A POCKET FULL OF POETRY
Poets have a way of reaching a world that is inside all of us – a world of emotions,
thoughts, and imagination. One way poets help readers connect to this inner world is
by creating powerful word pictures. They also use techniques to emphasize what they
want their readers to imagine, think about, and understand.
IN THIS UNIT, YOUR CRITICAL CHALLENGE IS TO LEARN ALL ABOUT
POETRY AND THEN PRODUCE YOUR OWN POEMS.
Take a journey through this Web Quest and be open to share ideas, what interests you
and too, what you find challenging and exciting! REMEMBER, THINK
CRITICALLY!
GUIDING QUESTIONS
 WHAT MAKES GOOD POETRY?
 WHAT KIND OF POEM CAPTURES YOUR ATTENTION?
 WHAT TYPE OF POEM COULD MAKE YOU LAUGH?
 WHAT KIND COULD MAKE YOU CRY?
 WHAT POEMS TRIGGER YOUR IMAGINATION?
Keep a Poem in Your Pocket
By: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.
The little poem will sing to you
the little picture bring to you
a dozen dreams to dance to you
at night when you're in bed.
So--Keep a picture in your pocket
and poem in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.
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TASK 1
Now you will read lots and lots of poems to get ideas of what type of poems you would
like to write. You will read poetry books from our class display, the library, poetry from
anthologies and poetry on-line. Consider poetry from home as well! As you read poetry
keep a POETRY JOURNAL (your choice of format) for reflection (see JOURNAL
PROCESS RUBRIC)
http://www.gigglepoetry.com/
http://www.favoritepoem.org/
http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/stennille/ST3/poetryppp/index.htm
http://www.poetryteachers.com/poetrytheater/theater.html
http://www.poetry4kids.com/index.php
http://library.thinkquest.org/C005319/
http://www.kidskonnect.com/FigurativeLanguage/FigurativeLanguageHome.html
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/karla_home.htm
Karla Kuskin will help you turn your words and ideas into descriptive and powerful
poems. As you explore the world of poetry writing, she’ll share with you writing tips that
she uses when she writes her poems, as well as ideas for revising your work. When you
complete the workshop, you can choose to use this poem in your collection.
TASK 2 (3 PARTS)
A) POETIC TERMS – Check out this site and share 5 new things that you learned about
poetic terms. Share these ideas in your poetry journal.
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/poetic-terms.html
B) TYPES OF POETRY – Select 3 types of poetry you have never studied before and
share what you learned with me in your poetry journal.
http://library.thinkquest.org/3721/poems/forms/learn.html
C) EXPLORE FEATURES OF RHYME ZONE
http://www.rhymezone.com/
i)
What do you learn about Shakespeare from this site? (5-10 interesting facts)
ii)
Give your opinion about this site (What did you find most interesting?)
TASK 3 LET’S WRITE OUR OWN “POETRY COLLECTION
Now it's time to try your hand at some poetry. You can compose your rough drafts on the
computer using Microsoft Word or Microsoft Publisher or even write them out by hand in
your poetry journal. 6 FROM - LIMERICK, FREE VERSE, NARRATIVE,
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CINQUAIN, LYRIC, ACROSTIC, COUPLET AND/OR EXAMPLES ON
DISPLAY IN OUR CLASSROOM.
Remember the Six Traits of Writing to help you compose your poems.
1. Ideas- the heart of the message, the main point
2. Organization- the internal structure
3.Voice- evidence of the writer behind the message
4. Word Choice- the vocabulary or terminology
5. Sentence Fluency-the rhythm and flow-how it plays to the ear
6. Conventions- the mechanical correctness of the piece
 After you have completed, at least, 5 poems (1 per week), share them with a
buddy for feedback.
 Choose your favourite poem and submit it to me for a class year end booklet.
DEADLINE: __________
POETRY RUBRIC
6 + 1 Traits
(Criteria)
Exceeds
Fully
Meets /
Good
Mod.
Meets
FAIR
IC
4
3
2+
2
1
Ideas
Organization
Voice
Organization (Poetry
Pattern)
Word Choice
Conventions
3
POETRY COLLECTION
CRITERIA
Exceeds
Fully
Meets /
Good
Mod.
Meets
FAIR
IC
4
3
2+
2
1
Content -Minimum 5 Poems
with 5 different styles
Visually Appealing –
Neatness / Spatial Organization
Graphics / illustrations
Creativity / Insightful
(evidence of critical thinking)
Organized – Title Page, Table
of Contents, Numbered Pages
JOURNAL- PROCESS RUBRIC
Exceeds
Fully
Meets /
Good
Mod.
Meets
FAIR
IC
4
3
2+
2
1
Shared with the class
5
4
3
2
1
Organized information and notes
5
4
3
2
1
Developed answers to GUIDING
QUESTIONS
5
4
3
2
CRITERIA
Completed all work on time
Worked cooperatively
Used computer and books as
resources
Documented sources
Wrote clear, coherent, and detailed
information
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CULMINATING ACTIVITY - POETRY THEATRE
With a group of classmates visit the following website (or find a poem of your own).
Select one short or funny poem to perform!
http://www.poetryteachers.com/poetrytheater/theater.html
REFLECTIONS ON THIS POETRY WEBQUEST
Write in your journal your reflection on the whole process of writing poetry as you took
this journey through this Web Quest. Some questions you might want to answer in your
journal are:

What did you think of poetry before you started this Quest?

How did you feel while you were composing your poems?

Did you find the process of writing poetry easy or difficult?

What types of poems do you like the best?

Did you model your poems after a certain poet's style?

Who is you favourite poet?

How has your impression of poetry changed after you completed this quest?
Return to the Introductory Guiding Questions and see if you would change adjust your
answers.
 WHAT MAKES GOOD POETRY?
 WHAT KIND OF POEM CAPTURES YOUR ATTENTION?
 WHAT TYPE OF POEM COULD MAKE YOU LAUGH?
 WHAT KIND COULD MAKE YOU CRY?
 WHAT POEMS TRIGGER YOUR IMAGINATION?
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