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Developing Assessments Based on NJ Standards
Language Arts: Poetry
Level: Elementary and Middle
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Poetry Writing with Jack Prelutsky
Prepared from the original workshop activity of
Rutgers University Center for Mathematics, Science & Computer Education (CMSCE)

Boy and Girl in Classroom by Microsoft.com

Students discover how to shape ideas and words into creative, descriptive poems.

Introduction
Participating in the activity, students will:
  • discover the elements of a poem;
  • practice skills such as descriptive writing;
  • learn to review and revise their own writing;
  • use interactive online forms.
My Writing Challenges
Now it's your chance to write your poem. Begin thinking, let the ideas start flowing and the words will be there. Be creative and think of words that go together, possibly in a rhyme form.

Let the challenge begin.
Here are some suggested warm up exercises that can be helpful to you.

Word Warm-Ups
Just as you would stretch before you go running,
you need to warm up before you start writing poetry.
Here are some of my favorite exercises
to help you stretch your mind:

1. Word Play
Pick a word, any word, and think of all the words that rhyme with that word. Try first with one-syllable words, and then with words of two or more syllables.

2. Object Observations
Pick an object - a pencil, a brick wall, a clock, a tomato - anything. Then write down everything you notice about that object.

3. Synonym Silliness
Think of an adjective, such as happy, soft, tall, or sleepy. Then write down all the words you can think of that have the same meaning as that adjective. This list will help a lot when you're trying to describe things.

Finish My Poem
If  you feel ready for the challenge, below are some poem starters.
You can use them as starters and add your own stanzas.

1. Poem 1
When I awoke one morning,
A stork was on my head.
I asked, "What are you doing there?"
It looked at me and said . . .

Hint: If you wish, you may substitute any one-syllable bird, bug, or mammal for the stork. You may also change the word "was" to "sat," "stood," "snoozed," "perched," or any other verb you think is appropriate. You'll probably wind up with a very different poem if there's a mouse on your head instead of a moose.

2. Poem 2
Almost every afternoon,
I eat pickles with a spoon.
Every evening right at six,
I eat pickles stacked on bricks.

Hint: You can have a lot of fun writing about other ways to eat pickles. You can also use jellybeans, bananas, or potato chips instead of pickles - and explain the different ways that you eat them. It's up to you.
Publish your Poem Online
If you are done writing and revising? Before you publish your poem, review my Writing Tips, Revision Guidelines. Upon completion of the workshop, you will be awarded this Certificate of Achievement.

Additional Resources

Poetry Writing with Karla Kuskin This site is very similar to the Jack Prelutsky Poetry Writing site. They each have the same format.
Writer's Window Writers up to age seventeen are encouraged "to share their work and help each other improve their writing."
Poetry Post Features poems created by students from around the world.