Treasure Hunt for Poetry

Directions:
Sit w ith a p artn er and treasu re hunt fo r po etic lines
or w ords in these picture and non-fiction books. Write
them down on this sheet. Next, choose on e line from
your selection, w rite an d illu strate it on a boo km ark- b e
sure to in clu de the title and author of the boo k.

My Poetic Lines:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Write the line on this bookmark and illustrate it as you see fit. Then, cut the bookmark out place it
in your poetry folder.
 Cracking-Open Words
An important part of writing poetry is being able to “crack open” overused and
abstract words and sentences, such as: “It was a nice day” or “She was very
nice” and find the proper image inside. In this center, you can experiment with
an important part of revision- cracking-open words, phrases, and sentences to
find more accurate and vivid images inside.

Directions:
None of th e sentences below give us a pictu re in
ourminds using wo rds. Next to each sentence describe
and w rite wh at you see in your ow n min d. Clo se your
eyes an d see w hat im ages ap pear in your mind. Th en,
rep aint th e sentences usin g yo ur own im ages an d words.
Examp le: It w as a n ice day. = The bright sun, ap pearin g
from b ehin d Mt. Skye, cut diamonds across the blue lake.

1. It was a nice day.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

2. We had a lot of fun.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

3. The flowers were beautiful and colorful.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

4. She was a good person.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

5. The cat was cute.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
 The Music of Words
Words have different personalities and qualities according to their sounds.
Poets write by considering the meaning and sounds of their words.

Directions:
Think about the soun ds of w ords. Fin d at least five
words th at sound smooth, bu mpy, an d sharp (five in each
column !). Fo r examp le, a wo rd th at soun ds smooth is
ice; a bumpy w ord is hippopo tamus becau se it has many
small syllables th at m ake you r mou th mo ve; an d a sh arp
word is kite becau se th e consonants are sh arp.

SMOOTH BUMPY SHARP

 Listening Center

Directions:
Listen to a few of the poems on the C D f rom Poetry
Speaks to Children. You may read along with th e boo k.
As you listen, jot down th e p oems you en joy listening to.
Then choo se a favorite line, image, or poem and wh en you
are fin ish ed listening to the p oems, u se a piece of blank
paper to illustrate th e im ages you saw in your mind. B e
sure to label the illustration with the title and author
of the po em.

My Favorite poems:

1.

2.

3.

4.
 Illustration Center

Directions:
Choose a po em f rom the in cluded p acket. ( If you
did the Listening Cen ter activity, you must choose a
different po em f or this activity.) Does the poem create a
pictu re or pictu res in your mind? Illu strate the im age
you see o r, if you see several im ages divide the po em up
and create a p icture book. Either you can create you r
own pictu re book or you m ay illu strate a sin gle p age fo r
one po em.

When you illu strate the po em, please leave room to

inclu de the actual po em. You may type up the poem and
shrink it down o r you may han dwrite it on the sh eet.
 Revision Center

Directions:
Read the poem below. I’ ve added and ch anged endings
on wo rds, chan ged th e line-b reaks, and m ade it look an d
sound like a p aragraph in a story. Revise th e po em as if
it w ere you r own - cut out extra wo rds or en dings and
rearrange the line-b reaks. Make two revised versio ns.
When you are done, see Miss Mulhern w hen you are done
to read the origin al.

Poem:

I was standing at my window and all day I saw across the way, on

someone’s windowsill, a geranium which looked like it was glowing

red bright- it looked like a tiny traffic light faraway.