Spring Into Poetry! Creative Writing (Ages 9-11)

In this class, learners will do a short group activity as an ice breaker of some kind. One popular way I like to start the class is to go around and have each student share an adjective about a common topic or themselves. This type of activity also acts as a warm up for the class. Then, I will share examples of the poetry structure we will be focusing on for the day. After that, we will write a poem or two together. No prior experience in writing poems is required. Differentiation will occur based on the needs of the class. Advanced learners may choose to write their own or expand on one of the poems we write together and share. There will also be opportunities to work on developing spelling strategies. 

Poetry helps students develop their descriptive skills in a relaxed setting. Poems are usually short and tend not to be as overwhelming for students as writing longer pieces such as narratives. Poetry also fosters their inner creativity. Each week, we will focus on a different type of poem. In this class, you can expect the students to feel a positive, happy time. My hope is for each child to love the wonderful world of writing and creativity! 

Please note, we will cycle back through the sequence of poetry genres after this posted list is completed. This will give the learners who return to the classes a chance to improve upon their skills as well as invite new friendly faces to our poetry club! 

Month of January: Haiku
Month of February: Cinquain 
Month of March: Quatrain 
Month of April: Limerick 
Month of May: Tongue Twisters
Month of June; Acrostic Poems
Month of July: Haiku
Month of August: Cinquain