Firstly, you could begin by brainstorming topics related to the future through acrostic poems or pictures. Ask your students to imagine they're living in the year 2100. What's life like? What can they see around them? How far has space and technology advanced?
Example poem:
| F JU T AstronaU MaR Genetic E | lying saucers piter ime machines ts tians ngineering |
Next, you could use either of the poems below as a model for your students:
When I look into the future
There are robots
There are aliens
There are saucers in the sky
But there aren't any birds.
When I look into the future
There's a memory stick in my head
There's a tracking device under my feet
There's a monitor behind my eyes
But there isn't a computer.
Example structure:
When I look into the future
There's/are …
There's/are ...
There's/are …
But there isn't/aren't a/any …
On a more personal note, the future could be explored through the senses. You could use this example as a model to elicit ideas from your students. Play some relaxing background music and ask them to close their eyes and imagine the sensations as they think of different words.
Example:
My / The future is … (yellow)
It tastes like … (pasta)
It smells like … (a lemon)
It sounds like … (a mandolin)
It feels like … (a cat)
It looks like … (the sunrise)
Ask your students to complete the sentences below to generate ideas for a poem about their own future dreams. Here are two possible structures for their poems:
In my future life
I might …
I could …
I may …
But I'll definitely …
In my future life
I'd like to be …
I'd like to ...
And …
Then …
Please …
Here's a poem on a lighter note as an example of what they could produce.
In my future life
I'd like to be a cat
I'd like to sleep for 12 hours
Then dance around my flat.
I'd like to play by moonlight
And sunbathe in the sun
I'd like to climb a palm tree
And catch my tail for fun
I'd like to dine on fresh fish
Then drink a sea of milk
I'd like to live – that's my last wish
Please ban all dogs from Earth!