National Poetry Month
Middle School
Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? The Academy
of American Poets first began National Poetry Month in 1996. We're going
to spend some time writing and illustrating some poems of our
own.
We will be using Microsoft Word for our collection of poems and will
create one document (save it as poetry in your folder) with one page for each poem.
Acrostic
An acrostic poem uses the first letter of a topic word to begin each
line of the poem. For example,
Jolly
Offbeat
Enthusiastic
Each line of the poem can be one word or a descriptive phrase but
each line of the poem should be something to do with the topic.
Your Assignment:
Write an acrostic poem using your name in
Microsoft Word. This will be the first page of your poetry
document. Use a larger or different font for
the letters in your name. If you're having trouble
creating your poem, try the adjective and/or
descriptive word lists in the resources section for
some inspiration or go to the Acrostics for Children
site to see some examples.
Once you have your poem written, save your poetry
document in your folder and then go to the typoGenerator
and create an illustrated version of your name to
add to your poem.
Enter your name in the text box and
select the vertical option and then click the
generate button.
Once you have a design that you like (you can
generate multiple times to get something you like)
paste this into your word document beside your
poem.
NOTE: You will have to fix the wrapping on the
image:
- Click on your picture to select it.
- Select Format > Picture > Layout Tab
- Select the appropriate option: to place your
photo to the right of your text, select Tight
and Right and to place it to the left of
your text, select Tight and Left
If you wish you can also create a horizontal
illustrated version of your name and include this as
the Title of your poem. See an
example using both types of images.
Save your poetry document. |
Cinquain
The word Cinquain comes from the French word for five.
Adelaide Crapsey, an American poet, developed this form of
poetry which is a short 5-line poem with a distinctive format.
Visit Cinquain
Poems to see the formatting for this type of poetry and to
view some examples.
Your Assignment:
Open your poetry document and insert a new page.
How do you insert a new page?
- Click in your document at the end of your Acrostic
Poem
- Select Insert > Break
- Click on Page Break
Write a Cinquain about a person (try writing one about
you or about someone famous or about a literary character),
place (how about writing a poem about your room or the beach
or even about the school) or thing (pick anything and write
about it) on page 2 of your poetry
document. If you're having
trouble creating your poem, plan it using these steps:
- What is the topic of your poem - who or what is it
about?
- What does your topic look like? sound like? feel like?
smell like?
- What can your topic do?
- How do you feel about your topic?
- What are some synonyms for your topic?
If you're at a loss for words, use the adjective and/or
descriptive word lists in the resources section for some
inspiration. Use the Write An Instant Cinquain link in the
resources section for some more help.
Once you have your poem written, use the ACME
Label Maker to replace the text for one line of your
poem. Play with the different fonts, colors, filters, etc.
until you get something that you like and that you think
fits the mood of your poem. For example, if line 3 was
Twirling, Swirling, Dancing then you could create a label
that looks like this:
Save your poetry document. |
Cleriherw
Clerihew is a humorous poetry form created by Edmund
Clerihew Bentley. He originally started writing clerihews when he was 16
while still at school as a diversion from his school work. Here is one
of Edmund Bentley's clerihews:
Sir Humphrey Davy
Abominated gravy.
He lived in the odium
Of having discovered sodium.
Read all about how to write a Clerihew and see some examples at Giggle
Poetry.
Your Assignment:
Open your poetry document and insert a new page.
On page 3 of your document, write a Clerihew about yourself
or about a famous person or character. Please keep your poem
positive and don't forget:
- Clerihews are 4-line poems
- The 1st & 2nd lines rhyme
- The 3rd & 4th lines rhyme
- Clerihews are supposed to be humorous and somewhat
biographical
Since this is only a 4-line poem, use a fairly large font
and only use fonts and colors that are easy to read.
We want to illustrate this poem in some way too. You can
use one of more of the following:
- Word Art to create a title
- Clip Art that relates to your subject
- Something you draw yourself in Paint or PhotoFiltre or
KidPix
- Images from the Internet - do not search for images
without asking first!
Save your poetry document.
|
Haiku
Haiku is a traditional Japanese form of poetry established in the
1890s by Masaoka Shik. Traditionally, Haiku is a 3-line poem
consisting of 17 total syllables: 5 syllables on the first line, 7
syllables on the second line and 5 syllables on the third line.
