Write a Diamante Poem

Going on a road trip?  If you and your family are traveling to a vacation destination or to visit long-distance relatives, your third grader may have some extra time on her hands.  Keep your third grader busy with an activity that reviews basic grammar and parts of speech, encourages creative thinking, and best of all, records the most memorable parts of the trip!  Have her write a diamante poem.

A diamante is a special poem that makes use of a simple structure, resulting in a diamond-shaped poem.  Diamantes are fun and easy to write, so your third grader may want to write a whole collection of them to preserve those memorable moments of your travels.  More is better here: she’ll be getting great in grammar and parts of speech.  To celebrate her literary art, we also provide directions for an attractive diamond-frame card.  Mail those trip memories to grandma and grandpa, and you can be sure you'll make their day.

What You Need:  

• notebook
• pencil
• colored construction paper, 9 x 12"
• decorative art scissors
• ruler

What to Do:
Encourage your child to record the memories of your trip in a notebook. Explain that a fun way to do this is by writing short, fun poems called diamantes. Show her how to write a diamante by writing one of your own as a model.  Here’s the basic structure:

1. The first line is one word, and is the topic.  It is a singular or plural noun.  The 7th line is also one word, and a noun.  The 1st and 7th lines should be in contrast to one another.
2. The second line is made up of two adjectives that describe the noun from the first line.
3. The third line is three –ing verbs that tell actions associated with the noun from the first line.
4. The fourth line is the longest of the entire poem, and is the turning point of the poem.  This line has four more nouns.  The first two nouns are words that are associated with the noun of the first line, and the second pair of nouns are words that are associated with the noun of the seventh line.
5. The fifth line is three –ing verbs that are associated with the noun from the seventh line.
6. The sixth line has two adjectives that describe the noun in the seventh line.
7. The last line of the poem is a singular or plural noun that contrasts with the one from the first line.

Here’s an example of a diamante that one might write about a road trip which including lots of time at the pool and the beach:

pool
wet, wild
slipping, sliding, splashing
water slides, wading pools, beach towels, sunbaths
drying, resting, snoozing,
quiet, restful
sand

Have your child keep all of her diamantes in the notebook, and encourage her to write these poems to represent all the parts of your road trip, from lengthy car rides to exciting adventures.  When she’s finished, she can decorate the cover of the notebook to create a flashy title page, and even add some photos to the notebook.  Along the way, she will have reviewed basic parts of speech, and created a memento that will last a lifetime!