Parent Tips: Poetry & deep understanding

Writing poetry requires a deeper understanding of the definition and valence of a vocabulary word. Writing poetry also forces your child to think about capitalization, spacing, and ending punctuation. We will ask your child to use poetry to demonstrate understanding throughout the June Writers program.

Levels 1 & 2: Haiku

We ask kids to write haiku in Level 1 and Level 2 to demonstrate mastery of new vocabulary words. Though the traditional Japanese haiku has an emphasis on themes from the natural world, we ask kids to use the structure to explore vocabulary words that may or may not have anything to do with the natural world. So, no, we’re not teaching the spirit of the original form, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fruitful practice. Writing haiku requires understanding syllables. If your child has not already learned about syllables, take a moment to explain them to your child. Remind them that they can put their hand under their chin to feel each syllable as they speak. Writing haiku also requires kids to understand the meaning and tone of every word in the poem—perfect for refining their understanding of their vocabulary words.

Level 3: Sonnets

The word sonnet comes from the Italian sonetto, which means “a little sound or song.” Most kids learn about sonnets if/when they study Shakespeare in school, and there’s a big emphasis on learning meter and structure. But there are a variety of sonnet styles. For our purposes, in Level 3, we teach kids a very flexible sonnet structure so that they can focus on fitting together the vocabulary words across a fairly long, constrained structure that will be challenging to write the first couple of times. It’s okay if your kid struggles with writing a volta. They’ll gain more comfort with the form as they work on more, and have the mental space to find their way to a volta.