Fair warning: third generation poetry lover here! My grandfather–overalls layered with grime from the field and life burdened by the demanding routine of crops and livestock–would read and quote scores of poetry. He knew what treasures a poem could hold: its power, its capacity to inspire and change. Grandpa handed that treasure on to my mother, who read and quoted poetry constantly as I was growing up. So it was natural for me to include poetry in our homeschool—just as a matter of course.

But why were we really reading poetry?

I’m afraid that in many families, we’ve lost that treasure; we’ve lost the map to find it; and we may not even care. There’s fear behind this phenomenon I think: fear of being able to interpret poetry, fear of adding yet another thing to our already filled lives, and to be frank, we fear it’s boring. In reality, poems are treasures that hold multiple benefits just waiting to be opened and enjoyed. Poems can be included in your home school as read alouds, as works of memorization or as a part of literature study—just to name a few. Let’s look at just a few benefits—and I’ve included some sample poems and brief activities to plunge into.

Poetry. What’s it good for?

  • Use Poetry to Strengthen Auditory Memory.
    • Open the door to teaching. Poetry’s range of usefulness is wide and deep, covering just about any concept. Poetry also efficiently expresses ideas; it’s condensed, to-the-point and easily remembered. If your child is struggling with grasping a concept, try a poem. Some curricula even incorporate chants and rhymes into their programs to assist concept retention. Rhymes of all kinds are available to support many subjects, including foreign language, history, science, and even math. Try out The Divisibility Rules for remembering a useful math tip. Poems can also teach Biblical concepts or lessons such as good habits or character. My mother used “The Goops” to remind me of good table manners. If I put my elbows on the table, she’d ring out with: “The Goops they lick their fingers/the goops they lick their knives/they spill their broth on the tablecloth/they lead disgusting lives.” Then would follow a brief discussion of why I should not ever want to be a Goop.
    • Assist with long-term recall. Auditory memory is essential in education—and life. How much of what you hear are you really retaining? The rhyming and rhythm of poetry aid retention, and thus strengthen that memory muscle, building connections and developing long-term memory. How many people still know the length of months because of 30 Days hath September? At the climax of my mother’s dementia, when most of our memories were no longer shared, she and I were still able, however, to share poetry she had memorized. I would start with the first words and she would finish. Memorizing means that ideas and concepts stay with you long term. Your “secret” poetry collection is with you always.
  • Use Poetry to emphasize and hone language skills.
    • Practice listening and speaking skills. Great enjoyment and a sense of confidence come in hearing the words, figuring out meaning, and pronouncing the lines. Having children read aloud or present a poem helps them practice proper pronunciation, enunciation, and rhythm. Tongue twisters have often been used for this purpose: “Betty Butter bought some butter/But she said, ‘the butter’s bitter….” Poetry is a great way to practice speech presentation skills. Poetry that is rhymed or contains repetitive phrases engages children in predicting and active listening. The repetitive phrases, for example, in Christina Rosetti’s Who Has Seen the Wind engage and reward the listener.
    • Reinforce grammar skills. Poetry’s structure makes the reader focus on the punctuation used and individual words and their functions. For example, try reading a poem that does not use a sentence on every line. To focus on sentence mechanics, listen to A Bear in There (by Shel Silverstein). Have your children give their own rendition, improving on the computerized reading, paying particular precautions to the punctuation. (If they can identify the writing technique that I used just there, they get bonus points! Answer’s below*.) Reading the lines as a full sentence rather than line by line reduces that sing-song-y effect. Have older students take a stab (with their vorpal blade, of course) at The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, figuring out what the nonsensical words might mean and what purpose they’re serving in the sentence. And lastly, with Virginia Hamilton’s What a Wonderful Bird the Frog Are, how would you correct the grammar? Talk about the possible reasons the poet chose the grammar she did.
    • Strengthen non-verbals necessary in good communication—and in good speech presentation as well. Volume, intonation, nuances, pauses, etc., can be straightforwardly modeled and practiced with poetry reading. Once those are mastered, you can add facial expressions and gestures (and even accents, for the adventurous). The King’s Breakfast (by A. A. Milne), for example, with its repetitive phrases and predictive questions provides opportunities to practice these. When poems use multiple characters or perspectives such as this one, try a reader’s theater to involve the whole family in language practice. Poetry collections like Read-Aloud Poems provide plenty of options for strengthening these skills.
  • Use Poetry for Contemplation and Joy.
    • Kindle imagination, thought and emotion. Your brain needs time to consider the important things in life. Your soul, more importantly, needs it too. In a moment, poetry causes us to pause. It becomes a vehicle to discuss tough subjects, to consider new ideas and perspectives and also inspire us. The Road Not Taken (by Robert Frost) has encouraged many to make more of their lives. In addition, the listening experience alone can bring great joy. The words of poetry are often tied with an emotional response. Every time I think of The Swing (by Robert Louis Stevenson) I remember quoting it as I pushed my kids in the swing. When I hear those words I am transported back to the joy of that moment. And, my hope is that they will, too.

Be aware, though, that poems can induce reactions nearing the strength of a sports’ fan—or enemy. Responses are as unique as the one who is listening. The poem you love may not be one your children do, but they need to hear it. They need the opportunity to find poems that are meaningful and valuable. Share with them this principal of discovering poetry, of opening its treasure—and it will be theirs too.

*”Paying particular precautions to the punctuation” is an example, though predominantly preposterous, of alliteration. Can you find another sentence above (there’s at least 3) with alliteration? If you do: bonus, bonus points!