Bring Poetry Alive
Concrete Poetry
Communal Concrete Poetry
It’s time to get creative! Create your own oneword concrete poem artwork using the word
‘absurd’.
4. Write down some other words that have a
similar meaning to ‘absurd’ (synonyms).
What do you need?

dictionary

3–4 sheets of A3 drawing paper

coloured felt-tip markers.
Let’s explore
1. With some classmates, form a group of
three or four students.
2. Collect a dictionary, three or four sheets of
paper and a selection of coloured markers.
3. Look up the word ‘absurd’ in the dictionary.
In your own words, briefly write down the
meaning of the word.
5. In your group, discuss what the word
‘absurd’ might look like. Write down some
ideas for the following questions:

If the word ‘absurd’ was a colour, what
might it be (eg black, white, blue,
rainbow or golden)?

If the word had texture, what might it be
(eg rough, fluffy, hairy, scratchy, matted,
spiky, leathery or hard)?
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Bring Poetry Alive
Concrete Poetry

If the word had a shape, what might it
look like (eg tall, short, curly, flat)?



Experiment with these ideas and think
about how you could arrange the word
on the paper to make it look absurd.
If the word was a line, what might it look
like (eg straight, thick, thin, squiggly or
dotted)? Draw the line in the space
below.
If the word had a movement, how would it
move (eg slow, fast or jumpy)?
6. How absurd is your word looking? Now it’s
time to turn it into a concrete poem artwork.

If the word had a sound, what would it
sound like (eg screechy, a hum or a
buzz)?

Use the drawing paper and coloured
markers to create your group concrete
poem.
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© The Song Room 2013. Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/
Bring Poetry Alive
Concrete Poetry
What’s next?
1. Display your concrete poem where it can be
shared with your whole class.
2. Move around the room and look carefully at
other students’ work.
What have you learned?

Describe and explain choices and decisions
you made when creating your concrete
poem.

What has worked well?

How might you do it differently next time?

Look at the other students’ work. What do
you find interesting about their concrete
poems?
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© The Song Room 2013. Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/