Desert Cinquains

Objectives:

• Students will learn the structure of a cinquain.
• Students will write a cinquain on a desert topic.
• Students will choose the correct parts of speech to include in the cinquain structure.

Materials:

• chalkboard
• cinquain structure page (one each)
• literature books for reference

Procedures:

1. Recite a cinquain:
   snake
   long, sly
   slithering, sneaking, attacking
   scares all living things
   diamondhead
   "How does what I just recited make you feel? Can you explain what you pictured in your head as I read it? Let me recite it again, but this time, close your eyes and try to get a picture in your head."
2. Do you know what this is called? Sounds almost like poetry. It is a cinquain. There is a pattern that all cinquains follow. (lift the screen and show the snake cinquain)
3. Does anyone see any pattern here? "Look at the number of words per line, the parts of speech, what do they all describe...?" Start labeling the parts with their suggestions.
4. Review the parts in sequence, filling in any missing information they did not notice:
   first line: one word-the subject, in this case, an animal.
   second line: two adjectives describing the subject (snake)
   third line: three verbs ending in -ing.
   fourth line: four words-conveying an idea or feeling about the subject
   fifth line: one word- a synonym for the subject.
5. Can we write one using the word cactus for the subject? (write cactus on the board and draw the lines for the rest of the cinquain below it.) Take suggestions from the class for adjectives. Choose two from the lot to write in the blanks. ("All are terrific suggestions, but I can only use two in my cinquain.") Take suggestions for all the other parts as well... may wish to list all the shared suggestions to add importance to their participation. <-pick the best from the list and explain (specifics) why they are the best choices: "This one gives a mysterious quality to the snake and that's the feeling I want in my cinquain." This may encourage them to be selective in their choices.
6. Have them brainstorm desert plant or animal ideas. "Think of a subject that has many possibilities for descriptive words to include in your cinquains." Write that word on your paper. Brainstorm many ideas for each type of description and list them on your chart. When you have several ideas listed, circle the best choices, then copy them on your cinquain page. If you or the people at your table have a hard time thinking of words, give each other suggestions to add to their chart of ideas. However, you need to make the final decision on what words to include individually. Maybe we can choose a few of these to publish in the next King School News!
7. Circulate and help children through the process.

Evaluation:

1. Check the final cinquain. Did the students put their descriptive words in the correct spaces? (i.e. are all -ing verbs on the third line?)
2. Did the students turn in final cinquains? Were they complete? Did they use a variety of words on their brainstorming sheet?
3. Were the students able to think of many ideas for each description type? Did they mix parts of speech?

Extensions:

1. Encourage the use of a thesaurus (book or computer) to find synonyms for the last line of the cinquain.
2. Have each student type their cinquain on the computer. Pick a font that best meets the feeling of their topic.
3. Draw a picture to be displayed with the final cinquain.
4. Cut out the shape of their cinquain subject and mount the cinquain directly on it for displaying

Name:_______________________

My Cinquain
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