Recycled Poetry

Procedures

1. Before beginning, explain to the children that they will be writing a poem.
2. Explain the "blank verse" and read the example below.
3. Then explain the procedure.

   Step 1: Clip interesting words from magazine ads and article titles.
   Step 2: Put the strips in a box or large manila envelope.
   Step 3: Arrange the children into pairs or trios.
   Step 4: Have one child in each group take a pinchful of strips.
   Step 5: Use the strips as the foundation of a blank verse poem. Let the word strips suggest a topic.
   Step 6: Use a process approach to write and publish the poems. They usually solicit awe from readers who don't know how they were created.
   

Example:
Given the words:
blast, risk, hunting down, corners, beasts, brain, safety

*******************************

My brain was once a place of safety.
Now it is filled with risk.
I must begin hunting down
The beasts in the corners of my mind
and blast them from the shadows.
– A fifth-grade boy