Composing Cinquain Poems

Cinquain (pronounced "cin-kain") is a five-line poetic form, using a wavelike word count of two-four-six-eight-two. In this lesson, sample cinquains are read aloud as a class, allowing students to familiarize themselves with the form. Students then write simple cinquain of their own as a follow-up to a subject they have been exploring in class. Although students can write about any subject, graphic organizers and other resources are available to support units on animals, community, fairy tales, healthy foods, picture books, and rainforest/habitats.