A Found Poem, maybe not worth finding, but it was fun to do.
Today I decided to play with words by making a FOUND POEM from one of the stories my fifth grade students are reading in the book, Every Tree has a story by Cécile Benoist and Charlotte Gastaut. There's a good chance that their French teacher and I will do this activity with them this week. We have the book in both languages and the students enjoy reading and discussing the stories. They will be able to this activity in French or in English.
For a little background, one form of a found poem is taking a text and selecting words from it to make a poem. You can make a found poem from prose or a poem. Once the words have been selected, all of the other words are blacked out and, if desired, the poem can be decorated.
Is it worth doing?
After doing it myself I would answer that it encourages close reading, rereading, and using one's imagination and word knowledge to make a new form of communication out of an existing one. I think that is very useful. I found it challenging, so as long as there is a tone of lightness and fun during the activity, students should enjoy the experience. We'll see.
Below are two images to demonstrate the process. Down the line I might add a third—the decorated version.
They are: 1) the original page with the story; 2) the poem make by blacking out words. I was able to do the editing on the computer, but in the classroom, students will use markers on photocopies of the stories.
1 Original Story
2 Found Poem
