How to Write a Color Poem
Have you ever thought about the way colors sound or how they taste? Ever imagine how your favorite hue would move or what kind of music it would represent? Start thinking of colors in a whole new way and writing poetry to describe those colors in vivid detail. This is an exciting way to introduce children to poetry in a way that is non-threatening.
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Things You'll Need
- Index cards (about 10 per student)
- Colored paper or colored pencils (optional)
Instructions
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1
Choose (or ask students to select) a color to describe in a whole new way through poetry. Close your eyes for several minutes and image only that color through all your senses.
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2
To brainstorm ideas for the poems, make an index card for each of the following questions or use one large piece of unlined paper and create a web of circles or boxes for recording each. -What does the color look like? Possibly incorporate a simile-comparison using the words “like” or “as” or a metaphor-comparison without using the words “like” or “as”-How does the color smell?-What does the color taste like/How does it taste?-What sounds does the color make/What does it sound like?-What kind of music, literature or movie genre would the color represent?-How does the color feel or make you feel?-What actions does the color do?-How does the color move?-What memories does the color bring to mind?
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3
Record images and impressions of the chosen color according to each of the previous questions/prompts. If you're using index cards, write responses or answers on the back side of the card. If your're using one large page and webs, write the responses within the shapes.
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4
Repeat the visualization exercise from Step 1 again, if needed, to complete the prompt questions. Take the time to really get in touch with the color from all angles and in ways never considered before.
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Begin pairing lines that could share a matching end rhyme. Consider changing end words to more easily lend to rhyming.
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Group the remaining lines into logically joined stanzas (poetry paragraphs) consisting of four written lines. There could be one or multiple four-line stanzas in the completed color poem.
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Write the final poem in the ABCB rhyme pattern. In this format, lines 2 and 4 end in rhyming words. Lines 1 and 3 lines do not rhyme.
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Tips & Warnings
Publish color poems on corresponding colored paper or written in corresponding colored pencil.
Display color poems in a rainbow pattern on a bulletin board.
