All posts in Poems

Lessons in Joy

Last week at Smyser Elementary, we read Ross Gay’s poem “Sorrow is Not My Name.” Students challenged themselves to write their own poems about joy or a difficult experience utilizing metaphors and similes. Check […]

‘Then repeat with essence’: Instruction Poems

Students read Dana Levin’s poem, ‘Instructions for Stopping,’ and then crafted their instruction-based poems! Lesson Note: Instruction poems offer a unique blend of creativity and utility. They can be memorable and engaging ways to convey information, […]

The Lasagna of Life

This week was all about similes as entrances to extended metaphors, specifically about life. Reading Langston Hughes’ “Mother to Son” inspired a conversation about struggle, growth, and change. These poets then used the extended […]

Ask me any question

For our 5th poetry session, the theme was questions. Twain 6th graders were asked, Why do people ask questions? Most students mentioned how people ask questions because they want to gain knowledge and know […]

Where We’re From

Where we’re from is never just the geographic place we call home. This week, the 7th graders of Nettelhorst explored how place impacts their sense of self. After reading George Ella Lyon’s “Where I’m […]

Sky wears a hat

For their 5th week of poetry, Twain 5th graders discovered exciting things about nature. I asked students what were some of their favorite things about nature, their responses were amazing: flowers, rain drops, autumn […]

I am… (7th Grade)

Metaphors allow us to transform ourselves, if just for a moment. The 7th graders of Clinton asked themselves what they could become after we read “The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee” by N. Scott Momaday. […]

I am… (8th Grade)

Metaphors allow us to transform ourselves, if just for a moment. The 8th graders of Clinton asked themselves what they could become after we read “The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee” by N. Scott Momaday. […]

Ode to the Artist

At Social Justice High School, we read and watched Hanif Abdurraqib’s poem “Ode to Biggie Smalls Ending in Gold.” We discussed odes, musicians/artists and their larger cultural impact, and spent time writing our own […]

Food Memories

Many of our 5 senses are deeply connected to memory. This week the students of MLA reflected on their favorite foods and the people, places, and things connected to them. After reading “The Tropics […]

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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