Jargon can be a jumble of joy!

Each day this April, we’re exploring the world of poetry one letter at a time. Inside: a themed lesson plan, a fresh NaPoWriMo poem, and sometimes, a surprise or two.

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The Joy of Jargon

🎓 Lesson Plan: “Talk the Talk: Jargon Poetry Jam!”

Grade Level: 3rd–5th (with adaptations for 2nd & 6th–7th)
Time: 45–60 minutes
Theme: Jargon (specialized language from hobbies, sports, jobs, etc.)

🧠 Objective

Students will identify and use jargon from familiar topics to write and share original poems, exploring how specialized vocabulary can shape voice and meaning in poetry.

🔗 Connections

• Learning Connections:
  • ELA: Strengthens vocabulary, poetic techniques, and creative expression.
  • Social Studies: Connects to real-world roles and cultures through specialized language.
  • SEL: Promotes self-expression and confidence by writing from personal interests.
• Poetry Connections: Depending on how students choose to write their poem, connections are myriad, including rhyme and rhythm, voice and tone, form and verse.
• Book Connections:
  • Math Talk: Mathematical Ideas in Poems for Two Voices
  • Science Verse
  • The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
  • Becoming Mohammad Ali
  • Technically, It’s Not My Fault by John Grandits – concrete poems with technical flair
  • Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer – for form flexibility
  • https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/68660/ten-poems-to-get-you-through-science-class-this-year

📚 Materials Needed

• Chart paper/whiteboard
• Markers
• Poetry mentor texts
• “Jargon Brainstorm” worksheet
• Paper, pencils/pens, optional digital devices
• Optional: magazines, sports cards, or job-related print materials for inspiration

📍 Lesson Flow

1. Hook (5–10 min): “What’s That Word?”

• Show a few jargon-heavy sentences from familiar contexts:
  • “He hit a dinger in the bottom of the 9th.”
  • “She leveled up after finding the power-up.”
  • “The chef julienned the carrots before sautéing.”
• Ask: “What do these words mean? Who uses them?”
  ➤ Discuss jargon: words used in specific jobs, hobbies, or groups.
  • Jargon is a special set of words or phrases used by a particular group of people, like those who work in certain jobs or do certain activities. These words might be hard to understand if you don’t know about that job or activity.

2. Brainstorming (10 min)

• Fill up a “Jargon Brainstorm” worksheet. Students list terms from areas they love by themselves or in groups or together with the class.
  Categories can include:
  • Sports
  • Video games
  • Dance
  • Cooking
  • Nature
  • Music
  • Science/tech
  • Slang from friends/family

3. Mentor Text & Mini-Model (10 min)

• Read a short poem or excerpt using strong voice + wordplay (from book list).
• Write a quick example with student help: some examples below to help model/get started

✍️ Poetry – “Poet’s Toolbox” (list-style poem – for younger grades or students needing a simpler start)
Metaphor.
/ Rhyme. /
Line break.
 /Time.
/
Word. /
Climb.

🎵 MUSIC – “Band Kid Beat”
I tune my strings, feel the groove,
/ Treble clef tells me how to move.
/ Crescendo builds, the tempo flies,
/ We end with one last forte rise!
Jargon: tune, groove, treble clef, crescendo, tempo, forte

Ask: What jargon did you hear? How did it sound fun or poetic?

4. Writing Time (15–20 min)

Write a “jargon jam” poem! (Check out adaptations for other age levels)

• Encourage use of 3–5 jargon terms (more if students are ready!) to bring their poems to life.
  • Change this based on student strengths and interests (# of terms to use)
• Encourage any form: free verse, list poem, rhyming couplets, even concrete poems (eg. a basketball poem shaped like a ball or a hoop!)

5. Sharing & Reflecting (5–10 min)

• Pair-share or group-read poems.
  • Dramatic reading or guessing game — “Can you guess the job this poem is about?”
• Reflect:
  • How did the jargon shape your voice or tone? Who would “get” your poem best?
  • What’s one new word you learned today?
  • What was your favorite poem and why?

