Poetry Ringo

Let’s say you need a no muss-no fuss type of activity to keep students occupied while you read with small groups or help various students with their creative writing….then Poetry Ringo might be your choice.

Start with the worksheet grid I’ve posted below.  This particular one is numbered to 28, but you can continue the grid onto the back of the sheet for as many squares as necessary.

 Provide students with the following directions:

Find and read a poem by these poets!   Write the poem’s title on the line after the poet’s name and then color in the corresponding square on your RINGO grid. 

Happy Reading!!!

1. Judith Viorst

2. Emily Dickinson

3. Gwendolyn Brooks

4. Christina Rossetti

5. Shel Silverstein

6. Joanna Cole

7. Dorothy Aldis

8. Jeff Moss

9. Jack Prelutsky

10. John Ciardi

11. Beatrice Schenk DeRegniers

12. Bobbi Katz

13. Aileen Fisher

14. Langston Hughes

15. Jack Prelutsky

16. Lucille Clifton

17. Marchette Chute

18. Judith Thurman

19. Rachel Field

20. Robert Louis Stevenson

21. Harry Behn

22. Myra Cohn Livingston

23. Mary O’Neill

24. Harry Behn

25. Adelis Stoutenberg

26. Robert Frost

27. Laura Richards

28. Carl Sandburg

29. Jeff Moss

30. David McCord

31. Bobbi Katz

32. John Ciardi

33. Christina Rossetti

34. Nikki Giovanni

35. Lord Alfred Tennyson

36. Aileen Fisher

37. John Ciardi

38. Valerie Worthy

39. X.J.Kennedy

40. Laura Richards

41. Jeff Moss

42. Vachel Lindsay

43. Charles Malam

44. Charlotte Zolotow

45. Karla Kuskin

46. Judith Viorst

47. Beatrice Schenk De Regniers

48. Gwendolyn Brooks

49. Shel Silverstein

50. Myra Cohn Livingston

51. Mary Ann Hoberman

52. Shel Silverstein

53. William Cole

54. Ravena Bennett

55. Mary Ann Hoberman

56. Eleanor Farjeon

57. Langston Hughes

58. Dorothy Aldis

59. Robert Frost

60. Karla Kuskin

61. E. P Young

62. Vachel Lindsey

63. Eve Merriam

64. Jack Prelutsky

Then have students respond to the following prompts to complete an essay:

Now that you have read a ton of poetry…which poets did you enjoy the most?   Write about your top three poems.   Identify the author, the title and explain why you liked the poem.