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Blackout Poetry 

Blackout Poetry is created using existing pages of text. Below are some student examples created using words, images, and ideas from Train. 

 

Scholastic Lesson Plan

 

Step 1: Scan the page first before reading it completely. Keep an eye out for an anchor word as you scan. An anchor word is one word on the page that stands out to you because it is packed and loaded with meaning and significance.  Starting with an anchor word is important because it helps you to imagine possible themes and topics for your poem.

 

Step 2: Now read the page of text in its entirety. Use a pencil to lightly circle any words that connect to the anchor word and resonate with you. Resonant words might be expressive or evocative, but for whatever reason, these are the words on the page that stick with you. Avoid circling more than three words in a row.

 

Step 3: List all of the circled words on a separate piece of paper. List the words in the order that they appear on the page of text from top to bottom, left to right. The words you use for the final poem will remain in this order so it doesn’t confuse the reader. 

 

Step 4: Select words, without changing their order on the list, and piece them together to create the lines of a poem. You can eliminate parts of words, especially any endings, if it helps to keep the meaning of the poem clear. Try different possibilities for your poem before selecting the lines for your final poem. If you are stuck during this step, return back to the original page of text. The right word you are searching for could be there waiting for you.

 

Step 5: Return to the page of text and circle only the words you selected for the final poem.  Remember to also erase the circles around any words you will not be using.

 

Step 6: Add an illustration or design to the page of text that connects to your poem. Be very careful not to draw over the circled words you selected for your final poem!

 

 

Source: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/john-depasquale/blackout-poetry/

Found Poetry

An alternative to Blackout Poetry is Found Poetry. Here is information from Facing History's lesson plan archive to create your own Found Poetry. 

 

Procedure

  1. Students Create a List of Words, Phrases, and Quotations 
    Ask students to review a text, or multiple texts, related to the unit of study, including work on the walls of the classroom, journal entries, primary source documents, and the text itself. As students look over these texts, have them record words, phrases, or quotations that are particularly interesting or meaningful. We recommend that they identify between 15 and 20 different words or phrases so that they have plenty of ideas from which to choose when composing their poems.

  2. Students Identify a Theme and Message 
    Now students identify a theme and message that represents some or all of the language they have selected. A theme is a broad concept such as “obedience” or “loyalty.” A message is a specific idea they would like to express about this theme. For example, “decision making” is a theme. A message about decision making expressed by humanitarian Carl Wilkens is, “Every situation is an opportunity and every opportunity demands a decision.” Often it is helpful for students to do this step with a partner. Students can trade lists and describe the themes or main ideas they see in their partner’s list.

  3. Students Select Additional Language 
    Found poems only use words that have been collected from other sources. So, once students have selected a theme and a message, they may need to review their materials again to collect additional language.

  4. Students Compose a Poem 
    Students are now ready to arrange the language they have selected to create their poems. One approach to this task is to have students write all of the words and phrases on slips of paper, so that they can move the slips around until they are satisfied with their poem. Let students know that they cannot add their own words when creating a found poem (not even articles or prepositions), but they can repeat words or phrases as often as they like. Also, when composing found poems, students do not need to use all of the words or phrases they have previously selected.

  5. Share Poems 
    Students can read their poems aloud to the class. Alternatively, students can read the poems silently. First, have students pass their poems to the left once. Have students read the poem they’ve received, write a comment (students should sign their name to their comment), and then pass the poem again to the left for another comment. Depending on how much time you have, you might allow for three or four passes, or you might have time for students to comment on all of the poems created by their classmates.​

  6. Discuss 
    This activity can end with a final discussion based on what the poems reveal about the material students have just studied. Prompts you might use to structure this discussion include: What strikes you about these poems? What do they have in common? How are they different? What surprised you when reading them?

 

Source: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/found-poems

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