A nonet is a poem that is 9 lines long. Like a haiku, each line has a specific number of syllables, starting with nine in the first line and ending with only one in the last line. Celebrate nonets with your third grader by writing a poem about something that gets smaller as time goes on.
What You Do:
- Explain to your son that you are both going to write a nonet. A nonet is a type of poem that is 9 lines long. The first line is 9 syllables long, the second line 8 syllables, the third line 7 syllables on down to the ninth line which is only one syllable long.
- Brainstorm topics. Because the lines in this poem shrink down to just one syllable, you might want to write about something that shrinks, or gets smaller, as time goes on. He could write about a cookie he’s munching or a melting snowman.
- Once you’ve each picked a topic, brainstorm related words. Focus on nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs. The nonet is so short that you aren’t going to want to give many of your syllables over to conjunctions or prepositions.
- Time to write! Each line in a nonet is usually a complete phrase. Nonets aren’t written with punctuation so don’t worry about complete sentences.
- It may take several tries to write a good nonet. Trying to get a specific number of syllables in a line is tricky. Don’t add filler words just to bump up the word count by a syllable or two.
For extra-artistic poets, try to create some art work to compliment your finished poem. It could be a photograph, a drawing, a collage or even a sculpture. Let your imagination run wild.