Photos from Cut-And-Paste Poetry Lesson

The painting they all observed together, and discussed (but the original hanging out our galleries instead, of course!)

Puzzling through their words to create a cohesive poem; considering line composition and message, among other things...

Finally ready to glue all the words down for poetry sharing!

After poetry sharing, completing the evaluation forms...

One poem...

Two poems...

Three BEAUTIFUL poems! We talked about the differences and similarities between them, and to the original Rockwell painting that started it all.

Self Assessment of Cut-And-Paste Poetry Lesson

 Overall:

            The girls each made colorful, creative word banks that reflected and exercised their own views of the painting (Aunt Ella story illustration), as well as their knowledge of basic parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs mainly, but also some conjunctions, prepositions, and articles). They worked successfully in groups (of 4 or 5) to create aesthetic, creative, flowing cut-and-paste poems, and they all read, outloud, lines from their poems during share time. They all participated in discussions and provided thoughtful answers on their evaluation sheets.

(Specifically) What worked:

·         All of the girls enjoyed learning about Rockwell first; the preliminary presentation (by Melinda Georgeson, at NRM) also served to put the rest of the work in a nice context of illustrative, visual language. (i.e. Evaluation responses mentioned: “Every picture that Rockwell made had a whole story behind it,” “…Norman Rockwell worked really hard,” “…some artists, like Norman Rockwell, use illustration to tell a story,” “…he focused on color transparency and complementary (colors) in most of his work…”)

·         Discussing poetry/writing and illustration terms before the activity also helped to set the context and get the girls thinking about their work as well as connections between (cut-and-paste) poetry and (Rockwell’s) illustration. (i.e. A lot of the girls reflected they learned that “Poetry doesn’t have to rhyme,” or “doesn’t have to be made with complete sentences;” this was one of the things we discovered/covered during our preliminary discussions.)

·         Allowing single work to make the word banks, before combining into groups allowed even some of the more timid girls to participate. It also encouraged individual voices to be heard in the poems’ words’ choices and illustrations. This helped each participant to see how her own work influenced or took part in the whole. (i.e. Chaperones’ responses stated, “Even the more hesitant could and did participate,” “Everyone has something to contribute and makes it unique to all…”)

·         Group work encouraged collaboration, and it made the daunting task of “writing a poem” easy to divide and conquer. (i.e. Evaluations responses mentioned things like : “Working in a group makes work easier,” “If you work together then you can get work done,” “It is fun, everyone participates,” “Sometimes it is easier to work with people and other times it’s not,” “Everyone can put great thoughts together that can create brilliant pieces…”

·         Having each group use the same painting offered just enough guidance to keep them on track and focused, while allowing them to write whatever they saw or felt in that painting encouraged variety within the sameness of the work. (i.e. Participants reflected their favorite parts: “Cutting things because I can pick the shape,” “Being able to do whatever I wanted with the words because it made it fun,” “Working in a group because we get to see everybody’s ideas,” “I liked learning about the paintings because I like learning new things,” “…when we wrote the words down and decorated them…(“because I like to color and draw”)”)

·         The chosen supplies were simple enough that each group and participant had relatively instant satisfaction with their work, while also allowing for a wide variety of interpretations.

·         Completing this poetry exercise in the context of Norman Rockwell Museum allowed deep connections to be made that might otherwise not have been seen (ex. in a “strictly” Creative Writing class, or in a “strictly” Visual Art class). (i.e. Participants responded that “(both the painting and the poems were) flowing,” “Our cut-and-paste poems describe and make a story, just like Rockwell’s paintings do,” “(both the painting and the poems were) original(s),” “The similarities are the same feeling,” “The setting (of the painting) made sense with the words (of the poem) and facial expressions (of the painting)…” A chaperone responded that she liked how “our words came from the painting, which came from a story (of words)…circular! Both “paint a story.”)

(Specifically) What I would change:

·         I felt like the Girl Scouts were getting a little tired of the tour time as we began to share the poems; if I could run this again, I would have shortened or lessened the number of paintings they discussed so that they could get into the activity a little quicker. Versus being a “gallery tour and then a gallery activity session,” I would have made it a more cohesive lesson of the language of art really coming together with the language of poetry. (Likely it felt a little more disjointed for me, personally, because I did not lead the “gallery tour” segment of the day.)

·         I might try to introduce a variety of paintings for the participants to choose from to create their word banks. While having them all focus on one painting produced effective results, it might be neat to see what differences might happen in content and color if I split the girls up into groups first, designated a different painting to each group, and then had them create their word banks and cut out/combine their words for their poem. I would assume their poems would read and look differently, depending on the paintings they were reflecting. That could lead to interesting discussion, as well. (This new lesson plan format might be best for older-aged groups, so that the dialogue could reach even deeper, into what dynamics happened between the paintings, word banks, and final poems.)

·         In future replications of this lesson, I  will remember to stress the importance that the participants SHOULD NOT WRITE MORE WORDS AFTER THEY FORMED GROUPS. While it did not seem to happen during my activity today, I overheard some of the groups saying they could “add other words to make it make more sense as they went along.” At this point, I gently reminded the groups (as a whole class) that they should work only with what they currently had, keeping in mind that a poem does not have to be made from complete sentences, or to “make perfect sense.”

Cut-And-Paste Poetry at NRM: Lesson Plan

This past April at the Norman Rockwell Museum, I designed and lead a poetry activity called "Cut-And-Paste Poetry," in which visiting students examined a Rockwell painting, created individual, visual word banks of what they saw, cut out the word banks, formed small groups to combine their words, and then created a poem out of their combined word banks. What resulted were very visual poems, somewhat abstract, but very powerful as they took on their own lives.


