Image Map

April 30, 2013

Page Poetry and Pinterest

Teach Junkie

WOOT, WOOT! Just found out: This idea was featured on the Top 5 Ideas of the Week (May 6, 2013) over at Teach Junkie! So happy! Thanks, Leslie!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

During the month of April my sixers and I have been reading, writing, and ENJOYING poetry! What began as groans after Spring break has turned into eager cries of "What kind of poem are we gonna do today, Ms. A.?"

So far we've enjoyed highly formalized poems such as haiku, tanka, and diamonte; explored rhyme scheme with couplets, quatrains, limericks, and clerihew; and giggled, laughed, and been left speechless by free verse and dada.  "What is dada?" you say. Hmmm? Better than I trying to explain this most unusual poetry format, try your hand at a dada poem here:


A poem similar to dada is a Page Poem. I had never seen this type of poetry until I stumbled upon it on Pinterest. Pinterest? Ah, what would I do without Pinterest? Here's what I pinned about Page Poetry.










I absolutely fell in LOVE with Page Poetry. Crazy and deviant as dada, Page Poetry calls for great visual creativity, not something added as an after thought, but art that is essential to the meaning (if you can call it that) of the poem. Some Page Poems appeared to be random ramblings of strange, twisted minds while others appeared well thought out and planned. I can do this, I thought! My sixers can do this! And so they did and with great fun, great thought, great sharing, and great discussion.

I introduced Page Poetry to my sixers by sharing my Pinterest Pins and visiting some of the websites. Fresh from creating dada poems, they were hooked and couldn't wait to begin. Next we began looking through our library for a book that might lend itself to creativity and fun. It also had to be a book that was well loved, meaning it was ready to fall apart. We hit the jackpot with an old copy of one of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books. With some sadness at having to destroy the book, I ceremoniously began tearing out pages at random and passing them to my sixers with great dramatic flair. From there my sixers spent quite some time reading and rereading their given page, searching for just the right words.

Once the words were chosen, they had to decide how to present their poems, how elaborate would the page appear? Some simply used black pens to circle the words and draw directional lines, some added color, others added textured lines, while others utilized multiple colors, shapes, and designs.

 These are just a very few of the Page Poems created by my students. Enjoy!

Happy Pinteresting,
Happy Teaching,
Angela
The Teacher's Desk 6
Teach Junkie Creative Ideas



10 comments:

  1. Angela - these are amazing! I already feel like it's a new favorite and truly a brilliant way to bring poetry and art together. Do you think it also teaches them scanning reading skills since they reread and scan the page multiple times?
    -Leslie
    TeachJunkie.com
    KindergartenWorks.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a great point that you surface, Leslie! I have to say, "Yes!" I believe that this simple, yet powerful, activity does require students to practice skimming and scanning, not to mention the numerous rereadings. I'm glad that you thought of this, especially in light of the "close reading" that the CCSS asks of our students. Page Poetry, then, could be considered good practice for the more rigorous reading skills being demanded of our students... just another reason to utilize poetry on a more regular basis.

      Have a super week,
      Angela

      Delete
  2. That is such a neat idea, it would be a fun end of the year activity!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Emily! My kiddos did have a great time with it! I'm definitely going to do it next year as well!

      Have a great day!
      Angela

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. Thanks, Fern! These poems were so much fun... I think I enjoyed them even more than the kiddos.

      Have a great week,
      Angela

      Delete
  4. I am really liking this idea! Thanks for the inspiration!
    Lori

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad that you liked it, Lori! Page Poems are soooo much fun to do!

      Have a great week,
      Angela

      Delete
  5. I have seen these poem's on pinterest as well and thought I have to do something with this - and now I will. Thanks for the additional inspiration, this just went into my tool box, especially with the comment of the additional reading skill practice it has. Did have the thought if you dont have a book to tear up (which I would find sooooo hard to do) photocopy a selection of pages or I wonder what would come out if everyone had the same page?!?!?!? Oh the places you could go

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am soooo glad that you're going to give Page Poetry a try! I'd love to hear how your experience goes. AND I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your idea of photocopying a page for the students to have, and LOVE even more the idea of giving each student the same page. Thanks for sharing it! I'm going to do this with my fivers later this week. I think I'm going to take a page from their Science or Social Studies text, something they haven't covered, and let them have a go at it!

      Delete

Leave a little message and let me know you've visited!