Description

Participants will choose a page from a book to use as the basis of a blackout or elimination poetry activity. Participants can share their poetry if they wish.

Number of participants

For any number of participants.

Space considerations

An indoor space with tables and chairs is recommended.

Competencies

Reading comprehension
Critical thinking
Language building
Story building
Public speaking (optional)

Materials

Photocopies of pages from selected books
Thick black or blue markers (e.g., Sharpies)
Blank or lined paper (optional)
Template for Blackout Poetry notes
Laptop/projector (optional)
Whiteboard or large flip chart (optional)

Preparation

Print necessary number of copies of the suggested text template for participants
Have thick black/blue markers available
Optional: include blank or lined paper in case participants wish to copy their poems into a cleaner format

Implementation

Choose one of the text options. Grounded and The Bellwoods Game have been provided as examples, but any book with somewhat sophisticated language will work well.

Use the Blackout Poetry Participant Template to identify key ideas and concepts. Start a discussion about what kind of feelings or emotions certain words or phrases might evoke:
- Does this remind you of a certain time or place?
- Do certain words have more positive or negative connotations?

Carefully cross out unwanted words in the text. Feel free to mark off entire sentences, lines, etc.

Offer an additional page for participants to copy the words or phrases that remain.

To add an additional challenge, encourage participants to share their final poems with each other in a poetry show. Note that not all participants will be comfortable with this – please gauge your audience’s interest!

Accessibility considerations

Consider increasing text size by photocopying at a larger size
Make it a group poem: use a projector to display the selected text and read it aloud together. Have participants share words they want to keep or cross out

Provide blank or scrap paper for participants to write out a “clean” version of their blackout poem
Let participants work individually or in small groups/pairs
To extend this activity or to include other age groups, consider using simpler text options (e.g., a shorter fiction title or even a lengthier picture book)

Book suggestions

Grounded by Aisha Saeed, S.K. Ali, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and Huda Al-Marashi
The Bellwoods Game by Celia Krampien