Grades 2–5
PoetrySparksStudents will learn how to write a diamante poem, using 9 words to describe a topic.
Students will produce a diamond-shaped poem, called a diamante poem.
Before You Begin
Decide whether you will give any guidance for topic choice. A diamante poem often describes two opposite topics (e.g., night and day, sun and moon, etc.), but it can also be about a single topic. This could be an opportunity to have students focus on a content area you are studying, to share something about themselves to continue to build your classroom community, or to write about something that they are passionate about.
STEP 1
To begin, ask your students to help you remember what these parts of speech are: noun, adjective, and verb. Write their definitions on the board. Then, display page 2 of the Diamante Poetry— Handout and introduce your students to the structure of a diamante (dee-uh-mahn-tay) poem. A diamante poem uses 9 words to describe a topic (2 nouns, 4 adjectives and 3 gerunds [verbs ending in “-ing”]) and gets...
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