In this article, we explore how poetry can be used to teach social-emotional skills. Learn how you can incorporate poetry into your everyday interactions with children. Actionable strategies make poetry a fun and impactful part of your teaching or caregiving. Whether it’s learning how to apologize, collaborate, or express kindness, poetry provides an engaging and memorable way to reinforce essential life lessons.
The Power of Poetry as a Memory Hook
Poetry has long been used as a tool to help us remember key facts or rules, such as spelling rules and the months of the year. For years, teachers and families have harnessed the power of poetry as a memory hook to teach academic skills. Some examples of these mnemonics are:
- I before e, except after c, unless it says “ay” like in “neighbor” and “weigh.”
- 30 days hath September, April, June, and November . . .
- Red sky at night, sailors’ delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.
These poetic devices create an easy-to-recall, sing-song rhythm that sticks with us.
One of the most compelling aspects of poetry is its ability to tap into our memory. I was reminded of this recently when my father, despite suffering a stroke in his late 80s, was still able to recite poems he had learned as a child. Some of these poems were even in a second language!
This is a powerful testament to the lasting impact poetry can have on our memories.
For years, educators and families have harnessed poetry’s ability to make information memorable. But the benefits of poetry go beyond academic skills—poetry can also be a vehicle for teaching social and emotional lessons.
Using Poetry to Teach Social Skills
It’s no secret that teaching social skills to children can be challenging. Concepts such as cooperation, conflict resolution, and empathy don’t always come naturally, and often need to be explicitly taught and reinforced. Poetry offers a simple yet effective method for teaching these vital skills. Through poetry, children can internalize important lessons like how to apologize, celebrate differences, and work together as a team.
Why Poetry Works for Social Skills
Poetry makes lessons stick. Just as we remember songs and jingles effortlessly, the rhythmic nature of poetry makes it an ideal tool for reinforcing social-emotional lessons. Whether it's a rhyme about friendship or kindness, poetry stays with children, making it easier for them to recall these values when they encounter similar situations in real life.
Additionally, poetry adds an emotional connection to these lessons. Poems like Shel Silverstein’s "Hug o’ War" or Jeff Moss’s "I’m Going to Say I’m Sorry" use humor and creativity to make difficult topics like conflict resolution and apologizing more approachable for kids. Humor is a key element here, as it makes the lesson both memorable and fun.
Incorporating Poetry into Daily Learning
As teachers, parents, and caregivers, we are always looking for ways to create a positive and cooperative environment for children. By incorporating short, simple poems into daily routines, you can create opportunities to reinforce these lessons in an engaging way. Here are some ways you can use poetry to teach social skills.
A Poem a Day: Daily Practice
I suggest taking 5–10 minutes a day to teach and recite a poem that reinforces a social-emotional skill. This could be as simple as a short poem about sharing, kindness, or teamwork. For example, after reading a poem, ask children, "What is the lesson of this poem?" Engage them in discussion about how the lesson applies to their own lives.
Illustrating and Acting Out Poems
After reading a poem, children can illustrate the poem’s lesson through drawings. Alternatively, they can participate in role plays, acting out the key message of the poem. For example, after reading a poem about saying “I’m sorry,” children could practice apologizing in different scenarios, helping them internalize the importance of this social-emotional skill.
Creating Children’s Own Poems
One of the best parts about poetry is its ability to inspire creativity. After learning a poem, children can try writing their own rhymes about social-emotional topics like kindness, apologies, or teamwork. This not only reinforces the lesson, but it also encourages children to express themselves creatively and reflect on their own behaviors.
Poetry and the Development of Social-Emotional Skills
Using poetry to teach social-emotional skills benefits children in multiple ways. Not only does it help develop essential life skills, but it also nurtures a love of language and literature. Poems like Shel Silverstein’s “Hug o’ War” stress the importance of kindness and peaceful solutions, while Jeff Moss’s “I’m Going to Say I’m Sorry” demonstrates the challenge and value of apologizing.
By exposing children to poems with strong social lessons, we give them the tools to navigate the complexities of friendships, emotions, and group dynamics. We are helping children not just become better readers and speakers, but better people as well.
A Simple Poem to Teach Teamwork
One poem I love to teach children is the simple, yet impactful rhyme titled "I Can’t Move It" from my book, I Like Being Me: Poems About Kindness, Friendship, and Making Good Choices. It’s easy to memorize and clearly reinforces the importance of teamwork:
I Can’t Move It
I can’t move it,
You can’t move it,
It won’t move an inch.
But if we work together,
Moving it’s a cinch.
This rhyme serves as a great example of how poetry can be used to teach cooperation. In just a few lines, children learn the value of working together to accomplish a goal. It’s a perfect way to introduce the concept of teamwork in an easily digestible format.
Why Incorporating Poetry into Learning Is Beneficial
Poetry strengthens cognitive functions, making it a valuable tool for teaching both academic and social skills. Additionally, its rhythmic nature fosters empathy and emotional intelligence. The engaging nature of poetry makes long-term learning possible.
The Cognitive Benefits
Studies have shown that poetry strengthens cognitive functions, including memory retention and emotional regulation. Because poetry uses rhyme and rhythm, it helps solidify concepts in the brain, making them easier for children to recall later. This makes poetry an especially effective tool for teaching not only academic skills but social skills as well.
Fostering Empathy and Emotional Intelligence
Poetry has a unique ability to encourage empathy. When children engage with poems about social-emotional topics, they are given the opportunity to see the world from different perspectives, which can foster greater understanding and compassion.
Increased Engagement
The playful and rhythmic nature of poetry makes it an engaging tool for children. By using poems to teach important lessons, you not only capture children’s attention but also help them retain these lessons over time. This high engagement can lead to greater long-term benefits in the child’s social and emotional development.
My father loved poetry, and his favorite poems remained with him throughout his lifetime. Give the gift of poetry to the children who are important in your life. And if the poems you teach convey messages of kindness, friendship, and making good choices, then you’ve taught social skills in a fun, easy way that works!
