Compose an Animal Poem with Primary Students
Science and Writing Activity - Write a Diamante about Metamorphosis
May 4, 2009
Insects, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans and fish all undergo metamorphosis. In this biologic process of transformation, animals change dramatically in appearance, behavior, and habitat.
After studying the life cycle of an animal, students can write a diamante about the metamorphic process of that animal. The format of a diamante poem allows students to move through an animal’s life cycle, capturing the changing characteristics of the creature.
How to Write a Diamante
The basic format of a diamante uses specific types of words to create a diamond-shaped poem. The poem doesn’t have to rhyme, just follow the plan.
Noun
Adjective Adjective
Participle Participle Participle
Noun Noun Noun Noun
Participle Participle Participle
Adjective Adjective
Noun
If you assign your students to write a poem about fireflies (aka lightning bugs), they would build on the format, starting with the larval form of fireflies also know as glow bugs and ending with the adult lightning bug.
Write a Poem about Metamorphosis
Many animals lend themselves to metamorphic poems, including frogs, salamanders, fish, butterflies, mosquitoes, dragonflies, as well as other insects.
- For the first line, use a noun that identifies the larval form of the animal.
- The second line consists of two adjective that describe the larva.
- The third line includes three verbs, all ending in –ing, which illustrate actions performed by the larva.
- In the fourth line, if you can, make the first two nouns larva-connected, the second two related to the adult form of the animal.
- The fifth line also includes three verbs, all ending in –ing, focused on the actions of the adult animal.
- The sixth line describes the adult in two adjectives.
- The seventh line names the adult form of the animal.
A completed diamante, following the metamorphic process from tadpole to frog could look something like this:
Tadpole
Quick Dark
Darting Eating Growing
Head Tail Lungs Legs
Swimming Leaping Hopping
Camouflaged Still
Frog
Writing a Group Poem with Students, Scouts, and Campers
If students are under the age of eight, you can write a group poem, listing the diamante on the board. In addition, use terms that the students will understand. Instead of asking for a particle, request actions or ways the animal moves. When you record the word on the board add the –ing ending.
Even with older students, writing a group poem can be a way of reviewing and wrapping up a lesson. With scouts and campers, creating a group-written diamante can take on a game-like quality as students brainstorm ideas.
A diamante’s pattern creates a format for students to follow as they review the changes some animals go through as they develop from larval to adult forms.
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