Poetry Alternatives
From Poetryteachers.com
If I… Have the students write "If I ______" on a sheet of paper, and then ask them to fill in the blank with whatever comes to mind. If your students aren't too sure about how to fill the blank on their own, you can offer a list of examples or choices: "If I Were Invisible." "If I Knew How to Fly." "If I Had a Million Dollars." "If I Had Done My Homework Last Night." "If I Were Teacher for a Day." "If I Played in the NBA." (Of course, the "If I…" poem doesn't have to be humorous. Allowing your students to choose how they will fill in that blank can lead to some serious and touching reflections.)
Feelings Poem
Some of the most memorable poems ever written are about feelings ("How do I love thee?/Let me count the ways"). Here's a good way to get your students thinking about poems that discuss feelings:
1. Ask your students to name as many feelings as they can. To get them started, write "sad," "mad," "happy," and a few others on the board. As your students think of more feelings, add them to the list.
2. Ask the students to choose one feeling from the list.
3. Have the students write down their answers to one of the following questions:
-When do I feel [insert feeling]?
-Why do I feel [insert feeling]?
-How does it feel to be [insert feeling]?
Their answers will become the poems, although you may encourage them to revise and polish their poems as needed. What will make these poems work best is if they tell a story or if the reader can learn something about the writer from the poem. Often it's easier to write about feelings in free verse-so tell your students they don't need to worry about rhythm and rhyme patterns. Exaggeration Poem
Wouldn't it be great if you could figure out a way to get your students to think metaphorically without having to go through all those tiresome explanations of similes and metaphors? I just came up with an idea that might work: exaggeration. Metaphors, of course, are comparisons. And exaggerations are comparisons (or implied comparisons) of the seemingly exceptional vs. the ordinary.
Tell your students to write a few lines proving that someone they know is the best, nicest, smartest, fastest, strongest, or most beautiful person. Here's something I wrote about my mother, as an example.
My Mom is Better than Your Mom
My mom is better than your mom. The oatmeal she makes is so good for me I could bench press 100 pounds when I was five. She says "Have a bright day," as I walk out the door and I'm ready to get straight A's in school. She makes spinach and Brussels sprouts so delicious I always ask for seconds. People are always telling her, "You're so beautiful, you should be a model." But she always responds, "It's not your outer beauty but your inner beauty that counts most." She never nags me to do my homework. Instead, she asks "How are you doing with your homework? Need some help?" I never do. I want her to be proud of me. And when she puts me to bed at night, she tucks me, gives me a kiss, and I'm asleep--just like that. My mom is nicer than your mom. --Bruce Lansky
Make Your Own Tongue Twister
. Have your students make four lists: nouns, proper nouns, verbs, and descriptive words (adjectives and adverbs) that begin with a particular letter (e.g., "B"). For example:
Nouns Names Verbs Describers bubbles Bobby burst broken brother Baxter ball Boris boo hoo
2. Have them write down the first line of a story that makes sense. For example:
Bobby Baxter burst a bubble.
3. Then have them add a second line, using words from your list, that advances the story, for example: Bobby Baxter burst a bubble (A) Bobby's brother Boris blew. (B)
The next steps are optional:
4. Now they can figure out the rhythm and rhyme pattern of the poem they've started and continue it in the next two lines. The rhyme pattern is going to be ABAB.
5. The rhythm pattern is going to be:
DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da (A) DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM (B) DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da (A) DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM (B)
6. Now they can complete the poem:
Bobby Baxter burst a bubble Bobby's brother Boris blew. Bobby's brother started balling Boris cried, boo hoo, boo hoo.
What I’d Cook for My Teacher
Here’s a fun idea to help your students write a funny poem: Let them write about you! I know all your students say you’re their favorite teacher, but this poetry exercise will tickle even the most die-hard teacher's pet. Here’s how to do it. Tell your students to pretend they’re going to make lunch for you or another teacher. Have them make a list of really funny, gross, yucky foods that they’ll be serving. Then, they can either turn these foods into a "list poem" or they can turn their list into a poem that rhymes.
Here’s an example:
What I’d Cook for My Teacher (nonrhyming list poem)
Rattlesnake stew centipede salad seaweed and jellyfish sandwich milk mixed with glue a-chooberry pie I hope the old bat doesn’t die!
