Creating Characters

On the playground no one is who they seem to be. There is a boy pretending he is a major league pitcher. There's a girl making believe she's an Olympic star. And two kids are pretending to be teachers while a teacher wishes she was a child. Kids are naturals at creating characters.
Characters are the people and creatures in our poems. They can be real or imagined, heroes or villains. A good example of a character poem is "The Mad Scientist" from the book Strange World. Read this poem to your child.

The Mad Scientist

The Mad Scientist isn't mad at all,
In fact, he's insanely happy!
With his beakers bubbling, electricity flying-
Life is an experiment and the fun is in trying.

Pour some gunk in a petri dish,
Atoms collide, molecules miss.
Watch out for the bang and the hiss!
Where did it start? When will it end?
Light, time and a mind can bend.

The Mad Scientist isn't mad at all.
In fact, he's insanely happy!
From Einstein to Edison,
From robotics to medicine,

From Botany to astronomy to nanomicrobiology-
Analyzing, synthesizing, hypothesizing , categorizing-
It's not madness in his eyes you're seeing,
It's the wonder, awe and surprise of being!

The Mad Scientist isn't mad at all.
In fact, he's insanely happy!
So let him be to his bubbling beakers;
His microscope, test tubes and little lab creatures.
And on your way out, before you say goodbye,
Turn on the switch, and turn it up high.
Don't be afraid when the sparks start flying-

Life is an experiment and the fun is in trying.


Ask your child to make a list of their favorite characters. Have them pick people or animals from books they've seen, and TV shows they watch. They can even create imaginary characters of their own.

After they have selected a character instruct them to make a long list of things that character might do, think, say, or want. Then have them use these ideas to construct a character poem. To encourage your child to identify with their character tell them to begin their poem with the simple statement "I am _____________."

When speaking in the first person writers create personas.
Press the play button to hear The Irate Pirate from the CD Kiss The Fish as an example for your child.



Click the play button to hear the poem.



To read about Editing Your Poem, click here.

To return back to the Resource page, click here.


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