Credo Poem What is a credo A credo

Credo Poem

What is a credo? A credo is a statement of beliefs which guides someone’s actions. If you were to write your own personal credo, you would list things you are passionate about, things that are important to you and things you believe in. It’s not just about the sport you love or the video games you spend so much time playing. What kind of things do you believe that guide your actions? Some things might be the importance of honesty, that you should treat others as you want to be treated or that you can do anything you put your mind to.

You will be writing a credo for your main character. If you have more than one main character, choose one.

Step One Brainstorm on things/ideas you believe your character would value. Again, if you have more than one main character, choose one. You should have at least 4 -5 ideas.

For example, imagine you are writing a credo for Harry Potter. What are some things that Harry values? What does he think is important? Remember, these beliefs guide his actions. Some possibilities might include: • Friends are important and should be appreciated. • Loyalty is vital. • Good will prevail over evil • It’s important to do the right thing, even if it’s hard. • Love conquers all.

Step Two After you come up with your list of things your character values, think about why they value these things. For example, why would Harry treasure his friends and see their relationships as so important? Perhaps it’s because his friends understand support him. He hasn’t had this before since his parents died.

Step Three Come up with a list of adjectives (5 – 6) for your main character. Adjectives for Harry might include: * loyal * brave * smart * determined * dependable * honest * humble

Step Four Find a list of words or phrases that reflect the “voice” of you character. These might be words that are in the character’s native language or words that are particular to the region or area where the character lives. • That is brilliant! • Mischief managed. • Go on, have a pasty. • He was my mum and dad’s best friend.

It’s time to start your rough draft. Remember, you are writing a statement of beliefs. Start to put you ideas together: * What does your character believe in? * Why does he/she believe in that? * What has your character done that reflects these beliefs? Your rough draft must be turned in with your final copy.

Now you’re ready for your final draft or copy Your poem should be typed. It should be at least 16 lines long. It should be in the “voice” of your character. In other words, it should read like it was written by your character. It should be written in 1 st person.

You will be graded on Originality • Your ability to capture the character’s voice • Spelling, grammar, punctuation and capitalization, when applicable • Whether or not you followed directions • ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Your rough draft does not need to be typed but your final copy does.

Harry Potter Credo (not a full example because one wouldn’t fit on the slide. ) by Ms. Nielsson I believe that friends are important. My friends are bloody brilliant and I would support them in whatever they wanted to do, whether it’s to make the Quidditch team or defending them against the rudeness of others. And I believe that love conquers all. My mum and dad died trying to save me. It is because of their love that I lived. And I believe that good overcomes evil. I know bad things happen and I know there are bad people. But there are good people too. People who are kind and brave and people who are willing to fight for what is right. I will join them in that fight to protect my friends, to protect my family, and to do what is right.

This due Thursday, April Now go forth and write! th 30