Materials: Example of poem from "Drummer Boy of Shiloh," and other pieces of literature with Civil War themes. Teacher may also give pieces of writings or reports.

 Directions: A Found Poem is a collection of luminous words or phrases quoted from a piece of literature or excerpt of writing from a speech or report. When read aloud, these words or phrases that groups of students have selected from the text form a Found Poem that focuses on the essence of that text. The Found Poem can be created by students after hearing pieces of the text or after an entire text has been read. The Found Poem enables individuals, groups, or the entire class to return to the text to focus on those vivid words or phrases used by the author.

Example:

 "Drummer Boy"

In the hot April night
where careless peach blossoms fell
for a young boy just turned fourteen
in silence, alert and solemn
exhausted by nervous expectation
dreams of battles yet unfought
a voice, silence, crying
a lonely general spoke
the boy watched
pure enthusiasm
drummer boy at Shiloh
part humble, part proud.

Second Example: Students have written the first line of this Found Poem around the shape of Abraham Lincoln’s silhouette. They then proceeded to fill in the inside of the poem with lines from Lincoln’s autobiography.

Third Example: Take stories from newspapers during the Civil War and form a Found Poem using those stories. Students should choose stories that had significant effects during the Civil War (for example: Gettysburg, Appomattox Surrender, Women Spies).