8th Grade
PLEASE GET YOUR JOURNAL
• Poetry is words arranged in a rhythmic pattern
with regular accents, like beats in music.
• Words are carefully selected for sound, accent
and meaning in order to express ideas and
emotions in an imaginative way.
• Narrative:
-tells a story
-has a plot, characters,
conflict, problem, setting,
etc.
-Ballad is one example of
this poetry
• Lyric:
-deals primarily with feelings
-is usually, but not always, shorter
than a narrative poem
Examples:
-limerick, sonnet, free verse, blank
verse
• This term refers to
the rhyme pattern in
a poem.
• Schemes are labelled
according to their
rhyme sounds.
• A musical quality produced by the repetition
of stressed and unstressed syllables
• When you string a lot of words together, you
start seeing patterns.
• Simile – a comparison is made between two
objects which are mostly unlike but resemble
each other in some aspect.
• The comparison always contains the words
like or as.
• Example: The cat’s fur was as fluffy as cotton.
• Metaphor – two things are compared without
the use of the words like or as.
• Example: The ballet dancer was a feather as
she danced.
• Alliteration – the repetition of a consonant
sound, usually at the beginning of two or
more words.
• Example: She sells seashells by the seashore.
• Personification – a non-human object is given
human qualities or characteristics.
• Example: The sidewalk stretched across the
field.
• Onomatopoeia – the sounds of word imitate
the sound from real life.
• Example: The bang of the pistol started the
race.
• Hyperbole – great exaggeration is used.
• Example: There are a million things on my
mind!
“I like to think of blackout poems like those old Word
Search puzzles we used to do in elementary school – a
field of letters with hidden messages to find.”
-Austin Kleon, word artist
• Read through your copy of “Twas the Night
Before Christmas”
• Use the copy of the poem to create a shape
that is unique or symbolic to the poem.
• The words you choose to leave exposed
should compose a poem.
• Use your imagination, make sure it flows and
makes sense – and is school-appropriate.
• Don’t worry about messing up – if you like it – it’s
all good!
• This is supposed to be fun!
• Scan the poem for an “anchor” word to build
your poem around.
• Next, look for connecting words.
• Remember, your poem will be read from left to
right, top to bottom. Don’t confuse your reader.
• Lastly, turn your poem into a work of art –
illustrate around your words.
• 5 lines
• Lines 1, 2 and 5 are
longer (8-9 syllables)
• Rhyme with each other
• Lines 3 and 4 are
shorter (5-6 syllables)
• Rhyme with each other
• Main purpose is to
amuse
Limerick
Write this poem down.
Label the rhyme pattern
at the end of each line.
Label how many
syllables each line has
at the beginning the
line.
• Five line poem
• Line one has one word which
is actually the title.
• Line two has two words
which describe the title.
• Line three has three words
ending in “ing” which
describe the typical actions
of the subject.
• Line four has a four word
phrase describing your
reactions to or main
impression of the subject.
• Line 5 has one word which
can be a repetition or
synonym of line one.
Cinquain
Write this poem
down.
Now label each
line and what
each one is.
• A traditional 3 line Japanese
poem
• 17 syllables in total
• 5 syllables in lines 1 and 3
• 7 syllables in line two
• Does not rhyme
• Often deals with nature
• Usually has contrasts
Haiku
Write these
poems down.
Now label each
line and write the
syllable count for
each line at the
end of the line.
• Follows a very specific pattern
• 14 lines (10 syllables)
• The first 8 lines form one group called an
octave. The poet uses these to pose a
problem or describe a situation.
• The last 6 lines form another group called a
sestet. The poet uses them to answer the
problem or provide a conclusion.
• Shakespeare is one of the most famous sonnet
writers.
http://www.pbs.org/shakespea
re/educators/language/lessonp
lan.html
After Turkey Day, the garbage bags sat;
My dog was tempted by the tasty sight.
He tore them open, gorged big, and grew fat,
But first he made a mess and caused some blight.
He ate some hot sauce and blueberry pies,
Then laid around and moaned out loud in pain.
I worried in my heart of his demise,
And tried to scrub the purple carpet stain.
He slowly came around and waddled slow,
His belly wide and nearly to the floor.
So sad to see my hungry doggy grow
So portly wide, he barely fit his door.
He survived, but still he is more than stout.
I’ve learned. Next time I’ll take the garbage out!
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee
OOOOH Baby I think I shall compare you to a summer day
But, you know, you're prettier and even better, even calm
Because sometimes it gets windy and the buds on the trees get shaken
off
And sometimes summer doesn't last very long
Sometimes it's too hot
And everything gorgeous loses its looks
By getting hit by a truck Or just because everyone and everything gets
old and ugly and shabby
BUT (and here's the turn) you're going to keep your looks for ever
Your beauty will last for ever
I'm going to make sure that you never lose your good looks
And that nasty old Death can never brag about owning you
Because I shall write this poem about you
As long as men can breathe (are you breathing?)
As long as men can see (are you looking at this poem?)
Then this poem lives, and it gives life and memory to your beauty.
Rhyming Activity
• Rhyme each one of these lines - be mindful of
syllables as well.
1. My feet were screaming at me to stop
2. The boxes were piled as high as my head
3. Today is the day the tornado hit
4. Lotion is the best thing for my hands
5. The earthquake left the street in shambles
6. Snow cones make me happy
Narrative Poems
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A poem that tells a story
They can be long or short
Has a beginning – middle – end
Can have several different rhyme patterns
The Dog and His Boy
The dog owned a boy, and one fine day,
They went to the store to buy the boy some
treats,
The dog walked the boy every single day,
The boy and the dog loved one another,
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Today I wrote this poem,
but I'm not sure if it's good.
It doesn't have the things
my teacher says a poem should.
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It doesn't share the feelings
I have deep inside of me.
It hasn't any metaphors
and not one simile.
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It's missing any narrative.
Alliteration too.
It isn't an acrostic,
diamante, or haiku.
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There's nothing that's personified.
It doesn't have a plot.
I'm pretty sure that rhyming
is the only thing it's got.
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It sure was fun to write it,
and I think it's long enough.
It's just too bad it's missing
all that great poetic stuff.
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I put it on my teacher's desk
and, wow, she made a fuss.
She handed back my poem
with an A++++!
--Kenn Nesbitt
• a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally
transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or
more words, often to humorous effect, as in the
sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures,
accidentally spoken instead of the intended
sentence
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vexdVbSb4K
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Spoonerism
• Unrhymed
• Written in iambic pentameter (5 beats of
syllables each per line, unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable)
• Usually used for serious topics
• Does not try to follow any rigid requirements
or obey conventional rules
• The lines may vary in length from on word to
several.