Rainbow Poem

Poetry is music to our ears. When you write poetry with Crayola® Rainbow Twistables, you create music for the eyes as well.

1.

Poetry is a story told with a few words, a song without musical notes. Poets arrange words to make you feel or think in a certain way. Read poetry aloud with your classmates. What music of the words do you hear?
2.

You, too, can tell an original story with just a few words. The words may rhyme if you wish, but they don’t have to. Rhyming is just one tool that poets use to express emotions and ideas with words.
3.

Write your poem on paper with Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils. It’s easy to erase when you change your mind and edit your work.
4.

Often a poem has a distinct shape on paper. Why? Because the way it is written affects how it is read aloud. Poetry readers take a breath at the end of each line, so sometimes a poem has one-word lines. These words are often startling or especially descriptive. What shape will your poetry take?
5.

Many poets write a first draft and return to their poem later. Some poets ask others to look at their work and comment on it. Poets always edit their work and check their spelling. Your erasable colored pencils will probably come in very handy!
6.

When your poem is in its final form, transpose it on posterboard with Crayola Rainbow Twistables. Notice how the rainbow of colors you twist out from the barrel echoes the subtle shades of feelings found in your poetry.
7.

Decorate your poem poster with a border, illustrations, or a title in fancy lettering. Be sure the poet’s name appears on the page.

Standards

LA: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
LA: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
LA: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.
VA: Select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning.

Possible classroom resources include: A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson; National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200 Poems with Photographs That Squeak, Soar, and Roar! by J. Patrick Lewis; Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes edited by David Roessel & Arnold Rampersad; Poetry for Young People: Maya Angelou edited by Dr. Edwin Graves Wilson, Ph D; Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost edited by Gary Schmidt
There are many different styles of poetry. Students investigate what makes a haiku, cinquain, and limerick. Working individually or in teams of two, students compose original poems in each style. Create a scene to accompany each writing. Discuss with classmates personal preferences for poetry writing.
Invite a local poet into the classroom for a reading and to answer questions about writing poetry. Prior to the meeting, students compose questions for the guest. After the visit, students post learning to a class blog.
Invite the school's music teacher to work with students exploring the rhythm of poetry. Students read their original poetry to the beat of a drum, clap hands to the beat, etc. After the experience, students discuss how the movement and recognition of beat assisted with learning how to orally present poetry to a group.