Greetings West Park poetry friends and followers! This week’s lesson we focused on places—places we know very well, places we dream about visiting, and even imaginary places. We read the poem, “Five Directions to My House,” by Juan Felipe Herrera, and talked about how the directions in the poem don’t necessarily make sense. We also discussed how imagery, or details related to the five senses, can be a way to “give directions” or help a reader travel to a specific place.
Students wrote their own poems giving directions to a place. Do you think these directions make sense? Would they help you travel to a new destination? Can you see, hear, feel, smell, or taste any of the details in these poems?
Ms. Staudohar/Ms. Knight
6th Grade
6 directions to Julio’s houses
Christopher
1. you need to find a Julioto wearing glasses.
2. then he will take turns. you follow.
3. after you will find yourself next to West Park.
4. then he is gonna go find some houses.
5. Julioto is gonna try to act cool.
6. then you teleport to Julio’s houses.
My Bro’s House
Ayleen L.
very sleepy ride, when you reach the outside
you may reach the corner store
may smell like carne asada
yummy delicious tacos
when you keep on going
you may get blinded
by the shiny sun
with shiny, clean houses
see a peach-colored house? with
brown stairs? and rooftop?
that’s my brother’s house!
you have reached your
destination.
Ms. Lazaar
5th Grade
School to Gas Station
Vanessa S.
1. Turn right keep going straight then
jump over the puddle
2. Then after you pass the big white
house with swings
3. Turn right again and keep walking
until you see the black birds
Turn
Fernando A.
1. Turn right, you’re just there,
keep on going.
2. Stop, there are ducks passing
in the street.
3. Keep on going, turn on
left, then on right.
4. You’re just about there. Stop.
You see a tower on your right.
5. “BEEP” You have arrived
to your destination. You
are in Paris.
Five directions to my room
Maya R.
1. I go to a house
2. a yellow house in a
3. white door. In a brown
4. door walk in a pink room.
5. alone, tv.
Ms. Chambers
7th Grade, Group 1
A trip to Messi’s house
Brandon L.
I would take a plane
and hear the engines
When I land I rent
a car and head south
to Messi’s house in Los
Angeles.
I would activate
my GPS and
head to the
coastline and ask
to enter his house and I could feel the breeze.
David’s house
Roberto A.
1. fall up
2. jump left
3. go to the school
4. jump a dog
5. fall up
Edgar’s house
David C.
1. go right
2. see a black gate
3. smell the flowers
Ms. Chambers
7th Grade, Group 2
The way to my heart
Sophia S.
1. go to me with a nice personality.
2. give me a hug whenever you see me.
3. compliment me.
4. always be there for me.
5. give me gifts every once in a while.
6. just be yourself.
Out here in Miami
(How to get to Miami)
Diego S.
1. Before you go to sleep think about Miami.
2. Think about beautiful beaches and all the wonderful things in Miami.
3. Go to sleep thinking about being in Miami.
4. You’re going to have a dream about being in Miami.
5. You wake up but not in your bed, or your house.
6. You wake up in the sand in front of a beach.
7. You can hear the water and the birds chirping and there’s palm trees.
8. You turn around and see a beautiful city full of apartments, this was your dream.
9. Some people are ready to go to the beach (it’s 2 men with shorts and no shirt)
and they have a drinkable coconut.
10. They ask, “are you ok?” you ask, “where are we?”
11. They look at you like you’re crazy and say “we are out here in Miami.”
12. And just like that you’re in Miami, in Miami beach.
Shifting
Razu G.
there’s lots of ways to try but you
can start with your pen and paper
title it “shifting” think of a place a
when and time. I chose 2019, go
to your bathroom and turn on the water
for me I sat instead and thought
about everything I wrote, when I fell asleep
I was there.
