Five-Minute Activities for Young Learners

6.17 My poetry class
Level
***
Language focus
Poem: cinquain, syllables, adjectives, verbs, adverbs
Skills focus
Writing
Thinking focus
Creating
Teaching approach
Promote creativity – accept errors
Interaction
Individual work, suitable for large classes
Preparation
Write the model cinquain on the board. See Box 128.
Procedure
1 Using the cinquain template as a guide, explain the formula for writing a
cinquain. Refer to the model on the board. See Box 128.
2 Make sure the children understand that each line is limited by a number
of syllables. Count these syllables together. If you think this is too
difficult, you could structure the cinquain according to a number of
words, rather than a number of syllables.
3 Ask the children to write a cinquain about their best friend.