Poetry Break - Unusual Form

Technically, It’s Not My Fault
by John Grandits

I chose concrete poetry, inspired by John Grandits’ humorous look at the life of Robert, middle-schooler.

Introduction
Model creating a simple form of concrete poetry by showing students an object ( a plush cat, for example) and asking them to list words that identify parts of the item (ear, tail, whisker, etc.). Draw on outline of the object on a white board and write the words in the proper areas of the item. Then ask students to come up with additional words that tell how the item might smell, taste, or feel (soft), what kind of sound it makes (purr), what color it might be (tabby), or what movement it makes (pounce). Add those words to the board in appropriate places.

Share of selection of concrete poems from the book. Display copies of the poems as you read them on a smart board, with overhead transparencies, or using a presentation projector so students get the full effect of the concrete poems.

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Extension

Prepare blank slips of white paper, just large enough for a single word to be printed on them. Have a bin of small items like a silk flower or leaf, a plastic bug, a toy car, a piece of plastic fruit, a marble, a kazoo, a selection of small plastic animals, a whistle, a doll, a rubber worm, etc. Have students each choose an item. Instruct them to print words that describe the item onto the paper slips and then arrange the slips into the shape of the item being profiled. They can glue the slips onto sheets of colored paper when they have an arrangement they like. Have them print a poem title and their names on the papers, then display for a class collection of concrete poetry. Older students might choose their own items based on a theme like “at the beach” or “Christmas time.”

Here’s another example from Love That Dog by Sharon Creech:

Grandits, John. 2004. Technically, its not my fault. New York: Clarion Books.

Creech, Sharon. 2001. Love that dog. New York: Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins.