Blackout poetry is one of my favorite ways to combine literature, visual art, and student choice into one meaningful project. I taught this lesson with my Art II high school students, but it is highly adaptable for other grade levels as well. With adjustments to materials, text complexity, and expectations, this project can work successfully with almost any age group.
For this lesson, students created a blackout poetry artwork that blends carefully chosen words with imagery to communicate a unified theme or emotion. The goal was not just to hide text, but to transform an existing page into a visually engaging mixed media artwork where the words and visuals work together as one expressive piece.
To kick off the project, I dramatically ripped the book pages out in front of them and allowed them to make one page switch before they got started on their designs. I always make a point to explain that these pages come from discarded books that were headed for the landfill, not usable classroom texts. While some people see ripping up books as almost sacrilegious, reframing it this way helps students understand that we are actually giving these books new life. That small moment immediately sets the tone for the lesson, helps students let go of perfection, and gives them a sense of ownership over the text they are transforming.
Free Resources
These two videos will walk students through the process step by step, perfect for a substitute or review! One is only using a Sharpie, the other demonstrates a mixed-media approach.
This PDF is also very useful to post in Google Classroom or Canvas, and I printed a copy for each student since I used this as a sub assignment.
Artwork Goal
Students were asked to create a blackout poetry artwork that combined words and visuals to express a clear mood, message, or emotion. The finished piece was expected to feel intentional, expressive, and connected in tone and symbolism to the poem created from the text.
Step-by-Step Process
Step 1: Find Your Words
Students began by carefully reading through their page of text and lightly circling words that stood out to them or felt interesting.
Step 2: Add Connections
After the first pass, students reread the page and circled additional words that connected or worked well together, paying attention to tone and meaning.
Step 3: Choose Final Words
From those options, students selected their favorite words to keep for the final poem. This step encouraged thoughtful editing and decision-making.
Step 4: Plan the Design
Extra circles were erased, and students focused on the feeling or message created by their chosen words. They then planned imagery or symbols that visually matched that mood or idea.
Step 5: Sketch
Students lightly sketched their designs around the words they planned to keep, making sure the text remained clear and readable.
Step 6: Create with Mixed Media
Students used a combination of materials including colored pencils, stencils, pens, pencils, watercolor, and Sharpies. They were encouraged to blend materials creatively, thinking about texture, color, and symbolism. The artwork needed to reflect both the tone of the poem and the student’s personal art style.
Step 7: Finish and Refine
Unused words were neatly blacked out or covered. Students added color, shading, and final details, making sure that most of the page was visually active and intentional.
Student Checklist
This checklist helps to guide student work and can easily be adapted to a point based rubric.
- My chosen words form a clear message or feeling
- My design relates to the meaning of my words or poem
- My words are easy to read
- My page is neatly blacked out and visually interesting
- At least 75% of my page is covered with artwork
- My artwork shows strong effort, time, care, and attention to detail
Student Work Reflection
One of the things that made this project especially meaningful was that it was completed while I was out of the country for a full week and students were working with a substitute. The blackout poems were created on book pages connected to either modern-day fairy tales or stories about animals behaving badly, which provided a playful but flexible starting point.
The poetry connection was genuinely enjoyed by most students, and the freedom that came with mixed media and open subject matter was appreciated. Choice in imagery, materials, and theme allowed individual voices to come through clearly. The finished pieces were thoughtful, expressive, and demonstrated a strong understanding of how words and visuals can work together to tell a story.
