I wish I were (Poetry Writing)

My students were at a school trip and I had some free time, so my JTE challenged me to come up with a poetry pattern the students can enjoy as soon as they got back from their trip.

This tweet by user @Joseph_Fasano_ suddenly came to mind:
https://x.com/joseph_fasano_/status/1639681123033784323?s=46&t=HsQf-dm0kOCFU_T-Z0mK9w

I loved how flexible his poetry pattern is and how simple language can suddenly become figurative. It was, for the lack of a better term, simply poetic. I aspired to come up with a basic pattern.

Here goes my pattern, as shown in the .ppt

I wish I were a (thing/animal/occupation)
(verb)-ing and (verb)-ing [pertaining to the thing/animal/occupation]
(adverb)

Today, I am me
(verb)-ing [pertaining to you, the writer]
(adverb) [opposite or somehow related to the adverb from the first stanza]

AS IN:
I wish I were a bird
Soaring and flying
Freely

Today, I am me
Working
Busily

OR:
I wish I were a frog
Hopping and jumping
In the rain

Today, I am me
Enjoying
The sun

I explained how the first stanza is a wish, while the second stanza is the current reality.

I made so many more examples that didn't make it to my powerpoint, so allow me to share those here too.
Notice, too, how some lines especially the first line is adaptable for other grammar points.

AS IN:
If I were a cat,
I'd be purring and stretching
Slowly

Today, I am me
Thinking
Quickly

OR:
If I were a farmer,
I'd be planting and watering
My strawberries

Today, I am me
Listening to
Ms. Shigemi [name of teacher]

OR:
Sometimes, I am a lion
Hunting and roaring
Loudly

Today, I am me
Snoring

Quietly

OR:
Yesterday, I was a cloud
Floating and moving
Smoothly

Today, I am me
Feeling
Roughly

After teaching my own pattern to my sannensei students, I have found that the English poems they made also sounded poetic and appealed to their Japanese sensibilities. I played relaxing nature sounds while they wrote. The students came up with really good poems and even extended the pattern to suit their needs. It was, all in all, such a fun time.

I have also attached the writing worksheet I used for this.

Files:

Small files

68 - Fun Poetry Worksheet .docx (13.8 KB)

Medium files (requires an account to download) -

More information

68 - Fun Poetry (I Wish I Were).pdf (9.65 MB)

Large files (requires a subscriber account) -

More information

68 - Fun Poetry (I Wish I Were).pptx (42.6 MB)