Write a Poem in Free Verse

What can we use instead of paper, a pencil, or a timer if we don't have them?

If you don't have paper or a pencil, use a notebook, a tablet or phone notes app (or draw on a whiteboard), and replace the timer with a phone stopwatch, kitchen timer, or egg timer for the five-minute and one-minute steps.

I'm stuck and can't think of ten sensory words—what should I do?

If you can't reach ten sensory words for the 'write a list of at least ten sensory words' step, look at your chosen thing again during the five-minute look step, spend the one-minute eyes-closed imagining each sense separately (smell, sound, touch, sight, taste), and ask a parent for prompts or a quick thesaurus to find extra descriptive words.

How can we adapt this activity for younger children or older kids?

For younger children shorten the timer to two minutes, ask for five sensory words and let them draw lines instead of writing, while older kids can extend the look time, aim for more than ten sensory phrases, experiment with more drastic line reshaping to create enjambment, and make bolder edits to feeling and rhythm before sharing on DIY.org.

How can we extend or personalize the poem after finishing and sharing on DIY.org?

After you make the two small edits and add a title, personalize the poem by creating an illustrated page using the circled sensory lines, recording a slow-read audio or video with ambient sounds that match your chosen thing, or compiling several poems into a homemade zine to upload to DIY.org.