Poetry Project
1. Completed in a poetry booklet
• creativity, organization, difficulty level, and presentation quality
count throughout project
• hand-made and/or decorated (colorful and/or shows deliberate work in
medium of choice), including cover
• has a title page and a copyright page
• has a table of contents with pages numbered
• captures the spirit of the author/collector
• expresses the essence of poetry
• contains a title
• has 2 or more pages dedicated to the description and/or illustration
of key elements of poetry
2. Poetry Review
• find two or more poets whose work you feel drawn to (library,
textbook, online)
• at least one must be a classic poet
• find information about each poet and write a brief biographical
sketch of each
• copy at least 2 of each poet’s poems into your booklet (may be
printed from computer if long, etc.)
• find/show at least 3 different elements of poetry you find in each
poem (rhyme scheme, use of literary elements, kinds of poetry, etc.)
• write a short synopsis of your interpretation of the poem, what you
got from the poem, etc.
3. Original Poetry
• all poems must use correct format for the type of poetry it is
• write at least 2 different personal poems (#14, 15, 16, 17) on
the “Write Your Own Poems” list
• write at least 8 different types of poems from #1-13 on the “Write
Your Own Poems” list
• each poem must be identified by its type
• give each poem a title
• illustrate your book and your poems throughout the project
Write Your Own Poems!
1. HAIKU – a haiku is a three-line Japanese poem that is usually about
nature. The lines are unrhymed; the first line usually has 5 syllables, the
second line has 7, and the third line has 5 (but it’s ok to break that rule
a little bit). Think about a scene that is special to you and how you might
be able to describe it to a reader.
Example:
The pond I used to
Swim in has hardened now, but
It is mine year round.
--Andrea Baccigalupi
2. LIMERICK – a limerick is a five-line poem with a swinging rhythm that
tells a humorous story. Limericks rhyme in an AABBA pattern. It is a short,
sometimes bawdy, humorous poem of consisting of five lines. Lines 1, 2, and
5 of a Limerick have seven to ten syllables and rhyme with one another.
Lines 3 and 4 have five to seven syllables and also rhyme with each other.
The first line of many limericks ends in the name of a person or a place.
Perhaps you could write a limerick about a person or place you know. Make a
list of words that rhyme with that person’s or place’s name and use them to
end lines 2 and 5. Fill in the rest of the story in lines 3 and 4.
Here are some examples of limericks:
A piggish young person from Leeds There was an old lady named
Crockett
Made a meal on six packets of seeds Who went to put a plug in a
socket;
But it soon came to pass But her hands were so wet
That he broke out in grass She flew up like a jet
And he couldn’t sit down for the weeds. And came roaring back down
like a rocket!
3. PATTERN (CONCRETE) POEM – a pattern poem, also called a concrete poem,
is a poem meant to be seen, not heard. The arrangement of the letters and
words helps to tell what the poem is about. Your pattern poem can make a
picture using letters and words, like “Forsythia” on page 528 of your
Literature book, or can help describe an object in a unique way.
4. Ballad - A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and
often has a repeated refrain
5. Couplet - A couplet has rhyming stanzas each made up of two lines,
usually of the same meter and length. Multiple couplets often make up a
larger poem.
6. Narrative Poetry - Ballads, epics, and lays are different kinds of
narrative poems. A narrative poem tells a story.
7. Cinquain - A short poem consisting of five, usually unrhymed lines
containing respectively two, four, six, eight and two syllables:
Line 1 is one word (the title)
Line 2 is two words that describe the title.
Line 3 is three words that tell the action
Line 4 is four words that express the feeling
Line 5 is one word that recalls the title
Example:
Popcorn
Jumpy, bouncy
White, yellow and bumpy
Jumbly, rumbly, hot and mushy
Popcorn.
Cinquain Variations:
Line1: One word
Line2: Two words
Line 3: Three words
Line 4: Four words
Line 5: One word
Line1: A noun
Line2: Two adjectives
Line 3: Three -ing words
Line 4: A phrase
Line 5: Another word for the noun
Line1: Two syllables
Line2: Four syllables
Line 3: Six syllables
Line 4: Eight syllables
Line 5: Two syllables
8. Quatrain - a poem with a simple four-line rhyme scheme; may be combined
to form a longer poem. Examples:
rhyming a,b,c,b: rhyming a,a,b,b:
Mary had a little lamb Twinkle, twinkle little star
Its fleece was white as snow How I wonder what you are
And everywhere that Mary went Up above the world so high
The lamb was sure to go. Like a diamond in the sky.
rhyming a,b,a,b: rhyming a,a,a,a:
The rain was like a little mouse, Rain, rain, go away
quiet, small and gray. Come again another day
It pattered all around the house Little children want to play
and then it went away. So rain, rain, go away.
