Tech Tidbit: Word Mover

I enjoy using this interactive magnetic poetry device from Read.Write.Think. I usually introduce my classes to it in January when we incorporate books about Martin Luther King Jr. and his "I Have a Dream" speech.

I have students create their own original poem (story, thought, sentence) using the words from Dr. King's speech (it is one of the Famous Speeches that students can use as a word bank). There are also options to add your own words and create your own word bank. Students can also change the font color, size, and poem background to reflect the theme/mood/tone of their writing.

I have students email me their final product and then we print and display in class.

While we use the online version (which I send a link to), it is also available as an app in the iTunes and Google Play stores. For a low tech version of our activity (which I’ve actually done when the Internet wasn’t working), you can give students a printout of the speech, or a page from any book, and encourage them to cut out the words and manipulate it just like magnetic poetry.

Enjoy playing with words!

Here are are some samples from my middle school and high school students:

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