ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK - MODERN CHINESE POETRY ACTIVITIES
Please feel free to download a few poems to get you started.
Act Out the Poem (age 3+, single or multi person)
WHAT YOU NEED⦁ Modern Chinese poems or nursery rhymes for reference
HOW TO PLAY1. Read 2-3 poems a few times
2. Ask your child to choose a poem and try to act it out
3. See if the other kids can guess what poem it is from the actions alone
You can make this easier for younger children by having them choose to act out a line from the poem and have kids guess the line instead. The point is to get the kids moving and active and being silly.
Draw the Poem (age 3+, single or multi person)
⦁ Blank paper
⦁ Drawing utensils (pens, crayons, paint, etc.)
1. Read and explain the poem
2. Ask if children have any questions
3. Ask them to draw how the poem makes them feel, or illustrate the story of the poem
Again, in this case, you can use nursery rhymes or silly poems. Those are much easier to capture their imaginations.
If your children are younger, it’s easier to have them draw what happens in the poem or something tangible and concrete.
For older children, you can have them draw a more abstract representation of the poem. For example, instead of what is happening in the poem, they can draw how this poem makes them feel, or how the narrator is feeling, or the ideas/themes of the poem.
Write Your Own Poem (age 5+, single or multi person)
Since modern poetry is mostly free form, it should be relatively easy in terms of concept. Application can be harder, as children may be reluctant to try.
For our purpose, you can remind kids that poetry is meant to inspire, provoke, and instill beauty (even if it’s beauty in common, everyday things).
WHAT YOU NEED⦁ Paper and pencil/pen
HOW TO PLAY1. Choose a subject or topic
2. Start off the poem with a line you create or copy from a nursery rhyme
3. Ask a child to say/write the next line
4. Continue through each child and then read aloud
If your children are younger, you can write most of a poem and have them choose the rhyming words - or in this case, the words don’t even have to rhyme. It’s okay if the words don’t make sense.
The point of the activity is to get the kids’ creativity going and get them used to the idea of describing a subject or object or anything in a poetic manner.
Alternatively, you can have your kids write a poem by themselves about a given topic. Just remember to have appropriated expectations. The poems will most likely be terrible but that is okay!
