Today, I bring you the kenning (which I have talked about a couple of times before on my blog). It is definitely an imagination-eruptor, a name-changer, a fun-creator, and more. So while the kenning is not a poetic form, it is a device we can use to play with and create!

This month, from A to Z, we’re diving into poetry! Today’s letter once again brings a creative lesson plan, and the draft of a prompt-based poem.

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🐉 Name That Thing: Unlocking the Power of Kennings!

Grade Level: 3rd–5th
Duration: 45–60 minutes

Objective

Students will create original kennings to enhance their descriptive writing and explore figurative language in poetry.

📚 Connections

• Learning: Builds descriptive vocabulary, figurative language skills, and metaphorical thinking. Can include connections to the origin of kennings and include history lessons.
• Poetry: Kennings introduce students to Old English and Norse poetic traditions, while reinforcing concepts like metaphor, compound words, and imagery.
• Books:
  • Water Can Be/ A Leaf Can Be / A Rock Can Be – books by Laura Purdie Salas (picture books that use kennings beautifully!)
  • Connect to Beowulf, Norse mythology, or The Hobbit, which all use kennings for vivid storytelling. (find adaptations for younger readers)
  • The Naming of the Shrew by John Wright (for older readers)

🪄 Lesson Breakdown

🔍 Mini-Lesson (10–15 minutes)

1. What is a Kenning?

• A kenning is a special kind of metaphor used in old poetry. It’s a two-word phrase that replaces a noun.
  • For more resources, check out
    • Kennings Or The Many Different Ways To View Things
    • Poetic Sundays: The Kenning
    • C is for the Creative Compound Word Verse and More!
• Often made of two nouns or a noun and a verb.
• Think of them like little puzzles or riddles!

2. Examples

• Sky-candle = the sun
• Homework-hater = a student
• Snack-stealer = little brother
• Book-traveler = reader

3. Class Guessing Game:

• Share 3–4 kennings and let students guess what each one means.

✨ Guided Practice aka Kenning-Kitchen! (5 minutes)

Create one together as a class:
Choose a common classroom object (e.g., pencil). Ask students:

• What does it do? (writes, draws)
• What does it look like? (wood, pointy)
• What could we call it? (idea-stick, word-wand, line-maker)

🖍️ Independent Activity or “Kenning Creator’s Lab” (15–20 minutes)

Kenning Poem Creation:

1. Students choose a subject (animal, person, object).
2. Brainstorm at least 3–5 kennings to describe it.
3. Write a short kenning poem (no need to rhyme).
4. You could leave it untitled, have the object/subject of the kennings as the title, or the coolest kenning as the title.

Example Poems:

1)
Fish-splasher
Tail-swirler
Bubble-blower
Deep-diver
= A dolphin!

2)

I’m a floor-hugger,
a toe-tickler,
a dust-dancer,
a fuzz-friend.

You walk on me,
nap on me,
spill snacks on me….

What am I?
(Answer: a rug or carpet!)

🎤 Sharing & Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

Students write their favorite kenning on the board or card without naming the object. Classmates guess the object it describes. Optional: turn this into a riddle-style poem or display.

🧠 Adaptations for Other Grades

• K–2:
  • Focus on listening and guessing. Provide pictures and have them match images to kennings.
  • Use visuals and lead a class activity to build simple noun+noun kennings together.
• 6–8:
  • Encourage extended kenning poems or writing narratives using multiple kennings. Introduce metaphor deeper or pair with Beowulf readings.
  • Prompt: “Write a kenning poem about yourself.” (I Am a Kenning Poem!)
    • I am a snack-sneaker, / a book-reader, / a dream-doodler, / a word-collector…
    • Have students put their poems on kenning-wall without their names and let everyone try to guess who each person is.

🚀 Extensions & Enrichment

• Posters: Students create illustrated riddle posters using their kennings—others guess what it is.
• Kenning Names: Students invent a kenning name for themselves (e.g., “Story-Crafter,” “Snack-Sneaker”) and design name badges.
• Tie to Mythology Unit: Link to mythology, dragons, or epic storytelling!

