Love Is a Palindrome Poem

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Are you having trouble figuring out what's so special about the sentences?

Here's a hint: it has something in common with the words "mom," "dad," "wow," and "pop."

Did you get it? Ask your teacher or parent for help.

Can you see that the sentences, along with the four words above, all spell the same thing when you spell them backwards? Words, phrases, and sentences that spell the same thing backwards and forwards are called palindromes. Don't worry, you don't have spell words backwards, but you are going to write a Palindrome Poem!

A Palindrome Poem, sometimes called a mirror poem, is a short, non-rhyming poem about a single word topic.

Your single word topic must be an abstract noun. You know nouns as people, places, and things, which is absolutely correct. People, places, and things are all concrete nouns. They are called concrete nouns because we can experience them in some way using our five senses: touch, sight, smell, taste, and hearing. You can see, touch and hear people, like your parent or teacher. You can go to a place like the beach and smell the ocean. You can see the sand and waves, you can hear the seagulls, and you can even taste the salt in the air. Things can include your toys or even food, which you can definitely see, touch, smell, and taste!

An abstract noun is a noun you cannot touch, such as the names of feelings like love, anger, and sadness. They are also concepts like friendship, loyalty, and honesty. All of these are nouns, and we can feel them, but not with our hands and fingers. These are thoughts and emotions that we feel in our hearts and think in our minds. Can you think of more abstract nouns? Share your ideas with your teacher or parent.

Okay, back to our poem! The poem is made up of three parts: three to five lines describing an abstract noun (it doesn't have to rhyme, but you can make it rhyme if you'd like); your title, or abstract noun, which goes in the middle; and the mirror image or palindrome of the first four lines. You don't have to spell the words backwards, just put them in reverse order.

Here is an example on the topic of "Relaxing":

Gentle breeze, warming sun
Blue skies all around
I am still
While thoughts travel

Relaxing

Travel thoughts while
Still am I
Around all skies blue
Sun warming, breeze gentle

It may sound a little funny when you put it in reverse order, but that's what makes it fun! You just need to think carefully when you choose your words for each line so that they still make sense when read in reverse order.