What kind of poems appeal to kids? Writer and teacher Matt Sharpe says students of all ages like this exercise. Give it a try with your kids!
- Think of anyone you know who is older than your parents.
- Close your eyes, and picture this person. Picture their hair, their skin. Do they have facial hair? Glasses? Makeup? What kind of skirt are they wearing? Shirt? Shoes?
- Does this person smell like anything? Tobacco? Garlic?
- Do you have any taste associations with this person? Did your grandpa make you oatmeal every morning?
- Think of something you remember that person saying. Take one more step, and imagine in that moment what that person might be thinking.
- Open your eyes. Draw a “word map.” In the middle of a blank page, write the name of the person. Then draw a circle around the name. Then draw roads extending radially from the circle. At the end of each road, write down a characteristic of that person. Draw a cartoon bubble for speaking, and write in what you imagine that person would say. Then draw a second bubble for thought. There, write what that person might be thinking.
- Think of a simile about the person. (Matt Sharpe gives you an example: His grandfather had a trim mustache. It was like a caterpillar crawling under his nose.)
- Now, write a poem about the person. You don’t have to make it rhyme. This exercise is adapted from A Story in History: Writing Your Way into the American Experience by Margot Fortunato Galt.