3 Poetry Lessons for Early Writers
Roses are red… and some poetry is stale. Celebrate April, also National Poetry Month, with a return to creativity.
Check out these classroom-friendly ideas on how to teach some of the more fun, lesser-celebrated poetry forms, including free verse, cinquain, and tankas.
Free Verse Poem
Anything goes with this free-spirited, no-restraints form of poetry, but its relaxed nature is exactly what makes it so difficult to master. Give your students a little direction by first exposing them to plenty of examples.
Imagine Learning features a free-verse poem entitled Searching, by Nicole Drysdale, with a graphic organizer to get your students' thoughts going.
After reading this and other great examples, give your students a similar topic, and then set them free!
Cinquain Poem
This five-line poem is more structured than free verse, but it's just as fun and doesn't rhyme. This poem often describes a person or object. One variety of cinquain works like this:
one nountwo adjectivesthree "-ing" verbsone phraseanother noun
The first and last lines are different nouns for the same subject. The middle three lines describe this subject in a fun or interesting way.
For example:
snakescaly, hungryslithering, hiding, waitingmy favorite pet to feedPete
Read More: How Engaging Students in the Classroom Creates Lifelong Learners
Tanka Poem
Meet the haiku's more extreme cousin.
Like haikus, tankas begin with three unrhymed lines, the first being five syllables long, then seven, then five.
But where the haiku ends, tanka continues with two more unrhymed lines of seven syllables each. This Japanese lyric poem is well over 1200 years old (its more popular counterpart, haiku, is around 300), and it often involves metaphors and other figurative language.
Prepare students for this form of poetry by doing a quick overview on syllables and then "speaking" in tanka.
Have students sit in a circle. The first person will start the conversation, but each line must fit a 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic pattern.
For example:
Student 1: Have you read tankas? (5)
Student 2: No, I've never heard of them. (7)
Student 3: They're interesting. (5)
Student 4: It's fun to count syllables. (7)
Student 5: But only if you can count. (7)
Have students count with their fingers as they speak. You also may want to write "5-7-5-7-7" on the board and point to each number to help students keep track of how many syllables to use.
When a student uses too many or too few syllables, they are out, and the game continues.
Students will not only be speaking in tanka, they'll be thinking it too.
Writing should be no problem.
Read More: Rhyme and Repeat: 5 Poetry Activities Kids Will Love