Comment: Nonrhyming list poems are easy and fun to write. But many people enjoy reading poems that are written with rhythm and rhyme. Below, I’ve taken the same ideas and added some connecting words. What I’d Cook for My Teacher (rhyming poem)
If I cooked hot lunch for my teacher,(A) I would start out with rattlesnake stew.(B) Then I’d serve her a centipede salad(C) And a tall glass of milk mixed with glue(B) Next, a seaweed and jellyfish sandwich(D) For dessert, an a-chooberry pie.(E) When my teacher finds out what she’s eaten,(F) I hope the old bat doesn’t die!(E)
Anti-smoking Poem
When you visit Tombstone, Arizona, be careful not to get into a gunfight. There's a famous cemetery in Tombstone called Boot Hill, where cowpokes who lost gunfights are buried. Visiting Boot Hill, I noticed a gravestone with this epitaph:
Here lies Lester Moore. Four slugs from a 44. No Les. No More.
Clever, but not the most elegant poem. But it does get the point across: Lester Moore isn't around any more. He was shot four times with a 44. Now he's dead and buried in this grave.
This morbid fact got me thinking about the challenge of writing epitaphs. What if someone named Sam Shay smoked six packs of cigarettes a day. (That's almost as stupid as visiting Tombstone and getting into a gunfight, isn't it?) And, what if Sam Shay's family asked your students to write a clever epitaph.
It's a lot easier than you think. Want your students to give it a try? OK, give them the unfinished epitaph below. Then, all they have to do is finish it off.
Smoker's Epitaph
Here lies Sam Shay Smoked six packs a day. He started smoking when he was (any number from 1-10). Now ______.
Here are two examples of how your students could end this poem:
He started smoking when he was five. Now that fool is not alive. He started smoking when he was ten. Now he'll never smoke again.
Once your students have tried all the other numbers from one to ten, see if they can find a new way to end this poem. Here's what I came up with:
His last request was one more puff. I guess he's finally smoked enough.
What Bugs Me poem
A list poem is one of the easiest kinds of poems to write because it doesn't require either rhythm or rhyme. But that doesn't mean your students should write anything down helter skelter. Here's a list of elements that makes a list poem a poem instead of just a list:
1) The writer is telling you something--pointing something out--saying, "Look at this," or, "Think about this." 2) There's a beginning and end to it, like in a story. 3) The list is arranged with stylistic consistency and the words are arranged to create a parallel structure.
Here's an example to show you what I mean:
What Bugs Me
When my teacher tells me to write a poem tonight. When my mother tells me to clean up my room. When my sister practices her violin while I'm watching TV. When my father tells me to turn off the TV and do my homework. When my brother picks a fight with me and I have to go to bed early. When my teacher asks me to get up in front of the class and read the poem I wrote on the school bus this morning.
Notice how this poem fulfills the three requirements listed above:
1) It tells you what's bugging me. 2) It tells you that I wasn't thrilled with the assignment of writing a poem and I got distracted at home and had to write the poem on the bus the next morning. 3) Every line has the same structure: "When my ____ does something to me."
To get your students started writing a list poem about what's bothering them, I suggest you write a list of people or things that bug your students on the left side of the chalkboard. On the right side of the board, write the ways in which those people or things bug your students. Don't be surprised if everyone gets into this brainstorming session. (Students like to share their pet peeves!) Here's how such a list would look:
My mother:
She makes me take the garbage out. She makes me practice the piano. She makes me turn off the TV and do my homework. As soon as I go to my room, she turns on the TV and watches it. and so on.
Then add similar details for other people and animals on the list including:
My father: My sister: My best friend: The neighborhood bully: The school cop: My brother: My dog: My cat: My hamster:
Once the students have their ideas on the board, make a composite poem with the best entries (as in my sample poem above), making sure to use parallel structure and trying as best you can to turn it into a story with a beginning and an end.
Color Poem (from: www.adifferentplace.org/poetry.htm)
Think about colors in different ways and write down your thoughts:
What does the COLOR sound like? What does theCOLOR look like? What does theCOLOR feel like? What does the COLOR smell like? Think of things that are that COLOR. Think of events that are thatCOLOR. Think of feelings that are that COLOR.
Look at your list of thoughts, put them in a pleasing order. Add some good descriptive words. The following are activities from: www.msrogers.com/English2/poetry/30_days_of_poetry.htm Look this one up—there are thirty different poetry activities—not all of them are reproduced here.
Concrete Poetry
Concrete Poetry is the use of words and their physical formation to convey meaning. This may be done with color, the shape of the letters, and/or the arrangement of words.
