... So I think poetry made be expressed by all different kinds of ways............ I love how the poems have feeling...... Like some poems are sad some are happy some are depressing........ Some are mad some are cheerful....... I mean I can name so many more But there is to many to name...... I think that short makes poems good because there are short chapters when you end the chapter it will leave you wanting more...... When people read poetry it makes people say to there self is this book some how connected to my life..... Are we like the same.... Or can I relate to this book...... But then you say I have no idea I guess not..... But you are every one is connected to a book in there own way..... But they just don't think about it.... I am reading a poetry book called Scranimals.The author is Jack Prelutsky The pictures are by Peter Sis. It is such a good poetry book.. I love how they have pictures in it so they can't only express their feeling words they can also express their feeling in pictures too. I really like how poetry has the stanzas. I love how they write poetry it make it look so cool. I also like how poetry has no boundaries like you have no rules. It is the only time you can make your own rules.

kamim5555 said...

I think what makes a poem good are the things that make it fun to read. I also think that a good poem book is better when it rhymes. Plus how they do not have real long words and sentences.

The last two days we have searched through poem books I have found two good books. What they have in common is that they both have animals in them. They are both really good and funny.

When I read the first page of the book Squeal and Squawk, I wanted to keep reading because it sounded very interesting. Out of the two books I had yesterday, I put one back because I read the first page and I just did not like it. Then I went to the back of the book and read the last page just to see if it got interesting but it didn't.

The book that I have right now is better than the one that I had yesterday because the one that I had yesterday was not as fun as this one I have today. Squeal and Squawk is a very funny, interesting book that I would read forever. I brings the fun in poetry.

http://books.google.com/books/about/Squeal_and_Squawk.html?id=AQEDAAAACAAJ

Cody said...

What makes a good poem is when the words are silly or spelled silly like December was spelled Dismember
and October was spelled Octoburr and when they have dragons I love dragons.

The best poems had missed spelled words and and were short. It made me want to keep reading it because it was funny. I would put a book back when it was boring. The books that bored m e were really boring and the book that grabbed my attention had miss spelled words and kind of funny.

Sidney said...

What I think makes a good poem is rhythm and humor. Like in the poem called Monday in the book somebody catch my homework . It was very funny and like a song. Almost all of the poems had rhythm and a lot of humor. It was Amazing how much I got into the poem I connected to a lot of them.

Jamie said...

I think that poetry is better when it rhymes. When poetry rhymes it has this special ring to it.

One of the poem books I read and
liked was Laugh-Eteria. The poems and drawings where done by Douglas Florian.

most of the poems that were in it rhymed like the poem unsafe sofa was good it really caught my eye. Another good poem by him is Class Clown.

Colton said...

I think what makes a poem good is if it makes sense because some poems it just has rhymes. When I get a new poem I look for something that looks interesting on the cover. So I read it and if it makes sense I keep reading it. The book that I have right now is A Jar Of Tiny Stars. is a lot better than I had before because I can understand it.

makayla said...

A good poem is when the poem grabs you so you just want to read and read. A good poem is wean the poem makes you feel like you are there or that you are listening to them talk.I read this book called "Good Rhymes Good Times." written by Bennett Hopkins Illustrated by Frane Lessac.This book has passion and this book makes me feel like I am right with the narrator,that I'm talking to her.This is what a good poem to me sounds like.

Dale said...

What made me want to keep reading a poetry book was.... when it actually rhymed and made sense. Because who wants to read poetry that doesn't rhyme or make sense. I mean that's what poetry is suppose to be.
What makes me want to put a poetry book down is.... When it didn't rhyme or make sense. I'd tell you why but I already did in the first paragraph.
The difference between a book that grabbed my interest and a book that bored me is.... A book that grabbed my interest was really out there and was exploding with color. But a book that bored me had no color and was super dull and the name looked dumb.

Sarah C. said...

What makes a good poem? To me a good poem is funny and they have picture that are colorful. They are also entertaining.

