Having fun with words is a necessary thing for writers. It acts as cross- training, causing us to stretch our thinking and writing muscles. When we experiment with words and phrases, we expand our writing horizons.
I feel that the same is true for students. Word play can enhance any study, helping students learn and express themselves with words and fun. When I tutor students for writing or language arts, I always include a little word play. Any student can benefit from this, because if nothing else, it encourages creativity, making them think.
I'm working with a 6th grader for reading comprehension, and our current studies include a project about sharks. Why? Because this is something that she is interested in. (That's another key element, and a topic for another day.) For the writing side of it, I've had her write a short report and shark similes. This past week, we also reviewed how to write a limerick.
I got about halfway through my preparations for the limerick lesson and thought, what am I doing? I dislike writing any kind of poetry! I don't mind reading and appreciating it, but writing it is just not my thing. By then, it was too late to change my plans, plus I'd already told her we'd write shark limericks. So I plodded through, and guess what? I stretched myself in the process. I'm glad I took time for my own word play in preparing the lesson, and I plan to do it more often. I highly recommend it; it was actually kind of fun. But don't look for a book of poetry by Karen Lange to come out anytime soon...
The Fun Part
Now you have permission to laugh at my attempt at a shark limerick. Bear in mind that this is not my forte, but I thought if I were brave enough to share it, it might encourage you to engage in some word play too. Here goes:
The Shark From Cancun
There once was a shark from Cancun,
Who could jump as high as the moon.
One night he took flight,
And had quite a fright,
When he leapt in a hot air balloon.
Okay, now it's your turn. Who is brave enough to write a limerick and share it here? Quick refresher:
- A limerick has five lines
- The rhyming pattern is AABBA
- I trust you will keep it clean, as this is a family friendly blog :)
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Happy writing!
Karen
Copyright 2010, Karen Lange. All rights reserved. No portion of this may be used without prior written permission from Karen Lange.
