Poetry in the upper elementary grades is still vital to a student's success in reading comprehension, fluency, and listening. Through poems, students enhance their reading, speaking, and listening skills. Teachers will be able to present students with various texts that are engaging.
As students mature, their vocabulary is also, of course, growing. Poems are a great way to introduce new vocabulary AND give students the space to use context clues in learning this new vocab. We've gathered a list of 32 poems for Fifth Grade to help your kiddos reach all of the aforementioned skills!
1. Be Grateful for Your Epidermis By: Kenn Nesbitt
Learn more: Poetry 4 Kids
2. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes By: Francis William Bourdillon
Learn more: All Poetry
3. Adventures By: Holly Fiato
Learn more: Rensselaer School of Engineering
4. I Went to the Doctor By: Kenn Nesbitt
Learn more: Poetry 4 Kids
5. The Tiger and the Zebra By: Kenn Nesbitt
Learn more: Poetry 4 Kids
6. Autumn By: Emily Dickinson
Learn more: Discover Poetry
7. I Marred a Day By: Annette Wynne
Learn more: Discover Poetry
8. Spring By: Henry Gardiner Adams
Learn more: Discover Poetry
9. In St. Germain Street By: Bliss Carman
Learn more: Discover Poetry
10. Stopping by Wood on a Snowy Evening By: Robert Frost
Learn more: Poetry 4 Kids
11. I'm Always in Parentheses By: Kenn Nesbitt
Learn more: Poetry Foundation
12. Robots in School By: Kenn Nesbitt
Learn more: Poetry 4 Kids
13. We Plow the Fields By: Matthias Claudius
Learn more: Timeless Truths
14. The Barefoot Boy By: John Greenleaf Whittier
Learn more: Poetry Foundation
15. I Will Go with My Father a-Ploughing By: Joseph Campbell
Learn more: Poetry Nook
16. A Lesson By: Ruby Archer
Learn more: Discover Poetry
17. Jonathan Bing By: Beatrice Curtis Brown
Learn more: Smart Central
18. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner By: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Learn more: Poetry Foundation
19. The Scarecrow By: Annie Crowe
Learn more: Discover Poetry
20. Conscience and Remorse By: Paul Laurence Dunbar
Learn more: Discover Poetry
21. The Miser By: Ruby Archer
Learn more: Discover Poetry
22. In Time's Swing By: Lucy Larcom
Learn more: Discover Poetry
23. A Recipe For a Day By: Amos Russel Wells
Learn more: Discover Poetry
24. The Horsemen Are Headless this Evening By: Kenn Nesbitt
Learn more: Poetry 4 Kids
25. Don't Give Up By: Phoebe Gary
Learn more: Ellen Bailey
26. When the Frost is on the Punkin By: James Whitcomb Riley
Learn more: Poetry Foundation
27. The First Snow-fall By: James Russell Lowell
Learn more: Poets.org
28. Purpose By: Amos Russel Wells
Learn more: Discover Poetry
29. Perseverance By: Alice Cary
Learn more: Discover Poetry
30. The Sky By: Elizabeth Madox Roberts
Learn more: Discover Poetry
31. Paul Revere's Ride By: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Learn more: Poets.org
32. My Sneakers are Speaking German By: Kenn Nesbitt
Learn more: Poetry 4 Kids
Conclusion
The aforementioned poems are great for any fifth-grade classroom trying to get some ideas! Many of these poems can even fit your fifth-grade standards! Poetry is important in upper elementary grades not only for reading comprehension and such skills but also for reinforcing concepts across the curriculum. Teachers are a little superhuman when it comes to cross-curriculum lesson plans.
Including poems could be perfect for your students and encourage their expression and creative thinking. Take these poems into your classroom and boost the love your students have for reading and even writing. Bringing collaboration and teamwork through poetry has never been more fun. Enjoy!
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