Fishing for Poems (Teachers)
This is a unit that I got from a workshop that I went to at the Kaw Valley teacher conference in the spring of 1998. Most of the ideas are from Sandy Lyne, but I have taught this unit several times and it always is enjoyable. This is called "fishing for poems" because I use the analogy of fishing to "hook" my students into the idea of writing poetry as an enjoyable experience.
Day 1:
Set the "fishing" scene by asking students if they have ever gone fishing, seen it on TV, or heard someone tell about fishing, etc. (you'll eventually get 100% yes.
Next, ask the students to name everything they can think of that you would need or want to take with you to help you catch a fish. Record their answers on a chalkboard or large chart paper.
If they only give you objects, after awhile ask them what internal things they would need as well (such as patience, experience)
When you have gobs of words listed, ask them what the goal of fishing is. (to catch a fish)
Explain that we are going to start a fishing trip, but our goal is to catch a poem.
Discuss the bare essentials for writing a poem and equate them to some of the essentials for fishing.
My list is often something like this: poem=fish, water=brain/thinking, bait=words, hook=writing utensil, bucket/stringer=paper, first aid kit=friend
Ask if a person who goes fishing always catches a fish (no). If they do catch a fish, is it always a "keeper"? (no) Relate that to poetry writing in that we don't always sit down and manage to write a poem; or if we do, sometimes it needs to be "thrown back" and saved until it can grow and we are ready to improve it.
Day 2:
Review the idea of fishing for poems. Have students recall the essential things for writing a poem.
Next, tell the students that today you will be fishing for a particular kind of poem, and that you have brought the bait (words).
Give the students a copy of the student page with directions, the poem example, and the word lists.
Have the students silently read the word lists and circle several that look like they might become a good poem.
After reading all of the word groups and circling several, decide on one that you and the students can use to write a group poem.
Read and discuss the directions for "catching" the poem.
Read the example poem, and discuss how it meets the four criteria for this kind of poem.
Discuss the word group that you have chosen for your group poem, and what kind of story you want to tell with your poem.
When you've agreed on the basic tone, mood, or story line you want your poem to have, instruct each person (including the teacher!) write several lines or sentences that could be part of your group poem.
After several minutes, share the lines that you have each written separately, and discuss what you like about them, or what you think could be added or changed to make the lines stronger. Focus on the positive! Find things to praise about each person's contributions!
Explain that everyone has important and valuable lines to contribute, and that there are no wrong answers. However, the time has come to create one group poem, so choices will have to be made. Choose as a group the lines that you want to form the basis of your group poem. The lines should not come from just one person!
Once the lines have been chosen, write them together in a reasonable order on a large piece of paper or other surface where you can all see and edit them.
Day 3:
Read aloud the poem that you created yesterday as a group. You are now ready to revise, refine, and edit this poem.
Ask students for suggestions about what they like and do not like about the poem as it currently is written.
Work together to add, delete, and change words or lines until everything works well together, sounds good, and has strong words.
Mark the changes as you decide them onto the large-format poem.
After "fixing up" your poem, review it for correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
If your poem looks messy, rewrite it neatly, still in a large, easy-to-see format.
Those who are familiar with poetry know that poems are often written differently than an average paragraph.
Some formatting issues particular to poems that you should discuss:
Stanzas: these are groups of lines of poetry that are separated from the next stanza by an extra line of space (no writing). They act much like paragraphs in a story, because they contain lines of poetry that are closely related to one another. When a new topic, setting, or time enters the poem, it is usually time for a new stanza. Very short poems may only have one stanza.
Line-break: this is the end of a line of poetry, and unlike line-breaks in a paragraph, poetry line-breaks do not end just because you have reached the margin of the paper you are writing on. In poetry, line-breaks have meaning! The last word of a line is left lingering in the reader's mind just a little longer than any other word of the line, so you want the last word to be an "important" or "strong" word. For example, "flaming" is a good word to end a line, but "they" is not a good word to leave at the end of a line.
Shape: poems can be written with the lines lined up at the left margin, as you would write a paragraph, but the first line does not need to be indented. They can also be centered in the middle of the page, or can even be written in such a way that the words on the page form a shape related to the topic of the poem. An example of this might be if you are writing about a tornado, the first line would be the longest, and the rest of the lines in the poem would get gradually shorter so that they taper down to a small point at the bottom of the page, making a tornado shape.
Decide as a group what kind of shape you want your poem to have (tall and narrow, entered, , as that may affect the line-breaks and stanzas you choose.
When you've agreed on the shape you want your poem to take, decide where to create stanza breaks, if you need them.
After marking stanza breaks, go back through the poem and mark line-breaks. Remember to end on powerful, rather than weak, words!
Finally, copy your poem neatly using the shape that your group discussed.
Once the poem is finished, share it with someone else!
Day 4:
Read aloud the poem that you created yesterday as a group. Review the steps that you took to start the group poem, and the directions for this kind of poem.
Now the students should be ready to try a poem on their own (if not yet confident, you may choose to add a middle step to this process, and have them create a poem with a partner, following the same steps as you used for the group poem).
Students should return to the word-list page and choose a new word group for their personal poem.
Have the student decide on the poem's topic, and write sentences (lines) that would fit into the poem.
After brainstorming lines, the student should narrow down their lines to the ones they wish to keep for the poem.
Have the student follow the same steps as the group did until he/she has a rough draft of the poem.
Day 5:
Read aloud the poem that you created yesterday. Review the remaining steps that you need to take to create the final poem.
Now the students should be ready to revise, refine, and edit the poem. They may want input from another person at this stage, but should make the final decisions themselves.
Students should next choose the shape of their poem, mark stanza breaks, and mark line-breaks.
Finally, copy the poem neatly for presentation.
Share your poem with others! You may want to create a "poetry reading" and have several people share poems they have written, or favorite poems by other writers.
Return to Fishing for Poems Unit.