All posts in Deneen

‘lilac color skies cover my glass roof’: Experimental Poems

Students made the old school paper game, called a ‘Cootie Catcher’ which is a form of origami used in children’s games. As you may recall, parts of the ‘catcher’ are labeled with words that […]

‘The Brain Game’ and ‘My thoughts are a sea they wave’: Poems About Our Thoughts & Feelings

Students read the poem, ‘Thought Machine’ by Laura Mucha from the book Being Me; they then wrote about their thoughts using metaphors and similes. Lesson Note: “I learned that the only way to get […]

”I’m such a fool to not see life is cool”: Gwendolyn Brooks-Inspired Poems

Students read Gwendolyn Brooks’ classic poem, ‘We Real Cool’ before crafting their own ‘cool’ poems using their own words and ideas for what is cool, rhyme, repetition, and the short form. We Real Cool […]

‘We made it for sick people and the world/ so we can continue living’: Potion Poems

Students read the poem, ‘Truth Serum’ by Naomi Shihab Nye before writing their own potion-themed poems. Lesson Note: “I respect anyone who’s pulled an idea out of their brain and fully brought it to […]

‘remember that’: Small Kindnesses 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 […]

‘To fight the night become the light. ‘: Odes

Students read ‘Ode To My Shoes’ by Francisco X. Alacron before penning their own odes. Below are some of their wonderful poems. Lesson Note: “Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are […]

‘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 […]

‘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 […]

‘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 […]

Cut Up Poems: Parting Action Shots

For a final project, students used magazines and created cut-up poems! They used ‘found language’ and images to create new meanings. Here are some ‘in action’ shots of student hands working away! Lesson Note: […]

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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