This OER will lead you through the steps to complete your own ode poem. Beginning with tasks of reflection and remembrance you, as the learner, will build a descriptive language that you will then use to assemble into a structure of a poem to a subject personal to you. 

The Learning Objectives

  L.O 1 – To self reflect on their experience and reaction to others and the surrounding world

  L.O 2  – To be open with the act of remembrance

L.O 3 – To use imaginative and descriptive language to characterise a subject

  L.O 4 – To write a complete ode 

For this activity, the only resource essential is your own imagination and mind. For the following instructions feel free to interpret them as the method and mode that best works for you, for example if thats physical writing like in the examples given or instead use dictation or another method.

STEP 1

List things you are grateful a younger version of yourself had, in particular things you no longer have. These can be anything you think of, from people to objects and even intangible concepts. Try to freely document your thoughts in what ever form they come, and allowing a free flowing stream of thoughts without restrictions.

Spend 1 minute on this.  

STEP TWO

Now pick 3 significant memories, these can be any but must be from your own lived experience. Try to use the five common senses for each them to describe the memories, and document this in a similar way to your first task.

Spend three minutes on this. 

STEP THREE

Return to your initial first list of items you made in step 1, now rank them in order of importance with 1 being considered the most significant by your own subjective judgment.

                                                                      Spend one minute on this.                                                            

STEP FOUR

Identify the item you have decided on as the most important in your list, this will become the subject of your ode. Now think about this specific thing and document all thoughts that come to you surrounding it. The example given on how to do this is a mind map, but feel free to use another form if it better suits you.

Spend two minutes on this task. 

STEP 5 

Go through the things you have documented in the last task, highlight three you would like to explore further. Now individually for each of the chosen three, repeat the method you used for the previous task to brainstorm aspects and attitudes of the three things. This time when doing it try to focus on rhyming words and phrases you will be able to use later.

Spend three minutes on this. 

STEP 6

Begin your ode by constructing the first of your three stanzas. You should directly address your chosen subject which is the item you ranked most important in step 4, and construct this first stanza by making record of 4 short lines all about one of the three previously chosen aspects relating to your subject, with the lines following an ABAB rhyme scheme and making use of the words and rhymes you have already explored and documented. Document this stanza when you have constructed it.

Spend three minutes on this

STEP 7

Construct and document your second stanza, this should follow the structure and steps above that you followed to create your first stanza but instead focus on another of the three chosen elements you brainstormed.

Spend three minutes on this. 

STEP 8

Now construct your last stanza, do this in the same structure and style of the previous two stanzas you have created but about the last chosen element.

Spend three minutes on this. 

STEP 9 

Finish your ode by titling it, this should follow the format of ‘Ode to -‘ finishing the title with the name of your subject. Now you have a constructed an ode to reflect on.

Spend one minute on this.