All posts in Poems

Emotion Machines- 7th Grade

This week our 7th graders read Ada Limon’s The Quiet Machine. This prose poem by the 2022 US Poet Laureate, describes all of the different kinds of quiet she experiences, based on her state […]

If I Could Turn Back Time …

Hamline 6th graders traveled back in time for their third week of poetry. We explored how to use our five senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight) to recall memories. I showed students photos […]

What’s Cooking?

Swift students continued with more out-of-the-box thinking, turning to cooking-up recipes for everything but food! Despite being tired from testing and being ready for the weekend to begin, students still managed to read and […]

Blackout Poems and Centos

This week the young vikings explored blackout poems and centos. They read excerpts from Austin Klein’s Newspaper Blackouts and Chicago poet Simone Muench’s “Wolf Cento.” The students were then given back issues of Chicago […]

Revision Party (5th)

We had a revision party today! We started by looking at Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” without line breaks and guessing where Brooks might have put them. We then looked at the actual poem […]

More “Swan of Bees” Part 2

When we worked on thinking out-of-the-box and “Swan of Bees” poems a few weeks ago, I was so impressed by how students worked that it was difficult to choose only a few poems to […]

Revision Party (8th)

We had a revision party today! We started by looking at Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” without line breaks and guessing where Brooks might have put them. We then looked at the actual poem […]

I dream about …

Have you ever woken up from a dream and scratched your head in complete confusion? This week we talked about all the strange and whimsical things that happen behind our eyes when we drift […]

We Think About Rainbow Colors

During our final two sessions, first graders selected one of their class poems to revisit and recreate. Ms. Cooley’s class agreed to focus on their color poem, which tied into other projects they’ve been […]

We’re Not Afraid of Dogs and Cats

During our final two sessions, first graders selected one of their class poems to revisit and recreate. Ms. Armand’s class agreed to focus on their bravery poem, inspired by Maya Angelou. Students used markers […]

Donate

Support our student poets today!

CONNECT WITH US!

Twitter Facebook-f Instagram

STUDENT POETRY

Click on a school name below to browse student poems from current school partners.

POETRY ARCHIVE

Click on a school name below to browse student poems from our archive.

RECENT FACEBOOK POSTS

TESTIMONIALS

“Writing poetry makes me feel like I can see myself, like I can see my reflection, but not in a mirror, in the world. I write and I know I can be reflected.”
-Oscar S.

“Writing poetry makes me feel free.”
-Buenda D.

“Writing poetry is like your best friend.”
-Jessica M.

Search

CONTACT US

General Inquiries
info@poetrycenter.org

Programs (School & Organizational)
programs@poetrycenter.org

Reading Series and Events:
curator@poetrycenter.org

The Chicago Poetry Center is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
FEIN: 23-7400515

SEND US A POSTCARD

Chicago Poetry Center
1448 E. 52nd St, #256
Chicago, IL 60615

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