School-aged kids will learn how to create blackout poetry in this easy project. This basic technique can easily be used at home or in the classroom.
Discovering Words for Blackout Poetry
Blackout poetry is a fun art movement displaying how poetry is found everywhere. Artists repurpose book pages by completely altering their appearance and message.
Blackout Poetry is a fun method for kids because it removes the stress of following poetry rules of rhyme and stanzas. Blackout poetry has no rules and the words are already supplied on the page! Artists are simply looking for a way to arrange the words to bring them together in a new form of expression.
Related: Reuse dictionary pages in art projects as well.
Supplies Needed to Make a Blackout Poetry Art Project
- Book Pages
- Pencil
- Coloring Medium of choice – we used colored pencils, crayons, and markers
Directions to Make Blackout Poetry
Step 1
To begin, cut or tear pages from a book, magazine, newspaper, etc.
Step 2
Next, use a pencil to lightly underline words that work together to form a new idea.
Note: This is the only time during the project that I apply rules to the poetry. I simply tell the artist that he or she must be able to tell me what their poetry means to them.
Step 3
Then, use colored medium to draw a border around words forming blackout poetry.
Step 4
Lastly, blackout the remainder of the page by coloring over words not used in the poem. This can be done by simply coloring the entire page black, crossing out extra words, or scribbling through unwanted sentences. Artists can also creatively draw images associated with their new poem.
Finished Blackout Poetry Art Project
This is such a fun project! Since these projects are made on paper, they can be easily framed, clipped, or displayed in your preferred style.
Our Experience Making this Blackout Poetry Art Project
I love that this project inspires kids to think about creative writing without any rules. My son isn’t a fan of writing (or poetry) so this project removed stress for him associated with handwriting and not knowing what words to use. With this project, he simply had to look at the page and mark words that stood out to him as fitting together to form a new idea. We then discussed what words we marked, why, and what they meant to us. It was a fun project to do together to get a glimpse into each other’s mind.
We picked up an old book from our local library’s used book sale, but any discarded or damaged book would work for this project. We prefer using chapter books that allow more word choices on a single page.
Prep Time
5 minutes
Active Time
15 minutes
Total Time
20 minutes
Difficulty
Medium
Estimated Cost
$1
Tools
- Pencil
- Coloring Medium of choice – we used colored pencils, crayons, and markers
Instructions
- Cut or tear pages from a book, magazine, newspaper, etc.
- Use a pencil to lightly underline words that work together to form a new idea. Note: This is the only time during the project that I apply rules to the poetry. I simply tell the artist that he or she must be able to tell me what their poetry means to them.
- Use colored medium to draw a border around words forming blackout poetry.
- Blackout the remainder of the page by coloring over words not used in the poem. This can be done by simply coloring the entire page black, crossing out extra words, or scribbling through unwanted sentences. Artists can also creatively draw images associated with their new poem.
Notes
Blackout Poetry Art Variations
- Create blackout poetry based on a theme or holiday.
- Mount book pages to a sturdy surface and use wet mediums such as acrylic paint to complete.
- Turn blackout poetry pages into a card, collage, or other mixed media project.
Blackout Poetry Art Variations
- Create blackout poetry based on a theme or holiday.
- Mount book pages to a sturdy surface and use wet mediums such as acrylic paint to complete.
- Turn blackout poetry pages into a card, collage, or other mixed media project.
Other Fun Art Projects from Kids Activities Blog
Did your kids enjoy creating blackout poetry? How did they choose to blackout their page?
