Newspaper Blackout Poetry

First off, happy #NationalPoetryMonth! Looking for an easy way for students to create their own poetry this month? Try newspaper blackout poetry! Every year, I give students a theme or topic and have them create blackout poetry from old newspaper articles! I am always amazed at the work students produce when writing poetry this way. The fact that students can only choose the words on the page in front of them helps to narrow down the options and make the task of creating poetry easier - after all, rather than having to choose from a dictionary of endless words, students must only borrow from the words in the article to create their own poetry. Trust me, you will be in awe of the poetry that is produced!

Materials needed for blackout poetry:

1. Pencils - have student circle words with pencil first - leaving as much white space around their chosen words as possible.
2. Black Sharpies - a  must for blackout poetry.
3. Copies of newspaper articles - use photocopies of newspaper articles (newspaper ink is messy).
4. This awesome video (below) about how to create newspaper blackout poetry by Austin Kleon (a master in newspaper blackout poetry).​ This is a great video to show students so they understand the steps in creating this type of poetry.​

---

---

Remember to share your work using #NewspaperBlackoutPoetry #PitchThisEDU and #NationalPoetryMonth on Twitter! 

For students who are inspired to do more blackout poetry, provide an opportunity for them to participate in the New York Times Spring Poetry Contest for Teenagers!

For more inspiration (for you...the teacher), check out these books by Austin Kleon!

---