Composing Cinquain Poems with Basic Parts of Speech
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Overview
Students discover the characteristics of cinquain poems through reading and analysis of sample poems. They then use a graphic organizer to write their own cinquain poems, focusing on different parts of speech for each line.
Featured Resources
Cinquain Graphic Organizer: This student reproducible provides a sample and description of a cinquain poem, and includes prompts for students to create their own.
From Theory to Practice
In their article "Joyful Noises: Creating Poems for Voices and Ears," Apol and Harris explore ways teachers build interest leading students to create original poems. This exercise is one of several scaffolding experiences that the teachers use to "lead students beyond a superficial encounter to a deeper understanding and appreciation of poetry" (316). Through reading cinquain and then writing their own, students move from simply reading the poems to analyzing them and, ultimately, composing poems that match the format.
Further Reading
Common Core Standards
This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.
State Standards
This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.
NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts
- 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
- 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
- 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
Printouts
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Preparation
Student Objectives
Students will
- describe the basic conventions of cinquain.
- interpret examples of cinquain.
- characterize the relationship between structure and meaning in cinquain.
- compose a cinquain that describes a familiar person, place, or thing.
Session One: Learning about Cinquain
- Share examples of cinquain with your students. You might compose your own examples or compose examples with your students, before students write individually or in small groups. A student reproducible of sample cinquains is also available.
- You or the students might read the poems aloud. Try reading some of the cinquain more than once to show how different words can be emphasized and to talk about line breaks. See "Joyful Noises: Creating Poems for Voices and Ears" for more information on reading poetry aloud.
- Invite them to look for similarities and patterns among the cinquain that you read as a group. To help students notice the patterns, write several of the poems on the board or on a handout with similar lines parallel (all first lines parallel, all second lines parallel, and so on).
- Students should be able to extract the basic elements of these poems. You might lead students through the exploration process by asking them to think aloud about these questions:
- How many lines do these poems have?
- What do you notice about the words on the first line? (second, third, etc.)
- Which words seem most important to each poem, and why?
- How do the lines relate to each other?
- How does the structure (the organization of the lines) relate to the meaning? If you rearrange the words, how does the meaning change?
Session Two: Writing Cinquain
- Students will likely recognize most of the characteristics of the cinquain. To make the form more manageable for students as they write their own cinquain, modify and revise their list of characteristics to follow this organization:
- Line 1: a one-word title, a noun that tells what the poem is about
- Line 2: two adjectives describing the title
- Line 3: three -ing action verbs
- Line 4: a related phrase
- Line 5: a synonym for the title
Here's an example:
Sheepdog
Gentle, shaggy
ambling, rambling, shambling
a rollicking hayrick of unruly hair
Sadie - Line 1: a one-word title, a noun that tells what the poem is about
- Once you and your students establish the characteristics of a cinquain, students can use the Student Reproducible Cinquain Graphic Organizer to compose original poems of their own. Students can work individually, with partners, or in small groups. Once students have finished their poems, the cinquains can be shared with the entire class.
Extensions
or the lesson suggestions from Sharing Poetry With Children.
Student Assessment / Reflections
While students work, use kidwatching techniques to observe and monitor students' progress.
- Once the activity is complete, provide verbal feedback as individuals or groups share their work with the class. Commentary might focus on the students' feelings about the person, place , or thing described in the cinquain (e.g., "Your poem suggests that you really love your dog. Was it hard to choose just what to say in just five lines?), particularly interesting word choice (e.g., "You choose the word ornery to describe your dog. That's a word that means 'stubborn or cranky.' Can you tell me something ornery that your dog has done recently?"), and your own reaction or connection to the poems (e.g., "Your poem reminds me of my first dog, Taffi. Especially when you say that your dog is "a playful bundle of trouble." That's a good description of a puppy.")
- After students have shared their cinquain with the class, students could reflect on their own and their classmates's poems.
- Students could discuss their reactions out loud or use the Cinquain Reflections Worksheet to record their thoughts.
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