Here is my lesson plan as an outline of my intentions; an activity evaluation will follow!

Composition

In Painting and Poetry

Alicia Soos

Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge

4/2012

 Project Theme:

            What does the term “Composition” mean in (Norman Rockwell) Illustration and Poetry?

Grade Level:  Middle School (variety of ages) - Girl Scouts (15 of them) on 4/9/12

           

Setting/ Program Community: Norman Rockwell Museum School-Age Group Tour

                       

Project Objectives: (“Students will…”)

·         Create a “cut and paste” poem from self-generated word banks based off of a Norman Rockwell painting

·         Understand Creative Writing concepts such as Poetry, Parts of Speech, Line Composition

·         Increase sensitivity and awareness of Illustration concepts such as composition, shape, form, color, mood, narrative, and detail

Standards Met (NRM Mission):

“Norman Rockwell Museum is dedicated to education and art appreciation inspired by the legacy of Norman Rockwell. The museum preserves, studies and communicates with a worldwide audience the life, art and spirit of Norman Rockwell in the field of illustration.

The museum is a gathering place for reflection, involvement, and discovery through the enjoyment of the artist’s work. Norman Rockwell’s unique contributions to art and society, popular culture and social commentary influence the museum’s programs and interpretations.” (Norman Rockwell Museum)

·         This lesson communicates the art and spirit of Norman Rockwell’s illustration by using his work as inspiration for poetry (and word bank creation)

·         Students will reflect and discover, through this interdisciplinary involvement with Rockwell’s work and poetry, their own personal connections with his work (influenced by their individual roles in popular culture and current society). Connections will be made during word bank creation, cut-and-paste poetry formation, and during read-aloud sharing and interpretation of their poetry

How Lesson Plan Addresses Diverse Needs (Accessibility):

This lesson is a free exploration (with subtle guidance) of a form of poetry than is very much like illustration. There are no “right” or “wrong” word banks, “answers,” or poems to be formed; all stages of this activity are completed through personal interpretation. Participation and thoughtful decisions are the only core requirements. Poetry and Illustration knowledge may benefit and inspire, but they are not necessary (though will be touched on in the lesson, to facilitate ideation and deeper understanding).

           

Materials Required/Preliminary Knowledge:

·         Paper: large sheets to paste words onto, smaller sheets/scraps to create word banks on

·         Markers, crayons, colored pencils to write and decorate words in word banks

·         Scissors and glue for cut and paste

·         Discussion Topics (prior to work time): What is Poetry? What are the Parts of Speech, with examples? What is Line Composition (in Poetry)? What are the Parts of a Painting/Illustration (i.e. Composition, Shape, Form, Color, Mood, Narrative, Detail…)?

Procedure:

1.      Preliminary Discussion about Poetry and Painting

·         Sample Discussion Questions for Children/ Prompts for Work and Discussion:

Ø  What is Poetry?(Compared to, say, a novel?)

Ø  What are the Parts of Speech? (i.e. noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, article, pluralizer) Give some examples of each.

Ø  What do Lines do in a Poem? Define “Composition.”

Ø  Look at a (Norman Rockwell) Painting: talk about how he (and other illustrators) may use Parts of a Painting: composition, shape, form, color, mood, narrative, detail.

Ø  What are some similarities between a Poem and a Painting?

Ø  Show example(s) of other cut and paste poems, if desired.

2.      Based on the painting (“Aunt Ella”), (each student will) create a word bank. Consider the Parts of Speech discussed, as well as Parts of a Painting. Also include feelings you may get from the painting: anything! There are no wrong answers here: free associate. Instead of just writing each word out in a list, use the markers to decorate each word. Consider size, shape, style, and color in each word you write. Think of each word as its own “painting.”

3.      Cut each word out, and form small working groups for the next step.

4.      Combine your words with your partners’ words. Using your new, enlarged word bank, create a poem together and paste it onto the large sheet of paper. Don’t worry about it “making sense” or about making “complete sentences;” consider how lines work in a poem instead. Also consider that often, poetry does not “follow the rules.” Compromise and HAVE FUN while assembling! Give a time limit here, versus a poem length limit.

5.      Share poems with class: each read aloud (as a group or choose a spokesperson). After each group reads, the class gives feedback about what they like AND WHY.

6.      Final Discussion: in the form of an Evaluation Sheet, then answers shared.

·         What did you learn about Poetry today?

·         - About Parts of Speech?

·         - About group work?

·         - About illustration and Norman Rockwell?

·         What connections and similarities do you see between your cut-and-paste poems and Rockwell’s painting? What differences?

·         What was your favorite part of the activity, AND WHY?

Student Evaluation of Understanding:

·         Each group will have a poem they have created together, from their individual word banks (associations with Rockwell’s illustration)

·         Students’ deepened understanding of Poetry, Parts of Speech, and Line will be exemplified in finished poetry, as well as in the final discussion responses (evaluation sheet)

·         Students’ deepened understanding of Illustration concepts (i.e. composition, shape, form, color, mood, narrative, detail) will be exemplified in final discussion responses (evaluation sheet)

:)

What did you learn about Poetry today? What about Parts of Speech?

What did you learn about group work?

What did you learn about Illustration and Norman Rockwell?

What connections and similarities do you see between your cut-and-paste poems and Rockwell’s painting? What differences?

What was your favorite part of the activity, and WHY?

References:

D. Georges, Cut-And-Paste Poetry class exercise, March 25, 2012.

Norman Rockwell Museum. Our mission. Retrieved from

http://www.nrm.org/about/our-mission/.