Found Poem

"The Sniper" is short story about the subject of war. What point is the author making about war in general?


A found poem recasts the story in a different genre: POETRY!

But there's a catch...you have to  leave the language pretty much as you "found it"

This activity not only has you think about purpose while writing, but it also requires you to pay attention to word-choice and language.

The nitty-gritty: Represent the story in a new way. The goal isn't to retell the story in fewer words. The goal is to bring the subtext (the feelings and the ideas) to light.

1.Choose powerful and descriptive phrases that convey the author's idea of WAR.When doing this, consider the descriptions of characters, action, and setting.

2. Then, go through the story selecting powerful, descriptive phrases and lines that relate to the idea of war.Highlight or write these words in your journals. Be sure to provide the page number as well. Your looking for about 50-100 words.

3. Once your list is completed, eliminate dull or unnecessary lines.

4. You can make minor changes to the words (capitalization, punctuation, tenses), but nothing else!

5. You may add up to two little words, but that's it. JUST 2.






 Copy the words and phrases into your journal or type them in a word processor. Space or arrange the words so that they’re poem-like. Pay attention to line breaks, layout, and other elements that will emphasize important words or significant ideas in the poem.
 • Read aloud as you arrange the words! Test the possible line breaks by pausing slightly. If it sounds good, it’s probably right.
 • Arrange the words so that they make a rhythm you like. You can space words out so that they are all alone or allruntogether.
 • You can also put key words on lines by themselves.