Entries Tagged 'Poetry' ↓

First Place

We have our winners in last week’s haiku contest! I used random.org to select the first place winner, Cullen. Here’s his haiku poem:

The grasses are green
dew is sparkling here and there
earth’s morning beauties. 

Second Place

Second place goes to Andrew K., age 9, who wrote my personal favorite and won a World of Animals StoryBuilders card deck. Here’s his haiku about a yellow jacket:

buzz-black, yellow bug
in garden flying, eating
stinging all the worms

It was a tough choice because there were some very clever and well-written entries. But in the end, Andrew’s won out because he:

1. Followed the format.
2. Avoided “to be” words.
3. Made every word count.
4. Picked a nature theme.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Keep up with your haiku!

Words Matter Week: Day 1

Every single day, almost without fail, the poetry lessons draw more folks to this blog than any other article (with the two most frequently accessed posts being Writing a Diamante Poem and Cinquain Poetry). 

This inspired me to launch right into Words Matter Week by introducing a brand-new lesson: how to write haiku (and offer a fun contest too)!

What Is Haiku?

Japanese in origin, haiku is not based on rhyme, but on a pattern of syllables. At three lines long, haiku is a poem of economy. Traditionally, only 17 syllables are allowed, so a finished haiku may end up being just 12 or 13 words long.

By its nature, haiku is concrete and concise, capturing a single moment in a mere handful of words. It’s a tall order to write a poem full of rich imagery, paint a picture in the reader’s mind, and leave an impression on a heart or soul—and do so with so few words.

Every word counts, and that’s why—perhaps more than any other poetry genre—haiku is especially fitting for Words Matter Week.

Writing Haiku: An Experience with Nature

Choosing a Subject for Your Poem

Haiku poems celebrate appreciation for beauty and nature. Plants, animals, water, weather, and seasons are often subjects of haiku. Powerful yet sensitive, these poems communicate a mood or tone without actually using words to describe feelings. 

Red and gold poppies
explode with fresh spring colors,
invading my yard.

Notice how this haiku expresses a crisp, springy, bright feeling. You can picture a tired winter garden coming to life. The words never actually say, “After a cold, colorless winter, I am so happy and cheered to see flowers again!” Yet this is the message the poem brings. 

In the darkest wood
with heads hanging mournfully,
weeping willows cry.

This poem gives a feeling of sadness, even though the words don’t tell you how the poet feels, or how you should feel. Notice how personification helps to communicate this tone. When writing your haiku, think about the emotions you want your reader to experience. Paint a picture with your words to express a mood.

Formatting Your Haiku Poem

Some poetry forms require the writer to follow a certain format, or structure. You may remember that cinquains and diamantes, for example, call for you to use an exact number of words within an exact number of lines. Haiku, on the other hand, requires you to carefully count syllables instead of words. This form of poetry always uses 3 lines and 17 syllables.

Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables

When counting out syllables, listen to the beat within a word, silently tapping it out on the table. Usually, a syllable is marked by a vowel sound. “Butterfly” has three syllables (but/ter/fly). The word “cocoon” contains two syllables (co/coon). The word “exuberantly” has five (ex/u/ber/ant/ly). “Flight” has only one (flight).

Because your entire poem is only 17 syllables, every single word must be carefully chosen to say exactly what you want to communicate. Rely heavily on a good thesaurus for terrific, specific words! Your thesaurus will also be useful when you need to find a synonym of more or fewer syllables that will fit better on a line of your poem.

What to Do if a Line Contains Too Few or Too Many Syllables

> Either leave out or add articles (a, an, the) to shorten or lengthen the number of syllables. Example: a six-syllable line must be shortened to five syllables.

A/ small/ frog/ trills/ loudly = 6 syllables
Small/ frog/ trills/ loud/ly = 5 syllables (drop the “a”)

> Use your thesaurus to find a similar word that will fit.

Suppose your haiku looks like this:

Thunder clouds follow me (6)
booming from behind (5)
the sky is so mad. (5)

Do you see how each line has too many or too few syllables? Let’s look at them one at a time.

