Cinquain Poem Examples and Activities

What is Cinquain Poetry? What are some cinquain poem examples and activities?

Cinquain Poems are arranged by lines and syllables and are inspired by haiku poetry, though cinquains originated in America.

Sometimes cinquains are referred to as quintains or quintets. These words all reference then number five.

Cinquain poems have five lines. Cinquain poems have 2 syllables in the first line, 4 syllables in the second, 6 syllables in the third, 8 syllables in the fourth line, and only 2 syllables in the last line.

Cinquains became popular because of a poet named Adelaide Crapsey, an American woman from New York who loved haiku.

Like haiku, cinquain poems can challenge young students to pay careful attention to the syllables and how to determine the best use of language to achieve cinquain structure.

Examples

Crapsey’s poem, “The Guarded Wound,” is an example of a cinquain. The themes of her cinquains can be different depending on the poem, but like haiku, many of them focus on nature.

“If it
Were lighter touch
Than petal of flower resting
On grass, oh still too heavy it were,
Too heavy!”

Additionally, Crapsey wrote the cinquain, “Winter:”

“The cold
With steely clutch
Grips all the land…alack,
The little people in the hills
Will die!”

Instructional Uses and Strategies

1. Cinquains as Commentary: Cinquains can be used for a variety of tasks. Rather than having students write essays or speeches, or perhaps in addition to that task, consider encouraging students to write cinquains to offer insight on the texts they read of the topics they study. This can be a fun alternative that requires critical and creative thinking. For example, poets can write cinquains about popular environmental topics like climate change and water conservation.
2. Cinquains for Introduction: In addition to “I Am” and “I Am From” poems, cinquains can be used to introduce students. By challenging students to write about themselves in five lines and with a certain number of syllables, it encourages them to share safely and creatively, making the task enticing for many and accessible for all.
3. Cinquains as Creative Weather Reports: Since cinquains and haikus are often about nature, writing weather or climate reports as cinquains is a clever and creative way to get students engaged with poetry. If you’re studying science, celebrating Earth Day, or want to integrate a fun routine, ask students to write cinquains about the weather for that day or the next.

As you prepare for students to write cinquains, it’s important to practice together and study samples.

We’ve created worksheets as well as a lesson plan to make integrating cinquain poem examples and activities a breeze!

As with all poetry, be sure to encourage writers to be flexible, have fun, and revise until their poems communicate exactly what they intend!