Focus:
The student will write a poem (similar to a cinquain) to describe an element of the forest.

Materials:
• pencil
• paper
• watercolors, markers, crayons, etc.

Procedure:
Have the students choose their favorite part of the forest. It can be a tree, the smells, a flower, an animal, an insect, etc. They can be as general or specific as they want. Have them list some traits and attributes of the element they choose. Present them with this format:

Favorite thing

___________ and ____________ (two adjectives)

________ing, _______ing, ________ing (three “ing” verbs)

_____________________________________? (a question)

Favorite thing

Example:

Douglas-fir

tall and majestic

growing, reaching, towering

Is there anything so magnificent?

Douglas-fir

After they’re done, have them make an illustration to go along with their poem. These poems may look nice mounted on tag board and displayed on a bulletin board or made into a class book.

(This activity was adapted from Environmental Education Teaching Resources; Forests of Washington.)