Teaching Poem Analysis through Poem of the Week

Teaching poem analysis through Poem of the Week is my favorite way to teach students how to do poetry analysis in AP® Literature. So often, students arrive in my class saying that they do not like poetry. Often it’s because of how they have been exposed to poetry in prior classes. So poem of the week is the perfect way to ease them into poetry analysis and gradually move them toward deep analysis.

Poem of the Week is a method of poetry instruction for high school English that takes students through a poem over the course of the week. Perfect for bell ringers and close reading practice.

What is Poem of the Week?

In my classroom, at least, we use poem of the week as our bell ringer (warm up, bell work, whatever you choose to call it). We revisit the same poem every day for a full week. Each day, we reread the poem which brings greater understanding as the week goes on and allows them to tackle the analysis in bite sized chucks. Thus, teaching poem analysis becomes streamlined throughout the course.

Instead of doing a concentrated poetry unit, we spread our study of poetry throughout the year. (Well, we do a few concentrated poetry units too.)

However, you could use this same structure for one intensive day of poetry study. Each “day” could be a station or a guided reading. This would also work great as an emergency sub plan.

Teaching Poetry Analysis in high school English can be a struggle. Kids think they don't like poetry. But Poem of the Week is the Perfect way to address this. A little at a time.

What does Teaching Poem Analysis through a Poem a Week Look Like?

First, start by choosing shorter, very accessible poems. This makes the integration go more smoothly. I love to start the year with “Metaphor” by Eve Merriam. It is very short and very accessible and perfect for the start of the year or the start of anything new (like a Poem of the Week practice).

The first day of the week, we start with reading and annotating for meaning. We simply read the poem to understand what the big idea is: We don’t get into author’s craft (unless they want to). We don’t get into literary criticism (unless they want to). Students are just focused on the what of the poem.

The second day of the week, we read the poem for author’s craft. On this day, we just focus on noticing and labeling. Students reread the poem. They chunk it into 2-5 sections (usually by stanza, but not always) and then circle or underline other observations they see. They mark the rhyme scheme if there is one. We don’t yet talk about the purpose of these author choice, we just notice that they are there.

Days three and four are for getting into the purpose of those choices. We get at these through questions (1 each day) to direct the students toward examination of specific choices.

On Day five, students write. Usually, I just have them write a thesis. (For more see, How to Encourage Students to Master The AP Lit Thesis). Occasionally, I will have them write a paragraph or a claim with bullet points of support.

These simple steps spread through the week make poetry analysis seem less intimidating and yet, allow the student to build their skills.

Get your Ready to use Poem of the Week here.

How to choose a Poem to Teach

At the beginning of the year, as I choose the poems for our daily poetry analysis, I look for poems that students will easily find an entry point.

After that, I look to choose a poem of the week that is on the shorter side. I find that poems that are 15- 40 lines tend to work the best. These poems are long enough to have depth, but short enough to deal with in about 10 minutes or so.

After those qualities are met, I tend to work in themes: Poems about Night, Poems for Winter, Sonnets, Poems of the Romantic Period. I vary the poems from year to year based on the students who are in front of me.

Teaching Poetry Analysis

Using poetry as a bell ringer that your revisit over the course of the week is the perfect way to sneak a little poetry study into each class. For more on others ways that I teach AP® Lit Poetry analysis, check out 4 Ways to Teach Poetry Analysis and 5 Topics for Poetry Slams.