May 3, 2010
In class for the past week we have been working on a poetry booklet. This booklet is a compilation of poems that each student has looked at, read, liked and can relate to in one way or another. Within these booklets, students should have a total of ten poems, three of which should be written by the student. Out of those three poems, one should be a free verse poem and the other two can be chosen by the student from the list of definitions we discussed in class (cinquain poem, haiku, ballad, sonnet, narrative, or a limerick). The remaining 7 poems can be taken from the Internet or any other resource that is available to them. The seven poems should be one of a limerick, haiku, free verse, cinquain, sonnet, ballad and a narrative.
Once students have found and written all ten poems, it is now time to place them in a booklet. The booklet should have a cover page and a separate page for each poem. Poems should then be illustrated and /or have a design to compliment them. Students can staple the booklets together and hand them in as a part of their assessment.
New terms that students should be familiar with are:
Limerick: a short poem consisting of five lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have seven to ten syllables and rhyme and lines 3 and 4 have five to seven syllables and rhyme.
Sonnet: A poem of 14 lines that has 3 quatrains and a concluding couplet.
Ballad: A lyrical poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend.
Narrative poem: Any poem that tells a story such as a ballad or epic.
Haiku: A Japanese poem composed of 3 unrhymed lines of five, seven and five syllables.
Free Verse: Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set fixed pattern.
Cinquain: A short poem consisting of five, usually unrhymed lines containing respectively two, four, six, eight and two syllables.
