Rolling Blackouts: Erasure and Blackout Poetry!

Students created blackout poetry for their final writing lesson. A blackout poem is created when a poet takes a marker (usually black marker) to already established text–like that from a newspaper–and starts redacting words until a poem is formed or an image is formed. The key thing with a blackout poem is that the text AND redacted text form a sort of visual poem.

” Like critical thinking, newspaper blackout poetry is a process of revelation, an uncovering of meaning. Pedagogically, blackout poetry makes students active participants in constructing knowledge and understanding, a core objective of honors education. The honors classroom then becomes a model for ‘taking intellectual risks’ “-Engaging Honors Students Through Blackout Poetry, Melissa Ladenheim, University of Maine, 2014.

Please enjoy this virtual gallery walk. Left-click for a larger view.

Poets represented are in this order.

Mrs. McClain, 7th Grade Group Two: Layden D., Nora M., Matthew G.

Mrs. McClain, 7th Grade, Group One: Abby K., Aivery R., Rosie N.

Ms. Collins, 7th Grade: Isaiah C., Amilia W., Ruby B., Amber E.