“But what should I write about?”
“I don’t have anything to say.”
At one time, early in my teaching career, I thought writing poetry was a do-able task for high school students. After all, they were exposed to poetry in the popular songs they listened to regularly. Experimenting with writing poetry would be like writing song lyrics. However, when I introduced poetry writing assignments, the responses I heard most often were the two above.
I found that students loved reading poetry and were, in fact, writing their own poetry, mostly love poems. The goal for me was to show them that they did have much to say, and poetry offered them an artistic way to say it.
The question for me was how to get them beyond the simple rhymes and he-or-she-doesn’t-love-me sentiments to playing around with the language of poetry.
I read through various books and articles looking for exercises that provided somewhat step-by-step instructions for writing poems and want to share one with you.
NOTE: As most teachers do, I gathered exercises over several years from several sources making giving credit to the originators impossible. Suffice to say, they worked in the classroom, and I thank those who shared them with me.
EXERCISE
SAY IT TWICE
Create a ten-line poem in which you repeat a thought using different words.
1 – Write a poem describing something you do without thinking, such as traveling to school, brushing your teeth, sitting in English class, making a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. (Describe it in 10 lines)
2 – Then, for each line in the poem, add a phrase or clause that says the same thing in different words.
EXAMPLE STEP 1.
She opened the door,
Then threw her bag on the floor,
Climbed into the driver’s seat,
It was time for school,
Checking the mirrors,
Stepping on the gas,
Turning the wheel,
Pressing the brake,
Arriving safe again,
Work is fun.
EXAMPLE STEP 2 (the developed poem)
She opened the door, grabbed the handle and pulled,
Then threw her bag on the floor, tossed her heavy books on the carpet,
Climbed into the driver’s seat, pulled her frame into position,
It was time for school, back to spreading the knowledge.
Checking the mirrors, she looked for a safe moment,
Stepping on the gas, she pulled onto the road,
Turning the wheel, she steered ten and two,
Pressing the brake, she brought the car to a halt.
Arriving safe again, at school in one piece,
Work is fun. I love my job.
