Today we are going to do a fun poetry exercise. We’re not actually going to write poetry (although you TOTALLY can… and I’d love to read it!) but it’s a way to get our wordy brains warmed up.
Ready?
First, think about your 5 senses:
- sight
- smell
- sound
- touch
- taste
Grab a piece of paper and divide it into three columns and title the columns “Good,” “Neurtal,” and “Bad.” Next, label a row for each sense. Like this:
| Good | Neutral | Bad | |
| Sight | |||
| Smell | |||
| Sound | |||
| Touch | |||
| Taste |
Now turn on your best word imagination! Try to think of an example of a word to fit in each category.
For primary students: try to think of a thing (noun) to go in each box.
For intermediate students: try to think of a, adjective to go in each box.
This exercise helps us develop our skills in connotation and perspective. When we write poetry we want to be able to express exactly what we feel or observe Often it’s not good enough to say “The smell of the supper my sister was cooking reached my nose.” Maybe you’d rather say “The aroma of the supper my sister was cooking reached my nose” OR “The stench of the supper my sister was cooking reached my nose.” Those conjure very different feelings and assumptions!
Have fun!