We then journal significant happenings in plot up to the point we have read of the novel. These events serve as the lines of our pantoums. I also encourage students to mix in imagery and characterization. I show on the overhead acronyms spelled down the transparency and then fill in the word that each letter represents. They try writing down either characteristics or anything else associated with Absalom, but each line has to begin with the letters of his name.
Students are to pick one format of poetry and turn in a finished copy on the fourth day.
You may add a visual element by asking them to create a collage border or draw their own pictures relating to the poem. Students can use any style to write either about imagery in land, plot, or Absalom. Students can share these in the format of a poetry reading or a roundtable sharing. I find that if they place their poems on their desks along with a piece of paper next to them for comments, students like to move around the room and read and comment on each other's works. But if you look at it using the state CIM writing rubric as a guide, poems can loosely fit into all six categories.