A book I'm reading called The Bug in Teacher's Coffee has poems that are funny, has pictures that are colorful, and entertaining. There's this poem called Gym. The poem it's self didn't get me to read it. When I saw the picture that got me to read it. The picture is of a basketball hoop and people are throwing basketballs at it. While the basket is getting balls thrown at it the hoop is saying the poem.

Brayden said...

The first book I picked up was Rolling in the Aisles by people that submit poems. its edited edited by Bruce Lansky. I didn't want to take it back because I like the way it was funny, rhymed,and had a lot of great poems. I think good poetry should rhyme and be funny. I honestly only like books that like books like that. A book that keeps me into it is the book I. The poem I think is good out of this book is called My dog has no manners. I like this stanza,
He's not polite to strangers
He bites them in the rear
And when I'm on the telephone
he barks so I cant hear.

This is the kind of book I like. Funny, rymes and is a poem that makes me want to read more and more!!!

Tristen said...

I think what makes a good poem is comedy. I don't like slow boring poems that make me want to yawn.

The book I'v been reading is SOMEBODY CATCH MY HOMEWORK by David L. Harrison. These poems are out of this book are funny because you read and it doesn't make scene until one word hits you and it's hilarious.

I like poem books that have a poem almost every page because I don't like story poems because sometimes they don't make scene.

johnc5555 said...

I think a poem is good when it tells a story.I also think a poem is good if it rhymes. I read a really good poem book. It was called A Jar Of Tiny Stars. It was really good and has lots of different poems. I think this book is good because it has rhyming poems. And every poem in that book tells a story. There is a funny poem called Winter Clothes. I will tell you the funny part.

And when I walk
I must not fall
Because I can't get up at all.

http://savannahd5555.edublogs.org/ said...

What makes a good poem? I myself like poems that sound like I wrote it even when I didn't I like those types of poems because they sound like me they sound like some thing I would wright. I picked the book Celebrations by Myra Cohn Livingston because I love the poems in the book their funny and I love funny poems.

I also like funny poems that tell a story and rhyme it brings the fun into poetry that's what makes a good poem to me.

Maison said...

I think a good poem is one that has pictures that go along with it. Also that rhyme's because I think it is more cool. Also it need's to be something that is funny.

I read the book called Talking Like The Rain and there was a poem in there called swing. Also I liked it because I could relate to it. Also how I could relate to it was because I love to swing and it was talking about swinging. Also it had pictures in it and it was colorful.

Also I am not to crazy about poetry so I don't really look at a lot of poetry books. There was some more poems I liked like Boots and it was talking about boots. It talked about where boots go and playing in the rain with your boots.

Also in the book I read there was some poems I really didn't like because they really didn't catch my eye like the poem Getting Dirty it really didn't seem like it rhymed that much.

Cole said...

The book I'm reading is A Jar of Tiny Stars Its a good book of all different kinds of poems and authors. I like poems that put me in them or i can imagine it. Those are the kind of things i like to read.

Like out of the poem Mummy Slept Late And Daddy Fixed Breakfast. I could see him/her trying to at least make a crack in the waffle and he/she couldn't do it.

That's what i all thought of while I was reading it. I could even imagine all the tools they used to break it.Those are the kind of poems I like to read. They get me engaged in them so i always want to see what happens next.

Dylan D. said...

I think my favorite poems are funny poems, happy poems, and weird poems. One great example is

is a book of happy poems about holidays like Christmas and Easter, Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving, Halloween and Fourth of July and even a Birthday. It does rhyme which I kind of like and kind of don't like.

I think poetry is ok, but it's not my favorite topic to type about. Bye-Bye!

Elizabeth said...

I have read 2 poetry book one about family by the the title of grandpa`s tree and Sweet Corn poems a poetry book about season.Some poems in these poem books I do not like at all and these poems the reason I do not like them is because they get off topic they are too short are not very nice and some about running away and some about sudden death.On the bright side there are some poems I like,for example the thunder storm does not get off topic not too short is not violent no one runs away and certainly no death.However here are some topics that I like in poetry I like good memories of family moments nature poems definitely poems about animals and insects.I hope you liked my post and I hope to hear a respond from you and do not forget stay cool bye.