Directions: Graphically create a scene using only words. From a distance this will look like a picture, but up close it will consist only of words and phrases. No extra lines or shapes should be used. A light pencil line might be drawn first as a guide. Use colors, shapes, and sizes that will enhance the meaning of words.
An alternative is to use a letter of the alphabet and create a phrase in which most of the words begin with that letter. The major letter should be drawn so that it suggests the object you are describing.
Synonym Poetry*:
Choose any word. Write that word in capital letters on the first line. In a thesaurus (you can link the the WWWebster(TM) Dictionary based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary, Tenth Edition by clicking here) look up the word and find three to five synonyms for it. Write the synonyms on the second line. One the third line, write a descriptive phrase about the word. The last two lines of the poem should rhyme.
Student Examples:
LOVE Attachment, adoration, warmth, adore Love is so pure, right down to the core. ---Kimiko Brantley (Grade 10)
NOISE Clamor, uproar, hullabaloo. These things can really annoy you. ---Shasta Inman (Grade 9) Opposites
Choose two things that are opposites. It could be the opposite sides of a question. Humor is good. The poem should be two or four lines long. The first two and the last two lines should rhyme. Sight rhymes are acceptable.
The opposite of honest What a lot of people do on a hard test. ---Benjamin Swanson (Grade 9)
OPPOSITES
What is the opposite of love? Maybe it is as beautiful as a white dove, Because love is so fine, This is something that I know is mine.
What is the opposite of a smile? Maybe it is a frown that hasn't been seen in a while, Because a great smile brightens up the day, This has made my day better in every way.
What is the opposite of true? It could be purple, or even blue. Because truth is better than a lie, I want the truth even from my special guy. ---Kimiko Brantley (Grade 10)
Three Word Forms:
Each line of this form is made up of three words. The last two words become the first two words in the next line. In the poem, there will be a progress of images and a story will be told.
Student Examples: MORNINGS
sleep, alarm, awake alarm, awake, shower awake, shower, clothes shower, clothes, shoes clothes, shoes, dog shoes, dog, run dog, run, breakfast run, breakfast, sunrise breakfast, sunrise, car sunrise, car, work. ---Alex Buffington (Grade 10) I Don't Understand...:Begin the poem with "I don't understand..." List three things you do not understand about the world or people. Name the thing you do not understand most of all. End the poem with an example of something you DO understand.
Student Example: I DON'T UNDERSTAND...
I don't understand why people dislike me why people can't get along why dogs are colorblind and cats aren't
But most of all why people are prejudiced why people must move away why people argue over stupid stuff why there is wars
What I understand most is why trees grow why birds chirp why the suns shines why the car goes. ---Anita Pepper (Grade 10)
Just Because...:Just Because... poems ask you to describe yourself in the first line of the poem. The next three lines in each stanza tell what you are NOT. The final line restates the first line and adds a tag directing the reader to do something.
Student Examples:
Just because I'm scared Don't laugh and giggle behind my head Don't kid and play when I'm not there Still ask me because I might play Just because I'm scared It doesn't mean I can't do it It doesn't give you the right to talk about me It doesn't stop me from having fun Just because I'm scared Still tell me everything you did Can't wait until I get big Just because I'm scared -- please try to be my friend ---Brandon Womack (Grade 10) I Am…
Below is the line-by-line set-up for this version of the "I Am..." poem:
1st Stanza
I am (two special characteristics you have) I wonder (something you are actually curious about) I hear (an imaginary sound) I see (an imaginary sight) I want (an actual desire) I am (the first line of the poem is repeated)
Stanza 2
I pretend (something you really pretend to do) I feel (a feeling about something imaginary) I touch (something you imagine you touch) I worry (a worry that is real to you) I cry (something that makes you very sad) I am (the first line of the poem is repeated)
Stanza 3
I understand (something you know is true) I say (something you believe in) I dream (a dream you actually have) I try (something you make an effort to do) I hope (something you really hope for) I am (the first line of the poem is repeated)
Formula Poems:
Formula poems help you use words effectively. Using parts of speech and literary devices help to make your work lively and exciting.
Formulas: Samples:
#1: Participle, participle, participle #1: Leaping, soaring, flying #2: Noun #2: The superhero #3: Adverb (how) #3: Nonchalantly #4: Verb #4: Crashed #5: Adverb (where or when) #5: Into the wall Title: Pick a color Title: Green #1: Describe something #1: Makes me think of Spring associated to it #2: Simile or metaphor #2: Like a tree covered with leaves #3: Adverb or adverb phrase (where) #3: In a wooded forest.