Example: the first line of a haiku poem must be 5 syllables long.

Thun/der/ clouds/ fol/low/ me = 6 syllables (it’s too long – you need 5 syllables)

Now, look up follow in the thesaurus. Can you find a one-syllable word that will fit? (chase)

Thun/der/ clouds/ chase/ me = 5 syllables (this will work)

> Look for a word to drop.

Thun/der/ clouds/ fol/low = 5 syllables (just drop the “me”)

> Find a different way to say a similar thing. Often your thesaurus will help, but sometimes you just need to think! How can you express the same message while adjusting the number of syllables?

Example 1: The second line must be 7 syllables.

boom/ing/ from/ be/hind = 5 syllables (it’s too short – need 7 syllables)
bel/low/ing/ from/ a/ dis/tance = 7 syllables (use longer words)

Example 2: The third line must be 5 syllables.

the/ sky/ is/ so/ mad = 5 syllables

The number of syllables is correct—so what’s wrong with this line? Remember that you want to avoid “to be” words such as is, and empty words such as so:

the/ an/gry/ sky/ shouts = 5 syllables, OR
the/ black/ sky/ threat/ens = 5 syllables

While still expressing a “mad” feeling, these lines use more specific words that paint a fuller picture.

OK, here’s the finished haiku poem:

Thunder clouds chase me (5)
bellowing from a distance (7)
the angry sky shouts. (5)

Should haiku have a title? Typically not. If you think it needs a title to better explain the poem, do your best to work the title into the poem by removing and replacing words. Use your new syllable skills to help!

Copyright © 2010 Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

A Haiku Contest for Words Matter Week!

Now it’s time for you and your children to write some haiku! Everyone who posts a haiku poem in the comments section between now and March 7 will be entered in a contest.

• First Place: One winner will be chosen randomly to win your choice of a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card or a $20 WriteShop gift certificate.
• Second Place: I know it will be hard to decide on a winner, but I’m going to give second place to my favorite haiku poem. If there are too many “favorites,” I’ll draw from among them.

The Rules

1. Only one entry per person is allowed, so pick your best poem.
2. More than one family member may enter as long as each entry is separate and email addresses are different.
3. Your haiku must be formatted properly in order to qualify for a prize.
4. To win a physical gift, winner must have a U.S. mailing address.
5. I will notify winners on March 8. As soon as they’re confirmed, I’ll announce the winners on the blog.

Happy Words Matter Week . . . and happy writing!

~Kim

Math poetry—who would have thought?

I’ve always been a big fan of writing across the curriculum. After all, it just makes sense to tie writing into as many subjects as possible. Why separate the two when they’re so much happier married?

It was’t hard to assign related writing when studying history, art, geography, Bible, or literature, though I must confess that dovetailing math and writing was a stretch for us. (I did sometimes have the kids write their own word problems. That counts, right?)

My new friend Jimmie at Jimmie’s Collage took up Math Mama’s challenge to write a poem that puts a positive spin on math. I think it’s a brilliant idea, and both she and her daughter Sprite wrote some very creative math poems. Here’s one by Sprite. Isn’t it clever?

Untitled, by Sprite
Dividing is divine,
And four plus five is nine.
Adding is just fine,
Four plus five is nine.
Negative and positive are always great.
But four plus six is is not eight.

There are no prizes involved, and no deadline, so why not plan a time to squeeze this activity into your homeschooling—and join Math Mama’s challenge. And if you’d like to share your poems here as well, you know I’d just love to see ‘em!

Meanwhile, you can visit a page filled with fun number poems you’re sure to enjoy. Here’s the first one to whet your appetite!

Money Poem
Penny, penny, easy spent,
Copper brown and worth one cent.
Nickel, nickel, thick and fat,
You’re worth 5. I know that.
Dime, dime, little and thin,
I remember—you’re worth 10.
Quarter, quarter, big and bold,
You’re worth 25, I am told.
Half a dollar, half a dollar, giant size.
50 cents to buy some fries.
Dollar, dollar, green and long,
With 100 cents you can’t go wrong.

