popple

For teachers

Difficulty, poems and year levels

How the five worksheet forms spread across the three levels, which public-domain poems can feed them, and what the levels mean. The same catalogue is available as JSON at /api/builder/catalogue. Nothing here tracks or profiles students, and no poem text is reproduced — follow the source link for each text.

Before students start: slides and techniques

Project the explanatory slides for the form you are teaching — what it is, how it works, a worked example, common traps — then hand out a move from the technique repertoire: fifteen prearranged techniques (constraint, imagery, sound, structure, revision), each with steps, an example, and scaffold → core → extension guidance across Years 5–6, 7–8 and 9–10.

Year levels

Australian years are the primary frame. The US and UK columns are a rough age equivalence only, labelled unverified; they are not a curriculum mapping and no curriculum codes are claimed.

  • Years 5–6 (about 10–12) — 8 ruled writing lines per worksheet. US: Grades 5–6; UK: Key Stage 2 (upper). unverified age equivalence — not a curriculum mapping.
  • Years 7–8 (about 12–14) — 12 ruled writing lines per worksheet. US: Grades 7–8; UK: Key Stage 3. unverified age equivalence — not a curriculum mapping.
  • Years 9–10 (about 14–16) — 16 ruled writing lines per worksheet. US: Grades 9–10; UK: Key Stage 4. unverified age equivalence — not a curriculum mapping.

Spread of difficulty: form × level

  • Acrostic · Years 5–6 — Accessible. 3 tasks, 8 writing lines (3 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: The spine word fixes every line's first letter, so no one faces a blank page. Support: Choose a short spine word (4–6 letters) together and draft one line as a class first. Extension: Hide the spine word and swap pages, or require each line to carry an image.
  • Acrostic · Years 7–8 — Accessible. 3 tasks, 12 writing lines (4 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: The spine word fixes every line's first letter, so no one faces a blank page. Support: Choose a short spine word (4–6 letters) together and draft one line as a class first. Extension: Hide the spine word and swap pages, or require each line to carry an image.
  • Acrostic · Years 9–10 — Accessible. 3 tasks, 16 writing lines (5 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: The spine word fixes every line's first letter, so no one faces a blank page. Support: Choose a short spine word (4–6 letters) together and draft one line as a class first. Extension: Hide the spine word and swap pages, or require each line to carry an image.
  • Blackout poem · Years 5–6 — Accessible. 3 tasks, 8 writing lines (3 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: Every word is already on the printed page; the work is choosing, not inventing. Support: Set the seven-word target and let students circle in pencil before any marker. Extension: Make a second, different poem from the same page and compare the two.
  • Blackout poem · Years 7–8 — Accessible. 3 tasks, 12 writing lines (4 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: Every word is already on the printed page; the work is choosing, not inventing. Support: Set the seven-word target and let students circle in pencil before any marker. Extension: Make a second, different poem from the same page and compare the two.
  • Blackout poem · Years 9–10 — Accessible. 3 tasks, 16 writing lines (5 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: Every word is already on the printed page; the work is choosing, not inventing. Support: Set the seven-word target and let students circle in pencil before any marker. Extension: Make a second, different poem from the same page and compare the two.
  • Haiku sequence · Years 5–6 — Building. 3 tasks, 8 writing lines (3 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: A 5–7–5 count and one clear image per poem; the sequence links moments without joining them. Support: Count syllables aloud together and ban explaining — image only. Extension: Reorder the three haiku and defend which order is truest.
  • Haiku sequence · Years 7–8 — Building. 3 tasks, 12 writing lines (4 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: A 5–7–5 count and one clear image per poem; the sequence links moments without joining them. Support: Count syllables aloud together and ban explaining — image only. Extension: Reorder the three haiku and defend which order is truest.
  • Haiku sequence · Years 9–10 — Building. 3 tasks, 16 writing lines (5 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: A 5–7–5 count and one clear image per poem; the sequence links moments without joining them. Support: Count syllables aloud together and ban explaining — image only. Extension: Reorder the three haiku and defend which order is truest.
  • Found poem · Years 5–6 — Building. 3 tasks, 8 writing lines (3 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: Words and their order come from the printed page; line breaks are the student's own. Support: Set the six-line lift and model one line break on the board. Extension: Title the poem with words from the page's heading that are not in the poem.
  • Found poem · Years 7–8 — Building. 3 tasks, 12 writing lines (4 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: Words and their order come from the printed page; line breaks are the student's own. Support: Set the six-line lift and model one line break on the board. Extension: Title the poem with words from the page's heading that are not in the poem.
  • Found poem · Years 9–10 — Building. 3 tasks, 16 writing lines (5 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: Words and their order come from the printed page; line breaks are the student's own. Support: Set the six-line lift and model one line break on the board. Extension: Title the poem with words from the page's heading that are not in the poem.
  • Renga links · Years 5–6 — Stretch. 3 tasks, 8 writing lines (3 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: A 5–7–5 opening, then two-line answers; each stanza answers only the one before it. Support: Write the opening stanza as a whole class, then pair students for the answers. Extension: Run a longer chain and read it aloud: it should wander and still hold together.
  • Renga links · Years 7–8 — Stretch. 3 tasks, 12 writing lines (4 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: A 5–7–5 opening, then two-line answers; each stanza answers only the one before it. Support: Write the opening stanza as a whole class, then pair students for the answers. Extension: Run a longer chain and read it aloud: it should wander and still hold together.
  • Renga links · Years 9–10 — Stretch. 3 tasks, 16 writing lines (5 ruled lines per task). Scaffolding: A 5–7–5 opening, then two-line answers; each stanza answers only the one before it. Support: Write the opening stanza as a whole class, then pair students for the answers. Extension: Run a longer chain and read it aloud: it should wander and still hold together.

