Grade by Grade
C. Reading / D. Writing · Reading and Writing in French: Telling, Convincing and Connecting

La poésie: Reading and Writing Poems

C1 C2 D1 D2About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can name the parts of a poem: titre, vers, strophe, rime.
  • I can find rhymes, comparisons with comme, and images that use the five senses.
  • I can read a poem aloud with expression.
  • I can write an acrostic poem and a cinquain in French.
  • I can choose precise words and check that adjectives agree.

Words to know

un poème
A poem.
un vers
One line of a poem.
une strophe
A group of lines in a poem (a stanza).
une rime
A rhyme: words that end with the same sound (gelé / glacé).
une comparaison
A comparison that uses comme (like): rouges comme des fraises.
un acrostiche
An acrostic: a poem where the first letters of the lines spell a word.
un cinquain
A five-line poem that follows a pattern.

Words that paint pictures

Poems are short, but every word counts! Poets choose words that let you see, hear, feel, smell and taste what they describe. French poems often rhyme, and they are written in lines (vers) grouped into stanzas (strophes).

In this lesson you will read a winter poem, then write your own poems. Poems are a great way to use all your French: adjectives, verbs and new words.

Worked example

Let's read a poem

Mon hiver

Le vent souffle sur le lac gelé, La neige couvre les grands sapins. Les flocons dansent dans l'air glacé Comme des plumes sur mon chemin.

Je glisse vite sur mon traîneau, Mes joues sont rouges comme des fraises. Le soir, je bois mon chocolat chaud, Assis près du feu, bien à l'aise.

  1. Structure: a title, 2 strophes, each with 4 vers. Each line starts with a capital letter.
  2. Rhymes (rimes): strophe 1: gelé / glacé (é sound) and sapins / chemin (in sound). Strophe 2: traîneau / chaud (o sound) and fraises / aise (èze sound). The pattern is ABAB: lines 1 and 3 rhyme, lines 2 and 4 rhyme.
  3. Comparisons with comme: the snowflakes dance comme des plumes (like feathers); the cheeks are red comme des fraises (like strawberries).
  4. The five senses: see (les grands sapins, joues rouges), hear (le vent souffle), feel (l'air glacé, chaud), taste (chocolat chaud).
  5. New words: souffle (blows), couvre (covers), un traîneau (a sled), bien à l'aise (nice and comfortable).
  6. Feeling: the poem moves from cold outside to warm inside. The poet is happy and cozy.

A two-stanza ABAB winter poem with comparisons (comme des plumes, comme des fraises) and images for the senses, ending warm and cozy by the fire.

A frozen lake with falling snow, tall snow-covered fir trees along the shore and a wooden toboggan on the bank.
Le lac gelé, les grands sapins, le traîneau: the poem's words paint a picture very much like this winter scene. AI-generated image
Le vent souffle sur le lac gelé,A"é" soundLa neige couvre les grands sapins,B"in" soundLes flocons dansent dans l'air glacéA"é" soundComme des plumes sur mon chemin.B"in" soundLines 1 and 3 rhyme (A), lines 2 and 4 rhyme (B): the pattern is ABAB.
The rhyme pattern of the first stanza of Mon hiver. Give each new rhyme sound a letter: gelé/glacé are A, sapins/chemin are B.

Reading a poem aloud

  • Read slowly. Pause a little at the end of each line and longer between stanzas.
  • Make the rhymes ring: say gelé and glacé clearly.
  • In poems, the silent e at the end of a word is sometimes said lightly before a consonant, to keep the rhythm. Don't worry about this yet; just read smoothly.
  • Use your voice: softly for bien à l'aise, with energy for Je glisse vite!
Just for fun

Devinette : Je tombe du ciel sans me faire mal. Je suis blanche, et je fonds au soleil. Qui suis-je ? (I fall from the sky without getting hurt. I'm white, and I melt in the sun. Who am I?)

La neige ! ❄️

Poem 1: the acrostic (l'acrostiche)

Write a word down the side of the page. Each letter starts a line about that word. The lines don't have to rhyme. Here is an acrostic for NEIGE:

Nous jouons dehors.Ensemble, nous faisons un bonhomme de neige.Il fait froid, mais c'est amusant !Glisser sur la colline, quel plaisir !Enfin, un bon chocolat chaud.
An acrostic poem: the first letters spell NEIGE (snow).

