• select a particularly descriptive passage in a piece of prose fiction.
• identify significant words, phrases and sentences in the passage.
• arrange the excerpts into a found poem.
• compose a parallel poem, using the same structure as the found poem.

• Prose passage chosen by student or teacher
• Model of Found and Parallel Poem
• Found Poem Instructions
• Found & Parallel Poem Rubric
• Holes Found Poem Word Mover
• Student Assessment Sheet

• Choose a text for students to use as the source of their prose passages. You might use a book that the entire class has read recently, choose books that students have read in literature circles, or have students use books that they have read independently.
• Make copies or an overhead transparency of the Found Poem Instructions, Model of Found and Parallel Poem, Student Assessment Sheet, and Found & Parallel Poem Rubric.
• Test the Holes Found Poem Word Mover on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

1. Ask students to choose a prose passage from a text they have read. Have them focus on identifying a page or two that includes a lot of strong description or dialogue.
2. Explain that the class is going to use the passages to compose original poems, called found poems and parallel poems.
3. Pass out or display the Model of Found and Parallel Poem.
4. Read through the passage and the two poems, pausing to explain the poetic form of each of the poems.
5. Define found poems for the class as poems that are composed from words and phrases found in another text.
6. Define parallel poems as original poems that use the same line structures as another poem, but focus on a completely different topic. Some words from the original poem are retained, but some words are replaced with new words.
7. Ensure that students understand how the examples on the Model Sheet fit the two poetic formats.
8. Pass out copies of the Found & Parallel Poem Rubric, and have students analyze the Sample Found Poems using the criteria on the rubric.
9. Step students through the process of composing original found poems, using the Found Poem Instructions.
10. Introduce the Holes Word Mover and allow time for students to practice rearranging the words into found poems.
11. For homework, ask students to return to the prose passage that they have chosen and use the Found Poem Instructions to write their own found poems for homework. Explain that students will compose parallel poems during the next session so they should have a completed found poem ready at the beginning of the next class.
12. Ask students to be sure that they bring two copies of their found poem to the next session—one to share with peers, and one to use as they compose their parallel poems.

1. Arrange students in small groups and have them share their found poems with one another.
2. Encourage students to compare the poems to the criteria on the Found & Parallel Poem Rubric.
3. As groups work, circulate among students, providing feedback and support as appropriate.
4. When students have completed sharing their poems, reconvene the class.
5. Return to the Model of Found and Parallel Poem and read through the two poems. Add reminders of the definition of the parallel poem form.
6. Have students put one copy of their found poems away and keep out the one that they will use as they work on their parallel poems.
7. Ask students to read through the found poem and identify words and phrases that provide specific information. Have students underline these content words.
8. Since students will primarily be looking for nouns and verbs, provide a grammar refresher on the two parts of speech if appropriate.
9. Once they have identified the content words, ask students to copy the words and phrases that are NOT underlined on to a new sheet of paper. In place of the content words, have students draw blanks, creating a template for their parallel poem in a fill-in-the-blank format.
10. If resources allow, you might make additional copies of these templates for students to use. If they are working on a computer, have them print more than one copy.
11. Have students choose a different topic and create a parallel poem by filling in the blanks on their templates. Allow more than one try so that students can play with words until they get poems that they like.
12. For homework, ask students to prepare polished copies of both of their poems for peer review. If possible, you may ask students to provide a photocopy of the passage from the original prose text for your comparison.

1. Review the Found & Parallel Poem Rubric and discuss any questions students have about the expectations for the activity.
2. Pass out copies of the Student Assessment Sheet.
3. Discuss possible feedback that would be appropriate on the Assessment Sheet, pointing out the connection between the categories on the Found & Parallel Poem Rubric.
4. Arrange students in small groups, and ask them to read their poems aloud to each other one-by-one. Alternately students can work in pairs.
5. Ask group members to use the Student Assessment Sheet to provide feedback on the effectiveness of one another’s poems and then to share the assessments.
6. As students work, circulate among class members, providing feedback and support as appropriate.
7. Once everyone has finished, gather the class and generally discuss the feedback that students have received and any questions that they have about their poems.
8. If desired, you might invite volunteers to share drafts with the whole class.
9. In the remaining time, ask students to revise their poems, taking into account the feedback they received.
10. Ask students to submit their work at the end of the session or at the beginning of the next class.

• Try the ReadWriteThink lesson Alliteration in Headline Poems for another way to create found poems.
  
  
• For additional discussion of found poems, tap the student examples in “Found and Headline Poems” from Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Writing Exercises by Stephen Dunning and William Stafford.
  
  
• Use this lesson as a book report alternative. Ask students to choose descriptive passages from two or three key moments in the text and then compose found and parallel poems from those passages. Add a reflective piece where students explain why they chose the passages they did.

Parallel Poems Web Site
http://www.poetrypoetry.com/Workshops/00-04/ParallelPoetry.html

Share additional examples of parallel poems from this site, which includes poems that parallel Han Shan translated by Gary Snyder.

Poetic Form: Found Poem
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5780

From the Academy of American Poets, this page explains the form of found poetry, includes an example, and discusses the influence of the form on Modern Poetry.

NCTE/IRA Standards

1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

9 - Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

11 - Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).