Title: Feeling Title: Silly #1: Three verbs #1: Tickle, wiggle, giggle #2: Adverb (where) #2: Lying on the floor #3: Who has the feeling #3: My baby sister
More Formula Poems:
Formula poems help you use language effectively. Knowing grammar and literary terms helps you to write vivid poems that show your reader a mental image. The better your reader can see what you are talking about, the more s/he will like it.
Formulas: Samples:
Title: Noun Title: Giraffes #1: Verb #1: Munching #2: Verb phrase #2: Loping in the grass #3: Three adjectives #3: Stately, long-necked, silent.
Title: Participle Title: Jumping #1: Three nouns that do it #1: Frogs, kangaroos, Mexican beans #2: Two adjectives #2: Happy, playful #3: Simile #3: Like a single heart
Title: Earliest Memory Title: Earliest Memory #1: Adverb (where) #1: At the easel #2: Doing what #2: Painting a sailboat #3: Two or three words showing emotion #3: Intense, quiet, relaxed #4: Detail from the setting #4: Too much water on the brush #5: Skip a line #5: #6: Tell how you feel #6: Frustrated! Emotions and Actions:
Sometimes it is hard to put your emotions and feelings on paper. The following patterns for poems are designed to allow you to get used to putting your emotions into writing.
Line #1: What if ______Line #2: I might ______(leave a space between lines 2 & 3) Line #3: What if ______Line #4: I could ______(leave a space between lines 4 & 5) Line #5: What if ______Line #6: I would______(leave a space between lines 6 & 7) Line #7: Ask a question.
Line #1: When I ______(describe an action) Line #2: ______(describe where action takes place) Line #3: (Write 2 to 3 words that describe how you feel) Line #4: I wish I could______(describe an action) Line #5: (Tell the reason why)
Title: EMOTION Line #1: I ______(describe what you did to show how you were feeling) Line #2: (Write 3 words that describe how you felt) Line #3: (Make a statement or ask a question with regard to what is written in the first two lines)
Line #1: If I could be ______Line #2: I'd ______(describe what you would do) Line #3: ______(describe how you would do it) Line #4: ______(describe where you would do it) Line #5: (Exclamation that shows how you would feel)
Writing About Weather: Possibly the most famous poem about weather is Carl Sandburg's Fog. You can write about a force in nature in the style of Sandburg by following the formula below:
Title: Form of Nature chosen Line #1: Title + (how it arrives or begins as the animal would arrive) Line #2: Tell what it does Line #3: And how it does it Line #4: And where it is Line #5: Tell how it leaves (as the animal would leave)
Student Example:
THUNDER
Thunder comes in loud Like the majestic roar of a lion. It answers the call Of lightening By striking fear into people. Away, somewhere in the sky, Somewhere in the unknown, An unknown voice, And then leaves without a trace Of its existence Except in peoples' stories. ---Elia Miller (Grade 9)
Month Metaphors:
You can use a metaphor as a springboard to write a Month Metaphor poem. The format is the same as when you did WRITING ABOUT WEATHER.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Choose a month -- or a season -- and picture how it would arrive if it were a person OR an animal. The list of MOTION WORDS below may help you, or you may use another word to show how the month or season arrives.
2. Add a few words to make the picture seem more complete. Tell how OR where it arrives. Use adverb or prepositional phrases. If you wish, use a THESAURUS to find synonyms to replace overworked words.
3. Tell something else the month or season does while it is here.
4. Tell how the month or season leaves. NOTE: be sure you keep the same comparison (metaphor) throughout the poem. Don't change to a different picture.
MOTION WORDS
march wobble creep steal stagger sneak stumble bound skip zoom trot bounce prance tramp totter dart float dance strut lope tiptoe shuffle skate trudge gallop scurry slide plod hop spring leap advance limp glide slink drag hobble flutter skulk slip canter lurch crawl saunter
Student Examples:
JULY trudges right in with a bang. It crawls around on the hot ground, leaps around spreading warmth, then glides right out of the way. ---Tierra Jones (Grade 10)
SEPTEMBER creeps in quietly and unnoticed. It just sits there waiting, watching for something to happen. Then, just a quickly as before, it creeps back out. ---Elia Miller (Grade 9)
Biopoem Line 1: First name
Line 2: Four traits that describe character
Line 3: Relative (“brother,” “daughter,” “aunt,” etc.) of _____
Line 4: Lover of _____ (three things or people)
Line 5: Who feels ____ (three items)
Line 6: Who needs _____ (three items)
Line 7: Who fears _____ (three items)
Line 8: Who gives _____ (three items)
Line 9: Who would like to see _____ (three items)
Line 10: Resident of _____
Line 11: Last name Sense Poem
1. Select a subject. Make it concrete (not an abstract idea). 2. Fill in the boxes below with sense words. Try to have at least five words per box. 3. Choose your best sense words and fill in the blanks to make the poem below.
