Coffee Filter Poems

I tried a new project with my 4th year students this year, and I was very pleased with the results.  Students cut individual words out of French magazines.  After we had a large assortment, I spread the words out on cookie sheets so it was easier to see the words.  I gave one cookie sheet to each student.  Students used the words to write a whimsical poem.  After arranging their words into a poem, they checked their poem with me.  Then they glued the words to construction paper.  This project also had a simple art component to it.  Each student was given an coffee filter on which they drew a design with water-based markers.  They laid the coffee filters on their construction paper and used paintbrushes to moisten the filters with water.  This process transferred the designs to their construction paper.  The result looked a lot like water color.  Here are some examples:


Translation: My Boutique
I have a little boutique in the ocean
It's a little paradise
The design is special 
and chic
with color.
(coffee filter design shows an island with a palm tree) 

Here's another.


Translation:  Summer
It's comfortable
We don't think.
Time for a picnic,
relaxation,
sports
and
sleepiness.

I did this in the first week of school this year.  My students really enjoyed it, and I think it was a creative way for them to play with words.  The poems looked nice on my classroom walls, too.  What do you think?

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