A CUP OF QUIET Writing Prompts for Elementary-Age Writers
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written by author and poet Nikki Grimes
A CUP OF QUIET Writing Prompts for Elementary-Age Writers
In A Cup of Quiet, a girl listens for, and gathers sounds found in the quiet of her grandmother’s garden. One of the sounds is the wind when it rustles the leaves of a tree. Today, I thought it would be fun to write a tanka poem about the wind.
A tanka is a five-line poem divided into syllables.
Line #1 is five syllables
Line #2 is seven syllables
Line #3 is five syllables
Line #4 is seven syllables
Line #5 is seven syllables
Here’s the tanka poem I wrote about the sound of the wind:
My eardrums bleed from
the cutting sound of sirens.
But the wind whistling
through the branches of a tree
tickles the ear like whispers.
Now, it’s your turn.
WRITING PROMPT: I compared the sound of sirens and the sound of wind, but you don’t have to. What does the wind make you think of? Write a tanka poem about that.
From Melissa: I love this picture book so much. Not only is it a beautiful story of nature’s wonder but A Cup of Quiet is an impressive mentor text as it models for kids many writing craft moves, including sensory images, figurative language, vivid verbs, and poetic devices. It’s a must-buy, study-and-enjoy picture book that belongs in all classrooms and libraries.
About Nikki Grimes
New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes was inducted into the Black Authors Hall of Fame in 2023. Her honors include the CSK Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the ALAN Award for significant contributions to young adult literature, the Children’s Literature Legacy Medal, and the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Author of the Coretta Scott King Award-winner Bronx Masquerade, and five Coretta Scott King Author Honors, she won the Printz Honor and Sibert Honor for her memoir Ordinary Hazards. Her latest titles include Garvey’s Choice: The Graphic Novel, a School Library Journal 2023 Best Book; Lullaby for the King, one of Book Riot’s 25 Best Christmas Books of All Time; and A Walk in the Woods, recipient of 8 starred reviews, and 11 Best Book listings for 2023, including the New York Times, NPR, and Smithsonian Magazine. Ms. Grimes lives in Corona, California.
