APRIL IS National Poetry Month. In honor of the occasion, I thought it would be fun to introduce some new poetry activities!
Today, why not have your children write a “Never Poem”? With only a few simple rules to get them started, they should produce some gems in no time at all.
Alliteration
When your children write their poems, they will need to choose a consonant sound* to repeat using alliteration.
al·lit·er·a·tion is the repetition of an initial consonant sound.
Betty Botter bought some butter,
“But,” she said, “the butter’s bitter.”
Directions
To write your “Never Poem,” you will write one sentence for each of the following, repeating the ___* sound as frequently as possible.
- Something you would never eat.
- Something you would never wear.
- Something you would never buy.
- Something you would never do.
- Someplace you would never go.
- Something you would always like to think about.
- “And I promise you I will never …”
Once their poems are finished, invite them to choose some words from the poem and write a title.
Of Blue Biscuits and Bouncing Balls
I would never eat blue biscuits.
I would never wear a baggy beaded bonnet with brown buttons.
I would never buy a box of bumpy bowling balls.
I would never read a book about boat-building in Bulgaria.
I would never go to Brooklyn to get bologna.
I would always like to think about bouncing a rubber ball in the bathtub.
And I promise I will never let Bubba’s bunny eat barbecued beans for breakfast.
Your Turn
Poetry should be shared! I hope you’ll post your kids’ “Never Poems” in the comments.
. . . . .
The 2012 National Poetry Month poster is available as a free download.
Photo of blue ball © Sharyn Morrow. Used by permission.
2 comments ↓
We are going to totally do this soon!!! Sounds and looks so fun for my kiddos!
Fantastic, Kayla! Hope you come back and post their poems!