CLASSROOM LESSON 3:
Cinquain Poems
BOOK TITLE: Black Water
AUTHOR: D.J. MacHale
LESSON PLAN AUTHOR : Jeff Sudbury
GRADE
LEVEL: 6-8
LESSON DURATION: 60 Minutes
OBJECTIVE
- Students will describe the basic conventions of a cinquain
- Students will characterize the relationship between structure and meaning in a cinquain
- Students will compose a cinquain that describes a character, place, or thing in Pendragon: Black Water
MATERIALS
- Copy of novel Pendragon -Black Water
MOTIVATION
- Share examples of cinquain with students that you have written yourself on Pendragon: Black Water.
- Read the poems aloud to students. Try reading some of the cinquain more than once to show how different words can be emphasized and talk about line breaks.
NEW INFORMATION
- Explain to students that today they will be writing their own cinquain poems based on their readings from Black Water.
- Tell students that before we can create our own poems we need to learn how to write cinquains.
- Explain to students that a cinquian is a five-line poem that describes a person, place or thing.
- Have a student read the example of a cinquain poem to the class that is written on the organizer.
- Next, explain each line of the cinquain to students.
- Line one: A one word title, a noun that tells what your poem is about
- Line two: Two adjectives that describe what you’re writing about
- Line three: Three –ing participles that describe what your poem is about
- Line four: a phrase that tells more about what you’re writing about
- Line five: A synonym for your title, another noun that tells what your poem is about
- Pass out the Parts of Speech Handout to students. Display on overhead. Explain each term to students so they will understand what is required on each line. Terms to explain: nouns, adjectives, participles, and synonyms.
- Model how to write a cinquain poem using a person, place, or thing from the book Black Water.
PRACTICE/APPLICATION
- Students will create their own cinquian poems based on their readings from Black Water. Students must choose a person, place, or thing from Black Water to write their poems.
- Students can create their rough drafts using the Cinquain Graphic Organizer that was passed out earlier.
- Remind students that they can refer back to their Parts of Speech Handout if they have any questions about what needs to go on a specific line of their poem.
- After rough drafts have been completed have students word process their poems.
EVALUATION OF STUDENT LEARNING
CLOSURE
- Have students share their poems with classmates.
NCTE STANDARD 4
Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
NCTE STANDARD 5
Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
NCTE STANDARD 6
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
SOURCES
Gardner, T. (n.d. ). Composing Cinquain Poems with Basic Parts of Speech. Retrieved March 5, 2008 from,
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