ORC Lesson Plan

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/composing-cinquain-poems-quick-51.html

This is a lesson plan I found on the ORC website that explores Cinquian poetry. The lesson teaches first and second graders how to write cinquian (pronounced cin-kain) poems on their own! Students will be expected to understand the concept of cinquian poetry, it's format, and how to write cinquians on their own. This lesson takes a look at the breakdown of the poem, in its one-two-three-two-one style. It also shows students what each line is dedicated to, and what they are supposed to write.

This is a screen shot of a graphic organizer I would use to help the kids learn Cinquain poems!

This lesson is meeting four of the academic standards for my future students. The first academic standard it meets is to "adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes". The second one the students meet is they can apply what they know about language structure, language conventions, media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, and discuss texts. The third standard is that students can participate in reflective, creative, and knowledgable literary outlets. The fourth and final standard is that students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes. In this case the students are learning to make cinquain poems -- they are learning to describe things in their life using poetry. 

I would implement this in my classroom during the language arts time. I think they would have a lot of fun picking a topic for their cinquain poems. I would share sample cinquains (seen above) with the class, either reading them myself or allowing students to read them out loud. Then on a smart board or chalk board I would outline a cinquain poem. 

The biggest problem I could see happening when trying to implement this is spelling/reading skills. This would be more likely for a second grade classroom than a first grade classroom. But overall I think this is a cute and fun way to learn a new form of poetry!