In this program, students will have an opportunity to write various types of poetry based on the classroom's needs. This program can be adapted for different grade and skill levels. Examples of poetry writing exercises are as follows: (Sample exercises:)
(all time favorite!) #1. "Emotion Poems": Students pick a word from a jar full of emotion words such as "fear", "excitement", "disappointment"... They complete a worksheet using all their senses answering questions such as "What color is this word?" and "What does it taste like?"
They use their answers to craft an original poem about the emotion.
We type it up on a typewriter and they use watercolor paints to illustrate their emotion poems.
#2. "Color Poems" Another option is offering paint card samples to the students from which to chose a color. Whether having chosen a color or emotion word, each student will then work to create an original poem based on their words and using all five senses while employing original imagery and unique language
#2. "Figurative Language Poems" Begin by reading aloud a prose poem "Hairs" by Sandra Cisneros and after a short discussion on figurative language, students work together to find all the metaphors and similes in the poem. Using the first line in the piece as a writing prompt, students write their own prose poem starting with "Everybody in my family has different____________"..
After writing and illustratin their poems, students have the opportunity to present their work aloud to the class considering how to best communicate the emotion of their poems through their performance/reading.
