P I Z ZA Z
People Interested in Zippy and ZAny Zcribbling

PIZZAZ has been an Online Resource since 1995 from Leslie Opp-Beckman
For Scribblers and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Warm-Up Activities

What is the theme or topic of this example up-and-down poem, and how do you know?

Horrible stuff,
cOmpletely disgusting, in fact!
Makes
mE
Want to
gO and find a
"Real job"...
Nah, I don't thinK so!!

Instructions

1. Students can write individually, in pairs or in small groups to choose a word or phrase as the topic for the poem.
   
   
2. Students then brainstorm related words (adjectives, adverbs, feeling words, power words, etc.).
   
   
3. Write the word DOWN the middle of the page, (one letter per line, as in the example above).
   
   
4. Fit words and phrases around the letters, using the brainstorm list to help.The idea is that each letter from the key word becomes incorporated into the word or phrase going across.
   
   Hint: Have students write the key word in all caps and big, perhaps even in color, so letters stand out and the key word can is easy to read.

Variations

1. Write the word down the left side of the page, so that all the words and lines of the poem start with those letters.
   
   
2. More difficult: write it down the right side of the page, so that all the words / lines of the poem end with those letters.

Follow-Up Activities (or Assessment)

1. Students' work can be compiled into a class anthology or wall display.
   
2. Students can illustrate poems with hand-drawn or computer-generated images.