Activity:
Apostrophe Poem
Not every poem needs to be about leaves and love. If your fifth grader is more attached to his phone or computer, introduce him to the apostrophe poem. In an apostrophe poem, the poet directly addresses an inanimate object. Your child can use his favorite everyday items as inspiration for a unique and potentially hilarious poem.
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What You Need:
- Paper
- Pencil
What You Do:
- Brainstorm with your child. What is his favorite activity? From swimming to play video games, any activity will work! Remember to explain that an apostrophe poem is essentially a celebration of things that people like. It doesn't matter what style the poem is written in as long as the poem directly addresses an inanimate object.
- Now your child must decide what inanimate object best relates to his favorite activity. If he’s a swimmer, he could write to his goggles. If he's more of a technology whiz, then he could write to his phone or gaming controller. Although many apostrophe poems are serious (Ode to a Grecian Urn), silly is perfect too.
- Time to write. Your child can choose to write a free verse poem or count out syllables with a haiku. He gets to decide what form his apostrophe poem will take. If he gets stuck on a line, encourage him to brainstorm a list of words that relate to his inanimate object for inspiration.
- Rewrite! It always takes more than one try to create a good poem.
Why not get in on the fun? While your child is writing, create your own apostrophe poem celebrating the things you like best! You and your child will get a kick out of sharing your poems once you're both done.
