Poetry Challenge Week Four: Blackout Poems

 It’s week FOUR of the Weekly Poetry Challenge, and this week is all about blackout poems! A blackout poem is created by taking a block of text—like from a newspaper, magazine, or book—and “blacking out” everything except the words you want. Here’s a blackout poem I wrote: Created using the book MAKE BLACKOUT POETRY by John Carroll Read some black out poems! Here are some blackout poems by author Austin Kleon . Examples of student-created blackout poems . Check out this Pinterest board for more examples. Write a black out poem! When creating your blackout poem, you may to start with a pencil and circle or block around the words you want to keep for your poem. Then, once you’re happy with your poem use a sharpie to black out everything you don’t want. Blackout poetry is a great visual, but you can also type out your poem when you’re done to make it easier to read. Need a little help? Here’s a video by Austin Kleon on how he makes blackout poetry. If you or your kids write blackout poem

Summer Challenge Week TEN: Make Waves with Ocean Books!

 


Welcome to week TEN of the Read, Discuss, Do! Summer Challenge. Summer is nearing an end, but there is still time to make waves! This week's theme is the ocean, and we encourage you to find some books that feature the ocean in some way, talk about the books you read, and have some ocean-themed fun! You could visit the actual ocean, create an ocean-themed craft or art project, take an imaginary ocean journey, or even do a project inspired by one (or more) of the books you read. Whatever you do, have fun making some waves!

Suggested titles: 

When a Dragon Moves In by Jodi Moore, illustrated by Howard McWilliam. This delightful book is all about the wonders of a child's imagination. And it might make you want to build "the perfect sand castle" yourself, just to see if a dragon will move in!

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall is a beautiful historical fiction book about what life was like for a lighthouse keeper long ago. See this post for a story time idea to accompany this book. 

The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas, illustrated by Erin E. Stead. This book is as charming as its title suggests, an imaginative tale with themes of loneliness and friendship. 

If you have any favorite ocean-themed books, we'd love to hear about them!

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