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/.