Poetry Games 1-8

Poetry Game #1:

1)   Write a seven word sentence with a color as the third word.

2)   Write a nine word sentence with an animal as the fifth word and a color as the seventh word.

3)   Write a sentence with exactly 13 e’s.

4)   Write a sentence with the most words that begin with “m” as possible.

Poetry Game #2:

            Option 1: Write about something you like to do with as much detail as possible. Write in two-line stanzas only (thoughts can last longer than one stanza). Write at least 5 stanzas.

            Option 2: Pretend to write about something you like to do with as much detail as possible, but actually write about something else (like Robert Francis). Write in two-line stanzas only (thoughts can last longer than one stanza). Write at least 5 stanzas.

            Option 3: Do Option 1 or Option 2, but think really inventively about how you put your words on the page.

ALL OPTIONS: If you struggle to write poems or write stanzas, just write a paragraph, then break it into stanzas.

Poetry Game #3 (Per 4 only):

Write a poem that’s modeled on “Castles Made of Sand”: Three related narratives linked by a refrain. Six stanzas total.

Poetry Game #4: A Spring Break Fib

Write a poem with 1 syllable in the first line, 1 syllable in the second, 2 in the third, 3 in the 4^th, 5 in the 5^th, and 8 in the 6^th.

The poem should be a lie about what you did over spring break.

Poetry Game #5:

1)     Write a single sentence that includes three or more words that rhyme.

2)     Write a sentence with as many n’s in it as you can.

3)      Write a sentence with as many “long A” sounds as you can. (If you’re stumped, go back to rhyming.)

Poetry Game #6:  The Emotion Poem

Brainstorm as many emotions as you can. Pick one. Answer the following weird questions about your emotion:

1. Is your feeling male, female, some mix of genders, or no gender at all?
2. What kind of hair does your feeling have?
3. What is its first (and/or last) name?
4. When it sits down to breakfast, what does it eat? [use alliteration in this line]
5. What does it wear on a regular day?
6. What its favorite color?
7. What does its room look like?
8. Who is in its family?
9. What kind of taste does it smell like?
10. What does the touch of its skin remind you of?
11. What does it say to you?
12. What do you say to it?
13. Where do you keep it?
14. How does it feel? [use a food adjective, such as “delicious” or “salty”]
15. Who is its best friend?
16. What is its favorite possession?

Write a poem about your emotion that includes at least ten of your answers (but you can include more).

Poetry Game #7: A Motivational Poem

Brainstorm a list of ideas and behaviors that are important to you. Consider ideas you want people to embrace and behaviors you’d like them to stop.

Pick one.

Write a poem that shows why/how this idea or behavior is beneficial or harmful.

Your poem should be at least 10 lines and show three different emotions.

Poetry Game #8: Phone number poem

Write your phone number down the left side of your page, like this:

5

0

3

7

8

5

7

9

3

0

Write a 10 line poem about your “home” using the number in your phone number to tell you how many words to use in each line. For example, I would have 5 words in my first line, no words in my second line, and three words in my third line.

Hint: “home” doesn’t necessarily mean the place where you live.

Underline and label three elements of poetry in your poem.