In this imaginative project, students explore the relationship between words and images by diving into the world of poetry and visual storytelling. Inspired by Shel Silverstein’s Don’t Bump the Glump, students create their own monster “helper” and describe it using vivid descriptive or figurative language. They then write a poem about their creature, focusing on the literary concept of imagery.

After crafting their poem, students bring it to life visually by drawing a self-portrait alongside their monster, applying basic concepts of proportion in their artwork. To complete the project, they revisit their poems to enhance meaning through visual emphasis—highlighting key phrases or lines with design elements that support the text.

Aligned with 4th grade literacy curriculum, this project deepens students’ understanding of poetry and helps them see how language and art can work together to express ideas in powerful and creative ways.