As a teacher, one of your most important tasks is to ignite your students’ love for reading. Poems can be an excellent way to keep your third-grade students engaged, interested, and learning. Here are 29 great poems for you to read to your third-graders or encourage them to read independently.
1. “The Eagle” by Lord Alfred Tennyson
2. “My Shadow” by Robert Louis Stevenson
3. “Eletelephony” by Laura Elizabeth Richards
4. “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer
5. “Mr. Nobody” by Anon
6. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost
7. “The Tyger” by William Blake
8. “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll
9. “The Land of Nod” by Robert Louis Stevenson
10. “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” by Eugene Field
11. “Rain in Summer” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
12. “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
13. “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats
14. “Ode to the West Wind” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
15. “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth
16. “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (aka “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”) by Clement Clarke Moore
17. “How Doth the Little Crocodile?” By Lewis Carroll
18. “Wishes For The Fishes” by Anon
19. “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost
20.”I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils)” By William Wordsworth
21.”All Things Bright and Beautiful” by Cecil Frances Alexander
22. “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes
23. “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer
24. “Sea Fever” by John Masefield
25. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
26. “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day” by John Dryden
27. “My Lost Youth” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
28. “Hallelujah! I’m a Bum!” by Harry McClintock (adapted)
29.”To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With The Plough, November 1785″ By Robert Burns
Each of these poems offers unique themes, messages, and styles that will keep your students engaged while also fostering a love of the written word. From the humorous to the profound, these poems span a breadth of emotions and experiences suitable for third-grade students. Don’t hesitate to explore other works as well; the world of poetry is vast and full of exciting surprises for you and your students to discover together.
