Wednesday 28th April LI: To write a rhyming poem

• Success Criteria:

• Rhyming couplets – 2 rhyming lines

• Quatrains – 4 rhyming lines

Here is a poem we all know well, which uses

rhyming couplets. This means that the words

at the end of two lines rhyme. In this example,

the rhyming lines come one after the other –

‘star’ and ‘are’ and ‘sky’ and ‘high’.

The rhyming pattern for this poem is:

1,1,2,2,3,3

You will also notice the first and third pair of

lines are the same. Often poems use repetition.

Twinkle, Twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.

Twinkle, Twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!

Quatrain poetry is a poem of four lines.

Usually the lines alternate in rhyme. So, the

first and third lines have a word rhyming

with each other at the end, as do the

second and fourth lines. This rhyming

pattern is 1,2,1,2.

But a quatrain poem can also be written

with a different rhythm. This rhyming

pattern is 1,1,2,2.

I lay staring up at the sky,

Not a cloud in sight,

Then a kite flew right on by,

And gave me a fright.

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the King’s horses and all the King’s men,

Couldn’t put Humpty together again!

Here are some more good examples of rhyming poems:

Things to remember:

You don’t have to write a full sentence on each line, they

can go over onto the next one. This makes it much easier

to write.

The rhyming patterns can be:

1,1,2,2

1,2,1,2

1,2,1,3 – In this pattern, the first and third lines rhyme

but the second and forth lines don’t. That’s ok too!

Now Use What You’ve Learned

Now it’s time to try writing some rhyming poems of your own.

1. Choose a topic you are really familiar with or enthusiastic about.

2. Make a mind map of all the things you can say about that topic.

3. See if you can come up with pairs of words that rhyme.

4. Decide which rhyming pattern you would like to use.

5. Experiment! – Good Luck