Playing with Words: Cinquain Writing

In my first-ever post in this blog, I wrote about haiku writing. Another poetic form that children can have fun experimenting with is the cinquain.

A cinquain has five lines.

The first line has 2 syllables.

The second line has 4 syllables.

The third line has 6 syllables.

The fourth line has 8 syllables.

The fifth line has two syllables.

A cinquain can be about anything. It does not have to rhyme, but it can have rhymes in it.

Here is an example of a cinquain composed by Ken Nesbitt:

Ice Cream

Ice cream.
Cold and yummy.
I love its sweet richness
as it finds its way into my
tummy.

(By the way, he has a wonderful website called poetry4kids.com, which has a page of tips on how to write cinquains.)

Here is another example which I composed just now:

Virus

Virus -

How I hate it.

It makes the people sick

And it keeps me from going out

To play.

Now, you and your kids try it.