Haiku is typically written about nature and in English may include
more or less than 17 syllables. Do not worry too much if your poem
contains a few more or less than 17 syllables; concentrate on painting a picture
with your words. Visit the Online
Haiku Collection by Brooks Books for some powerful combinations
of images and Haiku.
Read more about how to write Haiku and see some examples at Giggle
Poetry.
Your Assignment:
Open your poetry document and insert a new page.
On page 4 of your document, write your Haiku. Remember to
concentrate on painting a picture with your words.
Use fonts, font colors and alignment of your text to help
convey your message. Find or create an image that helps to
illustrate your poem and add it to the page:
- Use clip art images in Word
- Use photographs available in Word
- Create your own Haiga
(haiku-style illustration) for your poem
- Internet images - do not search for images without
asking first!
Save your poetry document.
|
Limericks
The history of the Limerick can be traced back to 14th century
English history. The Limerick format was often found in nursery
rhymes and even Shakespeare included this form of poetry in some of
his plays. Limericks are short 5-line poems with a distinctive
rhythm and rhyming pattern and are typically humorous in nature.
You can read more about how to write Limericks and see some
examples at Giggle
Poetry.
If you want more examples, check out:
Your Assignment:
Open your poetry document and insert a new page.
On page 5 of your document, write your Limerick. Remember to
check the rhyming pattern (lines 1,2 & 5 rhyme and lines
3 & 4 rhyme) and the rhythm of Limericks and remember
that Limericks are usually funny.
Illustrate your Limerick with one or more of the
following:
- Word Art to create a title
- Clip Art that relates to your subject
- Something you draw yourself in Paint or PhotoFiltre or
KidPix
- A cartoon you draw in Word
Save your poetry document.
|
Free Verse (optional)
Since most of the above types of poetry have a definite structure
and were more humorous in nature, you might want to try your hand at
something less structured and that isn't necessarily meant to be funny. If you
do, try writing a Free Verse poem.
What is free verse poetry? From a lesson at Readinga-z.com:
- Free verse poetry is free from the
normal rules of poetry. The poet may choose to include some
rhyming words but the poem does not have to rhyme. A free verse
poem may be just a sentence that is artistically laid out on the
page or it can be pages of words. Some forms of free verse
separate, or split, phrases and words between lines. Punctuation
may be absent or it may be used to place greater emphasis on
specific words. The main object of free verse is to use colorful
words, punctuation, and word placement to convey meaning to the
reader.
- Free verse poetry became popular and
acceptable during the 20th century, although
scattered examples of the style were found previously. Walt
Whitman is considered by many to be the first English free verse
poet.
Still confused. Here is a short
lesson on free verse with a few samples including one from Walt
Whitman.
Your Assignment:
(optional)
Open your poetry document and insert a new page.
Page 6 of your document will include your Free Verse Poem.
Free verse shouldn't sound like prose or a short story. It's
still a poem and should have some kind of stanzas, patterns
and be rich in word imagery. It can rhyme if you want but
doesn't have to.
Like Haiku, the impact of a free verse poem can be
enhanced with the right image and layout of the poem. Use fonts, font colors and alignment of your text to
add impact to your poem. Find or create an image that helps to
illustrate your poem and add it to the page:
- Use clip art images in Word
- Use photographs available in Word
- Internet images - do not search for images without
asking first!
Save your poetry document.
|
Title Page & Borders:
Now that we have our poems done, we're going to add a title page
to the beginning of our document:
- Go to Page 1 of your document and click just before the first
word on your page or if a picture is on the top of the page,
just before the picture.
- Select Insert > Break
- Click on Page Break
Center on the page, both vertically & horizontally, the
following information:
- Title of your poem booklet. This is up to you but could be
something like: My Poems or Poems or Poetry or My Poetic
Thoughts
- Your Name.
Use the Print Preview option to check if your title is centered.
The final step is to add page borders to your document:
- Select Format > Borders & Shading > Page Border
- Click the down arrow on the Art Button
- Select an appropriate border for your poetry, make sure that Whole
Document is specified and click OK.
Use the Print Preview option to check your document. Is any part
of your border missing? If so:
- Select Format > Borders & Shading > Page Border
- Click on the Options button on the bottom right of the
window.
- Select the down arrow on the Measure From box and
change this option to Text (it should have been Edge
of page).
- Click OK twice.
Now check your document again in Print Preview - you should see
your entire border.
Save your poetry document.
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