Objective:
The students will write a diamonte or cinquain poem.

Materials

• Links to the following sites: Write Easy and Fun Poems, Diamonte Poems, and Diamonte and Cinquain Poetry.

• Paper in the shape of a kite or Kite Poetry Worksheet.

Procedure

1. Introduce/Review Diamonte and Cinquain poetry.  Read plenty of  examples from the aforementioned web sites (The Diamonte and Cinquain Poetry site links out to lots of examples written by children).  Point out that a completed diamonte/cinquain is similar in shape to a kite.  Emphasize the difference between a Diamonte and Cinquain poem.  A Diamonte begins and ends with antonyms and Cinquains begin and end with synonyms.

2. Depending on the level of the students, have them write their own poem or work together as a class to compose one.  Write the poems on the kite shaped paper or on the Kite Poetry Worksheet. 

3. For younger children, work as a class to brainstorm antonyms and synonyms.  The children may then list or draw pictures of some antonyms and synonyms on their kite paper.

Other Lesson Ideas

1. Have a lesson on homonyms using tale and tail (as in a kite tail) as a starting point.  The students may list the homonyms on kite shaped paper.

2. Have the students write about a place they would like to fly over as a kite.  They should write the name of the place on the kite and describing words on the tail of the kite.  For example, a student may write "the beach" on the kite and "sandy, wet, sunny, etc." on the kite tail.