Concrete Poems as a Model for Comprehension Responses

Here is an idea that I have shared over the years. When I first read techically, it's not my fault by John Grandits (Clarion, 2004), my brain began to spew ideas for how to use the concrete poems (a poem whose shape and typography enhance the ideas in the text) in the book as a stimulus for ideas for how students might demonstrate their comprehension. The companion volume, Blue Lipstick (Clarion, 2007) followed and the ideas grew.

In these short novels told through concrete poems, Grandits hits the target with the narrative and voice of each of the poems. Technically, it's not my fault tells the story about Robert and Blue Lipstick is his sister Jessie's story.  

Each of the concrete poems in these two volumes is a treasure by itself but when you use them as a potential model for how readers might respond to text or present information, they open up a whole new level of response opportunity. For example, in technically, it's not my fault, Robert has to write a thank you note for a sweater and Polka Dot Hall of Fame poster that his Aunt Hildegard sent him for his 11th birthday. The Thank-You Letter with its footnotes is just perfect. Almost everyone has received a gift that missed the mark and then had to write at letter expressing their gratitude but what they were really thinking was, "this is the worst, weirdest, ugliest gift that I have ever received." Here are a few suggestions to get your brain spinning. These are meant to be product suggestions for how a student might respond to another text that he or she is reading. 

Curriculum Muse:

• The Thank-You Letter (techically, it's not my fault)
• Write a thank you letter using footnotes that would permit sharing multiple perspectives.  
• Write a letter from one character to another in the footnoted thank you letter format.
• The Tower (techically, it's not my fault)
• After reading a fairytale, tell it from the perspective of a character who falls into the story
• A Chart of My Emotional Day (Blue Lipstick)
• On paper or using a spreadsheet, chart the emotional day, life, or another element of a character in a story.
• My Brother the Genius (Blue Lipstick)
• Create a phrenology image for a character, character's alter ego from a work of fiction.
• Create a phrenology image for a person about whom you have read a biography
• Grown Ups Talking: A+ (Blue Lipstick)
• Write a concrete poem in the shapes of people's heads as if you were in their heads/listening to them.