Poetry Unit

Glossary

Alliteration – repetition of consonant sounds. E.g She sells seashells by the seashore,

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

Ballad – a poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale. Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Haiku – a Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven and five syllables. Haiku often reflect on some aspect of nature.

Hyperbole – deliberate exaggeration used for effect/emphasis. E.g. I could eat a horse, I had a mountain of paperwork to do.

Imagery – use of pictures, figures of speech and description to evoke ideas, feelings, objects etc.

Limerick – a light, humorous poem with an aabba rhyme scheme

Lyric – poem, such as a sonnet or an ode that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. A lyric poem may resemble a song in form or style

Metaphor – comparison between two unlike objects by saying one thing is another or by substituting a more descriptive word for the more common or usual word that would be expected.

e.g He was a pig, he was a lion in battle, a sea of troubles, drowning in debt

Narrative – telling a story

Ode – a lyric poem that is serious and thoughtful in tone and has a very precise and formal structure.

Onomatopoeia – words are used to imitate sound. E.g. hiss, ooze, bang, crash, splat

Personification – giving nonhuman things human qualities or attributes

The sky is crying, the dead leaves danced

Rhyme – same or similar sounds at the ends of two or more words

Simile – comparison using like or as

e.g. He ate like a pig

Sonnet – a lyric that is 14 lines long. Follows specific rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg

Stanza – two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of the poem.

Simile Quilt

The moon glowed like….

Raindrops dripped down the window pane like…..

Smoke floated on the air like…..

The air smells as fresh as….

The rose petals are as delicate as….

The surface of the water is as smooth as…..

The icicles pointed downwards like….

Dewdrops glistened on the flowers like….

The fog covered the city like….

The clouds are as fluffy as….

The girl sings as sweetly as….

The traffic moved as slowly as….

The crows cackled like…..

The children scuttled across the beach like…..

The road wound its way up the mountain like….

The sea sand lay across the path like…..

The water streamed down like…

Snow drifted to earth like…..

Clumps of snow stuck to the branches like…..

Her angry words spewed out like….

The rain tapped on the roof as steadily as….

The wind rushed through the house like….

Wildflowers dotted the landscape like….

The boy is as fit as….

The child ate like….

His stomach rumbled like….

The soft breeze on her face was as gentle as….

Her hair framed her face like….

His fingers are as nimble (quick-moving) as…..

Snow topped the mountain like……

Some possible examples

spilled sugarsharp needles

Christmas decorationstiny crabs

a beating druma fairy’s kisses

a pickpocket’spolished diamonds

whipped creamgiant’s tears

a famished (starving) wolfa mirror

wispy feathersa grey blanket

wads of cottonwoola giant serpent

an express traina bridal veil

a lustrous (softly shining) pearldistant thunder

water from a burst pipea lark

an Olympic athletea golden halo

demented (mad) witchesa troop of snails

ice-cream on a puddingfine silk

scraps of coloured papernewly washed linen

Draw images for the following metaphors and similes and explain why the poet has chosen this image.

The boxer had an iron fist

The birds on the telegraph wire looked like music notes on a page

The car shot through the night like a bullet

Her eyes were still, blue pools

Limerick examples

There was a young boy with a cat (a)

Which he wore on his head like a hat, (a)

The cat in despair(b)

Pulled out chunks of his hair,(b)

So he swapped it instead for a rat.(a)

There was a young lady from Brum(a)

Who had an enormous thumb(a)

The thumb was a curse(b)

But to make matters worse(b)

She had a very big bum.(a)

Shopping List Poems

1 loaf of bread

2 apples

3 tomatoes

This list can be extended to –

1 loaf of bread fresh and crusty

2 green apples crisp and shiny

3 red tomatoes ripe and juicy.

Then add a repeated line –

1 loaf of bread fresh and crusty,

Put it in the trolley, mum will pay.

2 green apples crisp and shiny

Put it in the trolley, mum will pay.

3 red tomatoes ripe and juicy,

Put it in the trolley, mum will pay.

Haiku

WATER THISNOONINDIA

NOATDUSK

ATISELECTRICITYNO

Can you organise the words above into three lines that make sense?

No water at noon

No electricity at dusk

This is India

Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that has only three short likes.

In the three line there are usually only 17 syllables, often arranged like this:

the first line has five

the second line has seven

the third line has five

In a deep forest

The water is falling gently

The sun was rising

When/ rain/ beats/ whip/like5

And/ for/ests/ cry/ for/ mer/cy7

The/ rain/bow/ an/swers5

a) Using the above Haiku as an example, draw a line between each syllable in the poem below.

A mushroom can be 5

Very determined to grow7

Pushing dirt aside5

b) Write your own Haiku. You may want to write about a season or an animal in your Haiku.

Draft______5

______7

______5

Poetry in motion

Use the sets of cards to create a poem by moving the words around.

e.g. FROG CROAKS LEAPS SITS

ROCK POMD JUMP GREEN SOFT

SPLASH JUMPS SLIMY

POWERFULLY KICKS SUN

DIVES

Frog

Green frog, slimy and oft

Sits in the sun

On a rock

And croaks and croaks

And croaks

Them he kicks powerfully

Jumps, leaps

Dives into the pond

Splash!

FROG / CROAKS / LEAPS
SITS / ROCK / POND
SPLASH / GREEN / SOFT
JUMPS / SLIMY / POWERFULLY
KICKS / SUN / DIVES
PARROT / RED / BLUE
YELLOW / GREEN / BRIGHT
FEATHERS / SQUAWKS / PERCHES
BRANCH / TREE / WINGS
SPREADS / GLIDES / GRACEFULLY
WOLF / GROWLS / HOWLS
MOON / NIGHT / MENACING
RUNS / SWIFTLY / PREY
SNIFFS / FANGS / DANGER
SLEEK / SILVER / COAT
MONKEY / CHATTERS / FLEAS
TREE / JUMPS / AGILE
BRANCHES / SWINGS / BERRIES
PLUCKS / FRUIT / PICKS
ALERT / DANGER / TAIL
SNAKE / SLITHERS / HISSES
SCALES / TONGUE / FORKED
FLICKING / GROUND / COILED
RAISES / HEAD / STRIKE
PREPARES / ROPE / ROUGH
DOLPHIN / GRACEFULLY / SWIMS
OCEAN / TAIL / POWERFUL
SLEEK / PLAYFUL / SPLASHES
TUMBLES / DIVES / WAVES
FINS / STREAMLINED / SOMERSAULTS

Being Human

Write a list under the heading: What it is to be human

Acrostic

Huge or Humorous

Undersized,Undefeated

Mean orMagnificent

Affectionate:Adventurous

NormalNecessary

Write and acrostic poem using the word HUMAN

To be or not to be

To be human is to plant a tree

Not to be human is to destroy a rain forest

To be human is to love someone else

Not to be human is just to love yourself

To be human is to talk like a flower

Not to be human is to smile in black

To be human is to exhale clouds

Not to be human is to only speak in words

Write a poem about what it means to be human. Imagine that you are trying to explain the concept of being human to someone fro outer space. Use opposites or juxtaposition for ideas about what it means to be human and not human.

Use simile and metaphor but not rhyme.