Magnetic Poetry ... words in a can (container) that students can shuffle through and arrange on magnetic boards!
There's a big difference between looking at a blank page & coming up with your own words and mining words out of an established word bank. I keep multiple magnetic poetry kits in metal tea boxes that students can bring to their seats and compose poetry. The results are oftentimes silly & random, and other times profound. The result? Many students discover that they enjoy the act of creating poetry in this way - and it opens a door. Through this door will come perhaps an appreciation of poetry, certainly the joy in the making of a poem.
Some challenges I face with this open art activity:
~Students will ask: How is this visual art? I talk about the visual impact of the arrangement of words on a page;
I emphasize the arts in general as a holistic endeavor.
~Some students only want to compose poetry and will rush through projects to return to magnetic poetry.
~In composing, students will have a set idea that causes them to look for a specific word. This can be frustrating. I model for them how they can either "let the poem come out of the words they find" or to simply add in the desired word as they scribe the poem into their sketch journal.
~Magnetic boards contain poetry at the end of class that students did not have time to record. I take a photo of the board so it is not lost before returning the words to the tins.
~Words must be disinfected on a regular basis - this can be time consuming.