Mar
11
Here’s an independent assignment I gave my American Literature students to do during our final week of state testing. I wanted to give them something that was content-light but still academic. Most of them really enjoyed it.
I should point out that all of this (except for the samples, which I wrote) was stolen from the web.
Poetry is fun!
This class will meet 3 times over the course of this week. You will have that time to work independently on the following poetry activities. Grading is as follows:
D (60-69) - Complete two of the exercises as directed.
C (70-79) - Complete three of the exercises as directed.
B (80-89) - Complete four of the exercises as directed.
A (90-95) - Complete five of the exercises as directed.
A+ (96-100) - Complete six of the exercises as directed.
“Complete” is, of course, a relative term. Your work must show effort and must be your own. That said, you may work with a partner to bounce ideas off of, but you each must submit your own individual work. Copying (aka plagiarism) will result in a zero for you and the person you copied from.
That said, these are simple exercises that you should have fun with. There’s something here for everyone. Here are your options:
#1 - Alliteration Exercise
Make a list of TWENTY (20) phrases that use alliteration, such as the sun settled on the south hill with sudden color.
- Bob bounced the basketball down the boulevard.
- Gorgeous George grooms his groovy fur until it’s glossy.
- The zebras zipped around the zoo playing xylophones.
- Fern fanned the flames of her friend’s fury.
- Music may make me melancholy.
- Nerds know when nothing more is needed.
- When willows whisper, I wake and listen.
- Don’t dodge: duck instead.
- Lily likes to lick lollipops in lieu of listening to Linus laughing.
- Hopeless Harry hung his head and hid.
- Pop princesses pay big for pampering.
- My quiet quips were questioned by the quiz committee.
- Racing railcars is really ridiculous.
- Shall we shine a light for Sean’s ship?
- Stupid sailors sink sailboats at sea.
- Two tweetybirds taught they taw a puttycat.
- Venomous vipers veered toward Veronica.
- We went to the window to watch the wedding.
- Yell loudly so the youngsters can yield in time.
- Cesar salad sounds simply sumptuous.
#2 - Crime Exercise
Write a 6-10 line “confession” poem detailing an emotional crime and how you committed it.
OR
Write a 6-10 line poem in the voice of a murderer. Make the reader sympathetic to the murderer.
He was the first
My heart
A virgin sacrifice
Freely - eagerly - given
But tossed aside
Chewed and spat out
Less than nothing
To him.
And now,
He is less than nothing.
#3 - Fun with Verbs and Nouns.
Nouns and verbs are the building blocks of poems, of all good writing, for that matter. Using the following lists, put these words together in any combinations you like. You may choose to write sentences or simply to create phrases. You may repeat words often, add new ones to the lists, or change the tense of any verbs. These are guidelines only. Have some fun with these words and see what new worlds you can create.
Complete FIVE (5) poems that are 2-3 lines each. Sample poems follow the boxes. Don’t be afraid to be silly.
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VERBS |
NOUNS |
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Morning cuts like a hot blade It slices me from sleep
The rain whips And I whimper like a kicked dog
At night, I dance in my dreams And a tux jacket is slipped over my shoulders
Children poke their heads from igloos Like turtles from under their shells, And shake snow from their dusted heads.
At dawn, I lean close And watch the stars twinkle out of time. |
# 4 - The Five Senses
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The five senses are a writer’s best friends. Poets employ the five senses to create details and build images in their poems. The following exercise is designed to build the writer’s skills in this area. Complete the following lines using the five senses. Be as specific as you can. |
The sound of my alarm clock muffled by 20 pounds of white cat.
The sounds of gift wrap tearing on Christmas morning.
The sound of a squalling child in the next booth.
The taste of sweet pumpkin bread on Christmas morning.
The taste of sawdust in Dad’s workshop.
The taste of red hots burning my tongue.
The feel of Grammy’s veins, yielding beneath my fingers during Sunday sermon.
The feel of burning sand on the summer beach.
The feel of a crisp wind cutting through me on a winter night.
The smell of burning wood and wet leaves on an autumn morning.
The smell of garlic simmering on the stove.
The smell of talc wafting from Grammy’s bathroom.
The sight of my mother’s name on a grave with no death date.
The sight of my niece’s newborn fingers wrapped tightly around one of min.
The sight of the Twin Towers, missing from the New York skyline.
#5 - Pet Exercise
Write a 10-20 line persona poem from the point-of-view of your pet. Describe your environment, your day-to-day activities, the food you eat, where you sleep, where you use the restroom, the toys you play with, what you think about, the way your owner behaves, etc.
