Prewriting - Color Poem Educational Resources K12 Learning, Writing, English / Language Arts Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

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What is your favorite color? Pretend that you have met someone who does not know anything about colors. How would you describe your favorite color to this person?

Take a good look at the picture above. It illustrates the different steps in the writing process. Although the arrows are moving in one direction, moving from one step to another, writing is not always completed in that manner. A good writer always goes back and forth through the 5 steps until he/she feels that the writing piece is complete. (A full size version of the Writing Process Graphic can be found in the Downloadable Resources in the right-hand sidebar.)

Today you will refresh your knowledge of the first step in the writing process: prewriting.

Another word that can be used for prewriting is brainstorming. This is the time in the writing process when you make a list of possible subjects about which you could write. For this lesson, your subject is color and you will be writing a poem.

Take out a pen/pencil and some paper.
On the top line of the paper, write the sentence, “My favorite color is __________.” and fill in that blank with the name of your favorite color.
Beginning on the second line, list words or phrases you would use to describe your favorite color. Instead of just writing down items that are yellow (school bus), use your 5 senses to describe your favorite color. For example, if your favorite color was yellow, you could say yellow “looks like the sun” and “feels warm”.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the Dictionary of Symbolism are both available online to assist you with spelling or finding descriptive words.
Download the Brainstorming List found in the Downloadable Resources in the right-hand sidebar. The information in this document will help you put together a list of words describing your favorite color.
The following is an example of a poem written after the prewriting step and by using the Brainstorming List.
Green is….the color of spring
Green is….renewal.
Green is….the color of envy.
Green is….a new crayon.
Green tastes like….a crisp apple.
Green smells like….fresh cut grass.
Green sounds like….a croaking frog.
Green feels like….soft, velvety moss.
Green looks like….shiny emeralds.
Green makes me….go.
Green is….my favorite color
After compiling your list of descriptive words. Write a poem, similar to the one above, about your favorite color.