Happy April! Did you know it is National Poetry Month?
I'm pretty sure there is a day and/or month celebrating just about any and
everything! Despite poetry being a little outside my wheelhouse, I used this
month as the perfect reason to expand my horizons and introduce my
children to writing poetry with this simple 5 Senses poem!
Grab our 5 Senses Printables below and use them in your homeschool or classroom with kids of all ages!
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There are many different types of poems being highlighted during this
celebration hosted by Preschool Powol Packets and today we are exploring poetry
using the 5 senses.
5 SENSES POETRY
Writing poetry is about creating visual images and understanding that words
have meaning.
What better way to be descriptive than to incorporate and explore a topic than
with your 5 Senses-- touch, taste, hearing, sight, and smell?!
A five senses poem follows a very simple outline of choosing a topic or
subject and then describing it through the senses: sight, touch, smell,
hearing, and taste.
5 Sense poems can be written in 5 simple lines such as:
I see...
I smell...
I taste...
I hear...
I feel...
Or as a 7 line poem:
Subject
Something you see
Something you hear
Something you taste
Something you smell
Something you feel
Subject
Or for older children, encourage the use of similies and metaphors to describe
your topic, for example...
Birthday cake is ______ like _________.
WRITE YOUR OWN 5 SENSES POEM
As with all poems, the first step is to pick a topic!
Anything can be a subject for a poem. So grab a pen and paper and
start brainstorming!
Topics can be concrete or abstract; something that can be observed and/or
experienced. Some topics my 6 year old and I brainstormed were:
race cars
Spring
his bedroom
ice cream
mac n' cheese
clam chowder
soccer
If this is your child's first time writing a poem using his/her five senses,
pick a subject that is tangible, like a piece of food.
My kiddos love working, I mean... learning, when food is
involved! I grabbed a bag of M&M's and invited my 3 and 6 year old
to explore them using their five senses.
5 SENSES PRINTABLES
I created a graphic organizer to help sort through their observations and to
encourage my 6 year old especially to be descriptive and look beyond the
obvious.
Ask: Pretend I have never seen or tasted an M&M, how would you
describe it to me?
With some encouragement from me, this is what my 6 year old came up with:
M&M's
I see colors red, yellow, green, blue.
I smell chocolate.
I taste yummy chocolate.
I hear a crunch sound when I bite on it.
I feel small, round, circles.
Afterwards, I had my son write it on our Five Senses poem outline and draw a
picture. I wrote and helped my 3 year old daughter with "I hear" and "I
touch" and also had her draw a picture.
A 5 Senses poem is a great way to introduce poetry! There is no "right"
or "wrong" way to do this poem as it is dependent on one's experience, which
differs for everyone.
5 sense poetry is:
- adaptable to kids of all ages
- encourages one to be descriptive using adjectives
- expands vocabulary
A Five Senses poem does not have to rhyme and is easy enough to involve
children of all ages and skill levels.
Will you be using your Five Senses to explore poetry today?
I've
included the 5 senses printables I created below so you can use them in your homeschool or classroom. Enjoy!
(update! The printable outline has gotten a facelift.)
MORE 5 SENSES ACTIVITIES:
