"Grasshopper"

     A grasshopper landed on the sidewalk while Jenny was jumping rope. She was on jump number twenty-seven when she saw it. Even though it was long and brown, it almost blended with the color of the sidewalk because the sidewalk was gray and dirty.

     Jenny let her rope slide on the pavement as she knelt to examine the grasshopper. Its wings were close to its body. It had long antennae. And big round eyes. It was so fascinating, she picked it up.

     Jenny was holding the grasshopper for only a few seconds when brown tobacco juice came from its mouth. She put it back on the sidewalk because she didn't want the slobbery substance on her hand.

     Jenny got a stick that was long enough for the insect to climb on without touching her. She pushed against the bug's legs and it crawled up the stick. Then she hurried to the backyard and put the grasshopper in a patch of tall grass so it would be safe from her jumping feet and slashing rope.

Lesson 1

--  Kids... Now that you've read the story, follow the steps below to write your Grasshopper Theme-Story Poem. Then you may enter your poem for a Free Poetry Critique and find out how to earn a Free Poetry Collection Cover Sheet at the bottom of this page. 

Step 1 - Figure out the story's theme. The theme is what the story is about. If you think the story is about Jenny's fascination with a grasshopper, you're right. Therefore, Jenny's fascination with a grasshopper is the theme. The theme is what you want your poem to be about.

Step 2 - Now that you know what the story is about - what its theme is - think of how you can write about the story and make it sound like a poem. Your perception of the story, that is, what you think about it, should steer your ideas about what to write. For examples --

If you don't like bugs, you might not see the point in Jenny taking out time to save it. On the other hand, if you do like bugs, you might want to praise Jenny for saving it.

 

Perhaps you want to talk about the bugs body parts. Or the fact its colors blended, or camouflaged with the sidewalk.

Maybe you think it was lucky that Jenny had good eyes and was able to see it before she crushed it while jumping or slashing her rope.

 

Just concentrate on writing whatever you think about the story. This is a creative process. Everyone who writes a poem will have something different to say.  So, let your poem represent, that is, be about your thoughts and your feelings.

Step 3 - After you figure out what you want to say, start writing anything that comes to mind in the form of a poem.

Try to think of rhyming words as you write so you can place them at the ends of your lines.

 

An important thing to remember is not to worry about mistakes when you begin a poem. Save corrections for after you get your thoughts down. 

 

For the purpose of this lesson, try to write at least four lines for each verse. Two verses, or eight lines, will be better for you older kids.

Step 4 - Once your verse or verses are complete, read them over to see if they make sense.

Fix the parts you think can sound better if you say them a different way.

Look back at the story to see if there is something you wanted to talk about, but you forgot. Add it some place in the poem if you can.

Correct mistakes in spelling and grammar if you have any.

Step 5 - Now it's time to write or type your poem again. This time, make it nice and neat. If you were using paper and pencil or pen, you might want to type your poem now so that you can send it to me for a critique. And kids, if you're not familiar with a computer keyboard, you might want to ask an older person to type for you. But if you do your own typing, you will begin to learn about the keyboard, and learning about a keyboard is something you should do anyway. Besides, you'll be more proud if you do it yourself. And your caregiver can have a cup of tea or something while you learn.

 

TIPS - If you think of rhymes that may be useful in your poem before you can use them, write them on the top or on the side of your paper. I like to do that because (1) sometimes the spare rhyming words give me ideas, and (2) sometimes when I think of spare rhymes and decide to use them at some point, I forget what they were. Writing them somewhere on the paper keeps me in touch with them.

 

While you're rewriting your poem, new ideas may pop into your head. If these new ideas go well with your poem, will improve it, go ahead and make the changes. It's common practice for established authors to write their poems over and over again. This is a natural part of the creative process. Your work will improve only when you go through this process. So, keep in mind, rewriting is a good thing!

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