Poetry Map Making

Make your own personal poetry map. You will need an adult, paper, and coloring materials.

First, look up as many different kinds of maps as you can think of. For example, find a map of the neighborhoods in your city, a map of the transit system, of Christopher Robin’s woods, of the world’s longest rivers, and several world maps (i.e. a Mercator projection, a butterfly map, and a south-up map). Consider what you like about each, what is included on them and what isn’t. Maps and poems are similar because they both tell a story. What story does each map tell?

Next, choose 3 places that are important to you to put on your map. Describe them with lines of poetry. Here is an example:

Place: Lake Michigan

Description: Wild waves crash into rocks on the shore

Now you are ready to start making your map! Draw each place you’ve chosen, add your poetic descriptions, and fill in details. You may want to copy a map you encountered in your research, or invent a new kind of map.

BONUS: Swap your map with someone else’s. Where might this map lead you? What story does it tell?