Table Topics   Updated daily!
April 1, 2008
Mind-stretching brain games and conversation starters.
It's the perfect opportunity for sharing stories, building knowledge, strengthening character, and having fun!

Writing diamond poems is an excellent way to develop vocabulary and reinforce parts of speech. The diamond poem or diamante has seven lines and follows a very specific pattern.

• Line one is a noun and names the subject of the poem.
  
• Line two contains two adjectives that describe the subject noun.
  
• Line three is made up of three participles (those are verbs that end in –ing). The three participles also describe the subject noun.
  
• Line four names four nouns that relate to or are synonyms of the subject noun.
  
• Line five contains three more participles.
  
• Line six has two more adjectives.
  
• Line seven renames the subject.

Here is my diamante poem:

forest,
green, peaceful,
hearing, smelling, watching,
birds, breezes, flowers, squirrels,
hiking, climbing, jumping,
wild, challenging,
forest

Turn this into a game by creating the poem round robin. Player one names the subject, player two adds an adjective, player three contributes the second adjective, etc.

Alternatively, a diamante poem can be used as a transition between two different, but related, nouns. In the poem above, substitute the first word, forest with the word woods and you can see how this works.

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One of the most important personal goals a person can possess is the goal of being a lifelong learner. Do you live in an environment that enhances learning? How do you think you home measures up to the following list?

• Positive support for one another
  
• Stimulating to all the senses (not all at once, however--over-stimulation can result in stress)
  
• Absence of pressure while at the same time lively and interesting
  
• Availability of appropriately challenging activities
  
• Social interaction
  
• Ability to make choices
  
• Nutritious diet and adequate exercise