✂️ Adaptations

For Younger Grades:

• Focus on drawing + one-line poems or list poems using simpler terms
  • “Dance Poem: I spin, I slide, I jump!”
• Do a group or class poem where everyone contributes to a specific profession

For Older Grades:

• Explore spoken word style or performance of jargon poems
• Write longer poems or short stories-in-verse keeping a specific topic in mind (think Kwame Alexander’s Crossover)

🚀 Extensions

1. Jargon Dictionary – Create class dictionaries of favorite jargon by theme.
2. Family Language Poem – Include cultural/family sayings and idioms as a variation of jargon.
3. Cross-curricular: You could even tie it to science (scientist jargon), health (doctor), or library (book jargon!).
4. Creative freedom: Students can invent jargon too! (like “blorb” for snack or “zoomerang” for a cool skateboard move).

A Jumble of Joy Juxtaposed

Today’s (optional) NaPoWriMo prompt asks us to take a look at Kyle Dargan’s “Diaspora: A Narcolepsy Hymn,” which a loose (unrhymed) villanelle that uses song lyrics as its repeating lines, and then like Dargan, write a poem that incorporates song lyrics – ideally, incorporating them as opposing phrases or refrains.

My Attempt: (A little jargon here)

Just One Read
Dear sir or madam, will you read my book? (tonight)
everything gon’ be alright, it could make a million overnight
Let me live that fantasy

I scribbled words in with the hope it’s understood,
Stitched my dreams and wove my hopes
Dear sir or madam, will you read my book?

And if you wish, I’ll write a sequel or two
Make it into a best selling series -made into a movie- for you
Let me live that fantasy.

The ink is smudged, but I promise you
the world I built is rich with lives worth a look.
Dear sir or madam, will you read my book?

You will find a jumble of joys and cries within
Stories that can make one’s heart toss, turn, spin
Let me live that fantasy.

For a moment I see my name up in the stars
And though I know that kind of lux just ain’t for me
For now, let me live that fantasy.
So, dear sir or madam, will you read my book – and dream with me today?

~ Vidya Tiru @ LadyInReadWrites

Notes

• The Beatles – Paperback Writer – Dear sir or madam, will you read my book? / …it could make a million overnight. Among one of the songs in my list of songs perfect for book lovers!
• Lourde – Royals – Let me live that fantasy. / That kind of lux just ain’t for (us). Whenever I hear this one on the radio, it stays with me for a while; one of those that keeps playing.
• Maroon 5 – Memories – everything gon’ be alright. The second time I am referencing this song for NaPoWriMo this year – the first one landing me my first ever feature poet title!!

Joyful Bookish Five

Jules Feiffer Presents…

Joy in the form of this book!!

(1 & 2) Book Beginnings and First Line Friday

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

3 Friday 56

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne at HeadFullofBooks. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up and visit others in the linky. 

(not quite page 56, since it was blank, so moved on to 57, which coincidentally happened to be the first comic page in this book!)

4 Book Blogger Hop

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  

How many days does it usually take you to finish reading a book?

Depends, of course, on the book (length, genre, my mood, how the book holds my attention) and my schedule (and any detours my mind takes me on!).

5 Jazzy Picture Books to Jive With Joy!

April 30th observes International Jazz Day, and since today is all about the letter J anyway, here are 5 jazzy picture books for you (that readers of all ages can enjoy). Plus, they make great gifts for the jazz fans in your life!

• J Is for Jazz: A Roaring Twenties Alphabet by Greg Paprocki 
• Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie 
• Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxane Orgill and illustrated by Francis Vallejo 
• Just a Lucky So and So: The Story of Louis Armstrong by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated by James E. Ransome
• This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt and illustrated by R.G. Roth 

And Now, the End of This Post

Dear reader, will you attempt to write a poem rich with imagery? Do share your poem when you write it! And which book would you pick to read first – from all the ones listed today?

I am linking up to A-Z, Blogchatter, UBC, NaPoWriMo.

And you can find all my A-Z posts (this year and previous years’ as well) here:

A to Z Challenge Posts