POETIC POWER PLUGS
Say it Another Way
Grade: 9-12
Objective: Searching for descriptive vocabulary
Directions: Write a poem after picking a subject. Leaves, Love, War, The Sea, etc… Write about it without using that word. It can be the title… but that’s it!
Example:
LEAVES
By Michael Curry
Light-catchers flutter, soaking Sun and its rays.
Drinking Light, clean and bright, offered during the days
Food-makers give, rushing green through the veins.
Cup-bearing Ground drinking Dew from the Rains.
Shade-givers tell that their time is no more.
Season is the reason that calls them to the floor.
Hue-changers many. Colors soft. Colors bold.
Telling all of the Fall. Speaking Frost. Singing Cold.
Breeze-dancers sigh with the Air in their dress.
With a swirl and a twirl, it’s a gentle caress.
Wind-ticklers soar, taking flight over Mist.
Taking heart, become part of the Ground that they’ve kissed.
Gust-papers rustle as the Authors let go.
All the tones from the bones riding Wind, ebb and flow.
Earth-blankets warm. Settled down for long sleep.
Lying low under snow. Quilted company they keep.
Land-lances tall. Brushing Air. Barren Tree.
Amused with the news of the Buds that will be.
Comments: I like this assignment because it forces my students to take another, more creative, look at their subject-matter.
Michael Curry
Lake Chelan High School
Chelan, WA
Analyzing Poetry
Grade: 9-college
Objective: Help students analyze poetry
Directions: Use the following in analyzing a poem with students. The statements are on a transparency. Students are given a copy of the poem. They then complete these statements before discussing them as a group:
I thought the title was…
In place and time we are…
The author is…
The speaker is…
The subject of the poem is…
The form and rhyme scheme are…
They affect the meaning in this way…
One outstanding image is…
One figure of speech I liked was…because…
The author’s writing style in three words:
If I were the editor, I would advise the author to…
I would like to try this… in my writing because…
My favorite line is…because…
A brief summary of the poem is…
Comments: I have had much success with this strategy.
Anna Bartholomeo
Seminole High School
Sanford, FL
Fragmented Poetry
Grade: 11-12
Objective: Foster creative thinking
Directions: The teacher writes the beginning of several abstract sentences. The possibilities are endless, but make sure the sentence is structured in order to foster a deep response. Students complete the rest of the line. They cannot use only a word or two, and they must try to use their different senses in each answer.
Example:
The only place my shadow can’t follow me is…
The drum beating in my head is trying to drown out…
The setting sun on a cool summer night reminds me of…
If truth could lie it would tell the world that…
If I could write God one word of advice I would tell Him that…
Windshield wipers are really…
If I could be a figure or symbol in an artistic portrait I’d be…
If I could give Sorrow one gift it would be…
A razor sharp rolling stone may…
I listen to soft music when…
The rhythmical ticking of a clock sounds like…
If the walls of my bedroom could speak they would tell you that…
If I could tell pain one thing it would be…
If I could see what lies at the bottom of my heart I’d discover…
One thing rain can’t touch is…
If red had a fight with blue red would win because…
If you were stranded on a desert island all alone, your friends would become…
If nothing found something that something would be…
Crimson red fingernail polish smells like…
If poetry could write its own poem it would be about…
Comments: My students love this activity. When we are finished with the exercise, they use their responses to write an original poem.
Julia Cramer
Peck Community Schools
Peck, MI
Books in Rhyme
Grade: 8
Objective: To introduce and incorporate rhyming patterns in telling a story, with the result being a classroom published book.
Directions: Teacher will share books with rhyming patterned stories (such as Dr. Seuss books) with students. After viewing several examples, each student will do brainstorming activities to develop a story line idea for a book, which will be given to an elementary school student upon completion. (My class makes a book for each student in a third grade classroom in another city.) Next, they will write a rough draft of their story idea. The story will then be 
rewritten using rhyming patterns throughout. After writing the story in rhyme, the story will be published in book form. The book will be the size of a half sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. Students will design and produce a cover for their books from sheets of colored card stock paper. The covers, front and back, will be laminated when finished. Students will decide which lines of the story/poem will go on each page, and will illustrate their story appropriately. They will also prepare a title/dedication page, which will include the name of the child who will receive the book. After editing the book and making corrections, the pages and covers will be bound using plastic comb binders. The finished product will be shared with the class, then presented to the elementary class for which the books were written.
