Absolutely Engaging Poems to Inspire Confidence in Every Middle Schooler

Inside: Find middle school poems that will build confidence, strengthen perseverance, and remind your middle schoolers that they can do hard things. We all need that reminder, so choose texts in your ELAR classroom that teach content, but also support the social emotional learning needs of your students.

Full Disclosure: Some of the outgoing links are from my TPT store if you purchase from them, I will benefit financially, which allows me the resources to maintain Mrs. Price Writes.

What We’re Up Against

Education has changed. The Post-Covid-19 world of education looks almost unrecognizable and will present new challenges for the unforeseeable future. Many of the obstacles involve issues of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Teachers are tasked with teaching our normal content while patching up the traumatized state that most students (and adults) have become accustomed to living in. It’s a huge undertaking, and we need tools to equip us to meet student needs. Below you will find powerful tools to meet ELAR standards while building confidence.

If you’re looking for a more structured lesson plan, my poetry analysis bundle includes several poems from below as well as more middle school poetry.

Social Emotional Learning Through Literature 

Reading and writing naturally lend themselves to meeting the SEL needs of students. Reading opens doors to talk about facing an array of challenges, while writing allows students an avenue to express their feelings. As educators, we have the opportunity to intentionally encourage our students by including social-emotional learning topics and research-based coping strategies. One easy to implement step you can take is choosing texts that build confidence and center on the tough ideas we all need to face. 

Enter poetry. Poetry is compact insight squeezed into just a few words, which opens doors to teaching lessons of self-confidence, persistence, and a growth mindset. If you’re not a poetry person, don’t let that stop you. You don’t have to be an expert to use the following poems. Also, I love teaching poetry, so browse my former posts for beginning a poetry unit, how to rock national poetry month, and two strategies for teaching poetry. I got you! 

My poetry bundle on TPT also provides a more step-by-step option, which can double as sub plans or an intervention station.  

Poems to Build Confidence

We’re going to face fear and difficult situations, but the published words of others can bring hope and life, reminding us that we can do hard things. Maybe you’ll find some encouragement for yourself too! 

1. Life Doesn’t Frighten Me at All – By Maya Angelou – This meaningful poem asserts its message as a refrain, reminding students that no matter what they face, they can stand with confidence knowing they can be brave. 

2. The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman – This stunning 2021 inauguration speech speaks of success in spite of challenges and perseverance against all manors of injustice. 

3. Mother to Son by Langston Hughes – On the surface level, this is a mother telling her son to keep his head up in life. When we read deeper, we can find strength to keep going through our own difficulties.  

4. When Great Trees Fall by Maya Angelou – This stunning text tackles the huge topic of losing an important loved one. Using nature as a metaphor for loss, it helps students see that grief is a process that can end in hope.

5. Oranges by Gary Soto – This coming of age poem normalizes the awkwardness we all face on our first-date! Bonus – this is a narrative poem, so it’s perfect to review the plot diagram and analyze character motivation. 

6. If by Rudyard Kipling – Stanza after stanza Kipling’s poem communicates the message that even when we face hard situations, we can keep going. It’s perfect for building self-confidence in sticking to your dreams even after you feel disappointed or hurt.

7. The Rose that Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur – With few lines, Tupac’s prolific poem communicates a metaphor that embodies perseverance. Perfect for striving and hesitant readers.  

8. Still I Rise by Maya Angelou – Talk about exuding confidence! The entire meaning of this poem is that no matter what the speaker goes through, they can overcome. My caution with this poem is one stanza may not be appropriate for young middle schoolers or for teachers who teach in conservative schools. Please read the entire poem before using in your class. 

9. See it Through – by Edgar Guest – With vigor and strength, this poem reminds readers that they will face hard times, but they don’t have to give up. In fact, it encourages them to do their best and keep trying. 

10. Underface by Shel Silverstein – A simple read that normalizes the fact that everyone faces insecurities in sharing their true self with the world. I can envision honest conversations where students can share some of what they really feel.

11. Listen to the Mustn’ts by Shel Silverstein – One stanza, but filled with the reminder that even if the world around us is discouraging our dreams, we should keep dreaming anyways. Who doesn’t need that encouragement in their lives?  

12.  Dreams by Langston Hughes – Perfect for memorization, this poem convveys the importance of holding on to hope and dreams. Additionally, it’s a great poem for introducing figurative language analysis.

What to Do With The Poems

You have this list of middle school poems, but how do you incorporate them into your class?

A few ideas:

1. Invitation to Notice – Post a poem and invite students to write down what they notice. Then, share out as a class, which allows you to label the conventions students are pointing out. For example, if a student points out an important poetry line, but doesn’t recognize it as a simile, you validate their response and name it as a simile. This non threatening process builds classroom culture and student confidence.

2. Bell Ringers – Students will usually focus more if there is something to engage their brains when they first walk into the doors. Specifically, short poems, like the previously shared Shel Silverstein poems, are a quick and easy way to start the class. 

3. Discussion Prompt – In Texas, English teachers are responsible for teaching listening and speaking TEKS, so using a poem as a foundation for a structured academic conversation meets many different objectives. Ask students to talk about what they do & don’t understand, and what they think means something more than surface level. Your students may surprise you in what they notice.  

4. Writing Prompt – Similar to discussing the poem, when students write about a poem it allows them to each express their individual thought. I prefer to discuss first and then write as it helps striving readers get ideas for the writing component. Don’t forget sentence stems, which are discussed in details in this post on meeting the needs of English Language Learners (ELLs). Writing may also be used to assess a students’ ability to support their thinking with relevant text evidence. I find success with the RACE response method for short answer questions.

However you choose to incorporate confidence building poems, take heart. You’re exposing your students to a growth mindset and the idea that humans can do hard things. For elementary, middle, and high school poetry ideas, check out some of my previous posts.

If you want or need more specific guidance, check out the Poetry Analysis Bundle, which includes 9 resources to support implementing poetry in your class.