Poetry Unit 2014
Poetry Unit
March Writing Project
THEME: The four seasons. You are writing 4 poems, each a different
style, one on each season. Your “subtheme” can be: emotions and
feelings, nature, your senses (sound, sight, hearing, etc.), etc.
SOME EXAMPLES OF THE TYPES OF POEMS YOU CAN USE AND THE REQUIRED NUMBER OF
LINES/STANZAS:
1. A haiku poem has three lines and 17 syllables.
Haiku poetry began almost 1000 years ago in Japan. Haiku poetry does not have to rhyme but it
does have to follow a certain pattern for the number of lines and syllables. Titles are subtle, but
the poem always describes something about nature. Sensory details are very important. Must
be written in present tense.
Lines 1 has five syllables.
Line 2 has seven syllables.
Line 3 has five syllables
Haiku Example:
Winter
An icy wind blows
The tree is lonely and cold
Its branches are bare.
If you choose to write a haiku, YOU MUST DO 4 CONNECTED HAIKUS FOR ONE SEASON.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2. A quatrain has four lines.
Lines 1 and 3 rhyme.
Lines 2 and 4 rhyme.
Rhyming lines should have about the
same number of syllables.
or
Lines 1 and 2 rhyme.
Lines 3 and 4 rhyme.
Rhyming lines should still be about the
same length.
Poetry Unit 2014
Quatrain Example:
High in the bright blue sky
A bird soared silently on the breeze
I saw him as he flew by
And wondered how he flew with such ease.
If you choose to write quatrain, YOU MUST DO 4 CONNECTED QUATRAINS FOR ONE SEASON.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
3. A cinquain has five lines.
Line 1 is one word (the title).
Line 2 is two words that describe the title.
Line 3 is three words that tell action.
Line 4 is four words that express feeling.
Line 5 is one word that recalls the title
Cinquain Example:
Snow
White,cold
Blowing, falling, piling,
Excitement - maybe no school!
Snow.
If you choose to write a cinquain, YOU MUST DO 4 CONNECTED CINQUAINS FOR ONE
SEASON.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
4. A limerick has five lines.
Edward Lear (1812-1888) made limericks popular kinds of poems. Some people think that
limericks were first written in the town of Limerick, Ireland.
The limerick has 5 lines; the 3rd & 4th lines are shorter than the others.
Lines 1, 2, and 5 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.
Limerick Example:
Poetry Unit 2014
There once was a seed in the sky.
That rode on the wind way up high.
The wind did die down.
Dropped the seed on the ground.
A flower will grow by and by.
If you choose to write a limerick, YOU MUST DO 3 CONNECTED LIMERICKS FOR ONE SEASON.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
5. A diamante poem is shaped like a diamond, using seven lines in the following manner:
1. LINE 1 one word subject (noun)
2. LINE 2 two adjectives describing LINE 1 noun
3. LINE 3 three participles ending in -ing or -ed to decribe LINE I noun
4. LINE 7 one word growing out of or opposite to LINE 1 noun (another noun)
5. LINE 6 two adjectives describing LINE 7 noun
6. LINE 5 three participles ending in -ing or -ed to describe LINE 7 noun
7. LINE 4 four words - two related to the noun in LINE 1 and two related to the noun in LINE 7;
they be arranged concurrently or alternately, as the originator of the poem wishes.
Diamante Example:
DREAMS
SUBCONSCIOUS, IMAGINARY
SLEEPING, WISHING,THINKING
FANTASY, ACTUALITY, VISION, GENUINE
BEING, SEEING, KNOWING, AUTHENTIC, FACTUAL
REALITY
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you choose to write a diamonte, YOU MUST DO 3 CONNECTED DIAMONTES FOR ONE
SEASON.
6. A couplet poem has rhyming stanzas, each made up of two lines.
Poetry Unit 2014
A stanza is a group of lines together in a poem. In a couplet poem, each stanza has only two
lines and they rhyme with each other.
Couplet Example:
Across the sky they seem to flow
As wind and currents gently blow.
The cumulus clouds in the sky,
Fluffy, white, and ever so high.
Their shapes and forms are most complex
Numbering at least a googolplex.
If you choose to write a couplet, YOU MUST DO 7 CONNECTED STANZAS (14 LINES) FOR ONE
SEASON.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
7. An acrostic poem spells a word downward.
The word acrostic is from the Greek for "end line," this is a multiple line poem that spells a
word downwards. Usually written about oneself in either phrases or list form.
Acrostic Example:
TRASH
Takes a
Really
Amazing
Stomach to
Handle this mess.
If you choose to write an acrostic, YOU MUST USE A PHRASE ABOUT YOUR SEASON THAT IS
AT LEAST 20 LETTERS LONG, and then connect the list of words or phrases to depict your
season.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
8. COLOR: A COLOR poem is a poem about your favorite color. EXPRESS YOUR FEELING ABOUT
A SEASON USING YOUR FAVORITE COLOR with analogies or similes or list nouns which are (or
Poetry Unit 2014
remind you of) that color. Another easy form is to use the 5 senses-looks like, sounds like,
smells like, tastes like, feels like.
Color looks like
Color sounds like
Color smells like
Color tastes like
Color feels like
Color Example:
Orange
Orange is feeling in your stomach after an orange soda quenched your thirst.
Orange is the sun after a summer day.
Orange is the sound of a field filled with dandelions blowing in the wind.
Orange is the taste of a pizza that just came out of the oven.
Orange is the sound of a busy bumblebee.
Orange is the taste of cold glass of orange juice.
Orange is the feeling inside you when you accomplish something.
Orange is the sound of a tomato plant growing.
Orange is the color of a carrot that just popped out of the ground.
Orange is the smell of a Tiger-Lily petal.
Orange is the feeling after a baby smiles.
Orange is the color of a brown beaver's incisor.
Orange is the smell of a late July day.
Orange is the feeling of a puppy's fur.
Orange is the color of peach marmalade on a side of toast.
Orange is the sound of a canoe paddling through shallow water.
And orange is a color that is safe and alive.
If you choose to write an COLOR POEM, YOU MUST USE A PHRASE ABOUT YOUR SEASON
THAT IS AT LEAST 20 LETTERS LONG, and then connect the list of words or phrases to depict
your season.