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Forest Town
July 4, 1976
200 years old
Celebration
Getting ready
Just right
Great day
Came at last
Told the story
Began with war
Won a great battle
Look for new
Into the wilderness
Grew more and more
All parts of the war
Split into two
Once again
United
Linking
All kinds of things
Made the capital
People came
Greeted
A gift
Races
Beliefs
Religions
ALL Americans
Linked
Larger and Larger
Traveled by land, sea, and air
Small country
Grew into great country
This is the best
Ever

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This teaching strategy was originally designed for use in a face-to-face setting. For tips and guidance on how to use this teaching strategy in a remote or hybrid learning environment, view our Taking Found Poems Online video.
A "found poem" is one that is created using only words, phrases, or quotations that have been selected and rearranged from another text. To create found poems, students must choose language that is particularly meaningful or interesting to them and organize the language around a theme or message. Writing found poems is a structured way to have students review material and synthesize their learning.

1. Students Create a List of Words, Phrases, and Quotations
Ask students to review a text, or multiple texts, related to the unit of study, including work on the walls of the classroom, journal entries, primary source documents, and the text itself. As students look over these texts, have them record words, phrases, or quotations that are particularly interesting or meaningful. We recommend that they identify between 15 and 20 different words or phrases so that they have plenty of ideas from which to choose when composing their poems.

2. Students Identify a Theme and Message
Now students identify a theme and message that represents some or all of the language they have selected. A theme is a broad concept such as "obedience" or "loyalty." A message is a specific idea they would like to express about this theme. For example, "decision making" is a theme. A message about decision making expressed by humanitarian Carl Wilkens is, "Every situation is an opportunity and every opportunity demands a decision." Often it is helpful for students to do this step with a partner. Students can trade lists and describe the themes or main ideas they see in their partner's list.

3. Students Select Additional Language
Found poems only use words that have been collected from other sources. So, once students have selected a theme and a message, they may need to review their materials again to collect additional language.

4. Students Compose a Poem
Students are now ready to arrange the language they have selected to create their poems. One approach to this task is to have students write all of the words and phrases on slips of paper, so that they can move the slips around until they are satisfied with their poem. Let students know that they cannot add their own words when creating a found poem (not even articles or prepositions), but they can repeat words or phrases as often as they like. Also, when composing found poems, students do not need to use all of the words or phrases they have previously selected.

5. Share Poems
Students can read their poems aloud to the class. Alternatively, students can read the poems silently. First, have students pass their poems to the left once. Have students read the poem they've received, write a comment (students should sign their name to their comment), and then pass the poem again to the left for another comment. Depending on how much time you have, you might allow for three or four passes, or you might have time for students to comment on all of the poems created by their classmates.

6. Discuss
This activity can end with a final discussion based on what the poems reveal about the material students have just studied. Prompts you might use to structure this discussion include: What strikes you about these poems? What do they have in common? How are they different? What surprised you when reading them?

Group Found Poem: The instructions above assume that students are writing their own poems, but the same process can be used for small or large groups of students who create found poems together. You can have each student select one line for the found poem, or you can have the group determine the words and phrases that will be used but allow each student to create his/her own arrangement of this language.

Poets' Statements: While composing the found poems helps students review and synthesize what they have learned from a unit, the poem itself does not always reveal the thinking that has gone into creating this work. For that information, you can ask students to write a statement explaining their poem. Questions students can answer in this statement include: What is the message of your poem? What "evidence" can be found in your poem that supports this message? Why is this message important to you?

Publish the Found Poems: Students can publish their poems, in a print format or on the web, as a way to share them with an outside audience.

Organize a Poetry Reading: Another way to have students share their poems is in a poetry reading. This could be an evening activity where the students from other classes, parents, and teachers are invited to attend. The audience should be invited to ask students questions about their poems.

Remote Learning: Taking Found Poems Online: Learn how to implement the Found Poems teaching strategy in an online learning environment. This strategy helps students review material and synthesize their learning by creating a found poem.

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This teaching strategy was originally designed for use in a face-to-face setting. For tips and guidance on how to use this teaching strategy in a remote or hybrid learning environment, view our Taking Found Poems Online video. A "found poem" is one that is created using only words, phrases, or quotations that have been selected and rearranged from another text.