Two Voice Poems: Examples and How My Class Wrote One

Two voice poems were one of the easiest ways I found to get students excited about poetry. They’re written for two readers, each speaking for a different side, and they turn compare and contrast into something students actually want to perform. Here’s what a two voice poem is, how my class wrote one together, and how my students carried the format into social studies the very next day.

A two voice poem is written in two columns, one for each speaker. The two readers take turns, reading line by line from top to bottom.

Because the whole poem is built on similarities and differences, it’s really a compare and contrast activity in disguise. It’s also free verse, so nobody gets stuck hunting for a rhyme.

If you want more examples to share, these books are written to be read by two voices:

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Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman: poems about insects, and the 1989 Newbery Medal winner

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You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You by Mary Ann Hoberman: short pieces written for two readers to share, a good fit for younger students

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At the time, we had just finished Love That Dog and were reading Hate That Cat, both by Sharon Creech. (I wrote more about how we used Love That Dog in posts on the book as a mentor text, analyzing its poetry, and poem imitations.) With dogs and cats on everyone’s mind, they made a natural pair for our first shared poem.

1. 1We brainstormed first. Students listed similarities and differences between dogs and cats in their notebooks. I asked them to focus on personality and behavior, not appearance, so we didn’t end up with “we both have four legs.”
2. 2We wrote it together. We used two pieces of chart paper, one for each voice, and lined up the shared ideas across from each other so they’d be read at the same time.
3. 3We made it public. I typed the finished poem and printed it as a poster for the hallway.

The next day, students wrote their own with a partner. We were studying the Revolutionary War, so each pair chose two people we had been learning about. Pairs wrote about King George III and George Washington, Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington and Cornwallis.

1. 1Pick two subjects with a clear contrast: two characters, two historical figures, two animals, or two sides of an issue.
2. 2Brainstorm on a T-chart or Venn diagram. Shared traits go in the middle, and differences go on each side.
3. 3Set up two columns, one for each voice, and write each voice’s differences in its own column.
4. 4Line up the shared traits across both columns on the same line, so both readers say them together.
5. 5Write in first person, with each subject speaking (“I am George Washington.”).
6. 6Practice reading aloud with a partner, then perform.

• Reading: two characters from the same book, or one character at the beginning and the end of a story
• Social studies: a Patriot and a Loyalist, or two historical figures with opposite views
• Science: a predator and its prey, or a caterpillar and a butterfly
• Everyday topics: dogs and cats, or summer and winter

Even if poetry isn’t on your plan this month, two voice poems are a quick way to practice compare and contrast, and they fit easily into social studies or science.

And if poetry IS on your plan this month, don’t miss the free download below!