Poetry Quest

Publish with Poetry Place, Inc.

Introduction

As a member on a four-person team of writers at a local publishing firm, Poetry Place Inc., you and your partners have written and published many books. You have written descriptive essays, space novels, biographies and book reviews. Now your editor-in chief is looking to publish a collection of poetry.

What would a group of writers who have the above writing resume' know about poetry? The boss has given you and your team an assignment to come up with a collection of original poetry that will make the poetry top ten best seller list!! What, you say???? What this team knows about poetry you could probably be put on the end of a Pin Point -- a writing Pin Point -- that is. And to make matters worse, the boss wants this work of art published in a very timely manner. She has a deadline of four weeks. Therefore YOU have an even shorter deadline. She has, however, offered each individual an opportunity for a Big Bonus if you meet the deadline AND put together a collection of illustrated children's poetry. The poetry book will be bound and published by Poetry Place, Inc. This poetry anthology will be made available for thousands of children to enjoy through the local library. What a wonderful advertising promotion for Poetry Place, Inc.!!!

The Task

• Each person will be assigned to one of the Poetry Place, Inc. writing teams
• Your team will begin to gather information about poetry
• Team members will write various kinds of poetry for the collection
• Your team will participate in group editing sessions after a training workshop
• As part of your team, choose the best pieces to include in your group's poetry book, based on feedback from a focus group of your target audience-children
• Illustrate the poems for your book
• Present the collection to your boss (aka your teacher). The boss will bind your poetry book and arrange for you to present the book to your local library so many children may enjoy your poetry!

The Process

1. To begin to familiarize yourself with good children's poetry read several poems from the boss's private poetry collection. Choose one poem you especially enjoy. Think about why you like this poem. You and your team will share your newly found favorite poems with each other and spend time discussing what makes this poem so &quotgood&quot. You can earn up to $10.00 conducting this research. (Earn an additional $10.00 for finding a poem that you don't care for, and explaining why you don't like it to your team.)
2. Using the power of the internet for your research, read the following article by children's poetry guru, Kenn Nesbitt- How to Write Funny Poetry, Chapters 1-4. Write a Thesaurus Poem (Chapter 1, page 3), a Clerihew, or an Exaggeration poem following Ken Nesbitt's advice. Save this to your server folder in a folder called (insert your name) poetry. (Earn $20.00 for reading the material and $10.00 for each poem)
3. Because your boss wants you to experience the writing of many children's poets she suggests you visit the King of Giggle poetry's website, Bruce Lansky at Giggle Poetry.com. Go to the Read 'em and Rate 'em section. Read and rate the poems at this site. Write down the name of your favorite poem from the Read 'em and Rate 'em section. Meet with your group and discuss your favorite poem. (Earn $10.00)
4. Go to the Poetry Class section of Bruce Lansky's website. Choose one or more of the following: If I... poem, Poetry about Feelings, or Dream Poem. Write a poem following the directions on the page. When you are finished with one of the above poems, you could try any of the other poems on the Poetry Class page. Save them to yourpoetry server folder.Share the poem you wrote with your group. (Earn $10.00).
5. Go to the following web page to learn How to Write Haiku. Write a haiku (or several!). Save them to your poetry server folder. Share your haiku poems with your group. Decide which you like one you like best. Tell why. (Earn $10.00 for writing and $10.00 for sharing and discussing)
6. Write a couplet following these directions. Learn more about couplets here. The boss has some additional resources to help with this poem. Use the Rhyme Zone rhyming dictionary to find words that rhyme. Save your couplet to your poetry server folder.(Earn $10.00 for writing and $10.00 for discussing).
7. To learn to write a Quatrain follow the advice on this page. The boss has some additional resources to help with this poem. Save your Quatrain to your poetry server folder. Share your quatrain with your group. (Earn $10.00 for writing and $10.00 for sharing.)
8. Free Verse is the final type of poetry your team will attempt. Check out this advice to help you master your Free Verse poem.The boss has some additional resources to help with this poem. See more Free Verse examples. Save your Free Verse to your poetry server folder. Share your Free Verse with your group. (Earn $10.00 for writing and $10.00 for sharing.)

Culmination

Choose 4 poems that you wrote during the last 4 weeks. Print them. Spend time editing for content, spelling, and layout. Make them the best they can be. Get feedback from your group. Use their suggestions to make your poems even better. Illustrate your poems on the computer. Save them to your poetry server folder. These final 4 poem will be printed in color. Meet with your group to create your poetry book. Sort your poetry pages into sections so that types of poetry are together (all haiku is in the haiku section, all couplets are in the couplet section). Create a table of contents, an author page and a dedication page. Print each of the poetry pages, the author page, the table of contents, and the dedication page. The boss and her assistants will bind the books.

When all the books have been printed and bound the employees of Poetry Place, Inc. will present their published books to the school library so that thousands of children may check them out and enjoy your poetry.

Evaluation

Employees (students) will be evaluated on the process, including their level of participation of participation in this project. The boss will keep a master checklist and the students will have an individual checklist of currency (points) earned. The students will also be evaluated indivdually on the final product (the final 4 poems they edit and illustrate) using a rubric which we will create together as a class prior to starting the project. The individual checklist and rubric are posted to this page under related resources.

Peddle's Pod
www.kpeddle.com
kpeddle@cloquet.k12.mn.us
218-879-3369 x5035
Washington Elementary School

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