Writing Activities: 1 | 2 | 3 | Poetry LinksAbout Drawing

Not all poems have to rhyme, but all poems, and all writing, is so much better when there’s rhythm to the words, a good roll-along of sound and cadence. You know when writing sounds jerky and awkward and when it flows. Here is some rhyming know-how you might be able to use.

• A pause can count as beat, a silent one, if you want it to.
• Turn your desk into a drum and try drumming your poem. If you want to write rhyme, you can try hopping to your poem: if you fall over at the end, the beats are probably a bit off.
• Make sure the rhyme feels right. See my Finding Rhymes in a Snap chart on the right (click on it for a PDF printout). You can cut it out and put on your desk or keep it with you. If even one word in a poem doesn’t belong there, the poem isn’t finished yet. Sometimes the hunt for that one word can take a long time. But it’s worth it.
• Repeat a word. Use it over and over again until it doesn’t sound like normal English anymore. (Fidget fidget fidgeting.... or Because because because...) Try doing this with “sandwiches”... or “recess”... or even your own name.
• Play play play with words. I turned mosquito into mozza mozza keeto keeto and I’ve never looked back. Try your own. Are their weird made-up words used in your family that no one else would understand? Write them down.

Writing Activities: 1 | 2 | 3 | Poetry LinksAbout Drawing

I MADE UP THIS LIST I MADE UP THIS LIST to help myself find rhymes fast. (Click here or on the graphic below for a PDF printout.) I always keep a copy in my notebook.

How to use it: to rhyme feet, add the EET ending to each line below (beat... cheat... complete... defeat... repeat... wheat etc.).

You can also use a rhyming dictionary, or go to the web site www.rhymezone.com.