Color Shape Taste Sound
Smell Touch Size
Title: I see I hear I feel I smell I taste I know
Adapted from: http://skyview.vansd.org/bquestad/crpoemtypes.html I Used To Be… A Metaphor Poem
Think of two metaphors (objects) for yourself, one that represents yourself long ago and one that represents yourself now. Then, using your metaphors, fill in the blanks:
Metaphor brainstorming space:
Line Directions Your Draft Example 1 Write either “I used to I used to be be” or “I was.” 2 Write the metaphor a caterpillar you chose for your younger self. 3 Describe something inching along. about the object you just named. 4 Write either “But now But now I am I am” or simply “now I am.” 5 Write the metaphor a butterfly for your present self 6 Describe something floating free. about the object you just named.
Adapted from: http://skyview.vansd.org/bquestad/crpoemtypes.html Poem with Personification
In this poem, you will represent an emotion as if it were a person.
Emotion possibilities brainstorm:
Sketch a picture of your “emotion person:”
Poetic form Directions Your Draft Example Emotion you “I saw…” I saw anger are representing clearly. Person’s body “S/he He was muscular type was…” and strong Way person “S/he turned He turned and moves and…” lunged at me, his fist thrust forward Looks—eye, “I saw I saw his red skin hair color, etc. his/her…” and black eyes Sounds—how “And heard And heard him person speaks him/her…” bellow with rage. or sounds How you feel “And I And I felt afraid. felt…”
Adapted from: http://skyview.vansd.org/bquestad/crpoemtypes.html Simile Poem
Select two objects or types of people to be compared. Opposites work well for this.
Brainstorm your objects:
Directions Your Draft Example Your two objects Women and Men Season of year object A woman is like one is most like spring, Something about object With a budding one that makes it like potential ready to that season sensationalize. Season of the year A man is like winter, object two is most like Something about object Ready to withstand two that makes it like the rigors of physical that season endurance Animal or natural object A woman is like an that is like object 1. exotic purple-black orchid Something about object Seeming delicate and 1 that makes it like this fancy but actually natural thing. strong and ambitious. Animal or natural object A man is like an oak that is like object 2 tree, Something about object Strong, powerful and 2 that makes it like this able to provide natural thing. support.
Adapted from: http://skyview.vansd.org/bquestad/crpoemtypes.html Why Poem Using poetry to understand human nature
Brainstorm possible people about whom you could write this poem:
Line Directions Example Your Draft 1 Write who your My sister poem is about (you do not have to use a name) 2 Describe a Combs and combs specific action her long, brown that this person hair does. 3 Write down In front of the where this mirror in our person does this bedroom action 4 Write down Every night. when this person does this action 5 Write down She wants to show why this person me how beautiful does this action she is. (or why you think he or she does it).
Adapted from: http://skyview.vansd.org/bquestad/crpoemtypes.html Memory Poem Memories are an important source for poetry.
In this poem, every line begins with “I remember…”
Sample poem: I remember a school carnival where I pitched pennies and won a silver whistle. I remember a green frog, chopped to pieces in Daddy’s lawn mower. I remember a pink and frilly dress I ripped to shreds, sliding down a stone wall. And I remember the thunder in my mother’s eyes when she saw it.
Brainstorm at least 10 memories: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Choose your best lines to complete your “I remember.” You may want to think about progression—chronological, from least intense to most intense, alternating contrasting material, etc. I Remember Complete Draft:
Adapted from: http://skyview.vansd.org/bquestad/crpoemtypes.html The Questad Poem—the poem that brings it all together.
Space to work out possibilities:
Line Directions Your Draft Example 1 Title—topic of Cars poem By Eric Harker 2 Personification They seem to sing when you rev up the engine 3 Hyperbole The sound is sweeter than honey 4 Alliteration Purring proudly like a pack of panthers 5 Onomatopoeia VROOM! 6 Metaphor It is a shiny dream in the eyes of a child, 7 Simile Speeding like the space shuttle 8 Imagery Gleaming with silvery metallic paint along a black road of fragrant tar. Adapted from: http://skyview.vansd.org/bquestad/crpoemtypes.html