Five Easy Pieces Poetry Activity

Think of a person who is important to you.

We are going to make some lists of things about that person:

Five Easy Pieces

1. Describe the person’s hands.
2. Describe something he or she does with the hands.
3. Use a metaphor related to some exotic place that talks about the person
4. Mention what you would want to ask this person
5. The person looks up or toward you, notices you there, gives an answer that suggests he or she only gets part of what you asked.

Use these lists to create a poem.  You should include all five pieces if possible. 

This activity can be modified for different levels by varying the pieces.  The basic pattern is this:

1. describe a physical feature 

2. have the person doing something specific and observable

3. Use a metaphor or simile about the person 

4. Ask a question 

5.  Insert a twist into the answer of the question that violates the reader's expectations.