1. Begin with the teacher or a student reading the poem aloud to the class as everyone pays particular attention to how Kooser layers the details of the poem one by one: for instance, “A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall” (Line 9) followed a few lines later by “Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves” (Line 13). Using your classroom as the backdrop for a poem, start a poem in the style of Kooser’s “Abandoned Farmhouse.” You might write “The chalkboard was bare, says the dusty eraser” or “The floors were speckled with dirt, says the broom in the corner.” Pass the paper around with each student (or small group of students) adding a line to the poem in a similar vein, using the power of perception and observation and speaking through the voice of the objects in the classroom. After everyone has contributed, read the class’s poem aloud so all can hear how the poem developed. Spend some time discussing how it felt to write from the objects’ point of view, and talk about whether it was difficult, freeing, or challenging.

2. Separate into small groups of three or four. Each group should pretend it is a team of detectives that has just arrived at a crime scene.