Grade 7

Poetry

Introduction

Many students do not enjoy poetry. There are many reasons for this.

• They are sometimes difficult to understand

• They often centre around emotions

• They have a lot of rules that one has to follow when writing them

In this unit we will be studying several different types of poetry. Maybe you will find one that you like.

The first one is called Free Verse

Free Verse

Free Verse is a form of Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set fixed metrical pattern. The early 20th-century poets were the first to write what they called "free verse" which allowed them to break from the formula and rigidity of traditional poetry.

Here is an example of a Free Verse Poem

Song of Myselfby Walt Whitman

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.I loaf and invite my soul,

I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

So…..what is poetry?

Poetry is an art form that expresses beauty and emotions by narrating, describing, arguing

or defining.

One aspect of some poetry is it’s rhythm.

A Haiku focuses on rhythm.

Haiku Poetry is Japanese poems composed of three unrhymed lines of five,

seven, and five syllables. Haiku poetry originated in the

sixteenth century and reflects on some aspect of nature and

creates images.

None is travellingby

Basho

None is travellingHere along this way but I,

This autumn evening.

The first day of the year:thoughts come - and there is loneliness;

the autumn dusk is here.

An old pondA frog jumps in -

Splash!

Lightening -Heron's cry

Stabs the darkness

Clouds come from time to time -and bring to men a chance to rest

from looking at the moon.

In the cicada's cryThere's no sign that can

foretellHow soon it must die.

Poverty's child -he starts to grind the rice,

and gazes at the moon.

Won't you come and seeloneliness? Just one leaf

from the kiri tree.

Temple bells die out.The fragrant blossoms

remain.A perfect evening!

Write a Haiku to create an image in your readers mind of an aspect of

nature.

Remember

5 syllables 7syllables 5 syllables

Acrostic Poems

An acrostic poem, sometimes called a name poem, uses a word for its subject. Then each line of the poem begins with a letter from the subject word. This type of poetry doesn't have to rhyme.

Sacrifice Simply what had to be done.Also hard, but if youCare Remember, be readyIncase the day comes when Friends, family, fellows find themselvesIn need. Care. AndEveryone can make a difference.

Step one – Pick a one word topic related to school

Step two - Make a line starting with each letter of the word you choose

Making an Acrostic Metaphor Poem

Shabonee is where I goComputers, spirals, books, and moreHomework every nightOn math, science, reading, and social studiesOur class does lots of fun projectsLearning never stops

There was an Old Man with a beard,Who said, 'It is just as I feared!Two Owls and a Hen,Four Larks and a Wren,Have all built their nests in my beard!'

By Edward Lear

There was a Young Lady of Norway,Who casually sat on a doorway;When the door squeezed her flat,She exclaimed, 'What of that?'This courageous Young Lady of Norway. By Edward Lear

There once was an old man of the islesWho suffered severely from pilesHe couldn’t sit downWithout a deep frownSo he had to row standing for miles By Natalie Moffitt 

An exceedingly fat friend of mine,When asked at what hour he'd dine,Replied, "At eleven,     At three, five, and seven,And eight and a quarter past nine.

Anonymous

Limericks

• 5 lined poem

• Humourous theme

• Rhyme scheme a,a,b,b,a

• Rhythm 3,3,2,2,3

Try completing this limerick.

There once was a pauper named MegWho accidentally broke her _______.She slipped on the ______.Not once, but thriceTake no pity on her, I __________.

How would you illustrate this limerick?

There was a young lady whose chin

Resembled the point of a pin;

So she had it made sharp,

and purchased a harp,

And played several tunes with her chin

There was a young lady named KiteWhose speed was much faster than light.She left home one dayIn a relative wayAnd returned on the previous night.

Making a limerick

• Think of a funny story (appropriate for school)

• Plan the picture

• Write it out in 5 lines

• Make the lines rhyme

• Fix the rhythm

A list poem is one of the easiest kinds of poems to write because it

doesn't require either rhythm or rhyme. But that doesn't mean you

can write anything down helter skelter. Here's a list of elements that makes a list poem a poem

instead of just a list:

1) The writer is telling you something--pointing something out--saying, "Look at this," or, "Think about this."2) There's a beginning and end to it, like in a story.3) The list is arranged with stylistic consistency and the words are arranged to create a parallel structure.

Examples of a List PoemWhat Bugs Me

When my teacher tells me to write a poem tonight.When my mother tells me to clean up my room.When my sister practices her violin while I'm watching TV.When my father tells me to turn off the TV and do my homework.When my brother picks a fight with me and I have to go to bed early.When my teacher asks me to get up in front of the class and read the poem I wrote on the school bus this morning.

1) It tells you what's bugging me.2) It tells you that I wasn't thrilled with the assignment of writing a poem and I got distracted at home and had to write the poem on the bus the next morning.3) Every line has the same structure: "When my ____ does something to me."

Whatif by Shel Silverstein

Last night, while I lay thinking here,some Whatifs crawled inside my earand pranced and partied all night longand sang their same old Whatif song:Whatif I'm dumb in school?Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?Whatif I get beat up?Whatif there's poison in my cup?Whatif I start to cry?Whatif I get sick and die?Whatif I flunk that test?Whatif green hair grows on my chest?Whatif nobody likes me?Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?Whatif I don't grow talle?Whatif my head starts getting smaller?Whatif the fish won't bite?Whatif the wind tears up my kite?Whatif they start a war?Whatif my parents get divorced?Whatif the bus is late?Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?Whatif I tear my pants?Whatif I never learn to dance?Everything seems well, and thenthe nighttime Whatifs strike again!

Examples of a List Poem

My Noisy Brother

He slurps when he eats cereal in the morning.He gargles milk.He burps after eating.He cracks his knuckles.He whistles.He snaps his fingers.He squawks when he's mad.He snores at night.

Now write your own

List Poem

using the sentence starters on the

next slide.

Make sure you give it a title when

you’re done and describe a picture

that would go with it!

“If I was invisible…..”“If I was really tall…..”“If I could travel back in time….”“If I could fly….”“If I could have one wish….”“If I was always on time…”“If I was older….”“If I did not have to be here right now I would be…”“If I……”

Tongue Twister PoetryBetty Botter

Betty Botterbought some butter."But," she said,"the butter's bitter.If I put itin my batter,it will makemy batter bitter.But a bitof better butter--that would makemy batter better."

So she boughta bit of butter,better thanher bitter butter.And she put itin her batter,and the batterwas not bitter.So 'twas betterBetty Botterbought a bitof better butter!

--By Anonymous

Concrete Poems

Concrete poetry is a poetry that takes the shape of the topic. It is sometimes also called visual poetry, pattern poetry or shape poetry.

It can include specific rhyme or rhythm patterns, but there is not a set format required.

Here are some links to great examples of concrete poems

http://www.literacyrules.com/concrete_poems.htm

http://oregonstate.edu/~smithc/vita/concrpoe.html

Final Project Time

1. Pick a theme

2. Pick four types of poetry that you have studied

3. Create rough drafts for your poetry

4. Check your rubric

5. Put your good drafts on a sheet of 11 X 14

6. Hand it in for a mark

http://www.wild-about-woods.org.uk/elearning/concretepoetry/