Pick a form and level in the builder, or print the five-forms pack.

Poems available (33)

Public-domain source texts for blackout and found poems, plus the Bridge reading ladders. Suitable levels are teacher guidance, not a curriculum claim.

  • Sonnet 18 — William Shakespeare (sonnet). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1616 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #1041.
  • Sonnet 29 — William Shakespeare (sonnet). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1616 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #1041.
  • Sonnet 116 — William Shakespeare (sonnet). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1616 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #1041.
  • Sonnet 130 — William Shakespeare (sonnet). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1616 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #1041.
  • Hope is the thing with feathers — Emily Dickinson (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1886 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #12242.
  • I’m Nobody! Who are you? — Emily Dickinson (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1886 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #12242.
  • Because I could not stop for Death — Emily Dickinson (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1886 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #12242.
  • O Captain! My Captain! — Walt Whitman (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1892 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #1322.
  • Song of Myself, 1 — Walt Whitman (poem section). Stretch; suits Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1892 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #1322.
  • I wandered lonely as a cloud — William Wordsworth (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1850 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #12383.
  • Ode to a Nightingale — John Keats (ode). Stretch; suits Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1821 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #23684.
  • Ode on a Grecian Urn — John Keats (ode). Stretch; suits Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1821 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #23684.
  • The Tyger — William Blake (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1827 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #574.
  • The Raven — Edgar Allan Poe (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1849 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #1065.
  • Ulysses — Alfred, Lord Tennyson (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1892 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #8601.
  • Ozymandias — Percy Bysshe Shelley (sonnet). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1822 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #4800.
  • The Song of Wandering Aengus — W. B. Yeats (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1939 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #32233.
  • Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven — W. B. Yeats (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1939 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #32233.
  • If— — Rudyard Kipling (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1936 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #556.
  • Loveliest of trees — A. E. Housman (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1936 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #5720.
  • Remember — Christina Rossetti (sonnet). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1894 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #16950.
  • Stars — Emily Brontë (poem). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1848 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #1019.
  • Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen (novel opening). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1817 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #1342.
  • Moby-Dick — Herman Melville (novel opening). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1891 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #2701.
  • Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë (novel opening). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1855 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #1260.
  • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland — Lewis Carroll (novel opening). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1898 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #11.
  • Frankenstein — Mary Shelley (novel opening). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1851 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #84.
  • A Tale of Two Cities — Charles Dickens (novel opening). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1870 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #98.
  • The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald (novel opening). Building; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1940 (before 1955); checked 2026-10-12. Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #64317.
  • The Swing — Robert Louis Stevenson (poem (Bridge ladder, level 1)). Accessible; suits Years 5–6; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1894 (before 1955). Source: Bridge · Project Gutenberg eBook #25609.
  • The Owl and the Pussy-cat (stanza I) — Edward Lear (poem (Bridge ladder, level 2)). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1888 (before 1955). Source: Bridge · Project Gutenberg eBook #13647.
  • My Heart Leaps Up (The Rainbow) — William Wordsworth (poem (Bridge ladder, level 2)). Building; suits Years 5–6, Years 7–8; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1850 (before 1955). Source: Bridge · Poems, in Two Volumes (1807).
  • A Spring Song (opening) — C. J. Dennis (poem (Bridge ladder, level 3)). Stretch; suits Years 7–8, Years 9–10; works as source material for Blackout poem and Found poem. Public domain in Australia — author died 1938 (before 1955). Source: Bridge · Project Gutenberg eBook #4730.