Juxtaposition listing

This activity teaches juxtaposition as a poetic device. The student generates a large set of self-facts, then edits and orders them. The juxtaposition step is the curriculum content. Placing "I have a sister called Anna" next to "I have only ever been kissed once" produces meaning that neither line carries alone. Students will want to group similar facts together. Push them the opposite way. The friction between unlike things is what makes the list feel like a poem rather than a CV. Read aloud at the end so they hear the rhythm.

I think what I especially like about list poems is that you can mix up serious things and silly things, loud things and quiet things, sadness and happiness. You can change tone and direction, but keep coming back to a strong structure which holds everything together.
— Bill Manhire