Unit IX Part 2 The Cycle of Life
Lesson 1 Birth and Early Childhood

Name ______________________________________________ Date ______________

A Found Poem is made with words and phrases from something you read or hear. It uses someone else's words, but the poet combines them in a new way. Write a Found Poem following these directions.

1. Read the American Memory Found Poetry Based on Elsie Wall and notice how the poet used many of the meaningful things that Elsie said to the interviewer.

2. Look through your notes and worksheets and think about the class discussions about the Cycle of Life.

3. Choose ten main key words or phrases that describe the meaning of the cycle to you.

4. Arrange these words or phrases in a pleasing and meaningful way to make a poem.

5. Write or type the poem and illustrate it with drawings or pictures you have collected for this lesson.

6. Read or recite your poem to the class.

Extra! Extra! Write All About It!
Use any of the your own interviews from other lessons or any of the American Memory life histories to write more Found Poems. Find many interviews in American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project 1936-1940
<http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/wpahome.html> .

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