Activity:
Speak up for the Earth
If you were the Earth, what would you say to the people living on your surface? On Earth Day, help your child write a poem from the Earth addressed to its inhabitants, asking for people to live more Earth-friendly and suggesting ways to be kinder to the environment. This activity's value is two-fold: it helps your child practice writing from another point of view, as she reflects on her personal impact on the environment.
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What You Need:
- Pencil
- Paper
- Dictionary or thesaurus (optional)
- Internet access (optional)
What You Do:
- With your child, brainstorm what it means to live an earth-friendly life. Encourage her to use the Internet to research ways in which humans impact the environment negatively, as well as ways that our treatment of the Earth can be improved.
- Based on the findings, help her choose a theme or two to be the focus of her poem.
- Review what “point of view” means. It may help to read a few poems together, to practice identifying the point of view of each.
- Next, have her write a poem focusing on her chosen themes, from the perspective of the Earth. In this poem, she'll be utilizing the literary device anthropomorphism, giving human characteristics to inanimate objects. Ask her if she can identify another story that uses this literary device.
- Finally, help her edit the poem and consider typing up a final copy to share with the whole family!
