KS3 English - Poetry - Starter - FANTASTIC way to engage students who claim to HATE poetry

Issue 'Poem Analysis' and tell students that they're going to analyse a poem (cue students' inevitable groan). The 'poem' is really the lyrics from Eminem's and Rhianna's Love the Way you Lie, but DO NOT tell students this.

Allow students to analyse the 'poem'. They're to:
Underline the word/phrase you and your partner really like (you can do one each)
What is this poem about? How do you know?
What makes this a poem?
Underline and label things that make this a poem.

Discuss after students have had 10 minutes to analyse the poem and annotate it.

Without saying anything, just play the beginning of Eminem's and Rhianna's song and watch students' faces. They'll be amazed and suddenly quite engaged with poetry which they thought they hated. Lead into a discussion about how musical lyrics are a form of poetry. As an extension task, you could ask students to bring in their favourite musical lyrics and analyse them like a 'poem'.

A similar activity I've created is in my shop called:
KS3 Poetry Starter - Engaging Students Who 'HATE' Shakespeare - Shakespeare or Singer QUIZ