All posts in Shoesmith

“Where Red is From, Where I Am From”

For our 9th sessions Shoemsith 4th graders returned to writing their color poems. The first group had a visitor who came to talk to them about HBCUs, but before that, students had an opportunity […]

5th & 6th graders create imaginary places

For their 12th week of poetry Shoesmith 5 & 6th graders explored the idea of imaginary places. But first Students discussed places in reality that they love to visit such as The Great Wolf […]

Growing Up With 5th & 6th Graders

Last Thursday was not only 5th and 6th graders eleventh week of poetry but also my birthday. It was great to celebrate my special day with students. I even shared a video reel with […]

Mystical Myths From 5th & 6th Graders

Shoesmith 5th and 6th graders made it to their tenth week of poetry! Our lesson for that session was all about myths. Before the concept of science, in ancient times people used myths, stories […]

Coloring in and out of the lines

Between testing dates and spring break, it felt like an eternity since I had spent time with Shoemsith 4th graders! It felt good to return to Ms. Lehner’s classroom for our eighth sessions. Students […]

Rewriting & Freewriting with 5th & 6th Graders

For their 9th week of poetry, 5h & 6th graders were excited to revise, complete, and share their past poems. For inspiration we read the poem “The Blank Page” by Chetana Kamath. In her […]

Exploring Art in Hyde Park with 5th & 6th graders

For week 8 of our poetry residency 5th & 6th graders explored ekphrastic poetry, poems that are inspired by works of art. Many Shoesmith students live in or near the Hyde Park neighborhood, including […]

The Blues, Revised

Shoesmith 4th graders returned to their blues poem drafts, but not before we had a look at video footage of some live blues performances. We noted types of instrumental accompaniment such as guitar, drums, […]

Ludicrous Limericks that make 5th & 6th graders laugh

For our 7th week of poetry, 5th and 6th graders found their sense of humor through limericks. A limerick is a humorous verse of three long and two short lines with a a/a/b/b/a rhyme […]

“Blues All Around”

For our 6th sessions, Shoesmith 4th graders discussed African Americans’ creation of field hollers, work songs, Negro spirituals, and the blues. We talked about the poetry form known as the lament, and reasons why […]

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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