Poetry Lesson

Intern: Bethany Unruh Grade: 2nd Grade

School: Riverside Mentor Teacher: Mrs. Gena Jones
Step 1: Topic/ Type
Topic- Me/ Self-Esteem
Type- Cinquain
Step 2: Standards/ Objectives
Standards- W.2.5 With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a
topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.
L.2.1f Produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound
sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the
movie; The action movie was watched by the little boy).
Objectives- The student will write a Cinquain poem about themselves that is at least
5 lines long.
Step 3: Materials
TeacherPoetry examples
Book
Worksheet
StudentPencil
Step 4: Creating Anticipation
Anticipatory Set- I will begin by reading the book Molly Lou Melon about selfesteem. I will first begin by introducing the book (title and author). I will also read
the dedication because it is a good hint of what the book will be about. I will then
ask the students what they think the book will be about, who the main character is,
and a possible problem that might occur. I will then begin reading through the book.
I will also ask them question throughout the book to check for understanding. At
the end of the book I will again ask the students, who the main character is, what the
problem was and the solution. Once we have had a group discussion I will then
transition into how Molly Lou Melon used her characteristics to build up herself up.
Step 5: Input
Today we will be writing cinquain poem about ourselves. A cinquain poem is a 5
line poem that describes a person place or thing. Here is an example of a cinquain
poem- Spiders. What is this poem describing? Here is another example of a cinquain
poem- Cars. What is this poem about? Notice what shape each of these poems
make- draw a diamond around the edges. What do each of these poems have in
common? They both have 5 lines. Each one of these lines has special words that go
into it. On the first line there is a noun. Talk with your table partners and share
what a noun in. On the second line, what part of speech is each of these words?

Adjectives. Thats right they are words that describe the noun in the first line. Talk
with your neighbor and share some adjectives that describe you. What do the next
3 words have in common? The all end in ing or they are all action words, verbs.
The fourth line is tricky, what do you think the feature of the 4th line is? It is a
phrase that describes the noun. What is a phrase? Right a small group of words that
describe one noun. Talk with your table partners and think of a phrase that
describes school. Typically this line has 4 words, it helps to make the diamond
shape. What is the last line? A synonym. Talk with your face partner and describe
a synonym. These are all features of cinquain poems. Now it is time for us to begin
writing our own.
Step 6: Modeling
Showing- On the Smartboard I will use the graphic organizer to demonstrate how to
write a cinquain poem about me.
Telling- I will first begin by going back to the example poem and see what word(s)
go on the first line. Oh thats right a noun goes on the first line, this will be the topic
of my poem. Today we are writing about ourselves so I could put my name or just
simply Me. I think I will put my name, so that everyone knows who this poem is
about, Mrs. Unruh. OK, what feature is next in a cinquain poem? 2 additives or
words that describe me come next; I am going to brainstorm words that describe
me: Fun, Quirky, Silly, Creative, Happy, Unique, Serious, Passionate. I am sure there
are many more but this is what I can think of at the moment. I think I will choose
Fun and Passionate, I chose these words because I feel that they are what best
describes me. Im going to look back at our examples and see what is in the third
line, 3 words ending with ing or action words. Ok let me think: Learning, Dancing,
Teaching, Listening, Speaking, Creating. I think I have a good list, I know I need 3 so
I am going to choose, Learning because I never want to stop learning new things;
Teaching because I want to teach people for my job, and creating because I really
enjoy being creative and making new things. Alright now the 4th line, a phrase that
describes me. I could say A kind hearted person or Person who loves life or
Teacher in the making, Oh, I like that, I think that is what I will put in my poem.
The 5th and final line in my poem is a synonym for the first line. In the beginning I
had 2 options to put as my first line, my name or me, I have already used my name
so I will use Me as a synonym. Alright now I have my complete cinquain poem:
Mrs. Unruh
Fun, Passionate
Learning, Teaching, Creating
A teacher in the making
Me!
Let me check to make sure I have all of the right features that make a cinquain poem
(point to each one as I say them). I have 5 lines, Check. The first line is a noun,
which is also the topic of my poem. The second line has two adjectives that describe
me, got that. The third line has 3 ing words or verbs, check. Next I have a phrase
that is 4 words long, that describes my topic, got that; and finally a synonym for
Mrs. Unruh. OK, there is one final check I will do to see if it fits the cinquain style
(draw a diamond around the perimeter). Well it is not a perfect diamond, but it is

