Ballads are narrative poems which tell a story and are set to music

Bio-poems are good introductions. They are biographical in nature where the beginning or end of each line is given and the student fills in the rest of the poem

Cinquain works as: Line 1: Noun/ Line 2: Two adjectives/ Line 3: Three verbs/ Line 4: A descriptive phrase/ Line 5: Synonym for the noun in Line 1

Concrete poem is when the words of the poem make a picture or design (example: a poem about a fruit would be written in the shape of the fruit)

Couplets are two successive lines of poetry that are the same length in rhyme

Dramatic poetry is when the speaker is clearly someone other than the poet and usually includes dialogue

Fingerplays are rhyming poems sung while using finger motions to convey the meaning. These are fun ways to teach poetry to little ones

Free verse is poetry that is not written in a rhyme pattern and lacks rhythm. This form is a freeing form of expression for school children and adults not familiar with poetry forms. There are no restrictions in the content, length, or form of the poem

Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry usually about nature which contains three lines and has no rhyme pattern

Limerick is a nonsense poem that is five lines in length and uses a persons name

Lyrical poetry is when the writer expresses his feelings about something in a musical form

Mother Goose rhymes are generally a childs first exposure to poetry

Narrative poetry is when the poet tells the story through a poem

Odes are poems that are written in recognition of someone or in celebration of an event or to commemorate something

Prose is commonplace speech or writing that is not poetic

Quatrain is a 4-line poetry that is formed by two rhyming couplets

Sonnet is a 14-lined, 10 syllable per line poem which plays upon the reader/listeners emotions