Color Poetry with Emotions

OVERVIEW:

Once students experiment with poetry, they learn that they have another outlet for communicating their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. In this lesson, students are asked to think about colors, while imagining what they taste, feel, smell, sound, and look like. They explore sample color poems, as well as imagery and symbolism. Students use their five senses as a prewriting tool to guide their poetry writing before drafting, revising, and publishing their color poems. This lesson is open-ended enough that students can write free-form poetry or follow a provided template to create a color poem.

Preparation:

• Have a variety of physical examples of color available for the students. This could be a large box of crayons or paint chips from the home improvement store.
  

• Gather sample poems to share with students from Mary O'Neill's Hailstones and Halibut Bones and/or the listed Websites.
  

• Make appropriate copies of the Color Poem Templates, Color Poem Examples, and Color Poem Assessment.
  

• This lesson assumes that students have a working knowledge of similes. If not, please refer to the following.
  

• Choose the templates that will work best for your students' work brochures, flyers, or booklets. Adapt this lesson plan for the option you've chosen.

Student Objectives:

Students will

• participate in a brainstorming activity using the five senses then draw on their experiences with color to create poetry.
  

• write color poems based on models from Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill.
  

• connect personal knowledge and sensory perception to written descriptions using similes and metaphors.
  

• participate in process writing, from prewriting to drafting to revising.
  

• showcase their poems and connect art to their writing.

Lesson 1:

1. Ask the students to think about their favorite color, asking, "How would you describe what that color looks like to someone else?" You'll get varied responses, and maybe some frustrated responses, as it is difficult to put color into words. Some students might compare their color to a material objective. For example, a student might say, "White is like the snow."
   

2. Ask students to add more details to their description by reminding students that not everyone knows what snow looks like. Ask them to describe their color further. This time, they might say that snow looks soft and fluffy, but feels cold and crunchy.
   

3. Have the students practice describing colors in this way, by working with a partner. Ask one partner to name a color, and then ask the other partner has to describe it. Challenge the students to avoid using material objects in their descriptions, but instead focus on other sensory descriptions-texture, taste, sound, or smell. If a student uses a visual comparison ("Yellow is like the sun"), ask students to add details using their other senses: "Yellow is burning, bright, and hot."
   

4. To create partnerships, distribute one crayon to each student. Instruct students to sit with other students who have the same color of crayon. This will be their writing group for the color poem.
   

5. Tell students that they will be writing a poem about a color. They will write their poems as if they were describing the color to a person who has never seen it before. Additionally, the person may not know what certain objects look like so they cannot write about things that "are" the color. Instead, the students are to describe their color from each of the other senses: sound, smell, taste, and feel.
   

6. Share Color Poem Examples with students, asking them to identify the different sounds, smells, tastes, and textures used to describe the colors in each.
   

7. Explore symbolism and imagery with students, explaining how the figures of speech can be used in their poems. Play with symbolism using this Dictionary of Symbolism. Ask students to talk about the literal and figurative meanings of chosen symbols. Or, complete a symbolism mini-lesson to teach concretely about this poetic element. If students need more exposure to imagery, a mini-lesson on the topic can be useful here too.
   

8. Using the crayons/paint chips, ask students, individually or with a partner, to choose the color to work with.
   

9. Using their writer's notebooks, ask students to brainstorm, answering the following questions:
   
   
   List 1: What things LOOK (color)?
   List 2: What things SOUND (color)?
   List 3: What things SMELL (color)?
   List 4: How does (color) FEEL?
   List 5: What makes YOU FEEL (color)?
   List 6: What things TASTE (color)?
   List 7: What EXPERIENCES or IDEAS seem (color)?
   List 8: Can you think of any (color) PLACES?
   

10. Read the book Hailstones and Halibut Bones to the students.
    

11. After you've finished the book, ask students what they noticed about the color poems? After hearing the poems, ask if there is anything that they want to add to their brainstorm list? Reinforce that the students should have descriptive phrases written.
    

12. After each poem, discuss the author's use of imagery, personification, and unique expressions; the senses the author uses to write about the color; and so forth.
    

13. When students have completed their brainstorming, share several more sample color poems with them from the additional color poems you have gathered. Ask students to pay attention to effective word choice. Elicit student feedback regarding the comparisons of color the authors used.
    

14. Discuss the structure of the poems with students. Note that the poems are not all formatted in the same way. This is important for the students to know since their poems might not be following a specific format.

Lesson 2:

1. Ask students to go back to their brainstorming list, selecting the ideas that make the strongest comparison for each sense. Ask students to use their ideas to draft each line of the color poem.
   

2. To make the revision process easier, students can write their lines of poetry on sentence strips, so they can be physically manipulated later. Demonstrate how to revise poems by moving strips around easily, reading their poems aloud, and seeing what the poem looks like without rewriting them on paper.
   

