All posts in McPherson

I want comida

We read English and Spanish versions of “Good Hotdogs,” a very Chicago poem by Chicago-born writer, Sandra Cisneros. We reflected on favorite special foods and the sense-memories of eating them. Room 322 <b>Red Tamales […]

Talking Objects

In “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath, a mirror speaks up about its experiences. Each student chose an inanimate object that can be found at their own home, then wrote a poem in the persona of […]

The Many Layers of a Vegetable (or Fruit)

Reading “Yam” by Bruce Guernsey, we examined a small pile of interesting vegetables and fruits that I brought in for us to look at, and described them in poems. We tried out some ways […]

Biblioteca (parte 1)

We read a few excerpts from Albert Goldbarth’s otherwise EXTREMELY long poem, “Library.” Other poets have traditionally added their own books to the list that Goldbarth describes (here are a few examples), and so […]

Voices

Michael Ondaatje’s “Sweet Like a Crow” is full of wild and almost surreal similes that are rich with imagery. I asked students to connect to their senses to describe their own voice using similes. […]

Winter People

Reading “Into Death Bravely” by Jimmy Santiago Baca, we made our own descriptions of winter that explore personfication, using human qualities to describe a force of nature. Room 320 Winter Ashley C. She’s like […]

First Day at McPherson

I was pleased and excited to be back at one of my old haunts, McPherson School. I’ll be working in three 6th-grade classrooms, collaborating with the very welcoming Ms. Bielenda. In “Litany” by Billy […]

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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