Teacher’s Name
Class
Date _____________
Grade 12
Write a riddle/poem
Skills
Literary Skills Understand and analze the
characteristics of an elegy.
Literary Skills Analyze tone.
Literary Skills Understand and analyze
characteristics of riddles.
Literary Skills Analyze alliteration.
Reading Skills Identify theme.
Reading Skills Use context clues.
Vocabulary Skills Demonstrate knowledge
of literal meanings of words and their usage.
Writing Skills Write poems.
National Standards
11111111-
PACING SUGGESTION: 45 minutes
PREPARATION:
STUDENTS WILL READ: THE SEAFARER: TRANSLATED BY BURTON RAFFEL / THE WIFE'S
LAMENT: TRANSLATED BY RICHARD HAMER / THE WANDERER: TRANSLATED BY BURTON
RAFFEL / ANGLO-SAXON RIDDLES:
INSTRUCTION
Write a Riddle-Poem in the style of the riddles that were read in class today. The Riddle-Poem
should be 10 to 15 lines long. Write it neatly, using correct capitalization and punctuation. It
needs to be turned in by the end of the class. It is worth 20 points: 1 point for each line and 5
points for neatness, punctuation and grammar. Make sure it has a beat like a rap song.
How to Make a Riddle-Poem
Work backwards. First, pick your answer. Then, imagine it speaking to you; describing itself, telling
you what it does. Then make that into a little poem.
Ideas:
As I was thinking about the last paragraph, my eyes lit on the telephone beside my keyboard. I
decided to make a riddle-poem for which telephone is the answer.
So I imagine the phone speaking to me. It says I carry the voices of people over many miles. That's
a good start, but it's not specific enough; it could apply to a radio as well.
What distinguishes a phone from a radio? Wires. But if I mention wires directly, the riddle will be
too obvious. So I think instead about what a phone looks like, analogizing it to a body. And I
have it:
Now it is your turn. Be creative. Have fun. Make sure it is school appropriate. The poems will be
read in class and we will guess what you wrote about. Keep it secret don’t tell your
classmates it will make it more interesting.