Poem 2: the cinquain (le cinquain)

There are a few ways to write a cinquain. Here is a popular pattern:

  1. Line 1: one noun (the subject)
  2. Line 2: two adjectives that describe it (they must agree!)
  3. Line 3: three verbs (actions it does)
  4. Line 4: a phrase of four words (a feeling or an image)
  5. Line 5: one word that sums it up (another name for it)
Worked example

Let's write a cinquain together

Write a cinquain about a snowflake (un flocon).

  1. Line 1, a noun: Flocon
  2. Line 2, two adjectives: flocon is masculine, so: Léger, blanc (not légère, blanche).
  3. Line 3, three verbs: the flocon does them, so use the il form: Danse, tourne, tombe.
  4. Line 4, four words: Il chatouille mon nez (It tickles my nose): Il / chatouille / mon / nez = 4 words.
  5. Line 5, one word: another name, an image: Étoile (star), because a snowflake looks like a tiny star.

Flocon

Léger, blanc

Danse, tourne, tombe

Il chatouille mon nez

Étoile

Instead of...Try a more precise word
beaumagnifique, splendide, brillant
grandimmense, géant, énorme
froidglacé, gelé, glacial
allerglisser, courir, voler, flotter
direchuchoter (to whisper), crier (to shout), chanter
Revising a poem: replace a plain word with a more precise one.
Hands-on activity

A poem for the season

You need: paper, pencils, and a window or a short walk outside with a grown-up.

  1. Look outside (or remember a season you like). Make a word list in French for each sense: je vois..., j'entends..., je sens..., je touche..., je goûte... Use a dictionary for 2 new words.
  2. Write an acrostic with your name or a season word (HIVER, AUTOMNE, ÉTÉ). Use at least one comparison with comme.
  3. Write a cinquain about one thing on your list. Check that line 2's adjectives agree with line 1's noun.
  4. Revise: replace one plain word with a more precise one from the table.
  5. Copy your best poem neatly and decorate it. Read it aloud to your family with expression.

Optional: try a calligramme, a shape poem, where the words are written in the shape of the thing (a poem about rain written in falling lines).

Your turn

1

How many strophes and vers are in Mon hiver?

2

Find the word that rhymes with traîneau.

3

Find a comparison with comme in the poem.

4

Which line uses the sense of hearing?

5

In an acrostic, what do the first letters do?

6

Write a line 2 (two adjectives) for a cinquain about la lune (the moon).

7

How does the poet feel at the end? Which words show it?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is un vers?

2

Do chat and rat rhyme?

3

What does comme mean in a comparison?

4

How many lines does a cinquain have?

5

Translate: un traîneau.

More practice: on your own

1

Find a rhyme for neige from this list: beige, porte, bleu.

2

Fix line 2 of this cinquain: Tempête / Fort, froid.

3

Complete with a comparison: La glace brille comme ___.

4

Revise with a more precise verb: Le vent dit mon nom.

5

Write an acrostic line for the letter S in SAPIN.

Challenge

1

Write a cinquain about le soleil (the sun). Check each line's rule.

2

Write two rhyming lines about autumn (l'automne).

3

Write a 4-line acrostic for NORD (north) with one comparison.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

A group of lines in a poem is called...

2.

Which pair rhymes?

3.

Mes joues sont rouges comme des fraises is an example of...

4.

In a cinquain, line 2 has...

5.

Line 2 of a cinquain about la pluie (feminine):

6.

In an acrostic, the first letters of the lines...

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 6 students read poems and identify their characteristics and elements of style, such as rhyme, stanzas and comparisons (C2), and use strategies to understand them (C1). They write poems for creative purposes (D1), revising word choice and editing agreement (D2).

How to help:

  • Read the poem aloud together, taking turns line by line.
  • Brainstorm English words first if needed, then look up the French together; choose words your child can pronounce and spell.
  • Praise vivid word choices more than perfect rhymes. Rhyming in a second language is hard!

Common difficulties:

  • Thinking that words rhyme because they look alike. Rhyme is about the final sound (chaud and traîneau rhyme even though they are spelled differently).
  • Forgetting adjective agreement in the cinquain.
  • Translating English idioms word for word. Encourage simple, clear images.

Canadian context: maples, sapins, sleds, hot chocolate and the northern lights (les aurores boréales) are all images from Canadian winters.