Blackout Poetry 

Activity 1:  Themed  Blackout  Poetry

       Assign all students a theme (e.g. the theme of the book/article the page is from or the antithesis) and have students each create a blackout poem with the theme using an assortment of pages provided. 

 

Activity 2:  Blackout  Poetry  Art

       Students create their own blackout poetry using a page from a book, magazine or newspaper. The blackout can be done with a sharpie or paint. Then students can paint or draw on the blackout, paste it onto another piece of artwork, or decorate the piece however they would like.

 

Activity 3:  "A  Humument"

Have students look at pages from "A Humument" by artist Tom Phillips. Students should compare the original text of the book, "A Human Document",  with the poems created from its pages and the difference in style each page contains and how the art on the page relates to the poem.

Use this link: http://humument.com/

 

Activity 4:  Same  Page,  Different  Thoughts

Students vote on a page from a sample of 5 pages that everyone will use to create a blackout poem. Students all create different poems using the same page and then come together to compare the different styles, outcomes, and themes of each of their poems. It’s astounding to see all the possibilities from one page!

 

Activity 5:  Class  Publication

All of the students favorite blackout poems should be collected and copied and created into a book that will be distributed to the class. The students must design the book themselves and determine if they want the poetry to also be required to have art.