Student Assignment: Creating a Collaborative Poem

This assignment is adapted from a speech given by Deborah Appelman at the MCTE conference in Duluth in April, 2010. It reflects an assignment she created during her work with inmates incarcerated at Stillwater Prison. Her assignment was inspired by Eve Ensler's work with inmates in the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York.

• Begin with a discussion of the power of words. Use familiar examples like Martin Luther King, Jr. versus Malcolm X.
• Have students brainstorm (write) the most powerful words or phrases they can think of.
• Have students volunteer to share their "most powerful" word or phrase and explain where they heard it and/or why they think it is so powerful.

• Show clip of Eve Ensler's video, "What I Want My Words to Do to You"
• Discuss the many uses of words and the power they can wield.

Discuss the idea of collaboration and what it means. Have students think of projects that need collaboration versus those that are individual. Ask students what poems are: collaborative or individual? Have students describe a poet: Where does she work? Does he work alone? Is she a happy person with a lot of friends? Have them explain their answers.

• Introduce the idea of a collaborative poem and explain how the poem will work. (Each student will write as much or as little as he/she can by completing the sentence provided. Then, each student will choose one or two to share with the class. At the end of the class, a podcast will be made (or video, if desired) of students reading their portions of the poem, in turn, to create a collaborative poem.)
• Introduce the phrase, "I want my words to..."
• Share an example of this with your students. Here is my example:

I want my words to affect you.

I want my words to inspire you.

I want my words to sit on your shoulder and whisper in your ear and be the voice you need to hear.

I want my words to push you toward your goals and remind you of what you said you wanted.

I want my words to haunt you at night.

I want my words to make you laugh and shake your head at my silliness.

I want my words to make you care enough to disagree.

I want my words to make you think.

I want my words to be heard.

• Students write their own completions for the phrase, "I want my words to..."
• Students share their "top two" sentences.
• As a class, the sentences are organized into a collaborative poem, taking into consideration length, flow, subject, etc.
• Students create a podcast (or video, if desired) comprised of each student reading his/her sentences, in the order determined by the class.
• For a more authentic audience, podcasts may be uploaded to facebook or myspace pages.