Poetry Prompts and Projects for Pipsqueaks

presented by Jean Holmblad, Newton Free Library; Tony Marino, the teacher-poet, and Beth Gallaway, Metrowest
February 28, 2007

Discover poetry for kids and teens,
From open mic nights to publishing ‘zines!
Poetry circles and playing with rhyme,
Lyrics and games win them over, in time.
Jean Holmblad’s Newton successes inspire
And Tony Marino adds fuel to the fire.
You’ll get all the info, have fun to boot;
Come ready to write, it will be a hoot!

Tony Marino's website

Selected Audio:
Why Poetry?
Tony Marino
Beth Gallaway
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Q&A

Booklists:
Novels in Verse
Nonfiction
Poetry for Ages 0-3
Poetry for Ages 4-7
Poetry for Ages 8-9
Poetry for Ages 10+

Teen Poetry Groups
AGENDA
5-10 minutes for freewriting exercise

5-10 minutes for introductions, icebreakers, and announcements

10 minutes to share work from freewrite

15-30 minutes for one or two 15 minute writing exercises -- kids share what they wrote, get feedback

10 minute break for bathroom, photocopying, etc

20-30 minute peer review -- copies of work are distributed.  Author reads work, slowly, once or twice.  Teens comment and write on sheet.  Copies returned to author for revision.

10-20 minutes for refreshments

ICEBREAKERS

Basic

Ask everyone to state name, age & why s/he is here… and then answer a question, like, “what do you think about the latest school shooting? Can this happen here?  How can it be prevented?”  Gets them thinking right away.

M&M's
Pass around a bowl of small candies like M&M's.  Ask each teen to help themselves, but not to eat any.  Ask each person to give one fact about themselves for each candy s/he has taken

2 truths and a lie
Each teen has to tell two true things and one lie about themselves.  The group has to guess which is fact and which is fiction

1 good, 1 bad
Ask each person to tell one bad thing and one good thing that happened today.

 

EXERCISES:
Candy
Pass around a bag of hard candy, asking everyone to take 1 piece.  Ask them to write about the piece of candy -- describe it, use it in a scene, tell why s/he chose that particular piece use candy as an analogy.

Body Parts
Pick a partner.  Write a description of their hands and face.

Leaves
Pick a bunch of leaves (watch out for poison ivy).  Ask each teen to pick a leaf and describe each leaf in a way that makes it unique to all others in three words without using the words green, leaf, or shape.  Mix up the leaves, then spread them out.  Select a paper and read the three words.  See if you can identify the leaf that is being described.

Freewriting
Write for ten minutes about anything.  Do not edit, erase, or worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar.  Just write.
OR pull a topic out of a hat, and ask everyone to write for 10 minutes on that topic.
OR offer two or three subject choices.
Ask people to share their work, and tell how they might use this piece in their own writing.

Acrostic Poem
Write your name with each letter under the next, in a column.  Use each letter to start a new sentence about a positive thing about yourself.  OR, write the name of someone you love.  Write a sentence about that person starting each sentence with a letter in their first name.  Useful for cards or valentines.

List Poem
Dump out your pockets or purse or backpack.  Make a list of what you find.  Turn it into a poem.

Exquisite Corpse
Someone writes the beginning line of a poem and passes it on to the next person.  That person adds a line and before passing it on, folds the paper so that only the last line written is showing.  You keep passing the poem along until everyone has a chance to contribute and then read your creation aloud.  If you really like the idea, you can get multiple poems going at the same time or you can use it as an ice-breaker during that initial socializing period. 
               (Heather Huskins, Chesnee Library Spartanburg, South Carolina)

Ransom Note Poem
Cut words from old magazines, newspapers, or recycled Internet prints.  Ask kids to choose words and arrange into a poem on a paper plate or sheet of paper.  Tape or glue the letters into place to make a ransom note style poetry.
(Donna Childs, Newburyport Library)

Poetry Index
Photocopy a first line index from a poetry book.  Distribute to teens.  Ask them to pick 5 lines and use one in a scene, poem, or essay.  Or, create a poem that incorporates all five lines.
(Donna Childs, Newburyport Library)

 

Word Accumulation
  1. Write a single line about anything, whatever pops into your head.  Do not edit.  Just write.
  2. Choose two words from this line. Write two lines containing those words anywhere in the new lines.
  3. Choose two words from each of the two lines and write four new lines.
  4. Choose two words from each of the four lines and create eight new lines. 

Variation:  Begin with a found line: something from a poem or story or headline or sign.
Variation: Choose 5 lines to use in the five-line exercise.

 

 
Five Line Exercise
  1. Write five lines about whatever pops into your head.  Do not edit. Just write.
  2. Using some of the words from the first five lines, write 3 new lines, leaving a blank space for a new line between each one.
  3. In the blank spaces, write new 2nd, fourth and sixth lines to go with the existing lines.
  4. Quickly cross out two words in each line.
  5. Rework these lines, keeping to six lines.
  6. Cross out four entire lines
  7. Rewrite the remaining two lines, leaving a blank space between them.
  8. Write a new second line that goes with the existing two lines.
  9. Cross out all but five words to make one new line.
  10. Select one word.
  11. Write this one word at the top of a new page.  This is the title for a short poem or piece of prose.  Quickly write a new piece.

from The Writer’s Path: a guidebook to your creative journey by Todd Walton and Mindy Toomay

Sarah’s Exercise

Suicide is dying, and dying means you don’t come back

You never get to see _______________________________________________________ again.

