Greetings West Park poetry friends and followers! During week 2, we read and discussed the poem “My People,” by Langston Hughes. We identified this poem as a list poem (a poem in the form of a list), and students located agent nouns in the poem—words like “dream-singer,” “dancer,” “laugher,” that name a person who performs an action. Then, digging deeper, students discussed the theme or message of the poem. Students in each class noticed that Langston Hughes expresses some complex or mixed feelings about his people.
For their own poems, students riffed on Langston Hughes’s example to create their own poems describing the people they feel connected to. What do you think each poet is saying about their people?
Ms. Staudohar/Ms. Knight
6th Grade
My connectors
Junicy O.
My family,
Achievers,
huggers,
and workers
My friends,
Hardworkers,
and distancers
My nationality,
Proud-to-be-ers
and Fate-is-always-near-s
My connectors
Mi Gente
Abby R.
I love
Mechanics
Cooks
Dancers
Lovers
Love God 4ever people
Laughers
Tow truck drivers
Love my job people
Grillers
Let it goers
Proud of u people
I love them
I love them all
i’m in love, are you?
Sean L.
when i do my sport i
make a shot and think
of you.
when i talk
it’s about you
when i ride
it’s with you
when i fight
it’s for you
when i help
i help you
when i feel calm
i think about you
when i love
i wanna
love you.
Ms. Lazaar
5th Grade
Mi gente
Heberardo A.
My family gives me food and shelter
they are hard workers y trabajan mucho
para que puedan comprar comida y pagar
los biles de la casa and I really appreciate
them working-hard so they can buy me
todo lo que necesito.
Water Sugar
Clarissa C.
Yellers, runners, outsiders
cousins…
The most goofiest yet funniest people
you can know, the second you turn
ur back…
One them on the roof one them taped
to the floor…
oml I can’t
Then when they leave ur room is all messy 🙁
My best friend Nyohamar
Jose Luis C.
we both love drawing
we both love comics
we both love food
we both love sleeping
he loves seafood
I like tacos
he likes water
I love water
Ms. Chambers
7th Grade, Group 1
People
Edgar M.
A mechanic,
A father,
A janitor,
A mother,
A teacher,
A sister,
A child,
A brother,
A lover,
What I see is
a family.
My family
Jaide H.
Helpers, music lovers
Love themselves
Care takers
Chefs
Hard workers
all of them are
Laughers, and
Laughers begin
drama
Givers
we love
Spanish speakers
talk
English speakers
talk
Lovers laugh
Louder and
greater
My family
My People
Shanelly R.
Family
Friends
Reggaeton
Spanish speakers
Workers
Assistants
Bosses
Christians
Cooks
Basketball players
Puerto Ricans
These are my people!
Ms. Chambers
7th Grade, Group 2
Us
Jayleen M.
We the Spanglish speakers,
Far islanders,
Chicas y chicos,
Us hard workers,
Accent-ors,
Street talkers,
Loud mouthers,
Cookers,
Music players,
Grito yellers,
Proud of where we’re from,
Flag wavers,
Proud tellers,
Mexican-Puerto Ricans.
4
Daisy D.
Soccer players,
Runners,
Tag players,
Homework helpers,
Active,
Judgers,
Quiet, loud,
Loud laughers,
When we reunite at recess we like
to laugh, laugh
and play.
Quick hallway chatters,
4 who like to hang out,
4 who are separated,
Re-uniters,
Some loners,
but we all get along even with our
Differences
My community
Alberto R.
Those who are my ethnicity
Those who work for our justice
Those of the military
They’re all of bravery unheard!
Those who fight for our rights
My family
They’re from Mexico
We all care for those we hold
dear and near.