pretty close. I think I have a great poem that fits all of the characteristics of a
cinquain poem.
Step 7: Guided Practice
I will have the team manager hand out the graphic organizer to each student.
Together we will look at the first line and agree on how we will all start our poem.
Remember our topic is ourselves, so each of you will have your own poem about
yourself. We can either begin with our name or Me. Can anyone else think of
another synonym or different word to begin our poem with? (I will write the most
common of the suggestions on the board.) Remember, this is your very own poem
so you can begin your poem how you want too, but it must be a noun and tell the
reader the topic of your poem. Ok, can anyone tell me what comes next in our
poems? Thats right 2 adjectives that describe you. I would like to you silently
think of 2 adjectives that describe you and write them in the space provided. Would
anyone like to share what he or she chose? (I will write suggestions on the board in
the graphic organizer.) Ok, you are all doing so wonderful I would like for you to try
the third line by yourselves, there is an example on the board for you to look at and
your worksheet tells you what goes on each line. While the students are writing
the third line I will be walking around the room reading what they are writing, see
check for understanding.
Step 8: Check for Understanding
How-Throughout the lesson I will be checking for understanding by asking
questions such as: What kind of poem are we writing today? What topic are we
writing about today? What goes on the first line? What goes on the second line?,
ect. Also during guided practice I will have the students write the third line of the
poem by themselves. While they are doing this step I will be walking around the
room reading what they have already written and asking what they may write next.
I will also ask what kinds of words they are using for the third line. I will read the
beginning of the students poem to ensure that they followed along in the guided
practice.
Expectation- While I read what the students have written, I will be looking to see
how many words there are, there should be 3 words. I will also be checking to see if
each of the words has the ing ending or if they are action words. I will also be
checking to make sure that the beginning of the poem follows the criteria for a
cinquain poem.
Step 9: Independent Practice
The students will complete the poem individually. They will finish the last 2 lines of
the poem by themselves. I will leave an example on the board for them to refer to
and I will be walking around the room answering questions.
Step 10: Closure
I will offer for students to share their cinquain poem. Hopefully there will be a few
students that will share what they have written about themselves. If no one offers
to share in front of the whole class I will ask them to share at their table groups.

Once I have given a few minutes for students to share, I will review the student
objective. What kind of poem did we learn how to write today? Thats right a
cinquain poem. Lets look back at our objective: I can write a cinquain poem about
myself. Very nice work today, you may put your poem in Mrs. Jones box and return
to your seat ready for the next instruction.
Step 11: Assessment
Student- Students will complete a cinquain poem, using the proper format.
Teacher- Master will be met when the student has completed a cinquain poem with
the following criteria
Poem Checklist:
Student has written a Cinquain poem about themselves.
1st line of poem contains a noun.
2nd line of the poem contains 2 adjectives.
3rd line of the poem contains 3 words ing verbs.
4th line of the poem contains a 4-word phrase describing the topic.
5th line of the poem contains a synonym of the 1st line or topic.
Step 12: Adaptations
Gear Up- Difficulty: Students will complete another poem about their favorite book
character.
Level of Support: Students will receive a blank graphic organizer without
the directional support.
Gear Down- Input: I will have ample visuals for students to use as resources.
Students who need this support will have a sample poem with them at their
desk, with the parts clearly labeled.
Time: Students will have additional time to complete their poem.

Materials
Example Poems:

http://www.spiderroom.info/classroom/LESSONS/203.html

http://conversationsinliteracy.blogspot.com/2012/05/sharks-dinos-and-cinquainpoems.html

http://a7blogpapatoetoeeastprimary.blogspot.com/2012/03/we-have-been-writingcinquain-poems.html

Worksheet:

Name______________________
Date_______________________

Cinquain Graphic Organizer

A cinquain is a five-line poem that describes a person, place, or thing.
dessert
cold, creamy

a one -word title, a noun

two adjectives

eating, giggling, licking

three - ing participles

cone with three scoops

a phrase

ice cream

a synonym for your title, another noun

Use this organizer to write your own cinquain.

1______________________________
a one word title, a noun that tells what your poem is about

2 ________________, _____________
two adjectives that describe what you're writing about

3 _________, ___________, _______

three -ing participles that describe what your poem is about

4 ______________________________
a phrase that tells more about what you're writing about

5 ______________________________
a synonym for your title, another noun that tells what your poem is about