Edit: Jimmie duly chastized me, wondering where MY poem is. So I too am rising to the challenge! Here’s my humble offering.

Of Sides and Angles
Geometry, ordered and tidy,
Pyramid, circle, and locus;
Precision of sides and of angles,
A midpoint that keeps me in focus.

Symmetry, area, compass,
Diameter bisects a chord;
Distance, dimension, and drawing,
You see why I never get bored.

Parallel planes and perspective,
The measure and tilt of a line;
Volume and ratio and surface,
Geometry suits me just fine.

~Kim

Are you or your children interested in entering poetry contests? It’s easy to fall prey to a slick scam, so hang onto your doubloons and watch for these warning signs.

13 Warning Signs of a Bad Poetry Contest

The main goal of a bad poetry contest appears to be extracting money from poets rather than honoring excellence. Bad contests typically show several of these warning signs. When in doubt, check with your local poetry society. 

1. Unusually large number and size of cash awards (e.g., $58,000/year)
2. Contest sponsor tries hard to sell you products that incorporate your work, like anthologies (example)
3. Contest is free to enter, but ‘winners’ have to pay a high price for own copy of book
4. Contest turns up on “Scam Warning” pages when you search for it with Google
5. Hard to contact sponsor with questions – responses are slow or evasive
6. Low standards – not choosy about who gets published
7. Name is close to that of a prestigious contest but for a small difference
8. Prize is not money or publication, but ‘agency representation’ or something you must pay for
9. Hard to find the work of past winners to judge their quality for yourself
10. Small prize relative to reading fee (e.g., $5 fee for a $50 top prize)
11. Advertised in mass market magazines (Parade) and newspapers (Sunday comics) unrelated to poetry
12. You win a prize – but have to pay to attend a convention to receive it
13. Only short poems (30 lines or less) are accepted – the better to pack them into an anthology

Copyright © 2000-2010 Winning Writers, Inc. Reprinted by permission.

Cinquain poems are easy to write and a lot of fun too. The simplicity comes from following a set pattern of words and phrases. The resulting poem—five lines in a special shape—is rich with colorful, concrete vocabulary. Here are two examples:

Decoration
Golden, shiny
Glowing, glittering, sparkling
Twinkles on our tree
Ornament

. . . . .

Worshipers
Amazed, awed
Watching, waiting, listening
Hurrying to the manger
Shepherds

For a simple holiday writing activity, try assigning some Christmas cinquains. Follow the instructions and pattern in my blog post, Writing a Cinquain Poem. Choose from the following ideas, or come up with your own!

• Baby/Jesus
• Mother/Mary
• Visitors/Magi
• Ornament/Angel
• Ornament/Star
• Ornament/Snowman
• Cookie/Gingerbread man
• Giftwrap/Bow
• Decoration/Stocking
• Decoration/Wreath
• Tree/Fir
• Light/Candle
• Treat/Candy cane
• Toy/Train
• Helper/Elf

Share a comment: We’d love to read your children’s Christmas cinquains!

Last year at this time, I showed you how to create a Thanksgiving acrostic poem. Here’s a variation that helps your kids focus on reasons to be thankful.

When you’re scrambling around the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day and the children are underfoot, set them down at the kitchen table with this activity.

Directions

Write the words I AM THANKFUL vertically on a sheet of lined paper. Using each of the letters, make an acrostic

1. Each line can be one word, a phrase, or a sentence. There’s no right or wrong, as you can see from the examples below.
2. If children are having trouble thinking of words, use tools like magazines, catalogs, a thesaurus, or word lists to prompt ideas.
3. Poems can be left-aligned or centered.
4. Afterwards, illustrate your acrostics or decorate the page with photos cut from a magazine.

