All posts in Waters

‘I remember how I always somewhow’: Food & Memory Poems

A discussion of food and memory began our class in preparation for studying Gary Soto’s narrative-style poem, Oranges. Nostalgia and feelings came up a lot in our talks. What emotions are attached to memory […]

How to Triumph, Like a Student

Greetings, friends and poetry lovers! This fourth session for Waters 6th grade was our last one before the holiday break. Since we explored metaphors last week, it only made sense to explore similes this […]

Metaphors, two ways

During our 3rd poetry session at Waters Elementary, we tackled one of the most omnipresent forces in poetry – the metaphor! First, we listened to “Firework” by Katy Perry to find the metaphor there. […]

‘When the Ocean Talks-after Frank O’Hara’: Lyric Poems by Middle Schoolers

A lesson on Personification, giving human qualities to something non-human via the poem: A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island. We looked at Frank O’ Hara’s touching and somewhat mystifying […]

‘I’ve been thinking about the way/you helped’: Kindness Poems

Students wrote and talked about kindness before reading the poem, ‘Small Kindnesses’ by Denusha Lameris. In crafting their own poems students focused on one idea, one stanza and small ways they have been kind […]

Who are our people and how do we find them?

Hello hello! For our second week at Waters Elementary, we discussed stanzas and we discussed what it means to belong. Our poem for the day was José Olivarez’s “I Walk Into Every Room and […]

‘…filled with big bloom flowers’: Exquisite Corpse Group Poems!

Students crafted visual and then poetic Exquisite Corpses! Afterward, they were challenged to create a clay figure of one of their collective group drawings! Below are some images and some of the group poems […]

Exploring Our Writing Impulses at Waters

Greetings, supporters and poetry lovers! This past Wednesday I was thrilled to kick off a yearlong residency with the 6th grade classes at Waters Elementary. After learning more about students’ likes and loves, their […]

Cut Up Poems: Parting action shots!

For a final project, students used magazines and created cut-up poems! They used ‘found language’ and images to create new meanings. Here are some ‘in action’ shots of student hands working away! Teacher: Cavey, […]

Ars Poetica

For my last day with Homeroom 302 at Waters Elementary, the students described what they learned about writing and themselves through the process of writing poetry. They first completed a brainstorm activity where they […]

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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