Poetry.com

Free!

Poetry.com is dedicated to the sharing, reviewing, and writing of poetry. After registering with the website, users can click the options on the top of the screen to access the different features. The “Share A Poem” feature lets users write and then submit a poem they wrote for feedback. Users are required to add a title and category to their poem, and they must review two other users’ poems before their poem will be submitted for review. The “Top Poem” option lets users browse the most highly rated poems published in the last day, week, month, or all time. Users are able to read the poem and reviews. The “Top Poets” feature shows users other poets who published works in the last week or all time. Most of the poems in this feature have been rated and reviewed. The “Top Critics” feature shows users different reviews written by fellow users. The “Review A Poem” option presents users with a poem, and they are asked to rate the poem and write a critique. They can also view other users’ critiques of the same poem. The “Search Poems” options lets users find poems and poets using key terms. In addition, this website also records stats and awards badges based on achievement, which users earn by writing reviews, composing poetry, and being active on the website.

Instructional Ideas

1. When instructing students how to provide feedback, teachers can have students view the top reviews listed in this website and discuss the elements that made these reviews so credible. That way, when students begin providing feedback, they will have a reference for the criteria that establishes a review as being quality.
2. As part of a writing activity, teachers can require students to post poetry to this website. As they receive feedback, students can use it to redraft their poem. When finished, students can submit their poem to their teacher for grading in addition to commentary that explains the feedback they received and how they used it to improve their poem.
3. Over the course of a month or semester, teachers can require students to earn various awards from this website based on their performance.
4. As part of a poetry project, teachers can have students search for 3-5 poems that share a thematic connection. Next, students will have to cite the poem and then compose an essay that explains the thematic connection that the poems share.
5. Teachers can have students search this website for a poem that intrigues them. Next, students can create an image that represents the poem. Finally, students can write a brief commentary that explains why they created the image and how it represents the poem. When finished, students can post the poem, image, and commentary to a class website.

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