📝 Words with Power
Poetry uses carefully chosen words, rhythm, and imagery to express ideas and emotions. Unlike prose, poetry often breaks grammar rules on purpose and uses creative structures!
📚 Types of Poems
Haiku
Japanese: 3 lines (5-7-5 syllables)
About nature, a moment
Acrostic
First letters spell a word
Good for beginners!
Free Verse
No set rules or rhyme
Maximum freedom
Limerick
5 lines, AABBA rhyme, humorous
Funny and rhythmic
14 lines, strict rhyme scheme
Shakespeare's favourite!
Shape Poem
Words form a picture
Visual and creative
🎨 Poetry Techniques
- Simile — comparison using "like" or "as" (bright like the sun)
- Metaphor — direct comparison (life is a journey)
- Personification — giving human qualities (the wind whispered)
- Alliteration — same starting sounds (slippery, slimy snake)
- Onomatopoeia — sound words (crash, buzz, splash)
- Rhyme — matching end sounds
💡 Example Haiku
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.
— Matsuo Bashō
✏️ Activities
Topic: Nature in Aotearoa
Line 1 (5 syllables):
Line 2 (7 syllables):
Line 3 (5 syllables):
- "The stars danced in the sky" = ___________
- "Brave as a lion" = ___________
- "Peter Piper picked..." = ___________
👩🏫 Teacher Notes
- English: Writing — creative text