Gratitude

I want to thank God for

A ll His wonderful blessings, like His
M ercy and grace and compassion. For simple things like

T ea with toast. For big things like
H ope in a dark world. For
A warm, cozy home filled with love. For
N ine fun cousins! For
K eeping me safe. For
F riends that are closer than brothers. I want to always lift
U p praise to You with a thankful heart, knowing how much You
L ove me.

A Thankful Heart

I am thankful for . . .

A ll my clothes and toys . . .
M y mom, dad, and brothers . . .

T rue friends . . .
H ome and health . . .
A back yard to run and play . . .
N ana and Papa . . .
K nowing God loves me . . .
F ood on our table . . .
U ncles, aunts, and cousins . . .
L iving in a free country.

I Am Thankful

I am thankful for

A pples and pears
M y red hair

T oys
H ot dogs
A irplanes and cars
N ew crayons
K ittens and puppies
F lowers and stars
U nited States of America
L egos

Photo of praying girl courtesy of StockXchng.com

Yesterday morning I stumbled upon this poem by Wislawa Szymborska, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about descriptive writing and its ability to create impressions, stir emotions, and intimately transport the reader to places his eyes have never beheld. “The Joy of Writing” speaks of this power of pen, ink, idea, and word to bring a page to life.

The Joy of Writing

Why does this written doe bound through these written woods?
For a drink of written water from a spring
whose surface will xerox her soft muzzle?
Why does she lift her head; does she hear something?
Perched on four slim legs borrowed from the truth,
she pricks up her ears beneath my fingertips.
Silence – this word also rustles across the page
and parts the boughs
that have sprouted from the word “woods.”

Lying in wait, set to pounce on the blank page,
are letters up to no good,
clutches of clauses so subordinate
they’ll never let her get away.

Each drop of ink contains a fair supply
of hunters, equipped with squinting eyes behind their sights,
prepared to swarm the sloping pen at any moment,
surround the doe, and slowly aim their guns.

They forget that what’s here isn’t life.
Other laws, black on white, obtain.
The twinkling of an eye will take as long as I say,
and will, if I wish, divide into tiny eternities,
full of bullets stopped in mid-flight.
Not a thing will ever happen unless I say so.
Without my blessing, not a leaf will fall,
not a blade of grass will bend beneath that little hoof’s full stop.

Is there then a world
where I rule absolutely on fate?
A time I bind with chains of signs?
An existence become endless at my bidding?

The joy of writing.
The power of preserving.
Revenge of a mortal hand.  

By Wislawa Szymborska
From No End of Fun, 1967
Translated by S. Baranczak & C. Cavanagh
© Wislawa Szymborska, S. Baranczak & C. Cavanagh

I love the way Szymborska illustrates the relationship between ink and action, the way her thoughts are transformed into words and her words into rich images. I suppose that’s why I’m drawn to descriptive writing; it holds such sway over me that I’m involuntarily plunged into the heart of a work—to taste, to smell, to hear and, in this case, to spy secretly on a skittish deer that bounds from the poet’s pen.

In future posts, I’ll revisit the concept of descriptive writing with vivid examples that will alternately delight, inspire, transport, and move you too. After all, isn’t that its purpose?

Photo courtesy of Frank Kovalchek at Flickr.com.

Looking for a holiday activity? Divert your kids with a Thanksgiving acrostic poem!

1. Write the word THANKSGIVING vertically on a sheet of lined paper. Using each of the letters, make a fun acrostic.
2. Each line can be one word, a phrase, or a sentence. See how creative you can be!
3. Poems can be left-aligned or centered.
4. Afterwards, illustrate your acrostics or decorate the page with photos cut from a magazine.

I’ll start you off with a couple of examples.

First Thanksgiving

Thanking the Lord
Honoring Him
Abundant blessings
Needs met
Kneeling Pilgrims
Squanto’s help
Gifts of food
Indian corn
Venison
Indeed we are blessed
Neighbors have shared 
God has provided

Thanksgiving at Home

T urkey time (I love the dark meat best!)
H oping the weather will turn cold
A untie’s apple pie—the best!
N ine plates around the table
K eeping family traditions
S tuffing my tummy with—what else?—stuffing!
G iving thanks for my family
I nviting our neighbor so he won’t be lonely
V egetables that I love (corn and green beans—yum!)
I think I am about to burst!
N aps for babies (and tired grandparents!)
G ames and laughter after dinner

From geography jingles my children learned over 17 years ago, I can still remember, among other facts, the states that comprise the eastern border of the U.S.

