Types of poems

Haiku Japanese style poetry about nature No rhyme First line has 5 syllables Second line has 7 syllables Last line has 5 syllables

Examples Drooping green branches Weighted down with heavy snow Waiting for the spring. The hand of a leaf Waves to each passerby With carefree abandon.

More examples Wise king of the night From his perch in the treetops Quietly watches. The wintry wind blows The blueness of its sharp breath Chilling the earth’s bones.

Cinquain A 5 line poem First line is a noun or a subject of the poem The second line consists of 2 words that describe the first line The third line is 2 action words Line four is 4 words that give a feeling Line five is 1 word that refers back to the subject

Pattern 1 Line 1: 2 syllables Line 2: 4 syllables Line 3: 6 syllables

Example Listen… With faint dry sound Like steps of passing ghosts, The leaves, frost-crisp’d, break from the trees And fall.

Pattern 2 Line 1: one word Line 2: two words Line 3: three words Line 4: four words Line 5: one word

Example Mules Stubborn, unmoving Braying, kicking, resisting Not wanting to listen People

Pattern 3 Noun Two adjectives (describing words) Three words ending in –ing A phrase Another word for the noun

Example Clouds Fluffy cotton Billowing, gliding, creeping Soft pillows of rain Thunderheads

Acrostics Starting in September Children gather to learn Hours of play and learning Open books and desks Outside fun for all Lasting knowledge.

Samples Cunning Digs under the fence And Often licks my face Tricky Gets mud on my clothes T errific O rnery N eat Y oung A rtistic

Butterfly Balancing on the wind Utterly graceful and free Totally aware of the currents Tightrope walking a delicate stem Every flower a beacon Reaching deep to the sweetness Flying on to the next one Leaving no sign of its visit Yellow pollen now carried along

Your next task is to make an acrostic with the name of a character in a book. Greedy Opens doors without knocking Looks in every room Dines on porridge Identifies objects as too hard, too soft, or just right Lies down for a nap Opens her eyes Cries out in fright Kicks off the covers Slips out the window

Diamante 7 lines Written about 2 contrasting subjects and makes a comparison between them Moves from one subject to the other

Structure Line 1:one noun that names subject 1 Line 2:two adjectives describing it Line 3:three -ing words about subject 1 Line 4:four nouns, the first two about subject 1 and the second two about subject two Line 5:three –ing words about subject 2 Line 6:two adjectives that describe subject 2 Line 7:one noun that names the second subject

Example Egg Tiny, blue Rocking, cracking, exploding Nest, shell, beak, foot Squawking, gazing, shivering Wide-eyed, feathery Bird

Limerick A 5 line poem Lines 1, 2, and 5 have 8-10 syllables Rhyme scheme = a, a, b, b, a Often names a place at the end of line 1

Example 1 There once was lady in Spain. a Who said she had nothing to gain. a She gave it a try, b And said she could fly, b But crashed when she flew in the rain. a

Example 2 There was an Old Man with a beard a Who said, “It is just as I feared! a Two Owls and a Hen b Four Larks and a Wren, b Have all built their nests in my beard!” a