Activity

Creating an Original Poem

How To Do It

• Decide the poem’s theme. Here are some possible themes:
  • Flowers, gardens, outdoors
  • Colors
  • Seasons
  • Children
  • Weather
  • Food
  • Sports
  • Animals
  • Love, marriage, family
• Take turns responding to the questions below. Use the responses to generate an original poem.

Question Type	Examples
Association question	“When you hear the word ‘tree’ what do you think of?”
Mood/feeling questions	“How does the tree make you feel?”; “What does it feel like to climb a tree?”
Sensory questions	“Tell me what you see?”; “What is the scent?”; “What does it taste/sound like?” “What do we want the tree’s colors to be?”
Imagination question	“What do we want to say to the tree?”; “What would it say back?”
Connection to own life question	“When you were a child, did you ….?”
Comparison/simile	“The leaves are red as….”
Other	“What does the tree give us?”

• Share the poem by reading it aloud with emotions.

Questions

1. Do you like the poem that you just created? 
2. What do you think of the process of creating a poem using the above questions?
3. Did you enjoy creating the poem collaboratively or would you prefer to create it on your own? Try both ways using the above questions and see which you prefer.
4. Will you share this poem with others? If so, with whom and when?