An IB PYP Poetry Workshop How We Express Ourselves

Art, body art, tattoos past and present. This is the focus as this week long poetry writers’ workshop inquires into the methods that humans have used to express themselves over the centuries and cultures. Taking reluctant writers and turning them into enthusiastic poets is my goal!
Beginning with the art of line , color and pattern we move into art with words; other people’s words.
Rather than actually writing a poem, we move into the realm of Blackout Poetry and create poetry. This concept has been around for centuries, where we use other people’s words and manipulate them to create our own poetry. The whole focus is on the theme How We Express Ourselves.
The students find this an engaging activity and it draws them willingly into the world of literature as a means of expression….even the boys! 
I have used this with 5th, 6th and 7th grade kids all successfully.
Looking at the genre of poetry, we delve interactively into building our own word art through the lens of a tattoo artist.
You will find:
A pre-assessment survey, with the intention of acting as a “before and after” activity for those reluctant poets.
Interactive notebook activities for figurative language reviews
Art activities
Examples of body art – traditional and contemporary
A variety of poetry to use as examples of the writing strategies.
A summative assessment activity.