Use shape and theme poems, or poems that look like the things they describe, as a fun way to introduce children to poetry.
Write Theme Poems
Add Seasons to Rhyming Poems and Songs
Choose favorite rhyming songs or nursery rhymes then replace the rhyming words with seasonal themes.
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein was published in 1974.
Students are introduced to a Silverstein verse and asked for their impressions. They then draw that they imagine when they read one of his lines and then write a line or two to continue the passage.
Star Light, Star Bright: Reading and Writing about the Nighttime Sky
Children watch the nighttime sky come alive as the read a book about fascinating elements in the night and write a poem/story about the things they learn!