The Syllabic Cinquain: Enjoy With a Plantain

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• Which one did you pick?

Number 1 is a plantain, a starchy, banana-like fruit eaten fried. Number 3 is just a regular cat, although he may look a little funny because he is from a scorching area, so he does not grow hair.

Number 2, the five-line poem,is a cinquain!

The word cinquain (pronounced SING-kane) means five-line verse or poem.

This style of poetry was created in America in the early 20th Century by a poet named Adelaide Crapsey. Adelaide was inspired by (got her ideas from) Japanese Haiku poetry.

A cinquain is a very special type of poem. It falls into the category of shape poems because of the shape it makes when written correctly.

There are a few different ways to write a cinquain (some styles count syllables per line, while others are based on the parts of speech in each line), but each version always has five lines.

Besides the number of lines, the cinquain needs an exact number of words or syllables for each line to create its unique symmetrical shape.

In this lesson, you will look at one of the most common ways of writing a cinquain and will practice counting syllables.

First, think of a topic. That will be your title.

Pick a topic you enjoy and like sharing information with others. Some good ideas for topics are listed below.

• pets
• hobbies and collections
• sports
• favorite foods
• a person you admire
• a favorite book or movie

Once you have selected a topic, create a simple title. Usually, a cinquain title is the one-word name of the topic.

For example, if you write about your favorite fruit, you might title your poem "Cantaloupe."

The rest of the poem is your chance to describe your topic. This version of the cinquain requires counting the number of syllables per line.

• Do you remember how to find and count syllables in a word?

You can always use the clapping method and clap once for each syllable you hear in a word.

Review syllables with the video below.

These tricks will help you in case you get stuck in any of those tricky compound words or words with two vowels in a row.

All words have syllables. A word might have one, two, or even more syllables.

Writing has two syllables: write(clap)—ing (clap).

Usually, when you see words with an -ing ending, you can count that ending as one syllable. Here's another example: see(clap)—ing(clap).

Good job!

• Can you think of more -ing words with at least two syllables?

Great! Here are some more examples.

Red has one syllable: red (clap).

Purple has two syllables: pur (clap)—ple(clap).

Now you try.

• How many syllables are in the word happy?

Right, there are two!

Here are a few more words for practice counting syllables. Remember to clap!

Nice work!

If you ever get stuck, you can use this Syllable Counter.

Back to your poem. You a topic and title: Cantaloupe.

You must follow this syllable counting formula to write the poem.

1. Line one needs two syllables.
2. Line two needs four syllables.
3. Line three needs six syllables.
4. Line four needs eight syllables.
5. Line five needs two syllables.

Notice that lines one and five are the same, creating symmetry or sameness on the top and bottom, like in the example.

Get started with two syllables that describe cantaloupe. For the form of the poem, it looks best if you use two one-syllable words.

• What are two one-syllable words that describe cantaloupe?

Sometimes, listing words that describe your topic is helpful.

Characteristics of Cantaloupe

• round
• sweet
• juicy
• grows on a vine
• light orange color inside
• rough and bumpy outside
• seeds in the middle

Read the list, clap out the syllables, and see if you can find two one-syllable words for the poem's first line.

Great. This poem can start with the words round and sweet.

Now, you need four syllables for the second line.

• Does "grows on a vine" have four syllables?

Yes! Good job. That can be the second line.

Now, you need two more lines.

• Can you think of a line with six syllables?

Try "light orange color inside." Don’t forget to clap!

Excellent! That can be the third line!

You need two more lines. See if you can think of a line with eight syllables. Clap out the number of syllables in "rough and bumpy outside."

• How many did you count?

That's right, it only has six syllables.

• Can two more syllables be added to that line?

Yes! Adding "it is" to the beginning is a fantastic idea! Now, you have eight syllables!

It's a good thing you had that list because it was simple to add a few words to make a complete line.

Now, you only have one more line to go. Since you started the line with two one-syllable words, end it similarly.

Uh-oh. There are no more one-syllable words on the list. You'll have to brainstorm again.

• What else do you know about cantaloupes?

Cantaloupe is a fruit; the word fruit is one syllable. It's also a melon, but that is two syllables.

If you've ever had one, you know they are soft inside. They taste good. They are best when they are fresh.

Trying using "fresh" with "fruit" to see how it looks.

Cantaloupe

Round, sweet
Grows on a vine.
Light orange color inside,
It is rough and bumpy outside.
Fresh fruit.

Notice that grammar rules do not apply. For example, you can put periods after fragments or even single words for effect, although you know that one word cannot make a complete sentence.

This is because poetry is considered an art form, and often, drawings or pictures are included with poetry. In the case of the cinquain, the words themselves make a shape.

• Can you see it?

Different people see the shape differently. Some say it looks like a tree or a bush. Some say it looks like a flower pot or a vase.

• What do you think it looks like?

The dotted lines below show how it can be viewed.

Poetry allows you to be creative!

In the example above, the one-syllable words are colored blue, and the two are colored green. Think about what else you could do to decorate your poem.

• Could you draw something with the shape?

Maybe the shape can help you think of a topic!

From Art to Feelings

Aside from creating art, people use poetry to share their emotions (feelings). Writing about how something makes you feel is a great way of brainstorming poetry topics.

Now that you know how to count syllables, you must find your topic.

A cinquain can be simple and tell about something, like the cantaloupe example. It can tell a story or how you feel about something. Here are a few more examples.

This one tells a story.

My Messy Room

My room
is a huge mess.
Junk all over the place.
Mom says, “Clean up!” But I like it
like this.

This poem tells how the writer feels about her new kitten.

Dr. Bombay

Kitten,
Soft and purring.
You are the one that I picked,
It was your black coat and green eyes,
Sparkling.

All you need to remember is the 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllable patterns, and you can write about anything you'd like. Your poem will naturally take on a form of this shape.

Head to the Got It? section to practice!