Home > Archive > For teachers > Writing & poetry (English) > College Writing Assignment
One writing assignment packet per student:
5 Square Node Templates
3 Triangle Node Templates
The following chart sets the rules and requirements for the node poem writing assignment. Remind your students to synthesize their pre-writing materials into the attached templates. This assignment should take several nights to complete.
So far, we’ve discussed the merits and possibilities of node poems, and we’ve looked at several examples of both traditional poems and node poems that deal with similar approaches to reader interaction. In addition, we’ve completed several pre-writing activities to help you gather material for your own node poem. Now, your assignment is to create a unique piece of writing that shows thoughtful consideration of the node form by synthesizing the material you developed in the pre-writing stage.
Here are the general rules you should follow:
- At least two nodes should have surrounding nodes that readers can circumnavi-read, much like the sample nodes we created for the Newspaper Cut-Out Activity.
- Your poem must incorporate at least three square diagrams and at least two triangle diagrams (see attached).
- There must be at least six generations in your node poem.
- The total word count for your node poem must exceed 300 words.
Beyond these rules, you are free to experiment with SpicyNodes. On the due date, input your poem into the SpicyNodes interface, and bring in your completed templates to class, along with any other sketches and drawings you created for your poem.
