Concrete Poems/Word Pictures Engnell, Azar, Johnson, Strait
Name of the area: Writing
Name of the strategy and purpose of the strategy: Word pictures and concrete poems. The
purpose of the strategy is the students' portrayal of knowledge through the use of concrete poetry
or word poems.
GPS for the content area (Social Studies or Science):
S3E2 Students will investigate fossils as evidence of organisms that lived long ago.
a. Investigate fossils by observing authentic fossils or models of fossils or view
information resources about fossils as evidence of organisms that lived long ago.
b. Describe how a fossil is formed.
Learning Outcome (LO) related to the GPS content (Social Studies or Science): Students will
describe the different ways that fossils are formed.
Essential Question (EQ) related to the GPS content (Social Studies or Science): What do fossils
tell us about the ancient world?
GPS for ELA – strategy specific:
ELA3W1 The student demonstrates competency in the writing process. The student
f. Begins to use specific sensory details (e.g., strong verbs, adjectives) to enhance
descriptive effect.
Learning Outcome (LO) related to the ELA GPS: Students will use strong adjectives and
descriptive words to explain what they know.
Essential Question (EQ) related to the ELA GPS: How can we use descriptive words to show
content knowledge?
Implementation Procedures:
Teaching (and modeling)
The students already know about poems and rules that come with different types. They have
been taught the content of what they will be assigned to write about in their poem.
Teaching:
 Explain what concrete poems are
*Picture is given
*Write words in or around the picture
 Explain what word pictures are
*Picture is drawn using descriptive words about an object or idea that the picture
represents
 Discuss the similarities and differences
*Picture is provided for concrete poems
*Word pictures are pictures drawn by using words.
Concrete Poems/Word Pictures Engnell, Azar, Johnson, Strait
 Discuss how the poems are different from what they are used to
*Ask what poems they already know about
*Does is look like a regular poem?
*Does it rhyme?
 Prewriting
*Explain that topic will be the formation of fossils
*Explain that audience will be the teacher: students will show teacher their
knowledge of how fossils form
 Discuss the rules of writing the poems
* First decide what you are writing your poem about so you can decide the shape you
are drawing.
* Make a list of descriptive words using the five senses
* Use descriptive words to make poem in the shape you chose
Modeling:
 Draw a picture of a cephalopod fossil (a curly shell)
 Explain that the poem is going to be about a type of fossilization
 Brainstorm ideas about a specific type of fossilization
 Write the ideas around the outline of the cephalopod in the shape of the cephalopod
Practice (guided and independent)
Guided Practice:
 Make one together about a bone. Discuss what they know about mineralization and
jot down student examples of what they already know about mineralization on a
graphic organizer.
 The students will tell the teacher ways to make the words they chose into a concrete
poem or word picture.
Independent Practice:
 Tell the students to create a concrete poem about how fossils are formed.
 Provide students who want to make a concrete poem with pictures of seceral shape
templates relating to fossils.
 Students tell how the fossil was made by fossilization.
Concrete Poems/Word Pictures Engnell, Azar, Johnson, Strait
Reference Page:
Concrete poetry. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.wild-aboutwoods.org.uk/elearning/concretepoetry/
This website is very informative. It gives several models of concrete poems and even gives
templates for students to make their own. There are several picture outlines for anything from an
animal to a plant. Words are also provided so that the student or teacher may insert words into
the concrete poem before they print out the outline.
Engnell, A., Johnson, K., Azar, K., Strait, D. (2011) Permineralization. Unpublished graphic
organizer, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA.
Pearson Custom Education: Developing literacy: LITR 3130. New York: Pearson Learning
Solutions, p.131, 202.
This textbook gives the characteristics of both word poems and concrete poems. It also gives
explicit instruction on how to create each poem and what the differences between the two types
are. Teaching how to create word poems and concrete poems are also included in this resource.
Research Article:
Grandits, J. (2005). Concrete poetry and visual learning. Book Links, 39-42.
Summary: Most kids do not learn by simply reading words, and they are attracted to texts with
cool pictures and fonts. If students do not like to read poetry, concrete poems can be a new way
to help them read poems without them actually knowing that they are. When they see the words
in a picture of things they like, such as a baseball or a television, students are going to want to
read. Concrete poems are also good for letting students free write poems about the things that
interest them. They can write poems about hobbies, sports, food, etc. and all they have to do is
make the shape of something they like. This helps to make and keep poetry interesting and
exciting for all elementary aged students.
Subjects: Elementary Aged Students
Purpose: Author wanted to know how differently kids felt about reading poems in traditional
form versus in concrete form pictures.
Results: Students will be intrigued by concrete poems in different shapes and fonts that interest
the elementary student and want to read them.