Read/Write/Think Topic: Poetry for Kids of All Ages!
"Happy Is" Poem
Ask your child to state an emotion, for example “happy.” Go around the house or yard, and have her identify “happy” objects, telling you why they are happy. (“The sunflower is happy because it gets to dance in the sun.”) Write “Happy is...” then help your child craft a poem based on her observations, adding a final line about what makes her happy:
Happy is the sunflower that dances in the sun.
Happy is the iPod that makes music.
Happy is the carpet that tickles my feet.
Happy am I when Mommy hugs me!
Help your child discover words associated with each emotion (“smile,” “laugh” or “grin,” for example), and incorporate them into the poem. This exercise is not only a fun way to explore emotions, but can also be a simple introduction to personification, giving human attributes to inanimate objects.
Happy is the sunflower that dances in the sun.
Happy is the iPod that makes music.
Happy is the carpet that tickles my feet.
Happy am I when Mommy hugs me!
Help your child discover words associated with each emotion (“smile,” “laugh” or “grin,” for example), and incorporate them into the poem. This exercise is not only a fun way to explore emotions, but can also be a simple introduction to personification, giving human attributes to inanimate objects.
Shape Poem
Brainstorm with your child to come up with a topic that is important to him, has a shape associated with it that can be drawn easily, and that has at least ten words that are associated with it. Some favorite topics include sports, animals, foods or places. Be sure to include things (nouns), actions (verbs), and describing words (adjectives or adverbs) in your word bank. Pick a shape that represents the topic, and “draw” the shape using the words and phrases that you have come up with. Voila! Poetry as art!
"All About Me" Poem
Diamante Poem
The diamante is a 7-line, diamond shaped poem that does not rhyme, but allows children to create a poem which transforms from one thing to another through descriptive words. It begins with a subject followed by a pattern of seven words that describe the subject. The last seven words describe the opposite of the subject, and the final line is the opposite of the subject. This format allows children to see connections in words and concepts while learning the various parts of speech. Have your child select a topic and its opposite. Then have him write a diamante using the following format:
Subject
Adjective adjective
Verb (-ing or –ed) verb verb
Noun noun noun noun
Verb verb verb
Adjective adjective
Opposite of subject
Subject
Adjective adjective
Verb (-ing or –ed) verb verb
Noun noun noun noun
Verb verb verb
Adjective adjective
Opposite of subject
Word Bank Poem
Word banks are a great tool for middle schoolers to use to get the creative juices flowing. Start with an image of a place (a photo from your collection, or from a magazine or website). Have your child write down all the words they can think of that are associated with, or describe the place in the picture. Be sure they include nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs if possible. Then, have them choose the words from their word bank to write a two or three stanza quatrain (four lines), rhyming or not, including at least one poetic device. The following example uses repetition as a device:
A Lonely Light Flickers
One bench on the dirty sidewalk
A lonely light flickers
One building in the dark night
A lonely light flickers
The stars glitter on the sleeping night
Sighing and humming, the old tramp sleeps
Silence rolls over
A lonely light flickers
- Keren Boosy, age 13
A Lonely Light Flickers
One bench on the dirty sidewalk
A lonely light flickers
One building in the dark night
A lonely light flickers
The stars glitter on the sleeping night
Sighing and humming, the old tramp sleeps
Silence rolls over
A lonely light flickers
- Keren Boosy, age 13
Narrative Poetry
One way for your high school student to tell a story is through a narrative poem. The poem needs to have the same elements (beginning/middle/end) as a short story, and may take any form. It may rhyme, or be non-rhyming free verse. It may be written in couplets of two lines, quatrains of four, or may not have stanzas at all. What it should express is the underlying theme, or emotion of the incident. Examples might include the fear felt by a toddler when lost in a toy store, the nervous tension of a first homecoming dance, or the excitement of overcoming the fear of a rollercoaster. Many teens use such narrative poems as the basis for their spoken word entries into poetry slams. For information about local poetry slams, go to Youth Speaks (www.youthspeaks.org).
