20 Must-Read 8th Grade Poems Your Students Will Love

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As English teachers, we want to find ways to engage our middle school kids, and a rich discussion is a great way to do that. Start your class with the right poem, and there’ll be no droopy eyelids or heavy heads in class! Here are 20 must-read 8th-grade poems your students will love.

1. Richard Cory

First on our list of poems for 8th grade is “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson. In it, we learn the story of Richard Cory, who’s wealthy, educated, and admired by all.

But the twist at the end will get your students to rethink everything and help you raise mental health awareness.

2. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Dylan Thomas wrote “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” for his dying father, asking him to resist death.

The poem is brimming with literary devices, including personification, rhyme scheme, and repetition, for your students to learn. Plus, you can have your students write advice for the young as if they were at the end of their days.

3. Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nothing Gold Can Stay” is one of the most famous poems by Robert Frost, discussing life and death.

You can use this short poem to teach your middle schoolers about word choice, symbolism, and imagery. It’s also a good choice if you want them to memorize poetry.

4. The Jabberwocky

We love teaching poetry via “The Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll. Its use of figurative language and nonsense words will help your middle schooler grasp the flexibility of language and understand the meaning of words through their context.

5. The Cremation of Sam McGee

Robert W. Service’s “The Cremation of Sam McGee” is one of our favorite poems for 8th graders because it’s super engaging.

The poem blends actual events like the gold mining hazards with supernatural encounters.

Also, the end is quite humorous and surprising.

6. Eating Poetry

“Eating Poetry” by Mark Strand is a great poem about a man who eats the poetry in the library!

And your students get to see how the librarian reacts to him. As an English teacher, you can use this poem to help them see beyond the poem’s literal meaning.

male student smiling and holding book

7. We Real Cool

“We Real Cool” is a super relevant poem for 8th graders by Gwendolyn Brooks.

It revolves around a group of teens who rebel, and it showcases the consequences of their rebellion. You’ll find this little poem helpful in teaching alliteration, rhyme, and word choice.

8. Hope Is the Thing With Feathers

“Hope Is the Thing With Feathers” is a powerful poem that your middle school students can relate to.

We love the way Emily Dickinson turns this abstract concept into a concrete object. If you want to teach your students about extended metaphor and figurative language, this is the poem for it.

9. The Road Not Taken

If you want more poetry by Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken” is many people’s favorite poem.

Let your students follow the narrator as he navigates a fork in the road and decides which route to take.

This beautiful poem gives you an excellent opportunity to discuss literal and figurative meanings in poetry.

10. The Rose That Grew From Concrete

Let Tupac Shakur teach your students a great lesson about resilience and facing the obstacles of life.

In “The Rose That Grew From Concrete,” the poet creates a clear connection between the poem’s meaning and rhythm. Also, if you’re looking for poems for middle school kids to memorize, this is a very short poem.

11. Mother to Son

One of the most common poems for eighth-graders is “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes.”

In this politically-charged poem, a mother tells her son about her struggles in life.

Despite all of it, she has persevered and encourages him to do so.

12. Still I Rise

In “Still I Rise,” Maya Angelou has written about her resilience as a black woman.

Since your middle school kids are at an age of self-discovery, they’ll have a great discussion about identity and one’s place in the world.

13. Daddy

“Daddy” by Sylvia Plath is one of the most essential poems for eighth-graders to analyze.

Middle and high school students who have abusive parents or strained relationships with their parents might resonate with it.

As for literary devices, the poem is rich in allusions, including ones to World War II, Hitler, and the Holocaust.

14. We Wear the Mask

In “We Wear the Mask,” Paul Laurence Dunbar opens up about his experience as a black man in the 19th century.

Also, urge your students to contemplate what the mask is a metaphor for in the poem.

15. O Captain! My Captain

“O Captain! My Captain” by Walt Whitman is a classic pick for 8th-grade poetry.

This poem is about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and it’s packed with emotions!

Why don’t you ask your students to pick out the contrasting images in the poem?

16. Sonnet 29

We can’t make a list of poems for eighth-graders without adding a poem or two by William Shakespeare. Sonnet 29, beginning with “When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,” is somewhat challenging, but it’s so worth it when kids have that lightbulb moment.

Also, your eighth graders might relate to the feeling of not being understood by anyone but one person.

17. Sonnet 18

One of the classic poems for middle school is Sonnet 18 or “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?.”

It’s an excellent introduction to the sonnet form: its rhyme, iambic pentameter, quatrains, and turn. That may sound too advanced, but this poem’s inviting topic eases students into the technicalities.

18. A Dream Within a Dream

“A Dream Within a Dream” showcases the perfect rhythm of Edgar Allan Poe.

So, if you’re looking for a poem to teach rhyme scheme with, this tender poem might be it.

Also, you might find your middle graders resonating with the pain of separation from loved ones.

19. So You Want to Be a Writer

We love adding “So You Want to Be a Writer” to poetry for 8th graders or any school curriculum. And the reason is Charles Bukowski highlights the writing process in this piece.

Your students will love this challenge to write; it might even inspire them to pick up a pen and start their careers as poets!

20. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Known as “Daffodils,” this is one of the most famous poems by William Wordsworth.

In it, Wordsworth describes his changing emotions, sparked by the dancing daffodils. You can discuss mood, locale, allegory, and romanticism with this piece.

Jump In: Reading poems broaden one’s vocabulary. Your G8 students are mature enough and already know more than a handful of words, phrases, and expressions. Help them build their ability to compose essays by reading my post and sampling my top 65 Engaging 8th Grade Writing Prompts for Creative Essays.

Conclusion

Whether you want romantic, political, serious, or funny poems for 8th graders, this list has diverse poems for middle school that’ll give you just what you need. Now, you can have essential discussions in class that’ll keep your students engaged and teach them a thing or two about poetry and literary devices!

Last Updated on July 24, 2022 by Emily