The Krishna (K)ronicles

Today’s (optional) NaPoWriMo prompt asks us to write a poem inspired by Wallace Stevens’ poem, “Peter Quince at the Clavier – a poem that makes reference to one or more myths, legends, or other well-known stories, that features wordplay (including rhyme), mixes formal and informal language, and contains multiple sections that play with a theme. Try also to incorporate at least one abstract concept – for example, desire or sorrow or pride or whimsy.

Since I am on the letter K, I started with a few other K myths before I landed on Krishna – worshipped as the eighth incarnation (avatar) of the Hindu god Vishnu; it took me a longer than a while and a few tries but here is my first draft. Check out Shubha Vilas’ The Little Blue Book on Krishna or Amar Chitra Katha’s beautiful Krishna collection

The Krishna (K)ronicles

The Smile the Universe Hid In

The River and the Child

(The flute-player, the cow-herder,
 The demon-slayer, the heart-stirrer.)

The river, it split — just like that.
 So his dad could carry the little babe through.
 This child who would one day move mountains.
 Born to parents not his own,
 But loved — oh, loved — with a quiet, steady love.
  Krishna smiled, as babies do —
 And the stars above? Guess they already knew.

The Butter Thief

As a child, he could not resist butter’s lure,
 Wherever it was, he would find it for sure.
 He climbed and danced from pot to pot,
 This lil thief who was both “feared” and always sought.
 The villagers sighed and hung it high,
 High enough, they thought.

 And Krishna?
 He just thought of other ways, you see!
 He called his friends with laughter wild,
 That clever, charming child.
 And soon, they all were
 Climbing like champs on a jungle gym.
 And at the top of their human tower,
 They found their treasure — 
golden, soft, and sweeter than victory.

The Universe Within

Too many pranks, too many cries —
 The village filled with moos and sighs.
 His mother, tired of the pranks,
 Caught him — red-handed, of course,
 A butter smear across his cheek.

 “Now open up,” she firmly cried.
 And gasped, when she saw the universe inside.
The cosmos lay within his grin.
 And everything — all one could think of,
 And more — well beyond the world wide web –
 (I mean, the whole wide world) — was tucked within.

(In an instant, those tired eyes turned soft with mother pride.)

 A moment like that makes you wonder —
 What else is hidden in the things we see?
 What do we really know about the world
 When even a child can hold it all inside?

(Maybe the universe isn’t out there. 
Maybe it’s always been inside, waiting to be discovered.)

The Dance on the Serpent

The river turned dark,
 The serpent Kaliya had poisoned the water.
 The people stayed away,
 The cows knew better than to drink there.
When Krishna heard of this, he picked up his flute
 Danced a mighty fine dance that had the snake underfoot.
 In a rhythm fierce, and with grace in every move,
 The snake-king bowed, “O Krishna, You’ve won —
 This river now is yours forever more.”

The Mountain Umbrella

The skies, they poured for days on end,
 It seemed like the weather had turned a serious bend.
 Homes were torn away in the deluge,
 All looked for some shelter, some refuge.
 Krishna looked around and saw the mountain just past the highway —
 With a flick of his finger, the mountain rose —
overhead, just like that
A shelter for everyone, from cows to men,
 A rocky haven — till the rain gods pressed stop.

 So, as I tell this story, I think anew:
 That maybe, just maybe, when the world’s in chaos,
 Sometimes the best thing is just to lift a little weight.
(For even mountains, while they may stand still,
sometimes they bend for you.)

Coda

In Krishna’s mischief, and in his play,
In his courage, and in his every way,
A quiet wisdom shimmered within —
That in a world moving too fast — like here, like now —
Sometimes the best way forward… is to slow down.

Because hey —
Life’s too short not to dance when you get the chance.
Or steal a little butter, slay some demons.
Or play a flute and charm the school band —
Who says gods can’t groove?

~ Vidya Tiru @ LadyInReadWrites

And Now, the End of This Post

Dear reader, will you attempt to write a poem using the kenning? 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