Most teachers are familiar with the idea of “found poems,” where students have to use words and phrases from a previously read text to demonstrate understanding (it certainly has other uses as well). It also forces students to make multiple “touches” on text with an engaging purpose in mind.

I just saw that Salon has had a weekly limerick contest where readers submit them as commentaries on the week’s news. Here’s an example of one:

Rand Paul held the floor by the hour,

His words pouring forth like a shower.

He could have gone on,

Saying drone use begone,

But his bladder held ultimate power.

Thompson Lange

Carmel, Calif.

It seems to me having a students create their own limericks about recently read text could serve the same purpose as found poems. I’m assuming that some teachers out there have already tried it. How did it go?