Name: ______________________

Date: ___________________

Grade 7/8: Two-Tone Poem

What colour are you? Psychologists tell us that certain colours trigger certain
feelings or moods in many people. Some colours are warm while others are
cool. Some colours attract attention; others blend in with their surroundings.
Our own interpretations of (or feelings about) colours, along with our selfknowledge, can be a good combination to start a two-tone poem.

Example 1
Part of me is brilliant yellow
Lively and vivacious,
Bouncy and buoyant,
Teasing my friends and enjoying the spotlight.
But deep inside theres another part,
Pale and purple, like a violet hiding under a leaf
Shy and self-conscious,
Fearful and cowardly,
Shaking with stage fright when the telephone rings.
Yet theyre both very real,
And theyre both me!

Example 2
Some days Im firecracker red
Full of energy and smart remarks
Like a wild bull, ready to attack the world!

Other days Im a faded grey

Rumpled and crumpled and careless and useless,
Soggy and sleepy and all worn-out.

Name: ______________________

Date: ___________________

But watch out, folks,

cause today Im red!

The two formats focus on different aspects one deals with a persons
personality and the other one deals with two dominants moods. You are going
to write your own two-tone poem and can choose either format. Brainstorm
some ideas (come up with an original name for the colour elephant grey,
sunset pink, pickle green, etc.). Draft your rough copy and use poetic lines and
strong adjectives. Once you are done, re-read your poem, revise and edit. Try
different words. Once you have finalized your poem, you need to prepare it for
display. Take two or more pieces of coloured paper that represent your tones,
and cut them into any shapes your wish. Attach them to your poem. Remember
that you will be graded on your poem AND the visual display.

Why are we doing this assignment?

Its a short, introductory writing assignment to get us back into the

school mode
Community building your poems will reveal more about who you are
Practice going through the writing process (brainstorming, drafting,
editing, revising, final draft, publishing)
Creating a media work

Evaluation
Level

1
Limited use of colour
Simple language
No poetic devices
used

Level 2

Level 3
good use of colour
strong adjectives
used
several poetic

Level 4

Name: ______________________

Date: ___________________

incomplete

Due date: Wednesday November 23

devices used
all elements are
present and work
together