Sheri is hosting the round up today at her site, Sheri Doyle
In our district (in Louisiana, we call them parishes), our gifted students are spread across the parish in a dozen schools. In order to bring together our 6th grade students the year before they go to middle school together, we designed an enrichment program. The 6 elementary gifted teachers meet with all the 6th graders for one day a month to work on a specific real world project. This year our theme has been water, and I lead them in a poetry exercise each month.
This month I got the idea of using the triolet form from fellow Poetry Friday blogger, Joy at Poetry for Kids Joy. Last week, she posted a few triolet poems she wrote using quotes about writing. So I searched for quotes about water. The students’ handout included the directions for writing a triolet and a list of quotes about water. I asked them to choose a quote and use it as the first line of the poem. The best part about this exercise was I wrote with the students, and we did 5 small group rotations, so I wrote 5 triolet poems. I will only post my two favorites here.
Snow Day from Linda at Teacher Dance.
Snow Day
Someday we’ll evaporate together,
But today we’ll play in the snow.
Someday we’ll ignore the weather,
But today we’ll slip and flow.
Like two birds of the same feather,
we’ll talk and laugh and glow.
Someday we’ll evaporate together,
But today we’ll play in the snow.–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved
Clean
Be like water, float.
Let bubbles wash you like soap.
Dance on waves, forget the boat.
Be like water, float.
Find a bottle, read the note,
Wonder, dream, imagine, hope.
Be like water, float.
Let bubbles wash you like soap.–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved
Reflections on the Teche 
They are both wonderful, Margaret. The rhythm is super.
The triolet form lends itself to the ebb-and-flow feel of these poems!
Hi Margaret, I think ‘these’ are harder, but love the idea for using with the students, quotes & the water theme. I imagine they found this a big challenge! I like the first one very much, the rhythm & rhyme both are good! ‘someday we’ll ignore the weather/but today we’ll slip and flow”. Terrific!
Love these! That first one really makes me smile.
Margaret these are wonderful. Triolets are not an easy form to master, but I think you did with these two examples. I especially like the second one with the line: “Dance on waves, forget the boat.” Thanks for sharing this form with your students and your results with us. =)
I love this form when it doesn’t get in the way of the flow of the poem. You nailed these two! I’d love to see the quotes and who wrote them.
“Someday we’ll evaporate together” came from a Yoko Ono quote. I read that she recently turned 80.
“Always be like water. Float in the times of pain or dance like waves along the wind which touches its surface.” Santosh Kalwar
I think this would work with any theme. It is so easy to find good quotes online.
Love triolets! They are difficult to get to flow, but when they do, they are fun! These two are wonderful!
Margaret, these are lovely. I am in love with Clean. Forget the boat–yes!
Margaret,
Well done. I like the quotes you chose to use. Clean is my favorite of these two. Have you found writing triolets as addictive as I do?
I really enjoyed having the time to sit and write 5 of them as each group came to work with me. If only I could work this way at home. I am working on a villanelle and find it challenging. Have you tried this form?
How fun! I bet the students enjoyed writing these.