All posts in Waters

Not home, not yet

Spring is here, which means summer isn’t too far behind. Last week, Waters 7th graders pondered things to look forward to (big and small) before reading Rita Dove’s vacation. After discussing the astute people […]

Roses that like to play tag: odes & personification

Oh, odes. An homage to the things we hold close. Last week, Waters 6th graders were inspired by Francisco X. Alarcon’s Ode to my Shoes/ Oda a mis zapatos, an ode that delightfully indulges […]

‘Being alone but feeling accompanied’: ‘If I were…’ Poems

After reading Michael Salinger’s poem ‘ If I Were A Gear, ‘ students experimented with metaphors and extended metaphors. Lesson Note: “The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor. It […]

“But the scar is still there” Diagramming Poetry

This week, students leaned about another visual poetic form, diagram poems! We discussed there crossover between poetry and diagrams, how we can represent metaphors and allusions in this combined form, and how to integrate […]

“Pero no se alarmen / que ese polvo de estrellas / cáe en las personas / buenas de este / Tierra” (“Don’t be alarmed / that star dust / falls on the good people / of this Earth”)

How do you fix things? How do you know what needs fixing? This week Waters 6th and 7th graders discussed the poem “What is handed down” by Ada Límon and what it means to […]

See yourself all over again: Concrete poems

Greetings! Waters 7th graders have already had plenty of experience connecting the dots between poetry and visual art. continue that trend with concrete poems, which are poems that are shaped like a object or […]

Without this I look like a new kid: concrete poems

Greetings! Waters 6th graders have already had plenty of experience connecting the dots between poetry and visual art. continue that trend with concrete poems, which are poems that are shaped like a object or […]

‘And I understood sadness…’: Elegies

Students wrote elegies on lost people, places, things, and feelings. Lesson Note: “…research reveals the role of elegy writing in acknowledging and nurturing ongoing bonds with lost loved ones.” – The Literature of Loss: […]

Exquisite Corpse “the dark slapstick”

This week 6th and 7th graders worked together to create exquisite corpse poems. Each student responded to a prompt “What animal scares you the most?” and passed their papers to the next student to […]

One that tries too much – Haiku

For our last session with Waters 7th graders before spring break, it felt fitting to explore the haiku. This traditional Japanese poetic form is often used to describe observations in nature, and often accompanied […]

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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