I understand some people DO NOT like poetry – abhor it in fact. I, however, am absolutely head over heels in love with poetry. It fills my soul with passion, angst, love, life – all of the cliché feelings.
Dead Poets Society’s John Keating phrases it exquisitely:
“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”
And so begins our poetry unit … and pictures of student genius. Enjoy 🙂
Blackout Poetry
The following pictures are from our Blackout Poetry assignment. I grabbed a Harry Potter book to use for this project, not realizing how dark the poems would turn out. They’re dark, but incredible. Mind you, these are my 7th grade kiddos. Enjoy a few of my favorites.
they had found
the bare flesh of his chest
his body, lay so cold
from icy water.
forebodings crept upon him as he sat there in the dark:
He was afraid
of
Death
What if Death tortured him:
the eagle
painted with stars
beautiful yet intimidating.
destroy the harsh thought
imagine life with
no fear
believe that Death could set you free.
imagine he sat there in the dark
He could not move
even
if Death
tried to push him down
Found Poems
Essentially the kids simply cut out words/phrases from magazines that call out to them. Upon finding 40-50 words/phrases, they then arrange the words/phrases into some semblance of a poem. You can read a more detailed post about Found Poems here.
I have A LOT of Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, etc. magazines, so my students struggled a bit through those ones looking for good words.
Moving through the process.
Amazing poems taking shape!
Carpe Diem, friends! Get out there and teach poetry and love every minute of it! 🙂
Looking for more poetry inspiration and ideas? Read about our students’ favorite poem EVER and how to teach it by clicking here.
Also, be sure to check out these poetry resources that we know you’ll find super useful and love!
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2 Comments
Wow! That's some genius, wonderful idea. Thanks