All posts in Joy Young

Recipe For You

For our second week, Twain Elementary 6th graders had brought their hungry appetites and were ready to sink their teeth into some recipe poems. I shared my own poem, “From Scratch,” which tells the […]

Rewriting & Freewriting with 5th & 6th Graders

For their 9th week of poetry, 5h & 6th graders were excited to revise, complete, and share their past poems. For inspiration we read the poem “The Blank Page” by Chetana Kamath. In her […]

Wild Thoughts at Twain Elementary

It was great meeting Twain Elementary 6th graders on Monday. Students had some experience writing poetry with their teachers. They already knew various poetry styles such as haikus, odes, quatrains, and sonnets. Being among […]

Exploring Art in Hyde Park with 5th & 6th graders

For week 8 of our poetry residency 5th & 6th graders explored ekphrastic poetry, poems that are inspired by works of art. Many Shoesmith students live in or near the Hyde Park neighborhood, including […]

Ludicrous Limericks that make 5th & 6th graders laugh

For our 7th week of poetry, 5th and 6th graders found their sense of humor through limericks. A limerick is a humorous verse of three long and two short lines with a a/a/b/b/a rhyme […]

Empowering voices from 5th & 6th graders

For our 6th week of poetry, 5th and 6th graders explored slam competitions and spoken work poetry. A slam competition is where poets perform spoken word poetry in front of a live audience and […]

ILLINOIS STATE POETRY OUT LOUD 2023 WINNERS!!!!

On Sunday night while most people were at home watching the 95th Oscar Awards, Poetry Out Loud Illinois student competitors were preparing and dreaming of being awarded the title of State Poetry Out Loud […]

Through the looking glass with 5th & 6th graders

For our 5th week of poetry 5th and 6th graders explored opposite personas. Persona is when a poet takes the voice of a person, place, or object. Together we read Haugan 8th grader Ingrid […]

Shhh….. 5th & 6th graders create secret identities!

For our fourth week of poetry 5th and 6th graders took on new names and identities. Names give us a sense of self and expresses who we are as individuals. But most students wish […]

It’s celebration time for 5th & 6th graders!

For our third week of poetry 5th and 6th graders celebrated using odes. An ode is a poem that celebrates and gives praise to people, places, and objects. I asked students why it is […]

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I’M FROM THE CITY LIGHTS / STREAMING OUT IN THE NIGHT / AND HUGE SKYSCRAPERS / TOWERING OVER THE LAKE – MELISSA E., 7TH GRADE POET