These post is for the pupils whom I have asked to write poems for the Rosyth Writing competition and for all of you who are interested in writing poems. I know you are out there!
Read the write ups , examples and pointers. Try some of the interactive sites.

Post your efforts and share your creativity with all of us.

 

 

DIAMANTE POEM FORMAT

Winter
Rainy, cold
Skiing, skating, sledding
Mountains, wind, breeze, ocean
Swimming, surfing, scuba diving
Sunny, hot
Summer

1. Noun (beginning topic)

2. Adjective, Adjective (about beginning topic)

3. Gerund, Gerund, Gerund (–ing words about beginning topic)

4. Four nouns -OR- a short phrase (about both beginning and ending topics)

5. Gerund, Gerund, Gerund (–ing words about ending topic)

6. Adjective, Adjective (about ending topic)

7. Noun (ending topic)

Diamante Interactive Site – Try it!

CINQUAIN

A cinquain is a five line poem.

Triangles
pointy edges
revolving, rotating, angling
Triangles are all different.
180^o

Line 1: one word (subject or noun)

Line 2: two words (adjectives) that describe line 1

Line 3: three words (action verbs) that relate to line 1

Line 4: four words (feelings or a complete sentence) that relates to line 1

Line 5: one word (synonym of line 1 or a word that sums it up)

How to Write Acrostic Poems

by Bruce Lansky

 

Acrostic poems are easy to write, and some of the easiest acrostic poems use names. Try this exercise: Write your name vertically on a piece of paper or type it vertically on your computer. For this example, we’ll pretend your name is Joe.

J
O
E

Now think of a word or a phrase that describes you that begins with the letter J. Then think of a word or phrase that begins with O. Finally, think of a word or phrase that begins with E. Here’s what your acrostic poem might look like:
Joe

Jolly
Outgoing
Excellent
After you’ve written an acrostic poem using your name, try writing poems with other words, such as “football,” “horse,” or “summer.” For a real challenge, see if you can make the acrostic poem tell a story rather than just describe the word you chose. These examples may get your creative juices flowing:

Garbage

Grounds (coffee)
Apple (core)
Rinds (mellon)
Banana (peel)
Anchovies (from a pizza I wouldn’t eat)
Grapes (too ripe to eat)
Emptying the stinking bag (my job)

Bruce Lansky © 2002

Candy

Charleston Chew
Almond Roca
Nestle’s Crunch
Dots from Mason
Yummy

Bruce Lansky © 2002

Notice that both of these poems tell a story. In the first, the speaker knows what’s in the garbage bag because it’s his duty to empty it when it’s full. In the second, the speaker has candy on the brain and would spend his last quarter at a candy store or movie theatre.

Have fun writing!

–Bruce Lansky

Acrostic Interactive Site – Try it!

SHAPE POEMS

This is a ’shape poem’. Ideally, it should describe the shape it is, and rhyme,
but as you can see, this one doesn’t. But this will give you the idea:

 

FUNNEL

Here is a little poem … well, maybe it’s not so little, but it
certainly is a poem … although, come to think of it,
this doesn’t really rhyme, so maybe it’s not
a poem either; but anyway, here it is,
and as you can see, it is of course
funnel shaped, and before too
long, quickly comes to
the point, and right at
about this place
down here
at the
end
!

 

Here’s another. This one rhymes:

 

A SPIRAL

Shape Poem Interactive Site – Try It!

LIMERICKS

A limerick is a five-line poem written with one couplet and one triplet. If a couplet is a two-line rhymed poem, then a triplet would be a three-line rhymed poem. The rhyme pattern is a a b b a with lines 1, 2 and 5 containing 3 beats and rhyming, and lines 3 and 4 having two beats and rhyming. Some people say that the limerick was invented by soldiers returning from France to the Irish town of Limerick in the 1700’s.

Limericks are meant to be funny. They often contain hyperbole, onomatopoeia, idioms, puns, and other figurative devices. The last line of a good limerick contains the PUNCH LINE or “heart of the joke.” As you work with limericks, remember to have pun, I mean FUN! Say the following limericks out loud and clap to the rhythm.

There was a young lady from Niger.
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger.

They returned from the ride
With the lady inside,

And the smile on the face of the tiger.

ENjoy yourselves.