Writing a Found Poem

As adolescents begin to learn about poetry, they may not know that poetry can be created from many different places. This printout will help a child learn how to take an ordinary text and turn it into a poetic masterpiece!

How to Use This Printout

More Ideas to Try

 

How to Use This Printout

Help the young adult with whom you are working learn to write children's picture books by understanding what makes a book intriguing for kids.  Use this printout for guiding ideas to write children's picture storybooks on a variety of topics.

1. Provide a variety of books, magazines, and newspapers on topics that are of interest to the child with whom you are working.
2. Print one or more copies of the "Writing Your Own Found Poem" printable and make it available to the young adult(s) with whom you are working. Have the adolescent read through the directions on the printable and discuss with him/her any questions he/she may have.
3. Allow the child to begin looking through the books, magazines, and newspapers provided to find an interesting piece of text. He/she may then begin following the directions on the printable to write a found poem.
4. Have him/her read the poem aloud to you upon its completion, and offer any feedback you may have based on the directions of the printable.

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More Ideas to Try

• Have the adolescent with whom you are working see if he/she can write two or more found poems out of the same piece of text that have very different emotions or meanings behind them.
• Have multiple young adults write found poems on the same piece of text. The young adults can then share their poems with each other and discuss how they wrote the poem based on the same piece of text, as well as their similarities and differences.

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