You Mean Poetry Doesn’t Have To Rhyme? English Language Arts A Special Presentation

Brainstorm Please take out your ELA journals. I am going to say a mystery word and you will have one minute to write down any other words that come to mind

The clock is ticking. The Magic word is… POETRY

Take a look at the list of words you have brainstormed about “poetry Take a look at the list of words you have brainstormed about “poetry.” Choose your top 5 ideas. Put a star next to these 5 words.

What were some things that came to mind when I said “poetry?”

What is poetry? According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, poetry is “writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.”

What?

Poetry is… Poetry is a creative process that uses language to create a response by the reader.

Let’s look at some examples…

Here’s a poem written by one of my favorites…   Oh, I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor, a boa constrictor, a boa constrictor, I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor-- And I don't like it--one bit. Well, what do you know? It's nibblin' my toe. Oh, gee, It's up to my knee. Oh my, It's up to my thigh. Oh, fiddle, It's up to my middle. Oh, heck, It's up to my neck. Oh, dread, It's upmmmmmmfffffffff . . . -Shel Silverstein

Here’s a special poem called a tongue twister… If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

Have you ever seen a movie with a scarecrow?

The Wizard of Oz!!

Here’s another type of poem… “If I Only Had A Brain…” I could wile away the hours Conferrin’ with the flowers Consultin’ with the rain And my head I’d be scratchin’ While my thoughts were busy hatchin’ If I only had a brain

So what’s the point?