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28 Writing Poems

Page
199
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Writing Poems Opening Page

Start-Up Activity

To get started have students complete this following series of sentence starters:

  • I am ______________________________. (Describe yourself in two words.)
  • I wonder about _____________________ .
  • I hear _____________________________ .
  • I see ______________________________ .
  • I want _____________________________.
  • I am ______________________________ . (Repeat the first line)

Upon completion, inform students that they have just written a list poem about themselves. Ask for volunteers to share their work. To get things started, share a list poem about yourself. Then read and discuss page 199. During your discussion of the poem “Everything Is New for Me,” point out that the poet uses repetition to great effect. Ask students to point out examples.

Think About It

“Poems are imaginary gardens with real toads in them.”

—Marianne Moore

Page 200 from

What Is Poetry?

Ask students what makes poetry different from other types of writing. (Possible responses: It rhymes. It’s shorter. It’s about nature. It looks different.) Then read and discuss page 200, which identifies two main differences. During your discussion of “Music,” ask students to identify the comparisons (similes) the poet makes. In “Ireland,” ask students to identify the source of the poet’s suffering.

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What Is Poetry? (Continued)

Ask for volunteers to read the illustrative poems under “Poetry says a lot in a few words.” Instruct your students to listen for the senses that are highlighted in each poem. Have students identify the sensory details in the list poems. Then read and discuss “Poetry sounds different.” Refer to pages 205–206 during this discussion.

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Page 202 from All Write

Writing Guidelines

The next three pages provide guidelines for writing free-verse poetry. Be sure that students understand the main characteristics of free verse. Show the examples of free-verse poems on pages 200 and 201. Then discuss how to choose a topic and gather details for their own free-verse poems. Consider modeling these two steps in the process.

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Page 203 from All Write

Writing and Revising

Read aloud and discuss “Writing the First Draft,” and then model the drafting process before you have students carry out their own drafting. Next, discuss “Improving Your Poem.” Model using the checklist to make improvements in the first draft of your poem. Instruct students to make at least two or three changes in their own poems.

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Editing 

Remind students that free-verse is poetry is essentially “free” of having to follow the conventions—other than those that help make the ideas in the poem clear to the reader. Students should edit their own poems with this point in mind.

Ask for a volunteer to read aloud the final version of “Wild Horses.” Note how different the final version is from the start of the first draft shown on page 203. Encourage students to keep working on their own poems after seeing this draft. Also encourage them to add a graphic to their poem.

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Page 205 from All Write

Special Poetry Techniques

Review “Figures of Speech” with your students. Ask them to write their own versions using the topics on page 28 as starting points. (Examples: “Taking a test is like visiting the dental clinic.” “My grandmother’s love dresses me in warmth and security.”) Then review “Sounds of Poetry” at the bottom of the page.

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Page 206 from All Write

Special Poetry Techniques (Continued)

Complete the review of “Sounds of Poetry.” Ask students to write examples of lines illustrating some of the techniques. (Examples: “The handball could shoot straight up or snap straight down or rocket right back to me.” “I could hear the te-poc-e-ta, te-poc-e-ta of his old tractor late last night.” “When I am older I would like to be . . . an author who writes books for kids just like me.”

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Invented Forms of Poetry

The last two pages in the chapter show many invented forms of poetry. Read aloud and discuss the forms on page 207. Decide on one or two for students to try. For a long-term project, instruct students to build a portfolio of poetry, including examples of invented poetry, to be presented at the end of the term.

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Page 208 from All Write

Invented Forms of Poetry (Continued)

Read and discuss the invented forms on page 208. Consider modeling a haiku poem for students, and then have them write one or two versions of their own.

Example:

               Jeff, a skilled golfer,

        precisely planted shot on shot

         while mine spread like weeds

Ask for volunteers to share their poems for discussion.

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