Poetry has all of the elements of literature (theme, lesson, figurative language, feeling, tone, mood, style, setting… a lot of connections can be made to what was previously learned in the school year). There also extra things to look over in power points such as stanza, rhythm, rhyme, different styles, etc…
Concrete poetry—sometimes also called ‘shape poetry’—is poetry whose visual appearance matches the topic of the poem. The words form shapes, which illustrate the poem’s subject as a picture, as well as through their literal meaning. Please look up visuals of concrete/shape poetry to show the kids.
An acrostic poem is a very fun poem for kids. Each acrostic poem has a topic idea running down the left side of the poem. Each letter in the topic word has a new thought that runs off the side from left to right and is relevant to the topic word. The topic word is typically the title as well. A lot of kids like to do this type of poem with their names.
Cinquain: 5 line Poetry
Syllabic verse form. Gradually increasing number of syllables in each line until the last line, which returns to two syllables.
Form for younger students:
Line 1: 2 syllables One word giving the title. (Noun)
Line 2: 4 syllables Two words that describe the title. (adjectives)
Line 3: 6 syllables Three words that express action. (Verbs)
Line 4: 8 syllables Four words that express feeling.
Line 5: 2 syllables One word that gives the title a different name. (synonym)
Cinquains are just five lines long, with only a few words on each line, making them easy to write. The first and last lines have just two syllables, while the middle lines have more, so they end up with a diamond-like shape, similar to the poetic form called the diamante.
Though they are just five lines long, the best cinquains tell a small story. Instead of just having descriptive words, they may also have an action (something happening), a feeling caused by the action, and a conclusion or ending.
You can learn to write cinquains by following these few simple steps:
There are actually many different ways to write a cinquain, so I’m just going to teach you how to write a traditional cinquain, as it was defined by the poet who invented it. These are the rules:
If you want to, you can even memorize the syllable count by remembering this five-digit number: 24682. Repeat after me: 24682, 24682, 24682. Now you’ve got it.
Example #1:
Ice Cream
Ice cream.
Cold and yummy.
I love its sweet richness
as it finds its way into my
tummy.
Haiku Poem
It is easy to learn to write a haiku, but it can take a lot of practice to learn how to do it well. This lesson will give you the basics for writing your own haiku. It’s up to you to practice by writing a lot of them so you will get very good at it.
What is a Haiku?
A haiku is an unrhymed three-line poem. It is based on a traditional Japanese poetic form. Though there are different ways to write haiku, the traditional pattern in English is to write the first and last lines with five syllables each, and the middle line with seven syllables. In other words, the pattern of syllables looks like this:
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables
Here’s another way to visualize the same thing:
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 2 3 4 5
Most often, haiku poems are about seasons or nature, though you can write your own haiku about anything you like.
Example:
Raindrops
Raindrops falling down
On the windowpane making
wonderful music.
By: Jason
A limerick is a silly poem with five lines. They are often funny or nonsensical. Limericks were made famous by Edward Lear, a famous author who wrote the "Book of Nonsense" in the 1800's. This was an entire book of silly limericks.
How to write a limerick:
The first, second and fifth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically 8 or 9).
The third and fourth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically 5 or 6)
Limericks often start with the line "There once was a..." or "There was a..."
The Rules of Limericks
Limericks, like all poetic forms, have a set of rules that you need to follow. The rules for a limerick are fairly simple:
STAR
by Kaitlyn Guenther
There once was a wonderful star
Who thought she would go very far
Until she fell down
And looked like a clown
She knew she would never go far.
A diamante – is an unrhymed seven-line poem. The beginning and ending lines are the shortest, while the lines in the middle are longer, giving diamante poems a diamond shape. “Diamante” is the Italian word for diamond, so this poetic form is named for this diamond shape.
Believe it or not, the diamante was invented just 40 years ago. It was created by an American poet named Iris McClellan Tiedt in 1969, and has become very popular in schools.
Also known as a “diamond poem” because of it’s shape, there are two different types of diamantes; synonym diamantes and antonym diamantes.
The Rules of a Diamante
There are just a few rules to writing a diamante:
Noun
Adjective, Adjective
Verb, Verb, Verb
Noun, Noun, Noun, Noun
Verb, Verb, Verb
Adjective, Adjective
Noun
Examples:
Synonym Diamante
In this diamante, the words “Monsters” and “Creatures” mean the same thing, so they are synonyms.
Monsters
Evil, Spooky
Howling, Shrieking, Wailing
Ghosts, Vampires, Goblins, Witches
Flying, Scaring, Terrifying
Creepy, Crawly
Creatures
Antonym Diamante
In this diamante, you might say that the words “Cat” and “Dog” are opposites, or “antonyms,” so this is an antonym diamante.
Cat
Gentle, Sleepy
Purring, Meowing, Scratching
Whiskers, Fur, Collar, Leash
Barking, Licking, Digging
Slobbery, Playful
Dog
Concrete poetry—sometimes also called ‘shape poetry’—is poetry whose visual appearance matches the topic of the poem. The words form shapes, which illustrate the poem’s subject as a picture, as well as through their literal meaning. Please look up visuals of concrete/shape poetry to show the kids.
