PIZZAZ-Cinquain Poems
PIZZAZ!...CINQUAIN
POEMS
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/cinquain.html
PIZZAZ!
||
OPPortunities
in ESL
INFORMATION
ESL Student Level: High Beginner+
Description: Diamond-shaped poems with 5 lines. Incorporates
oral,
analytical thinking, reading and writing skills.
Sample Cinquain
War
by Saud
War
Sad, destructive
Killing, injuring, destroying
A thing that kills life.
Terminator
WARM-UP ACTIVITIES
Briefly examine structured forms of poetry from
students' native languages as an introduction, eg. haiku poems from
Japanese. In our class, we often link the cinquaines to things such as a
nature walk just off campus, closure for a certain class activity/unit,
end-of-term remembrance, etc.
NOTE: As an alternative, consider diamond-shaped diamante
poems, for a related but slightly more complex form of poetry.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Students work in small groups of 3-5. Each group has one example
poem, and the tasks:
a) Identify the structure / form of the poem (what are the parts of
speech in each line); and,
b) Report orally and informally to the rest of the class on the
feeling / tone of the poem.
c) Answer the question: What is the relationship between the first and
last lines?
Students can use dictionaries, as necessary, to figure out unfamiliar
words.
- Students report on their assigned poems. (Optional: students
practice with the instructor orally beforehand and then read their
assigned poem to the class.)
The structural form is then written on the board or screen
and/or presented on a handout. Example:
Line 1: War = 1 NOUN-A
Line 2: Sad, destructive = 2 related ADJECTIVES
Line 3: Killing, injuring, destroying = 3 descriptive GERUNDS
(verb + -ing)
Line 4: A thing that kills life. = 1 complete, related
SENTENCE
Line 5: Terminator = 1 NOUN-B (a synonym of
NOUN-A)
- Students' observations regarding synonyms, parts of speech on each
line, emotional tone, etc. are also discussed / outlined clearly.
- Individual groups then "brainstorm" as many possible pairs of
synonyms
as they can create. The teacher puts the pairs up on the board / overhead
screen as suggestions (eg. vacation-holidays, artist-creator,
Paris-paradise, life-journey, , ......). Students can use a dictionary
and/or thesaurus.
- Students and the instructor choose one of the brainstormed topics and
write a cinquaine poem together on the board / overhead screen. Optional:
copy it down and add it to the class collection if a class anthology is in
the works.
- Working individually with a template (see sample below), students
write one or more cinquaines on the subject(s) of their choice. (Poems can
also be written or transferred onto a computer VIA a teacher-prepared
template.)
SAMPLE POEMS TO USE IN CLASS
(written by
adult intermediate-level ESL students)
River
by Miki
River
Clear, wonderful
Slapping, whirling, flowing
The river is cold.
Water
Nature
by Khaled
Nature
Beautiful, pure
Refreshing, enjoying, relaxing
Nature is healthy.
Fun
Dove
by Min
Dove
Active, free
Flying, sitting, crying
A dove is free.
Bird
Eel
by Miki
Eel
Greasy, long
Winding, swimming, moving
An eel is strange.
Fish
Make up your own examples, using simpler or more complex
vocabulary/topics,
to tailor this activity to your particular students' level.
TEMPLATE
Title of Poem
Author's Name
_________________
_____________, ___________
_______________, ______________, _______________
____________________________________________________ .
__________________
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
- Students' work can be compiled into a class anthology for reading,
autographing, souvenirs, and so on.
- Illustrate poems with handrawn or computer-generated images.
PIZZAZ!
|| OPPortunities in
ESOL
Leslie Opp-Beckman, Technology Coordinator and ESL Instructor
E-mail:
leslieob@uoregon.edu
5212 University of
Oregon,
American English Institute
Eugene, Oregon 97403-5212 USA
Leslie Opp-Beckman, copyright 1994-2003. Permission to copy
and
distribute for in-class, non-profit use only.
URL: http://www.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/pizzaz.html
This page last updated: 13 August 2003