Structured Poetry Writing For All Ages

Poetry can be a fun addition to your homeschool plans.  This type of writing, however, can sometimes be challenging for children.  One great way to introduce poetry writing to your children is to start with poems that have a distinct set of rules.

It's important to note that these types of poetry are suitable for children of all ages to work on -- from early elementary through high school (and beyond!).  Many of these are also great practice for working on parts of speech.

Here are some examples of poetry with distinct rules or patterns, and then I'll share some more later in the week:

Diamonte:

There is a choice of two patterns for this type of poem.

Pattern One:

Line 1 = Noun

Line 2 = Adjective, Adjective

Line 3 = Verb, Verb, Verb

Line 4 = Noun, Noun, Noun, Noun

Line 5 = Verb, Verb, Verb

Line 6 = Adjective, Adjective

Line 7 = Noun

Pattern Two:

Line 1 = Opposite of Line 7

Line 2 = Describe Line 1

Line 3 = Action about Line 1

Line 4 = 2 Nouns about Line 1, 2 Nouns about Line 7

Line 5 = Action about Line 7

Line 6 = Describe Line 7

Line 7 = Opposite of Line 1

Cinquain:

The cinquain, like the diamonte, has two different pattern types.

Pattern One (words):

Line 1 = One Word (noun - this is the subject and title of the poem)

Line 2 = Two Words (adjectives)

Line 3 =  Three Words (verbs)

Line 4 = Four Words that Relate Feelings

Line 5 = One Word that Repeats or Refers to Line 1 (subject)

Pattern Two (syllables):

Line 1 = 2 syllables

Line 2 = 4 syllables

Line 3 = 6 syllables

Line 4 = 8 syllables

Line 5 = 2 syllables

Haiku:

A favorite of teachers everywhere, it seems.  Anyone reading who went to public school and never wrote a haiku?  (I'm sure kids other than public school kids write these, of course, I'm just speaking from my own experience.)

The haiku is a very traditional poem that is based on syllables.

Line 1 = 5 syllables

Line 2 = 7 syllables

Line 3 = 5 syllables

As I said earlier, I will share some more options for poems with distinct rules or patterns again later this week.  These are such a great way to allow children who like a lot of guidance in their writing to become poets.

Do you work on poetry with your children?  Do you work mostly with poetry with rules or more free form poetry?

Angie can be found writing at Many Little Blessings about faith, family, and household management.  Angie's poetry factoid: Her favorite poem is Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe.
 

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