How to Write Two-Voice Poetry With Your Child— As a parent, there are so many things you want to pass down to your children. From money to special interests to life skills, there is a lot that you can get across in the way that you teach them. Creativity is one of those things that won’t disappear, no matter what happens.
How to Write Two-Voice Poetry With Your Child
One of the best ways to teach creativity to your children is to practice new styles of art, writing, and music together.
Two-voice poetry is a very fun type of poetry that is a bit unusual and that can be super fun to practice with your child. It’s a creative way to practice collaboration between you and your child and it introduces a new structure of writing to mix things up.
With Mother’s Day approaching, you could write a two-voice poem to a grandmother or other special woman in your life, or you could choose any other topic you’d like.
Here are the most important things you need to know about two-voice poetry:
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The definition of two-voice poetry is that it’s a poem where there are two different voices speaking, two “narrators” of the poem. These voices usually go back and forth and dialogue with each other, sharing their differing perspectives. Sometimes you talk separately, and other times, you speak in unison.
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These poems don’t have to follow any particular format or rhyme. There is plenty of room for you and your child’s creativity as you write, and you can even infuse things like humor or current events to make your poem unique.
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There are lots of places where you can learn about two-voice poetry. There is a wonderful, child-friendly book called “Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices” that can help your kids learn about two-voice poetry.
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It doesn’t have to be serious or perfect. The joy of poetry is that you can write anything you’d like, from any point of view! You can even write a series of poems that are either linked together or completely separate.
The process of writing two-voice poetry together:
Any age of child can be a poet, especially with adult help and participation. If you feel a little lost in trying to carry out the lesson, hopefully having a step-by-step guide will help your poetry-writing experience to be easy and fun.
You don’t need to follow this exact procedure, but here are some instructions to write two-voice poetry together.
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Teach your kid about what two-voice poetry is and show them some examples.
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Decide on a topic you’re going to write about. Two seasonal ideas for this time of year are a Mother’s Day poem for a grandma or another mother in your life; and a poem about the coming of spring, from either your perspective or the perspective of plants and animals in your life.
If you’d like to choose from a long list of poetry ideas, you can scroll down to see a partial list, or check out these two previous posts on my blog:
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Select which voice each of you is going to write from. You don’t have to write from your own perspectives; you can choose to write as if you’re a specific character, animal, or inanimate object. The opportunities are unlimited! Brainstorming what perspectives you want to choose between is a very fun part of this process. You could even write from the other person’s perspective if you’d like to use it as a relationship-building exercise.
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Start writing the rough draft of your poem. You can decide how meticulous you want the process to be. You can simply draft out your first thoughts, or rework each line together. Part of this is going to rely on your intent behind this writing experience, whether it’s just to have fun or to create a special gift. You can also decide based on the age of your child.
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First read-through: Try reading the poem together, your child taking one voice and you taking another. This will help you see how the poem flows and practice reading poetry together.
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Edit the poem together to strengthen the quality, vocabulary, and fluency of your poem.
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Perform the poem together! This could be a simple experience where you simply read the poem together, or you could do a full production where you dress up in costumes and perform the poem in front of others, such as friends, family, or your child’s class at school. This can be a fun memory you two can always look back on as they get older and having positive memories surrounding creativity can greatly influence your child’s future.
12 Poem Ideas for Topics
Writing is so much fun but sometimes you need a bit of help getting started. If you’ve hit a bit of a wall in trying to pick a topic, here is some inspiration I can offer to combat writer’s block. You can use any of these prompts to write a poem with your child or you can use them as a tool to begin brainstorming.
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Write a poem about something silly.
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Write a poem about your favorite place.
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Write a poem about getting older and growing up.
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Write a poem about what life means to you.
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Write a poem about your daily routine.
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Write a poem about a quality that defines your family.
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Write a poem about your dreams for your future.
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Write a poem that describes your city.
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Write a poem about planting flowers and watching them grow.
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Write a poem about meeting your pet for the first time.
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Write a poem about what superpowers you would have if your family if every member was a hero.
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Write a poem about all the fun things you plan to do this summer.
If you would like to see the full list, check out two of our other blog posts called Poem Topics & Poetry Writing Prompts and Poetry Writing Prompts for Kids.
Closing Thoughts…
I hope you and your child love the process of writing poetry together and get the chance to perform your final product together in a fun and memorable way!
Until next time, write on…
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Sincerely,
Jill
journalbuddies.com
creator and curator
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