Robert Frost was a famous American poet who lived from 1874 to 1963. Teachers love teaching about Robert Frost, students love learning about his poetry, and I love creating Robert Frost activities and poetry resources! I’ve created various Robert Frost activities that are easy for teachers and will leave kids amazed by the final results. Be sure you see my painting variation at the bottom of this post!
Fine motor skills are necessary and discreet differentiation is built into these posters. Decide which pages work well for each student and provide an experience that will work for everyone. While at first, it may seem challenging to color the small letters in some of my posters, you will find that it’s much easier than it looks. Remember that each child only needs to color one page. Encourage them to do their best. They will be amazed at the end. There is a really creative variation for the Robert Frost collaboration posters at the end of this post for PreK-2nd grade students. I hope you’ll like it!
Now, without further ado, let’s talk about “said” Robert Frost activities…
Nothing Gold Can Stay Collaboration Poster
My “Nothing Gold Can Stay” poster is designed for grades 4 and above. The letters on the poster write out the words to the poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” in a contemporary, artistic way. Students will color in the letters according to the color scheme you have chosen to use. I have pre-filled the stanzas of the final poem throughout the design so that they will stand out.
Poster Details: There are 25 pieces to this poster, with each piece fitting on regular 8.5” x 11” copy paper. The final poster is approx. 35” x 35,” but the exact size depends on your printer settings. I’ve included two posters with two different color schemes; orange (optional gold)/green and blue/pink. You’ll need light yellow copy paper along with markers and colored pencils. To view this project in my store, click HERE.
I’ve tried to make your work a little easier by choosing the colors and providing two options. However, you are, of course, free to play around with and change the colors if you’d like. Just remember that the background color needs to be the lightest color, otherwise, the final poster will look like a negative from a photograph – we don’t want that! I don’t recommend neon bright paper because those colors tend to advance, making it hard to see the letters of the poem.
Poetry Analysis
Analyzing poetry can be challenging for students, but this resource from Brain Waves Instruction makes it super easy! You’ll find Robert Frost’s poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” along with four other poems in this resource. This resource will guide students through multiple readings of each poem so that their final analysis is not only accurate but filled with examples and evidence. See it HERE or by clicking on the image below.
Robert Frost Activities: Free Quote Coloring Page
You’ve all heard by now that adult coloring is therapeutic and relaxing. Kids, of course, already know this, and they love to color. I created a FREE coloring page using the quote, “The best way out is always through,” from Frost’s A Servant To Servants poem. I have also included a quote reflection page so students can reflect on the meaning of this quote. Get your FREE copy HERE or by clicking on the image below.
Also, make sure you download your FREE copy of the adult coloring pages I designed specifically for teachers HERE. Read why adults need their own coloring books and get free samples to try right away. Or see my adult coloring book on Amazon directly.
Portrait Collaboration Poster
I have developed a classroom collaborative poster portrait of Robert Frost created entirely from the letters in his name. I have designed 2 versions of this poster so that it can be useful for all grade levels. You’ll see a poster variation for PreK-2nd grade and one for grades 3 and up. Make sure you see the variation for the PreK-2nd grade poster at the end of this post – it’s really cool. Some teachers like to show their students what they are making, and others like to keep it a surprise – you decide. Either way, your students will never believe what they’ve created.
Poster Details: There are 24 pieces to this poster, with each fitting on regular 8.5” x 11” copy paper. The final poster is approx. 28” x 42”, but the exact size depends on your printer settings.
Poster #1: Grades 3 and above. Students will color in the letters “ROBERT FROST” that make his portrait with shades of BLUE. Create some texture and variation by providing blue in various shades, mixing up the mediums, and using markers and colored pencils together. Print the poster pages onto light purple paper so that the background will already be colored. The top row of pictures below is of poster #1, where students color in the letters but leave the background the color of the paper.
Poster #2: PreK to 2nd grade (bottom row in the image above). I know many teachers in the younger grades enjoy using my collaboration posters. So I created a variation that will work with the younger children as they are developing their fine motor skills and advancing toward the harder poster. For this option, children will color OVER the black letters to create the background color while the letters will stay black. You will want to print this poster onto white copy paper and provide students with as many shades of purple crayons as you can. Students will color all the space of their piece with those shades of purple – however they want to. Let them have fun coloring to make a unique poster.
NO MARKERS on poster #2! Children mustn’t use water-soluble markers on the pages from poster #2 if they are printed with an inkjet printer. The black from the inkjet will smear (see picture below) and make a big mess. I recommend ONLY using crayons for this poster option. It’s a great time to get out all the scrap crayons, tear the paper off and use the sides.
See my Robert Frost collaboration portrait poster HERE.
Variation using Paint
For the younger children – try this – print poster #2 onto regular copy paper. Then take it to a local print shop and have it printed onto heavy card stock paper (or use your school printer and card stock if you have it). [Note, in the examples below, I used the same technique for a different poster I had created–a portrait of the headmaster of my daughter’s school–he’s not Robert Frost!]
You can paint over toner, and it won’t smear the way ink will from an inkjet printer. Provide your students with watercolor paints to paint over the black letters from the Robert Frost portrait poster #2. The paint will fill into the white areas, and the black will still show.
You need the thicker card stock paper to receive the watercolor paint (I tried printing on watercolor paper, but the laser printer didn’t like that so much – too much texture).
I recommend that you do a test page to ensure that the paper, toner, and paint combinations you have all work together. You want to try to avoid getting the paper so wet that it tears. Try to give students only as much water as they absolutely need. I like to use concentrated liquid watercolor paint and put it into small cups – only in the color combinations I’m happy with so that it doesn’t all become a brown muddy mess.
I tried this poster painting process with a group of 30 – three and four-year-old children at my daughter’s school. The kids loved it – but I was careful to snatch up pages that looked like they were getting too wet because kids were “scrubbing” the page with their brush – loving it a little “too” much!
After your students are finished painting, let their work dry. Once dried, cut out the pages and assemble them to reveal the final poster.
In this example, we created a poster of the headmaster at my daughter’s school. The children were so excited about the final product that one of the teachers called the headmaster and asked him if he could stop by for a minute. When he came in, the kids swarmed him with hugs and adoration. The children were so proud to tell him that they had created this portrait of him. See him here as he looks at the artwork with the children.
No matter which of these educational Robert Frost activities you may decide to do with your students, the kids are sure to find them enriching, engaging, and entertaining. A win, win, win!
Thanks for reading and for all you do.
Jenny K.
