How to Teach Cinquain Poetry to First Grade

Even first graders can express themselves through poetry.

The cinquain is a formal poem with a specific layout. It's an American poetic form popularized by Adelaide Crapsey. She created it after studying Japanese formal poetry. First graders may not understand its specifics at first, however the cinquain can be taught to them in a poetry lesson.

Instructions

1. Review what syllables are with the class. Syllables build words. They are composed of vowels and consonants and together form the words we speak. For example, the word "dog" is one syllable, while the word "kitchen" is two syllables (kit + chen).

2. Explain the cinquain's format to your students. The poem is five lines and follows a specific syllabic pattern: two, four, six, eight and two syllables. Draw the format on the board so everyone can see:

   2 syllables

   4 syllables

   6 syllables

   8 syllables

   2 syllables

3. Provide an example poem to the class. For instance:

   The dog

   went to the store,

   bought juice, candy, apples

   and brought everything home to share

   with friends.

   Write this on the board so everyone can read it. Review the poem so the students understand how many syllables make up each line.

4. Compose a cinquain through class participation. Ask the students to raise their hands to suggestion lines. Write the poem on the board for all to see.

References

• Cinquain: Theory of the Cinquain

Resources

• Ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us: Write an Instant Cinquain