An acrostic poem is a very fun poem for kids. Each acrostic poem has a topic idea running down the left side of the poem. Each letter in the topic word has a new thought that runs off the side from left to right and is relevant to the topic word. The topic word is typically the title as well. A lot of kids like to do this type of poem with their names.
Cinquain: 5 line Poetry
Syllabic verse form. Gradually increasing number of syllables in each line until the last line, which returns to two syllables.
Form for younger students:
Line 1: 2 syllables One word giving the title. (Noun)
Line 2: 4 syllables Two words that describe the title. (adjectives)
Line 3: 6 syllables Three words that express action. (Verbs)
Line 4: 8 syllables Four words that express feeling.
Line 5: 2 syllables One word that gives the title a different name. (synonym)
Cinquains are just five lines long, with only a few words on each line, making them easy to write. The first and last lines have just two syllables, while the middle lines have more, so they end up with a diamond-like shape, similar to the poetic form called the diamante.
Though they are just five lines long, the best cinquains tell a small story. Instead of just having descriptive words, they may also have an action (something happening), a feeling caused by the action, and a conclusion or ending.
You can learn to write cinquains by following these few simple steps:
- Decide what you would like to write about.
- Brainstorm words and phrases that have to do with your idea.
- Think about what story you want to tell.
- Write your words and phrases in an order that tells your story, being sure to count the syllables as you go.
There are actually many different ways to write a cinquain, so I’m just going to teach you how to write a traditional cinquain, as it was defined by the poet who invented it. These are the rules:
- Cinquains are five lines long.
- They have 2 syllables in the first line, 4 in the second, 6 in the third, 8 in the fourth line, and just 2 in the last line.
- Cinquains do not need to rhyme, but you can include rhymes if you want to.
If you want to, you can even memorize the syllable count by remembering this five-digit number: 24682. Repeat after me: 24682, 24682, 24682. Now you’ve got it.
Example #1:
Ice Cream
Ice cream.
Cold and yummy.
I love its sweet richness
as it finds its way into my
tummy.
Haiku Poem
It is easy to learn to write a haiku, but it can take a lot of practice to learn how to do it well. This lesson will give you the basics for writing your own haiku. It’s up to you to practice by writing a lot of them so you will get very good at it.
What is a Haiku?
A haiku is an unrhymed three-line poem. It is based on a traditional Japanese poetic form. Though there are different ways to write haiku, the traditional pattern in English is to write the first and last lines with five syllables each, and the middle line with seven syllables. In other words, the pattern of syllables looks like this:
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables
Here’s another way to visualize the same thing:
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 2 3 4 5
Most often, haiku poems are about seasons or nature, though you can write your own haiku about anything you like.
Example:
Raindrops
Raindrops falling down
On the windowpane making
wonderful music.
By: Jason
A limerick is a silly poem with five lines. They are often funny or nonsensical. Limericks were made famous by Edward Lear, a famous author who wrote the "Book of Nonsense" in the 1800's. This was an entire book of silly limericks.
How to write a limerick:
The first, second and fifth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically 8 or 9).
The third and fourth lines rhyme with each other and have the same number of syllables (typically 5 or 6)
Limericks often start with the line "There once was a..." or "There was a..."
The Rules of Limericks
Limericks, like all poetic forms, have a set of rules that you need to follow. The rules for a limerick are fairly simple:
- They are five lines long.
- Lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme with one another.
- Lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other.
- They have a distinctive rhythm (which I’ll explain shortly)
- They are usually funny.
STAR
by Kaitlyn Guenther
There once was a wonderful star
Who thought she would go very far
Until she fell down
And looked like a clown
She knew she would never go far.
A diamante – is an unrhymed seven-line poem. The beginning and ending lines are the shortest, while the lines in the middle are longer, giving diamante poems a diamond shape. “Diamante” is the Italian word for diamond, so this poetic form is named for this diamond shape.
Believe it or not, the diamante was invented just 40 years ago. It was created by an American poet named Iris McClellan Tiedt in 1969, and has become very popular in schools.
Also known as a “diamond poem” because of it’s shape, there are two different types of diamantes; synonym diamantes and antonym diamantes.
The Rules of a Diamante
There are just a few rules to writing a diamante:
- Diamantes can be about anything
- Diamantes are seven lines long.
- The first and last lines have just one word.
The second and sixth lines have two words.
The third and fifth lines have three words.
And the fourth line has four words. - The word count is simple: 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1
- Lines 1, 4, and 7 have nouns.
Lines 2 and 6 have adjectives.
Lines 3 and 5 have verbs. - Try to “center” your poem on the page to give it a diamond shape
Noun
Adjective, Adjective
Verb, Verb, Verb
Noun, Noun, Noun, Noun
Verb, Verb, Verb
Adjective, Adjective
Noun
Examples:
Synonym Diamante
In this diamante, the words “Monsters” and “Creatures” mean the same thing, so they are synonyms.
Monsters
Evil, Spooky
Howling, Shrieking, Wailing
Ghosts, Vampires, Goblins, Witches
Flying, Scaring, Terrifying
Creepy, Crawly
Creatures
Antonym Diamante
In this diamante, you might say that the words “Cat” and “Dog” are opposites, or “antonyms,” so this is an antonym diamante.
Cat
Gentle, Sleepy
Purring, Meowing, Scratching
Whiskers, Fur, Collar, Leash
Barking, Licking, Digging
Slobbery, Playful
Dog
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