Colorful Creative Writing Rebus

Use pictures and words in a rebus poem about a colorful place in your imagination.

• 1.

  Find books and magazine stories written with rebus pictures symbolizing words. How do writers and artists decide what to draw so readers can understand the writer's meaning? Did you know that the first magazine in the United States, The American Magazine, was published on February 13, 1741, by Andrew Bradford?

• 2.

  With Crayola® Colored Pencils, write a poem about a colorful place. Use lots of descriptive words so readers will be able to see the colorful place in their imaginations. Include a phrase describing something to see in the colorful place in each line of your poem.

• 3.

  Look over the draft of your poem. Circle words that could be illustrated with simple pictures. Talk with a friend about whether your illustrations would clearly communicate your words.

• 4.

  Rewrite the poem using watercolor pencils. Choose colors to fit the written descriptions and draw the rebus pictures as planned.

Benefits

• Children read rebus samples from various sources.
• Students write poems about colorful places, including detailed descriptions of people, scenery, and objects.
• Children create small, relevant illustrations to communicate meaning using symbols in place of words.

Adaptations

• Compile rebus poems into a class magazine to share with families and other classes. Attach poems to construction paper with a Crayola® Glue Stick. Use a hole punch and yarn to assemble the pages. Design a front cover with watercolor pencils, adding a smal
• Add a lift-the-flap dimension to poems. Write poems, then add rebus pictures drawn on small pieces of paper. Glue each picture over its word with a thin line of glue on one edge. Share lift-the-flap poems with emerging readers who can predict the word and
• Submit your completed rebus poetry for publication to Books & Beyond on Crayola.com.