You have been reading poems and songs. Today you start writing one of your own.
You will meet three craft moves and three starter shapes that get a draft moving. Then you write a quick warm-up: six to ten honest lines built from things you can see or touch. It is practice, not a finished piece.
Two layers help a spoken piece land on the page: craft moves you can use in any draft, and starter shapes that get the first lines down.
Three craft moves
| Term | What it means for you | Real example |
|---|---|---|
| Line break | End a line where you would breathe so the next image can land alone | Stopping after one short phrase |
| Concrete detail | Put real things on the page instead of naming the feeling | A wet umbrella, a schoolbag on its side |
| Returning phrase | Bring the same short line back so the piece has a place to return to | “the last bus is always late” coming back at the end of each verse |
Three starter shapes
| Shape | What it means for you | Real example |
|---|---|---|
| List poem | A stack of real things; you do not need a story arc | What ends up in a bag the night before someone leaves |
| Letter poem | Write to a person, a place, or a thing | Dear spare key… |
| Memory poem | Stay inside one real moment and its concrete detail | The exact sound of a kitchen on a school morning |
Here is a tiny list poem built from concrete things only:
Things in the hall
one wet umbrella
a schoolbag on its side
the good coat on the wrong hook
two shoes that do not match
No line says “I felt rushed.” The objects carry it. Next you write 6 to 10 lines in one of the three shapes, on any subject that is yours.
When you have written your warm-up twice, press Copy for my portfolio and paste it into your Communication Portfolio as m4_l104_warmup_AB, with your own initials in place of AB.
You have a draft. After your teacher reads the piece below aloud, borrow one move from it for your draft in step 3: mark a breath, swap an abstract line for an object, or try a short returning phrase.
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