Comments: When the third grade teacher receives the books, she shares them all with her class. After being shared with the class, each book is given to the child whose name appears on the dedication page. After a lesson on letter writing, the third graders write thank you letters to my 8th graders. Mrs. Rissman and I have used variations of this activity for several years with much success in both classrooms. The letters serve as a reward to my students for all their hard work, and the third graders love having a book written just for them!
Rose Mary Coble
Three Rivers Middle School
Talking Shoes
Grade: 6
Objective: To understand the term personification by writing narrative poem
Directions: Share with the students two narrative poems. Students are to open their notebooks to their poetry terms list and write down the word personification. What word do you see within that very long word? (Person) The definition of personification (give life to an inanimate object) is discussed with students. Typically I refer to Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters. Students are then asked to take one of their shoes off and place it on their desk. (Usually ignites laughter and chatter) I ask students to say hello to their shoe and to give it a name. I randomly select students to share the name they have selected and why. I distribute a worksheet that includes some of the following questions:
What activity does your shoe enjoy the most when it is with you?
How does your shoe feel about coming to school?
Does your shoe ever get upset with you? For instance, when you run through the mud, or trip over a rock, etc.?
How does your shoe feel being in your bedroom closet?
Does it get along well with the other shoes in your closet?
Based on the answers given, students are then asked to write a narrative twenty line poem (shoe is telling the story). Drafts are peer edited. They are then asked to illustrate their poem. Students share their poems with the class. Final drafts are graded based on a rubric.
Comments: I have been using this poetry activity in 6th grade for many years. If it a manageable class, I play a CD produced by animated voices (chipmunks, etc.). Students have fun, they learn about personification, and I have never been disappointed in the poetry that evolves from the exercise. Typically three classroom hours are used for this assignment.
Mary Maloney
Saint Rose School
Newtown, CT
Teaching Poetry Through the Use of Improvisation and Acting: The Association Chain
Grade: All
Objective: As with improvisation and acting, young writers should spend 15-20 minutes on warm up activities to really get their creative juices flowing.
Directions: Have Players stand in a circle (can be one large group or several small groups). Have everyone lightly slap their hands on their thighs twice, clap their hands together twice, and then snap their fingers twice. Repeat this rhythmic pattern while attempting to link a chain of words or phrases together. For example, Player 1 starts by naming a word (such as "car"). Player 2 must then name another word that starts with the last letter of the first word used (such as "radio"). Player 3 must then name a word that starts with the last letter of the second word (such as "orange"). Continue around the circle until a player loses rhythm, repeats a word that has already been used, calls out a word that is "unacceptable" by the group, or just gets "stuck." Once this happens, start a new chain. There are countless variations you can experiment with. You might try limiting responses to animal or pet names, cartoons, etc. To increase the complexity of this game, try using the second letter of each word as the link, using the letter that comes AFTER the letter in the link, etc. You can also pick topics that are a little more difficult to work with (such as proper nouns, world leaders, etc.).
Technique Learned: Avoiding repeat answers and active listening, while keeping a steady rhythm, requires intense focus. This game also helps to increase speed and association while on stage. This is a great "anywhere" game to play.
Poetic Connection: Using "association" can eliminate or reduce writer’s block and jump-start the next phrase or thought. Writing poetry, when specifically using the rules of this game, can take on a life of its own. Try having the group create a poem (verbally) by playing this game. Have each child contribute one word, line, or stanza (depending on age level).
Felicia M. Borges, State Marketing Director
California Creativity/Destination ImagiNation®
Based on Exercises/Games found in
"Improv and Acting Techniques for DI Teams and Team Managers"
Written by Felicia M. Borges, State Marketing Director
California Creativity/Destination ImagiNation®
Bubble Gum Rhyming
Grade: K-6
Objective: To help primary students learn how to write rhyming couplets.
Directions: I give each student a bubble gum lollipop to enjoy. We discuss rhyming words related to bubble gum which I write on the board. Next, we discuss the good things and bad things about bubble gum. Then students write a poem consisting of 3 or 4 couplets. The first line in each couplet says something good about bubble gum. The second line says something not so good about bubble gum.
For example:
Bubble gum, bubble gum oh so sweet.
But it sure is awful when it's sticking to my feet!
The kids really enjoy making up these poems, and some of the older elementary students always ask if they can do the activity, also. I teach gifted education classes, and this works really well with the 2nd and 3rd graders: however, I think it requires enough creativity to work in older classes as well.
Laurie Kwok
McNeill Elementary School
Bowling Green, KY
Writing Portfolios and the "Gift of Poetry"
Grade: 6-8
Objective: To use the writing process, interpret visual images, and respond to art through writing, emphasizing metaphor and voice.
