This document outlines a lesson plan for using riddle poems to teach poetic elements to students. The lesson introduces riddle poems and their components, provides steps for writing a riddle poem including brainstorming, drafting, and publishing. It suggests having students generate a rubric, hold a poetry reading, and display the poems. The lesson aims to help students identify poetic elements in reading and use them in their own writing.

1. Using Riddle Poems
To Teach Poetic Elements
Hank Maine
RIWP Summer Institute
July 19, 2004

2. K W L
What do you Know about
poetry?
What would you like to
learn?
What did you Learn from
The lesson?

3. The purpose of the lesson is
to teach poetic elements so
students can identify them
in their reading and utilize
them in their writing.
Why are we learning this?

4. Standards and GLEs
 E1c-student reads
informational materials to
develop expertise and
produces written ororal work
that reflects these points.
 E3b-student participates in
group meetings
 E3c-student prepares and
delivers an individual
presentation
 E5b-student produces workin
at least one literary genre that
follows the conventions of the
genre
 NEGLE W1-student applies
understanding of the structures of
language in a particulargenre of
writing
 NEGLE W2, W3-student writes in
response to literary or
informational text
 NEGLE W9-student applies
conventions of a particulargenre
of writing
 NEGLE R1-student uses word
identification skills and strategies
 NEGLE R2, R3, R4, R7-student
applies vocabulary strategies and
understanding of literary and
informational text

5. What is a Riddle Poem?
I like to feel it Firmand cool-
And Round beneath my feet
It’s one of hundreds shouldering
A long-enduring street.
I like to muse who felt it first-
And why They trod, and when,
To fit in patterns-edge to edge-
The paths fromNow to Then.
Ruth TenzerFeldman
Cobblestone

6. What amI?
Writing a
Riddle Poem

7. Getting Started
 Choose an answer
 Brainstorm
 Use a thesaurus
 Think like the object
 Use figurative language

8. Step 1: Begin with your
answerortopic
Your topic can be
concrete like a desk, a
car, or even a person.
You can also choose
something abstract like
happiness or peace

9. Step 2: Brainstorm
Create a list of words and ideas related to and
associated with yourtopic.
Thinkwith all yoursenses: where do you see, hear,
smell, taste and touch things related to yourtopic?
Example: water
Clouds, wet, rain, liquid, fish, stream, river,
lake, pool, pond, swimming, ocean, ice,
glacier, steam, snow, boats, sailing

10. Also thinkof words or
ideas that are opposite or
opposed to yourtopic
Example: Water
Earth, fire, dry, air

11. Choose some words you
brainstormed and look up
their synonyms in a
thesaurus. Look up synonyms
for your topic too
Use a rhyming dictionary to look
up words that rhyme with the
ones in yourlist

12. Thinklike the object: Try describing the
world from the object’s point of view.
What do you see, hear, feel? What do you
do? What do you like?
What would a riverthink?
I run downhill
I make canyons
Fish live in me

13. Try using figurative language:
Describe yourtopic using figurative
language to give clues
Simile: Pools that reflect like
mirrors
Metaphor: Streams are fish roads
Personification: The rain played a
steady beat

14. Drafting
Once you’ve gathered
yournotes, you’re ready
to begin a draft.
How should we
Start?

15. Let’s start with the ideas of water
cutting canyons and reflecting
like a mirror
I amlike a mirrorwhen I’m
still
I amstrongerthan stone when
I move

16. Sounds good but bland. Try
playing with the word order
Still, I am like a mirror
Fast, I’m stronger than
stone

17. Now use yourbrainstormto add
different poetic elements like
personification, metaphors, and
maybe even rhyme
Try different line and word
combinations. Sometimes even the
slightest change can make a big
difference. Read yourpoem aloud and
play with the words and orderuntil it
makes sense and sounds right.

18. Publishing YourFinal Draft
Publish yourpoemin a creative way
Use form and shape the poemlike its
topic
Use a creative background that doubles
as a clue
Draw a picture to go with yourpoem
Make an audio recording of yourpoem

19. Have students generate a rubric
forthe assignment. Include an
explanation of the poetic elements
in theirpoems and how they used
them
Have a poetry reading and invite parents,
administrators, otherclasses and outside guests.
Have the audience try to guess the riddle.
Display the poems in yourclassroomand school
building

20. Thoughts and Questions
 Should students workindependently orin
groups?
 What are some otherfollow-up activities?
 How should I differentiate the lesson for
students at various levels?
 How can I integrate this lesson to othersubject
areas?
 How can I introduce different types of poetry
into the lesson?
 How can I use this with different genres of
literature?

21. Bibliography
Feldman, Ruth Tenzer. “Guess What”
Cobblestone, March 1995, 24-25
Claggett, Fran, Louann Reid and Ruth Vinz. Daybook of critical Reading and
Writing.
Wilmington, Massachusetts: Great Source Education Group, 1999
Writing Riddle Poems. NCTE/IRA, marcopolo. 2003; cited July, 2004
http://www.readwrtiethink.org
Zemelman, Steven and Harvey Daniels. A Community of Writers.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1988
Caravia, Lori. Riddle Poem. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,
November 6,
1997; cited July, 2004
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/YLP/97-98/97-98_units/97-98mini- unit/LCaravia
Miller, Carol Rawlings. 50 Writing Lessons That Work. New York: Scholastic
Professional Books, 1999
My Students and My Collegues. Western Hills Middle School. Cranston, Rhode

22. Thank You!
The End