Blackout Poetry Unit

Download and discover the ultimate no-prep resource for blackout poetry, also known as found poetry, that will teach your students the art of word choice, literary techniques, and poetic language through a fun and hands-on approach. In six captivating unit lessons, students will embark on an engaging journey of crossing out found text to create their own unique and personal poems, an experience they'll find far more enjoyable than traditional writing methods. Without even realizing it, your students will immerse themselves in a world of learning while working on their blackout poetry.

This all-inclusive module delves deeper than the creation of blackout poems, incorporating literary analysis exercises that investigate five renowned poems and explore five central literary ideas. The module also wraps up with a personal blackout poem project as the summative assessment, designed to engage even the most reluctant creative writers. Witness as your pupils become fully engrossed and stimulated through the enchanting world of blackout poetry!

This lesson plan on poetry teaching comes complete with everything needed to run a blackout poetry unit. It is ideal for substitute lesson plans, a brief creative unit, or as a supplement to a poetry or literary analysis unit. Your download comprises:

• Five blackout poetry exercises centered on literary analysis. Each activity comprises a famous poem, a defined literary concept, discussion questions, and a blackout activity (an answer key and a Common Core-aligned rubric are included).

• A blackout personal poem "writing" project. This requires students to find a newspaper or magazine article of personal significance and apply the blackout poetry technique to craft their unique piece of poetic art (A 40-point rubric, connected to three Common Core ELA standards, is included in both a printable format and as a link to an editable rubric. This allows for customization of grading and effortless integration into Google Classroom and numerous other Learning Management Systems)

LITERARY CONCEPTS AND FAMOUS POEMS INCLUDED IN THIS RESOURCE:

Metaphor and “O Captain! My Captain” (1865), by Walt Whitman

Imagery and  “To S.M., a Young African Painter…” (1773), by Phillis Wheatley

Personification and “The Wind — tapped like a tired Man —” (1863), by Emily Dickinson

Plot Structure and  “The Man He Killed” (1902), by Thomas Hardy

Theme and “Here I Love You” (1924), by Pablo Neruda

Although this resource can be fitted for any secondary Language Arts classroom, it has been carefully designed to work best in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. The included rubrics are subtly but specifically tied to Common Core ELA Standards for Writing (3 and 4) and Reading Literature (2). This resource  is provided in print-ready, bookmarked, and adjustable PDF files and PowerPoint Show files.

This resource contains 8 Pages and 1 Google Sheet.