What’s in a Word?

For this activity, you will need a blank piece of white paper and a separate piece of lined paper.

Chance Poetry O Without looking, take one word from the container O Place the word on your blank piece of paper O Pass the container quietly to the next person. O On your lined piece of paper, record the word

Chance Poetry O On your next turn, take another word from the container and place it directly after the previously chosen word on the blank paper O Record the words in the EXACT order that they are chosen. O Keep going until the teacher signals for the passing to stop. O The words MUST stay in the EXACT order!

Version One On your lined piece of paper, label the poem you just created “Version One”.

Version Two Use a ruler to draw a line on your lined piece of paper. Title the new section “Version Two”.

Version Two How would your poem change if you could: 1. Add one word 2. Remove or alter one word 3. Change the position of one word. *Record this new poem on your lined piece of paper.

Version Three You can now change the words into any order you like. When you are happy with the order, glue them down onto your blank piece of paper.

Discussion 1. Share your poem with a partner. 2. Discuss the changes you made to the poem. Why did you make these changes. 3. If you did not make any changes, why did you chose to keep the poem the same?

Dadaist Poetry O The Dada movement was an artistic movement that occurred in Europe in the early 20 th century O Dadaists wanted to push the boundaries of what was considered art at the time

How to Make a Dadaist Poem (method of Tristan Tzara) To make a Dadaist poem: O Take a newspaper. O Take a pair of scissors. O Choose an article as long as you are planning to make your poem. O Cut out the article. O Then cut out each of the words that make up this article and put them in a bag. O Shake it gently. O Then take out the scraps one after the other in the order in which they left the bag. O Copy conscientiously. O The poem will be like you. O And here are you a writer, infinitely original and endowed with a sensibility that is charming though beyond the understanding of the vulgar. -- Tristan Tzara