All posts in Timothy David Rey

‘…Casper the Ghost playing with me’: Poems on Age and Reflection

Students shared childhood stories before writing their own poems reflecting back on their younger selves, as the speaker did in Billy Collin’s poem, On Turning Ten. Lesson Note. “I think one of the strengths […]

‘and dad/ and mom/and people/ and pool/’: Food and Memory Poems

Nikki Giovanni is a well-known African-American poet who spent summers with her grandparents in Knoxville, Tennessee, when she was a little girl, doing many of the same things kids like to do during the […]

‘The Whee-who/ The waves/ The quiet/ The stir/ Wow.’: Poems on Age and Reflection

Students read and discussed Billy Collin’s poem, ‘On Turning Ten,’ before writing their own poems on the subject of age and nostalgia. Lesson Note: “When you put something out there onto a piece of […]

‘Then put red tomatoes in’: Food & Memory Poems

A discussion of food and memory began our class in preparation to study Gary Soto’s Narrative Style poem, Oranges. Nostalgia and feelings came up a lot in our talks. What emotions are attached to […]

‘When I go to the water …’: Exquisite Corpse-Style Group Poems

Working on poetic lines, students crafted visual and then poetic Exquisite Corpses! Afterward, they were challenged to create a clay figure of one of their collective group drawings! Below are some images and some […]

‘I remember how I always somewhow’: Food & Memory Poems

A discussion of food and memory began our class in preparation for studying Gary Soto’s narrative-style poem, Oranges. Nostalgia and feelings came up a lot in our talks. What emotions are attached to memory […]

‘A True Account of Talking to Ballet Shoes in the New York Award Assembly’: O’Hara-style Poems

A lesson on Personification, giving human qualities to something non-human via the poem: A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island. We took a look at Frank O’ Hara’s touching and […]

‘To my brother/best friend’: Night Poems

Students thought about what occurs at night, the concept of home, and short forms before penning their own very modern poems inspired by Li Bai’s, ‘Quiet Night Thoughts.’ Quiet Night Thought At the foot […]

‘When the Ocean Talks-after Frank O’Hara’: Lyric Poems by Middle Schoolers

A lesson on Personification, giving human qualities to something non-human via the poem: A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island. We looked at Frank O’ Hara’s touching and somewhat mystifying […]

‘I’ve been thinking about the way/you helped’: Kindness Poems

Students wrote and talked about kindness before reading the poem, ‘Small Kindnesses’ by Denusha Lameris. In crafting their own poems students focused on one idea, one stanza and small ways they have been kind […]

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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