Fungi: Odes to Fungi

One of the activities included with the textbook I used to use was an Ode to Fungi.  The worksheet provided students with four lines of a poem, and then the students were to continue said poem, including various facts about fungi.

I've been known to use that poem starter, but have found that most of my students are happy to start from scratch.  The starter "locks" students into a rhyming scheme and a lot of students take their poems in a different direction, so the rest of their poem doesn't really make sense in the context of the first four lines. 

You can also read the poem "Mushrooms" by Sylvia Plath - proof that "real" poets write about fungi!  This can be fun to read and discuss with your class, even if you don't have your students write their own. 

After students write their poem, usually for homework (after starting it in class), I have them copy it onto a construction paper mushroom.  We then hang them in the hall for all to see.