Writing funny poems is the best part about learning poetic forms! Young poets learn all about clerihews—humorous four-line poems about people—with an explanatory lesson.

Concepts

poetry, poetry writing, types of poetry, humor

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Have students write clerihews about story characters, historical figures, or animals in different ecosystems for an interdisciplinary activity
• Host a poetry slam in which classmates snap for each others' poetry readings

Classroom Considerations

• Dissuade learners from writing teasing or cruel poems about their classmates or teachers

Pros

• Provides several tips and examples of different types of clerihews
• Rules for clerihews are clear

Cons

• None

Common Core

W.3.10 W.4.10 W.5.10 W.6.10 W.7.10 W.8.10