All posts in Volta

Poemas de Écfrasis/ Ekphrastic Poems

This week, our class talked about ekphrastic poetry. We read a poem by the youth winner of the 2021 San Antonio Museum of Art Ekphrastic Art Contest and looked at five paintings, including a […]

Check List

This week’s poem looks nothing like any the students at Volta have seen so far. “Living in Numbers” by Claire Lee is a list of seemingly unrelated (or even random) items recorded over two […]

Poemas de Colores/Color Poems

During our third class together, the 4th grade poets at Volta Elementary read a translation of a poem about the color blue. We talked about symbolism and how an image, symbol, or color can […]

With a Little Help from My Friends

Last week, we read and discussed E. E. Cummings’ “maggie and milly and molly and may.” Before doing so, I asked if anything looked unusual; students noticed the use of lowercase lettering throughout—except for […]

Poemas Sonoros/Sound Poems

For week two, the 4th grade poets at Volta read two poems that included descriptions of sounds and examples of onomatopoeia. They listened to poems with a rooster announcing itself every morning and a […]

Follow Your Art

Elizabeth Bishop’s villanelle, “One Art,” begins, “The art of losing isn’t hard to master.” As we commenced reading it aloud then discussing it, I talked about the idea of “the art of” something—such as […]

Poemas de Invierno/Winter Poems

For our first bilingual poetry class, Volta 4th graders read a translation of Nikki Giovanni’s “Winter Poem” and spent time thinking about their five senses and images in poems. To prepare for their own […]

Object of My Affection

For our second poetry class, we read and discussed Jean Valentine’s “The Pen.” Before hearing it read aloud, I asked if it looked different from last week’s poem; students noticed it was composed in […]

Making (Poetry) Waves

Yesterday I had my debut session with students at Volta Elementary. Most of them had no prior experience with poetry, but I assured them that wasn’t a problem, adding that they should relax and […]

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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