Oct. 9th – 15th
Poetry Reading on Oct. 16th at 9:15!
We began our Poetry Unit today and will continue until Thursday of next week. We will end our
unit on Thursday with poetry written by students. Their assignment is to write a poem on any
topic they choose and illustrate it. Be as creative as you wish! Please see the back of this
sheet for details of the assignment and examples of poems they may choose from. The poem will be
due by Wednesday, Oct. 15th, however, please send it in as
soon as they have completed it so that we may organize & practice for our Poetry Reading!
We would love for you to join us Thursday morning, October 16th at 9:15. Siblings are welcome,
too!
Poetry Project – will be evaluated as a writing grade.
Must have: Name, Date, Your Age, A title, type of poem, illustrations, neat handwriting (unless
it is typed, of course), and creativity. Do your best and have fun!

The following are only suggestions. If your child decides that they would like to do some other
type of poem that is perfectly fine. Here is a website that I found to be especially helpful:
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/types.htm

Free verse is just what it says it is - poetry that is written without proper rules about form,
rhyme, rhythm, meter, etc. In free verse the writer makes his/her own rules. The writer decides
how the poem should look, feel, and sound.
Example:
•Cat Personalities
My cats
Three cats
One hides
One howls
One hops
Pure entertainment.
-Jenny Weesner

Cinquain
Line 1: One word that tells what the poem is about
Line 2: Two words that describe the subject
Line 3: Three words that describe something the subject does
Line 4: Four to six words describing the subject further
Line 5: One or two words that rename what the poem is about (a synonym)
Dalmatian
spotted, happy
running, barking, jumping
a wagging tail on the end
Fire Dog!

A Couplet is a pair of lines of poetry that are usually rhymed.
Example:
• From Shel Silverstein’s Sick
"I cannot go to school today."
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
“I have the measles and the mumps,
a gash, a rash and purple bumps."

• Why is it?
Why is it some mornings
Your clothes just don’t fit?
Your pants are too short
To bend over or sit