3. If desired, the students can also use the templates provided as a color poem outline during the drafting stage.
   

4. Model the process that the students will go through. Choose a crayon or paint chip. Let's say that it is called "Passionate Pink." Say aloud, "To me, when I see this color, I hear Gerbera daisies singing in the wind." Emphasize to the students that in reality, you can't hear Gerbera daisies, but to you, that is what you "hear" because when you were little, you often sat on your grandmother's porch, watching the flowers blow in the breeze.
   

5. Compose with the class an example of a color poem, such as the following:
   
   Passionate Pink is ...
   Singing Gerbera daisies in terra cotta pots
   Sugary cotton candy melting in my mouth
   A freshly picked rose dripping with dew
   

6. Once the process has been explored, answer any questions that students have. Make connections between the templates and the examples available.
   

7. Allow students the rest of the class session to work on their poems. Circulate among students, answering questions and providing support as appropriate.

Lesson 3:

1. Once the poems are drafted, students can share their color poems with their peers or writing partners.
   

2. Pass out the Color Poem Assessment. As they read, ask reviewers to check that each line describes the color in a different sense, that limited visual comparisons have been used, and that similes are used in each line. Reviewers can also make suggestions for stronger word choices as appropriate. Ask students to record their comments and feedback on the form.
   

3. Following peer review, ask students to assess their own work, using the appropriate section of the Color Poem Assessment.
   

4. If desired, you can discuss stanzas and line breaks in poems, using What Makes Poetry? Exploring Line Breaks, as a mini-lesson.
   

5. Finally, students should make any necessary revisions before writing a final copy of the poem.

Lesson 4:

1. Provide supplies for students to publish their poems during the first half of this class session.
   

2. Demonstrate the Printing Press student interactive for students, showing the pertinent options. Alternately, have students write their final copy of the color poem in the same color ink as their topic and mount it on a poster board or students can word process their poems and print using colored ink.
   

3. Ask students to print at least three copies of their work (one for themselves, one for you to respond to, and one for the school or public library). If class resources allow, additional copies can be made to share with interested students in the class.
   

4. This will be a busy, active session so ensure that students understand the products they are to submit by the end of the class before releasing them to work on their final copies in their groups.
   

5. Allow students the remainder of the class to print copies of their own pages for their booklets and flyers.
   

6. If possible, schedule an additional class session where students can share their brochures or flyers with the class.

Standards that are being used in Grades 3-4-5 in this Project:

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 6.1.a. - Use new vocabulary learned by listening, reading, and discussing a variety of genres.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 6.1.b. - Learn the meaning and properly use a variety of grade-level words (e.g., words from literature, social studies, science, math).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 6.2.b. - Relate unfamiliar words and concepts to prior knowledge to increase vocabulary (e.g., rotation planets, spinner, taking turns).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 6.3.b. - Use context to determine the meaning of unknown keywords (e.g., The ferocious dog growled at the children.).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 6.3.c. - Use context to determine the meanings of synonyms, antonyms, homonyms (e.g., blue, blew), and multiple-meaning words (e.g., light).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 7.2.f. - Identify topic/main idea from text; note details.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 7.2.g. - Summarize important ideas/events; summarize supporting details in sequence.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 7.2.h. - Monitor and clarify understanding by applying fix-up strategies while interacting with text.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 8.2.a. - Draft ideas on paper in an organized manner utilizing words and sentences (e.g., beginning, middle, end; main idea; details; characterization; setting; plot).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 8.3.a. - Revise draft to add details, strengthen word choice, clarify the main idea, and reorder content.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 8.4.d. - Edit for appropriate formatting features (e.g., margins, indentations, titles).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 8.6.b. - Produce traditional and imaginative stories, narrative, and formula poetry.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: 8.6.g. - Publish 4-6 individual products.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 6.1.a. - Use new vocabulary learned by listening, reading, and discussing a variety of genres.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 6.1.b. - Learn the meaning and properly use a variety of grade-level words (e.g., words from literature, social studies, science, math).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 6.2.b. - Relate unfamiliar words and concepts to prior knowledge to increase vocabulary (e.g., settlers Indians, pioneers, farmers).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 6.3.b. - Use words, sentences, and paragraphs as context clues to determine the meanings of unknown keywords, similes, and idioms.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 7.2.f. - Identify theme/topic/main idea from text; note details.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 7.2.g. - Summarize important ideas/events; summarize supporting details in sequence.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 7.2.h. - Monitor and clarify understanding by applying fix-up strategies while interacting with text.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 8.2.a. - Draft ideas on paper in an organized manner utilizing words, sentences, and multiple paragraphs (e.g., beginning, middle, end; main idea; details; characterization; setting; plot).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 8.3.a. - Revise draft to add details, strengthen word choice, clarify the main idea, and reorder content.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 8.4.d. - Edit for appropriate formatting features (e.g., margins, indentations, titles).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 8.6.b. - Produce traditional and imaginative stories, narrative, and formula poetry.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: 8.6.g. - Publish 6-8 individual products.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 6.1.a. - Use new vocabulary learned by listening, reading, and discussing a variety of genres.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 6.1.b. - Learn the meaning and properly use a variety of grade-level words (e.g., words from literature, social studies, science, math).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 6.2.b. - Determine gradients of meanings between related words and concepts (e.g., ambassador official, representative).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 6.3.a. - Identify meanings of words using roots and affixes.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 6.3.b. - Use words, sentences, and paragraphs as context clues to determine the meaning of unknown keywords, similes, metaphors, idioms, proverbs, and cliches.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 6.3.c. - Use context to determine the meanings of synonyms, antonyms, homonyms (e.g., your/you're), and multiple-meaning words (e.g., beat).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 7.2.f. - Identify theme/topic/main idea from text; note details.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 7.2.g. - Summarize important ideas/events; summarize supporting details in sequence.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 7.2.h. - Monitor and clarify understanding by applying fix-up strategies while interacting with text.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 8.1.a. - Generate ideas for writing by reading, discussing, researching, and reflecting on personal experiences.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 8.1.b. - Select and narrow a topic from generated ideas.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 8.2.a. - Draft ideas on paper in an organized manner utilizing words, sentences, and multiple paragraphs (e.g., beginning, middle, end; main idea; details; characterization; setting; plot).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 8.3.a. - Revise draft to add details, strengthen word choice, clarify the main idea, and reorder content.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 8.3.b. - Enhance fluency by using transitional words, phrases to connect ideas, and a variety of complete sentences and paragraphs to build ideas (e.g., varied sentence length, simple and compound sentences).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 8.4.d. - Edit for appropriate formatting features (e.g., margins, indentations, titles, headings).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 8.6.b. - Produce traditional and imaginative stories, narrative and formula poetry. .