Belly up — she can’t resist me
Legs tucked in, I’m her pookie
Round and round her legs I wind
While she rushes to be on time
Cackle, hiss at that shadow
Leap and strut, let out a yowel
Stretch and knead when I am sleepy
She’d best be on time to feed me
I am ze George, there is no other
Oh, and then there’s Fluff, my older brother.
But I’m the cuter one.
#6 - Fear Exercise
Think of something you were afraid of as a child. Write a 10-20 line poem in which you describe what it was and how it made you feel. You can write from the point of view of an older person looking back on it, or you can write from the point of view of the child you once were.
Breath caught in my throat
Heart like a jackhammer
Something is there.
It watches.
Calculates.
Creeps closer.
My bed frame rattles,
And I pull the covers over my head,
One hand reaching out
To grasp my lifeline:
The cross above me.
My final defense.
#7 - God Exercise
Write a 10-20 line poem to God. Make it a tirade, a complaint, a request.
OR
Write a 10-20 line poem as God. Let God explain, refute, deny, defend.
OR
Write a 10-20 line poem in which God is a traffic cop, a new anchor, a movie star, a grocery clerk.
Explain to me
If you will:
Why the God of grace and mercy
Condemns those who do good.
Because I cannot accept
That a pious, kind friend
Who meditates rather than prays
Will “burn”
And a professed Christian,
Who hates and hurts
Will spend eternity
In paradise -
And then maybe
I’ll come back to church.
#8 - Be something else.
It might be a drop of rain, the color blue, a school bus, or an iPod. Be that object and write a poem detailing what they see, where they go, and how old they are. You can even make up a little biography of your object.
Minimum of 5 lines.
“One boy, one special boy”
Ah - she’s a classic Broadway babe.
“All eyes on me in the center of the ring”
What the?
“Dream of Californication”
I’m getting whiplash here
“All I want is freedom/a world with no more night”
Broadway again?
“Come on over! Come on over baby!”
Augh! More pop princesses!
“Einstein disguised as Robin Hood/with his memories in a trunk”
Urk!
“Just hear those sleigh bells jingaling!”
Wait a minute?! It’s March!
“Be thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart”
Britney and old-time hymns? She’s going to hell, for sure.
“I’ve only got 4 minutes to save the world”
In a handbasket.
– What my iPod must think of my playlist
#9 - Everything, including the kitchen sink.
List all the details you can remember about a place that’s very familiar to you. It might be your bedroom, the classroom, or the kitchen. After you’ve made your list, write a poem that describes that place. Minimum of 5 lines.
Kitties keep watch
Their keen eyes serving as guide, editor
Pens spill across
Amongst the finished soda cans
Sentinels for late nights
Crowds of bills remain ignored
In favor of IMs from Jenn
And somewhere here
My favorite earrings hide.
– Ms. Harger’s desk at home
#10 - Meditation on the Color
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Color is all around us. Unlike dogs, we can see and make distinctions among colors. And there are an infinite number of shades, and variations of colors throughout the world. We encounter hundreds of these each day of our lives. Your job is to find a color that intrigues you for some reason. What are some of the things you see that are blue? Jeans, ink, guitars? What type of blue is the sky? How would you describe a cool fall morning’s blue sky? What does it look like? What does it remind you of? Sometimes colors inspire feelings within us. Take note of those feelings. How does a gray sky make you feel? How about a bright red-tipped felt pen? Sometimes actions can make us think of colors. What about your sister’s crying? What color is that? And what about a child who has forgotten his lunch. What color is that? After you have gathered your notes, write a long poem (minimum 20 lines) about your color. Use your imagination and pepper your poem with as many metaphors and similes as you can. Set up patterns. Break your patterns. There is no wrong way to do this assignment. Have fun. |
Powder puff pink
Is for daddy’s little girl.
Bows and fluff and tea parties.
Fuchsia is punk
Attitude and sass.
Look at me, fools!
Pink lemonade
Is sweet but tart.
A little kick to remind you,
It’s not all sweetness and light.
Bubblegum pink
The grownup daddy’s girl.
A hint of trouble
A touch of sass.
One little color
And so much to say.
I look through my closet
And think …
Who am I today?
#11 - Confession Exercise
Write a poem in which you confess to a crime you didn’t commit. You can create the circumstances - perhaps you’re talking to a priest, or you’re being interrogated by police. Turn your confession into a narrative poem in which you describe the events leading up to your crime.
Minimum of 15 lines.
What had happened was this:
It was dark
And I was alone
Well, she was there, too
The tramp - not my friend.
She had it coming.
The tramp - not my friend.
She wasn’t there.
My friend - not the tramp.
Nowhere near the street that night.
It was me.
Only me.
Please, believe.
Her daughter’s just three.
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Christmas in SoCal
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