https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/red-wheelbarrow
The Red Wheelbarrow
William Carlos Williams, 1883 - 1963
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
Goals: For students to enjoy and explore their own creativity, and think about the craft and
process of writing poetry.
Materials:
• Children’s poetry picture book
• Free paint sample cards from a hardware store
• Collection of various objects
• Red Wheelbarrow poem text written as individual words on sheets of paper
• Students: notebooks and pens/pencils (for Seed Poem activity)
Warm-Ups for Thinking Imaginatively: (10 min)
• Pass out paint sample cards, and have students invent new color names – old-tennis-shoegray, dried-out-leaf-brown, sunset, etc.
• Hold up an object (crumpled paper, mug, marble, shawl, etc.) and have students describe
it (a mountain, rain, the world, an eye, a planet, etc.) What if the objects are moved
around? (i.e., roll the marble, shake the shawl)
Use this warm-up to discuss simile and metaphor.
Simile: a comparison stating that something is like or as something else.
Metaphor: a comparison stating that something is something else.
Red Wheelbarrow:
Bring the words of the poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” written individually on large sheets of
paper. Pass out one to each student or pair, and have them move around to build the poem by
standing in the order they want the words to go in. Discuss where they think lines should break,
and why certain words go together. At the end, read the original text and talk about how they
used the same building blocks to create their own unique poem.
Collaborative Writing: Seed Poem Activity (25 min)
Collaborative writing means writing together and sharing our ideas.
Make circles of 5 or 6. Write your name on the back of your paper.
Write one word at the top of your paper – this will be your “seed” for the poem.
Examples: Family, Pets, Friends, Basketball, Halloween.
Write the first line of your poem.
Example: Halloween
Our jack-o-lantern kept watch on the porch all night…
When I call “Time,” pass your poem to the person to your right. They read over what you’ve
written, then add a line or more to your poem. When I call “Time” next, pass your notebook to
the right again. We’ll keep going until the poems make a full circle.
When you get your original paper back, you can add a final line to complete your poem before
sharing it. First, volunteers read their seed poem aloud to the class; then everyone has a chance to
share in pairs.
*Some students this age may have trouble deciphering each others’ handwriting, you may need
to help or ask the writer what they meant.
The Red Wheelbarrow
William Carlos Williams, 1883 - 1963
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
Goals: For students to enjoy and explore their own creativity, and think about the craft and
process of writing poetry.
Materials:
• Children’s poetry picture book
• Free paint sample cards from a hardware store
• Collection of various objects
• Red Wheelbarrow poem text written as individual words on sheets of paper
• Students: notebooks and pens/pencils (for Seed Poem activity)
Warm-Ups for Thinking Imaginatively: (10 min)
• Pass out paint sample cards, and have students invent new color names – old-tennis-shoegray, dried-out-leaf-brown, sunset, etc.
• Hold up an object (crumpled paper, mug, marble, shawl, etc.) and have students describe
it (a mountain, rain, the world, an eye, a planet, etc.) What if the objects are moved
around? (i.e., roll the marble, shake the shawl)
Use this warm-up to discuss simile and metaphor.
Simile: a comparison stating that something is like or as something else.
Metaphor: a comparison stating that something is something else.
Red Wheelbarrow:
Bring the words of the poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” written individually on large sheets of
paper. Pass out one to each student or pair, and have them move around to build the poem by
standing in the order they want the words to go in. Discuss where they think lines should break,
and why certain words go together. At the end, read the original text and talk about how they
used the same building blocks to create their own unique poem.
Collaborative Writing: Seed Poem Activity (25 min)
Collaborative writing means writing together and sharing our ideas.
Make circles of 5 or 6. Write your name on the back of your paper.
Write one word at the top of your paper – this will be your “seed” for the poem.
Examples: Family, Pets, Friends, Basketball, Halloween.
Write the first line of your poem.
Example: Halloween
Our jack-o-lantern kept watch on the porch all night…
When I call “Time,” pass your poem to the person to your right. They read over what you’ve
written, then add a line or more to your poem. When I call “Time” next, pass your notebook to
the right again. We’ll keep going until the poems make a full circle.
When you get your original paper back, you can add a final line to complete your poem before
sharing it. First, volunteers read their seed poem aloud to the class; then everyone has a chance to
share in pairs.
*Some students this age may have trouble deciphering each others’ handwriting, you may need
to help or ask the writer what they meant.
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