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: 8.6.g. - Publish 6-8 individual products.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: RL.3.1. - Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: RL.3.5. - Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: RL.3.10. - By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 2–3 text complexity band independently and proficiently. Recognize and begin to read documents written in cursive.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: RF.3.4.a. - Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: RF.3.4.b. - Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: RF.3.4.c. - Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: W.3.4. - With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: W.3.5. - With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language Standards 1–3 up to and including grade 3 on page 30.)

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: W.3.10. - Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: SL.3.1.a. - Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: SL.3.1.b. - Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: SL.3.1.c. - Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, and link their comments to the remarks of others.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: SL.3.1.d. - Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: SL.3.2. - Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: L.3.4.a. - Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: L.3.5.b. - Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe people who are friendly or helpful).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 3
  Standard: L.3.6. - Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: RL.4.1. - Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: RL.4.2. - Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: RL.4.5. - Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: RL.4.10. - By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. Continue to develop fluency when reading documents written in cursive.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: RF.4.4.a. - Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: RF.4.4.b. - Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: RF.4.4.c. - Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: W.4.3.d. - Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: W.4.5. - With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language Standards 1–3 up to and including grade 4 on page 30.)

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: W.4.10. - Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: SL.4.1.a. - Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: SL.4.1.b. - Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: SL.4.1.c. - Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: SL.4.6. - Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 4 Language standards 1 and 3 on page 30 for specific expectations.)

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: L.4.3.c. - Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: L.4.4.a. - Use context (e.g., definitions, examples, or restatements in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: L.4.5.a. - Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors (e.g., as pretty as a picture) in context.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 4
  Standard: L.4.6. - Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: RL.5.2. - Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: RL.5.4. - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: RL.5.10. - By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 4–5 text complexity band independently and proficiently. Continue to develop fluency when reading documents written in cursive.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: RF.5.4.a. - Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: RF.5.4.b. - Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: RF.5.4.c. - Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: W.5.3.d. - Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: W.5.5. - With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language Standards 1–3 up to and including grade 5 on page 30.)

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: W.5.9.a. - Apply grade 5 Reading Standards to literature (i.e., “Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or a drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g., how characters interact]”).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: W.5.10. - Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: SL.5.1.a. - Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: SL.5.1.b. - Build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: SL.5.1.c. - Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: SL.5.2. - Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: L.5.4.a. - Use context (e.g., cause/effect relationships and comparisons in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: L.5.5.a. - Interpret figurative language, including similes and metaphors, in context.

• Subject: Language Arts
  Grades(s): 5
  Standard: L.5.6. - Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships (e.g., however, although, nevertheless, similarly, moreover, in addition).