9. Free Verse - Rhymed or unrhymed verse made free of conventional and
traditional limitations and restrictions in regard to metrical structure; no
set fixed metrical pattern or expectation. Cadence, especially that of
common speech, is often substituted for regular metrical pattern. Examples:
Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamers,
Bring me all of your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.
--Langston Hughes
Good Friends
A good friend
Plays with you,
Laughs with you,
Shares with you,
Talks with you,
Listens to you,
And NEVER,
NEVER,
NEVER,
Tells your secrets
To anyone.
10. Sonnet - A poem of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter (stress is on
the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th syllables of each line), restricted to a
definite rhyme scheme.
-- Italian, or Petarchan, sonnet is composed of an octave and a sestet
(rhyming abbaabba cdecde)
-- Elizabethan, or Shakespearean, sonnet is composed of three quatrains and
a couplet (rhyming abab cdcd efef gg)
Example of a modern day Shakespearean sonnet
(used as a holiday card):
Perhaps you light eight candles burning bright,
Or you may celebrate in Jesus' birth,
Or think the Maharashi sends you light
Or just enjoy the fact you're here on Earth
The year's been packed with news both glad and sad.
We find strength through our laughter and our tears.
Ring in the good, eliminate the bad
And hope the nineties will be peaceful years.
I hope this poem will find you of good cheer;
That you and yours are prospering and sound
And on the stroke of midnight this new year
My toast will be to you on the first round.
Just one last word before this card I send:
My thanks for having you as a good friend.
11. Lyric - A poem that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet.
An example of a lyric is “The Rider” on p. 521 in our Literature book.
12. Diamond Poem
Line 1 - a one word noun
Line 2 - 2 adjectives that describe the noun
Line 3 - 3 verbs that the noun does
Line 4 - 4 things (nouns) that the top noun and the bottom noun has
Line 5 - 3 verbs that the bottom noun does
Line 6 - 2 adjectives that the describes the bottom noun
Line 7 - a one word noun that is opposite the top noun
Example:
cat
furry, silky
sleeping, purring, meowing
tail, fur, tongue, collar
barking, playing, licking
friendly, big
dog
13. 5W Poem
Line 1: Who
Line 2: What
Line 3: Where
Line 4: When
Line 5: Why
Example:
Samantha,
rode her bicycle,
to the store,
after dinner,
because she wanted to buy some candy.
14. Me Poem
First name _____________
3-4 adjectives that describe you
Daughter of … (son, brother, sister, niece, nephew, etc.)
Friend of (or lover of something like lover of chocolate) 3 things
Who feels (3 things) ____________
Who needs (3 things) _____________
Who gives (3 things) _______________
Who fears (3 things) _________________
Who would like to see (3 things) _____________
Resident of (place) _______________
Last name ________________
15. BioPoem
Line 1: First Name
Line 2: Four descriptive traits
Line 3: Sibling of...
Line 4: Lover of
Line 5: Who fears...
Line 6: Who needs...
Line 7: Who gives...
Line 8: Who would like to see...
Line 9: Resident of...
Line 10: Last Name
Example:
Tom
Tall, tasty, feathery, vicious,
Sibling of Clucky Chicken and Big Bird,
Lover of vegetarians and ham eaters,
Fears Mr. Butterball and pilgrims,
Needs to run around,
Gives nourishment and left overs,
Would like to see birds unite and revolt,
Resident of Old MacDonald's Farm,
Turkey.
16. Name Poem
Line 1 - your first name
Line 2 - "It means" then 3 adjectives that describe you
Line 3 - "It is the number" then any number you choose
Line 4 - "It is like" describe a color but don't name it
Line 5 - "It is " and name something you remember experiencing with family
or friends that makes you smile to recall
Line 6 - "It is the memory of" and name a person who is or has been
significant to you
Line 7 - "Who taught me" 2 abstract concepts (such as "honesty")
Line 8 - "When he/she" then refer to something that person did that
displayed the qualities in line 7
Line 9 - "My name is" your first name
Line 10 - "It means" and in 1-2 brief sentences state something important
you believe about life.
Example:
Jenny
It means strong, compassionate, friendly,
It is 100,
It is like light strawberries,
It is going swimming in the cold lake at Banff,
It is the memory of Grandma Tracy,
Who taught me patience and trust,
When she worked at the school,
My name is Jenny,
It means I believe in working hard and never giving up.
17. I Am Poem
I Am
I am (two special characteristics)
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 restated)
I pretend (something you actually pretend to do)
I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)
I touch (an imaginary touch)
I worry (something that really bothers you)
I cry (something that makes you very sad)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)
I understand (something you know is true)
I say (something you believe in)
I dream (something you actually dream about)
I try (something you really make an effort about)
I hope (something you actually hope for)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)
