Writing Lesson Idea: Poetry Writing

If you have tried all of the writing activities in Teaching Adults and want to try something different, consider poetry. Several simple forms such as cinquain and haiku follow set formats that are easy to teach. (Inspired by Skagit Literacy workshop materials from Bill Henkel.)

• Handout: How to write a Cinquain
• and/or Handout: How to write Haiku

• Before the lesson write some examples of your chosen format.
• Read one or more of the handout examples together, then read your own poems together.
• Talk about the ideas or images that are described by the examples.
• Write one together, or assign as homework.