You never get to touch _____________________________________________________ again.

You never get to taste______________________________________________________ again.

You never get to smell _____________________________________________________ again.

You never get to hear ______________________________________________________ again.

Dying means the death of a future.

 

Living means:

You always have a chance to _____________________________________________________ .

You always have a chance to _____________________________________________________ .

You always have a chance to _____________________________________________________ .

 

Suicide is not about choosing death, it is about choosing escape from pain and depression, when all a person really needs to cope is time or maybe love.

Suicide is dying, and dying is forever!

 

 

Peter’s Exercise

 

I

 

I’m too ___________________________________________________________ to die.
(please fill in the blank)

 

-by Peter Hamlin, 18, from The Pain Tree and Other Teenage-Angst Ridden Poetry.

 


Teen Poetry Group Resources
Books
Block, Francesca Lia & Hillary Carlip. Zine Scene

Bogen, Nancy.  How to Write Poetry 3rd ed. MacMillan, 1998.
Simple exercises, great examples, classic poems.

Dahlstrom, Lorraine.  Writing Down the Days: 365 creative journaling ideas for young
writers. Free Spirit Publishers, 1999.
Brief historical note with related writing prompt.  Suitable for late elementary-middle school.

Harper, Elizabeth & Timothy Harper. Your Name in Print: a teens's guide to publishing for fun, profit, and academic success. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2005.

Janezcko, Paul B. How to Write Poetry. Scholastic, 1999
Practical guide for beginners.

Janezcko, Paul B. and Cathy Bobak.  Poetry From A to Z : A Guide for Young Writers. S&S, 1994.
Encouraging interviews and exercises.

Mirriam-Goldberg, Caryn et al. Write Where You Are: How to use writing to make sense of your life: a guide for teens. Free Spirit Publishing, 1999.

LeGuin, Ursula.  Steering the Craft: Exercises and discussions on story writing for the lone navigator or the mutinous crew.  Eighth Mountain Press, Portland: 1998
Exercises to strengthen storytelling and grammar skills for advanced writers.

Walton, Todd, and Mindy Toomay.  The Writer’s Path:  A guidebook for your creative
journey:  exercises, essays and examples.  Ten Speed Press, Berkeley: 2000
Exercises with examples, writing samples, sidenotes, quotes, and recommended books.  Includes group and partner exercises.  Geared to nostalgic adults, but easy to modify.

Web

Writing Prompts
Can Teach Writing Prompts/Journal Topics. http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/prompts.html

Daisy Frieds Poetry Prompts. http://home.online.no/~renka/poetryprompts.cfm

Giggle Poetry. http://www.gigglepoetry.com/

Educational Technology Training Center. http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/newpoem.htm
Poetry Form Finder, fill in forms to make poems and

Online Magnetic Poetry. http://www.magneticpoetry.com/magnet/

The Writing Site. http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/prompts/poetry.asp
Poetry Writing Activities and Prompts.


Get Published! Places for Teens to Submit Writing
Print
Cicada. http://www.cricketmag.com/ProductDetail.asp?pid=11&type=

The Claremont Review. http://www.theclaremontreview.ca

Olga. http://www.merlynspen.org/

VOYA Teen Poetry Contest. http://www.voya.com

Web
Broken Pencil. http://www.brokenpencil.com/
Web ‘zine

IPL Teens: Teen Poetry Wiki. http://www.ipl.org/div/teenpoet/
Collaborative website on teen poetry

Scriptorium. http://www.thescriptorium.net/youth.html
Writing resources

Teen Ink http://www.teenink.com/
Online version of print magazine that publishes stories, poetry, essays, interviews and reviews by teens

Teen Voices Online. http://www.teenvoices.com/
“Because you’re more than just a pretty face”

TimBookTu. http://www.timbooktu.com/
Stories, poetry and essays with an African American Flavor

Virtual Poetry Workshop. http://www.writenet.org/virtualpoetrywrkshp.html
Online poetry programs with real poets


POETRY SLAMS
Basic Poetry Slam Rules

Coffeehouse Rules

Event tips:


Poetry Slam Event Checklist
1 month in advance:

3 weeks in advance:

2 weeks in advance:

1 week in advance:

1 day in advance:

Day of event:

1 day after event:

Poetry Slam and Coffeehouse Resources

Books
Holbrook, Sara. Outspoken!: How to Improve Writing and Speaking Skills Through Poetry Performance. Heinemann, 2006.
Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Performance Poetry edited by Gary Mex Glazner. San Francisco, Manic D Press, 2000
Slam edited by Ceceily Von Ziegestar; foreward by Tori Amos. Alloy Press, 2000
The spoken word revolution : slam, hip-hop, & the poetry of a new generation edited by Mark Eleveld; advised by Marc Smith; introduction by Billy Collins Naperville, IL:2003.

Websites
An Incomplete History of Slam http://www.e-poets.net/library/slam/
Follows the evolution of the poetry slam
Poetry in the Branches Sourcebook http://poetshouse.org/librariespitbsrc.htm
Tips for displays, publicity and the event itself!
Poetry Slam Incorporated http://www.poetryslam.com/
Excellent FAQ list
Slammin’ @ your library: Teen Read Week Website
http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/YALSA/Teen_Reading/Teen_Reading.htm
Who, what, where, when and how for poetry themed TRW.

 

 

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