Writing a Cinquain

Poem
Unidad Educativa Eloy Alfaro, Baha de Caraquez
Manab
Miranda Duncan, Peace Corps Ecuador TEFL

How to get students to

love to write?
Make it fun
Make it interesting
Give choices
Make it easy
Make it rewarding
Build on what comes naturally
Sneak-in vocabulary and parts of
speech

What is a Cinquain
Poem?
an unrhymed poem with five lines
arranged in a special way
When written, its shape forms a diamond.
pronounced SIN cane (from Latin root for
five)
inspired by Japanese haiku poem
American cinquain developed by Adelaide
Crapsey (early 1900)

Cinquain Format
Line 1:one vague or general one-word subject or
topic
Line 2: two vivid adjectives that describethe topic
Line 3: three interesting -ing action verbsthat fit
the topic
Line 4:four-word phrase that captures feeling about
the topic
Line 5:a very specificterm that explains Line 1
Optional: a title

English
Language
Difficult, valuable
Learning, practicing, applying
You can do this!
Fluency

Example (submitted by a
teacher)
Men
Fun, romantic
Loving, lusting, lying
Cannot trust them
Cheats!

Example (submitted by a
student)
My passion
Friends, enemies
Kicking, running, winning
Soccer is my life.
Go team!

The Writing Process

Getting started: Choose a topic (ideas below).
something you like
something you dont like
something you see around you
something that happened to you
Brainstorm: Free associate with your topic.
words
senses (see, hear, smell, taste, and touch)
feelings
Count syllables (2 4 6 8 2)
Does your cinquain tell a story?
subject
description
action
feeling
conclusion

Your turn!