There’s just something about poems, songs, and mnemonics that can make learning facts—and remembering them—so much easier. That’s why I’ve always liked this little poem, as it defines and illustrates many common grammar concepts.

          Grammar in a Nutshell

The articles are, oh, so wee,
     These little words are A, AN, THE;
The nouns are names of anything,
     Like BOOK, COMPUTER, FAITH, or RING.
Pronouns are used for nouns instead—
     I run, HE flies, SHE wished, THEY said.
Adjectives simply tell the kind
     of everything that we may find,
Like BLUE and ROUGH and SOFT and SWEET,
     RUDE and PLEASANT, WISE and NEAT.
Adverbs will tell “how,” “when,” “where,”
     Like SWEETLY, NEATLY, OFTEN, THERE.
The prepositions help each day
     IN our work or AT our play,
UNDER, OVER, AROUND, and THROUGH,
     AMONG, ABOUT, ABOVE, and TO.
Good conjunctions join together
     Man AND woman; plume OR feather.
Interjections always claim—
     OH, NO! ALAS! AH, what a shame!
The verb—it helps us get along
     In conversation or in song,
Since it explains the subject’s fate,
     Expressing action, being, state;
You ARE friendly, I LOVE you,
     EAT your breakfast, TIE your shoe.
Grammar may not seem exciting,
     But it will help our speech and writing!

Author Unknown

Announcing the Winners! 

Congratulations to our winners in WriteShop’s diamante poetry contest. With approximately 70 students submitting a total of 116 entries, it was really hard to select just four winners. My hand went into that bowl with much prayer!

The task of choosing my favorite of the four was even tougher! After all, I had to deliberate between fabulous adjectives such as blustery and timid; strong nouns like tusks, igloos, and frost; and amazing participles including shimmering, lumbering, and crackling. Wow!

In the end, though, I decided on Vincent’s Arctic/Desert diamante. First, I love his topic. It lends itself beautifully to a descriptive diamante. And not only did he choose each word with great care, he painted a dazzling word picture as well. So congratulations to Vincent, our Grand Prize winner, and to our runners-up: Gabriella, Hannah M., and Levi. Well done!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER!

Arctic
Blustery, desolate
Swirling, screaming, freezing
Caribou, igloos . . . Camels, tents
Burning, blinding, whistling
Barren, dry
Desert

 Vincent, age 13 (Indiana)

RUNNERS-UP

Elephant
Heavy, strong
Lumbering, trumpeting, spraying
Trunk, tusks . . . Whiskers, cheese
Scurrying, trembling, gnawing
Tiny, timid
Mouse

Hannah, age 13 (New York)

. . . . .

Sunrise
Pink, purple
Shining, shimmering, brightening
Dawn, light . . . Dusk,shadows
Changing, glowing, darkening
Red, orange
Sunset

Gabriella, age 13 (Washington)

. . . . .

Fire
Red, hot
Scorching, burning, boiling
Ember, flame . . . Frost, glacier
Freezing, crackling, chilling
Blue, cold
Ice

Levi, age 10 (Colorado)

. . . . .

Vincent has won a $10 Barnes & Noble gift card for himself and a $10 WriteShop gift certificate for his mom. Congratulations!

Runners-up will receive our brand-new poster! 

I hope you take a few minutes to read some of the other entries as well, for all our contestants gave their best. You’ll find some true gems, evidence of creativity, hard work, and time spent with The Synonym Finder! As a matter of fact, one mom emailed us to say:

“Thanks for having these contests. I love seeing [my kids] writing for someone other than myself and digging through the thesaurus!” —Theresa