With our revamped curriculum this year, I had an opportunity to try some new projects with my students. Over the past year, I have developed an interest in writing poetry, and I thought it would be neat if my students wrote their own. The great thing about poetry is that there can be a lot of repeated structures and each line can be simple. I was thinking about having students write a poem that repeated the structures “Je suis” and “Je ne suis pas.” I wrote a sample poem showing what I was looking for:
Basically, the poem alternates with lines saying positive things about myself (using both nouns and adjectives) and things that I am not (using only adjectives). I also included some photos that illustrate the sentences. I helped students prepare a rough draft in class and then they peer reviewed with a neighbor.
Here are some of their masterpieces!
On the day it was due, students shared their poems in small groups and snapped their fingers after each one was read.
I also had students write a poem for someone else, using “Il est” or “Elle est.” This was right before Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, so some students wrote the poem for their parents.
Have you ever had your students write poetry? What did they write about?
Liked this post? Sign up below to receive future posts by email!