Directions: Each school year, my students create a writing portfolio: a manila folder storing all drafts and polished pieces. To personalize the folder, students cover the outside with magazine photos, creating a collage of images representing themselves. On the inside of the folder, students have two sides for pieces to be "preserved." We included a "life-graph" (Seeking Diversity by Linda Reif,1992, page 48) illustrating the highs and lows of their lives on the inside left side (a great pre-write for personal narratives throughout the year). On the right side, students include a piece that was written in "dedication" to them by a classmate who has written a poem in response to the collage on the outside of the folder. My students enjoy writing and receiving The Gift of Poetry.
The Gift Poem lesson and rubric.
Prewriting: (blue/black ink or pencil)
1. Review your definition and examples of metaphors in previous writings.
2. Examine the writing portfolio that you have in front of you. Study the images.
3. Free-write (list thoughts, words, sentences, fragments, etc.) about what you see on the folder: What images stand out to you? What images seem less significant? What might the images tell you about the person who chose them? Is there a connection between any of the images (a common theme)? What do these images make you think of? What do you think the artist was thinking of when he/she chose some of these images? What emotions are depicted in the images? What emotions do you think the artist felt when they chose these images? What emotions do the images elicit from you? What questions do you have for the artist of the collage?
Drafting: (blue/black ink or pencil)
1. Read over your free-writing. What metaphors can you create about the artist
and/or the collage? Create at least 20 lines of poetry based on the collage and
how the collage is symbolic of the artist.
2. Consider the following "formulas" in creating metaphors:
You used to be…
But now…
You seem to be…
But really you are…
You are…
You are not…
Today you are…
Tomorrow you will be…
***Consider creating questions out of any of these formulas as well***
Revising: (red ink)
1. Highlight your absolute "must keeps" from your draft.
2. Choose at least 10 lines from your draft to work with.
3. Are there words you can delete? Can you say more with fewer (more powerful) words? Do you want to change the order of words or stanzas?
4. This poem is a gift to the artist…have you conveyed a positive sentiment through your poetry?
5. Is there a word / phrase you would consider for a title of your poem?
6. If a classmate were to read or hear your poem, what images would they get in their minds? Would these images complement or contradict the images on the collage? Read your draft to a classmate while they close their eyes. After you read your draft, ask them what they "saw" in their mind? Are these images you were hoping for?
Editing: (red ink)
1. Consider where you want to use capital letters. Never? At the beginning of each line? At the beginning of each stanza?
2. Consider where you want to use punctuation. Never? At the end of each line? At the end of each stanza?
3. Examine your spelling. Have you used 8th, 9th, 10th (or higher) grade vocabulary? Fresh and interesting language? Have you spelled each word correctly?
4. Ask one peer to edit for capitalization, punctuation, and spelling (in a different color of ink/pencil).
Publishing: (typed)
1. How do you want your poem to appear on paper? Centered? Left margin justified? Zig-zag? Use the white space as well as the words to create your poem.
2. Include a by-line after the title or at the end of the poem.
3. Type 2 identical final drafts…one to enclose in the portfolio as a gift to your schoolmate and one to turn in for a grade. You may choose the font / size appropriate for your poem, but it should not be longer than one page.
Assessment:
_____ (10) Prewriting (AT LEAST 1/2 page)
_____ (10) Drafting (AT LEAST 20 lines)
_____ (10) Revising (evident changes in the structure of the poem)
_____ (10) Editing (evident changes using proofreading / editing marks)
_____ (10) Publishing (appearance, format, 2 typed drafts, AT LEAST 10 lines)
_____ (25) Metaphor(at least 5 different metaphors OR 1-2 extended metaphors)
_____ (25) Voice (uses text to elicit a variety of emotion, takes some risks to say
more than what is expected, point of view is evident, writes with clear
sense of audience, cares deeply about the topic)
Comments: Creating this portfolio is one of the first activities we do in the school year; it is a non-threatening way for them to express themselves, and it also provides a transition into the first writing for the year, a poem dedicated to someone else. The poem is the first that we write in the year, so the poetry skills / techniques introduced are limited. We will use the skills introduced in The Gift Poem to build on for the rest of the year. This lesson also provides the immediate venue for publishing...the Gift Poem will be glued to the inside of the writing folder of the person it was dedicated to. Once we have the collage on the outside, and the inside covers have the life graph and The Gift Poem, we laminate the folders. The students have a personalized, meaningful portfolio to provide a "home" for the pieces they will write throughout the year.
Kirsten Mulligan
Canyon Vista Middle School
Austin, Texas