Caterina C. Salamone
Students can be inspired to create poems from other poems that they have read and from their own artwork. In this lesson, the students will have the opportunity to develop their creativity using poems, art and words. For this lesson you will need to choose a poems that is full of images and is possibly filled with various moods such as: happy, sad, excited, and/or angry. You will also need drawing paper and/or paper suitable for paints. You should decide on the art materials based on the level of your students. First you will distribute the art materials to the class. Then read the poem. Have the class close their eyes before you read the poem. Encourage the students to picture what they see and/or feel as you are reading the poem aloud. After you have read through the poem once, you will want to read through it a second time for the students who need more time to process their thoughts. Again, they will close their eyes and create an image in their minds that resembles the poem in some way. The students will now use their image and recreate it on the paper using paints, markers, crayons, and/or other mediums that they would like to use. As the students are working, roam throughout the room. Ask the students to tell you about the picture. Do not assume objects within the pictures. It is best to ask open-ended questions so that the students creativity is not hindered by others thoughts or ideas.
After the pictures have been created, the students can then create their own poems using the images and feelings within their creations. You can display their work on a bulletin board along with their poems and the original poem.
