Elements of Poetry
A WebQuest for grades 6-8

Kandy K. Pope
Southside Junior High School
Denham Springs, LA 70726

Slide Show introducing Poetry Unit

Lesson plan 1

Lesson plan 2

What in the world is that?!  These are examples of Onamotopoeia.  This element of poetry helps us to "hear" and "see" what is happening in a poem.  It is those words that sound exactly like they are spelled.  This is one of several poetic devices we will study before we can begin to write poetry.  Poetry can be a lot of fun to create once you learn some of the techniques.  In this WebQuest, we will study several different types of elements used by poets to write poetry.  Poets love to play with words and they try to find the "perfect" ones to help you clearly understand and "see" what they are writing about.  With creative use of these elements they can do just that - and so can you!
 
 

First we will define the terms.  After that, you will go to several different activity pages and do the assigned project.  These are fun activities that incorporate your artistic and creative talents in your work. There will be  some things you will need to get from me when you are ready.  You always have access to a thesaurus and a dictionary - use them!  Once you are finished, you will have gained a new understanding of poetry techniques and be ready to use this new knowledge to write your own poems!
 
 

You are to go to each activity and do the assigned project.  Before you begin each one, make sure you have all the necessary items.
 

These are some great sources to help as you fill your brain with more knowledge about the elements of poetry.  These will help you with each activity.  These include pages with examples of each type of element and poems that have been created with each one.

http://newark.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Terms/index.html - a link to find poetry definitions
http://www.lsi.usp.br/usp/rod/poet/haiku.html - a page about haiku and an example
http://www.lsi.usp.br/usp/rod/poet/haicreate.html - a link to play around creating a haiku
http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~loudon/poetry.htm - you can view examples of many different types of Haiku poems
http://teenwriting.about.com/library/blank/blstory1459.htm - a list of onomatopoeia words
http://teenwriting.about.com/library/glossary/bldef320.htm - acrostic, cinquain, and diamante poems with exmples to view
 
 

Each person will be graded as follows:
 

• poetry definitions complete
• over-all quality shown in your work
• neatness exhibited in the final project
• creativity executed to complete the work
• spelling, capitalization, and mechanics if it applies to that activity

The Internet can be a valuable learning tool in many different ways as you have learned.  By the time you complete this WebQuest, hopefully you will have a more complete understanding of the devices used in writing poetry.  You should also have more of an appreciation for the "poets" of this world.  After all, you have learned that the basics of writing poetry is a lot more than just throwing words on a page.  Poets must have a complete understanding of the way words work in order to write poems that will appeal to readers such as us.