In this activity your child writes a diamante poem, a diamond- shaped seven-line poem. In doing so your child works with antonyms (opposites), nouns, adjectives and verbs.
The line pattern for the poem is:
Line 1: One noun that is the opposite of line 7
Line 2: Two adjectives that describe line 1
Line 3: Three action verbs ending in -ing that describe line 1
Line 4: Four nouns
First 2 nouns relate to line 1
Last 2 nouns relate to line 7
Line 5: Three action verbs ending in -ing that describe line 7
Line 6: Two adjectives that describe line 7
Line 7: One noun that is contrasting to line 1
What you’ll need:
- Paper
- Pen or pencil
- Thesaurus (optional)
- Art materials, such as crayons, markers and paints (optional)
Here’s how to do it
Explain to your child what a diamante poem is.
Review the line pattern with her and look at examples of diamante poems. Help her come up with topics to write about. She can use a thesaurus to look up words and their antonyms. Have her write the diamante poem following the line pattern. When she is finished she may illustrate a picture to go with the poem.
