Fact: Because
you live, you are a poet. Within
you are images and imaginings and marvelous thoughts that need to be recorded.
We’re going to dive right into an assignment that will be a record of
how you felt, what your dreams were, and how you observed the world around you
in eighth grade.
You’ll be using this WebQuest to
investigate various forms of poetry, see how other students responded to these
forms, and eventually write your own poems, sometimes alone and other times in
groups. You will be creating a
poetry book with an emphasis on you, your friends, and the world around you.
You’ll be using various writing
techniques to create particular kinds of poetry.
For each assignment you will be given web sights to explore where
instruction will be given and examples of that particular style explored.
When the
assignment is for groups, you will have the expertise of all its members.
You are experts! The way you see things is the way they are for you.
You are
responsible for choosing fresh, descriptive language, following directions,
making good use of your time, cooperating in your groups, and producing poetry
that is grammatically correct. I
expect to see you use a few devices that you learned in class such as
simile/metaphor, personification, alliteration, and rhyming patterns where
appropriate.
Please ask
questions as the need arises. I can
explore these web sites with you and we can discuss the various forms and
styles.
You will be responsible for the following poetic styles:
| v
Autobiographical
poem |
|
| v
Cinquain |
| v
Diamante |
| v
Headline
poem |
| v
Limerick |
| v
Persona
|
| v
Free
verse |
This unit will constitute a grade by itself and eventually become part of
your larger writing collection for the year.
You will begin with an autobiographical
poem. Go to http://www.geocities.com/cponykid/pages/autobiopoems.html
to find out what this entails. Use
the sample form to create a poem about yourself.
Next check out http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/bio-poem.html
. This site will help you create a
persona, which is another form of poetry with you in mind. Printing the form and looking at the examples may be useful.
Be sure to share your efforts with a good friend before you decide
you’ve finished your first two poems because they may know you better than you
know yourself.
For examples of a diamante, go to http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/,
then type in diamante where it says Search UO.
This is a group poem and should be created with one or two other people.
Your group is responsible for two collaborative poems.
Choose topics that reflect opposite emotions, opposing forces within you,
or two ways of looking at situations.
For your next assignment go to http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/headlines.html
. You’ll be creating a headline
poem, and although you may find this approach to poetry a bit eccentric, it is
well worth your effort. Follow the
directions to cut and paste related headlines to create a mental picture of the
world of 2000 as it relates to your chosen topic. Choose something that you care about or are involved with in
some way. For example, if you are
worried about the environment, focus on headlines that deal with that problem,
or if you think our world is overly materialistic, choose headlines that focus
on that. You can help one another find appropriate headlines.
An interesting web site to check out for
writing cinquains is http://jfg.girlscouts.org/How/make/cinquain.htm
, which is done by the Girl Scouts. Although
we’ve done these before, please look at the format to refresh yourself and
write a simple cinquain about a favorite place, another one about an important
person or people in your life, and the third about a favorite sport or activity.
This time you are to go to http://library.thinkquest.org/3721/poems/forms/lime.html,
for a guide to limericks and many examples of the form which were written by
kids of all ages. It’s your
chance to be silly about yourself as you write a limerick about something funny
that you did.
Your last poem is simply free verse.
You will describe yourself from a third person point of view in at least
twenty lines. Include more than a
physical description because you are what’s inside.
