Poetry Poker Lesson Plan

Rationale:
	I was watching "America Scientific Frontiers" one night and saw an 
interesting study.  Basically, the research found that the brain makes more 
connections between unrelated things during REM sleep (the dream state), then 
awake.  
	These Harvard researchers would put their subjects in front of a computer 
screen that would flash a series of word pairs.  The subject would then respond
depending on if the words were related or not.  The subject would then go to 
bed, and just as they entered REM, the researchers would awake them and place 
them in front of the computer with the flashing words again.  The researchers
found that people make more connections between words during this REM state
then when they are awake.  They theorize that because so many messages are 
coming at the brain at once during REM, the brain is more ready to accept 
strange connections between things and that is what causes dreams.

	Later, I saw this title of the game on the web and thought this could be 
something I could use for a fun Friday activity.  But it didn't occur to me 
until I had the kids playing the game that they may be accessing this 
unconscious part of their brains.  No lesson plans were included with the 
title of this game, so I created my own.  So, with apologies to the creator 
of this title, here is my version of "Poetry Poker."

Level:  I use this for 9th graders, but it could be adapted for any grade 
	level, K-12.

Time:  One class period

Objective:  Students will create a poem of at least five lines from random 
	words.

Materials:  Dictionaries, word card decks (I have one more deck of cards than 
the number of groups), paper, pencils/pens, directions for the game

Classroom Set-up:  I have the room arranged with the desks in groups of 4-5.  
In the middle of each set of desks is a dictionary, directions for the game, 
and a deck of 30-35 word cards I've made.  (I've attached a sample word 
list to use).

Lesson:
--	Begin by explaining they will be playing this game today to create a 
	poem. Ask each student to have a sheet of paper and a pen or pencil on 
	their desk. 
--	Explain the directions on the handout
--	Emphasize this is not a competition—they can assist each other in 
	creating these poems.	Allow for questions and clarifications
--	Begin playing
--	When a group has completed one set of lines, give them the option of 
	exchanging decks.
--	With about 10-15 minutes left in the period, I have students begin 
	wrapping up their last lines, rearranging the lines, and creating a title 
	for their work.
--	Finally, I totally switch gears (and I tell students this next set of 
	questions may seem to have nothing to do with this activity, but to just 
	bear with me).  I ask them about their dreams and to perhaps share some 
	of the more bizarre ones.  Then I share the information from the 
	research explained above and we discuss how this activity may have forced 
	them to use a different part of their brain.
--	We share poems.  

Final Thoughts:  Some students will have the most amazing poems and others will 
struggle with this activity, but I've found that in every group, there's always 
at least one person whose final poem actually makes sense.  That makes an impact 
on everyone in the group, and it's fun to discuss how that could have happened.


Christine Peterson
Valley Southwoods Freshmen High School
West Des Moines, Iowa
petersonc@home.wdm.k12.ia.us