Treasure Hunt for Poetry

Directions:
Sit with a partner and treasure hunt for poetic lines or
words in these picture and non-fiction books. Write them
down on this sheet. Next, choose one line from your
selection, write and illustrate it on a bookmark- be sure to
include the title and author of the book.

My Poetic Lines:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Write the line on this bookmark and illustrate it as you see fit. Then, cut the bookmark out place it
in your poetry folder.

Cracking-Open Words
An important part of writing poetry is being able to “crack open” overused and
abstract words and sentences, such as: “It was a nice day” or “She was very
nice” and find the proper image inside. In this center, you can experiment
with an important part of revision- cracking-open words, phrases, and
sentences to find more accurate and vivid images inside.

Directions:
None of the sentences below give us a picture in
ourminds using words. Next to each sentence describe and
write what you see in your own mind. Close your eyes and
see what images appear in your mind. Then, repaint the
sentences using your own images and words.
Example: It was a nice day. = The bright sun, appearing
from behind Mt. Skye, cut diamonds across the blue lake.

1. It was a nice day.

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2. We had a lot of fun.

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3. The flowers were beautiful and colorful.

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4. She was a good person.

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5. The cat was cute.

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The Music of Words
Words have different personalities and qualities according to their sounds.
Poets write by considering the meaning and sounds of their words.

Directions:
Think about the sounds of words. Find at least five
words that sound smooth, bumpy, and sharp (five in each
column!). For example, a word that sounds smooth is ice; a
bumpy word is hippopotamus because it has many small
syllables that make your mouth move; and a sharp word is
kite because the consonants are sharp.

SMOOTH BUMPY SHARP

Listening Center
Directions:
Listen to a few of the poems on the CD from Poetry
Speaks to Children. You may read along with the book. As
you listen, jot down the poems you enjoy listening to. Then
choose a favorite line, image, or poem and when you are
finished listening to the poems, use a piece of blank paper
to illustrate the images you saw in your mind. Be sure to
label the illustration with the title and author of the poem.

My Favorite poems:
1.

2.

3.

4.

Illustration Center

Directions:
Choose a poem from the included packet. (If you did
the Listening Center activity, you must choose a different
poem for this activity.) Does the poem create a picture or
pictures in your mind? Illustrate the image you see or, if
you see several images divide the poem up and create a
picture book. Either you can create your own picture book
or you may illustrate a single page for one poem.

When you illustrate the poem, please leave room to

include the actual poem. You may type up the poem and
shrink it down or you may handwrite it on the sheet.
 Revision Center
Directions:
Read the poem below. I’ve added and changed
endings on words, changed the line-breaks, and made it
look and sound like a paragraph in a story. Revise the
poem as if it were your own- cut out extra words or endings
and rearrange the line-breaks. Make two revised versions.
When you are done, see Miss Mulhern when you are done
to read the original.

Poem:

I was standing at my window and all day I saw across the way, on

someone’s windowsill, a geranium which looked like it was glowing

red bright- it looked like a tiny traffic light faraway.