I’m excited to return in person to Shoesmith Elementary! It feels great to see students who I had virtual poetry with last year, as well as welcome new students to the Hands On Stanzas Program. During their first week of poetry 5th and 6th grade students read a tasty poem by Eve Merriam, titled “How to Eat a Poem.” In her poem Merriam uses extended metaphor, which is a metaphor that extends throughout a entire poem. Metaphors often compare things that aren’t alike, yet they may share something in common. Merriam compares poetry to fruit. Don’t be polite/Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice that may run down your chin/It is ready and rip, whenever you are.
Merriam’s poem is written as instructions for the reader. She’s teaching us that poetry doesn’t have to be perfect, she wants readers to dig in, get messy, and fully embrace poetry. Inspired by Merriam students wrote their own “How To,” poems revealing different ways to interact with poetry.
Every week three student poems will be published from each class. Please enjoy these fantastic poems and artwork.
Ms. Yassky’s 5th Grade
Group 1
How To Bake A Poem
by Thaddeus H.
Grab a bowl to place on the counter.
Grab a spoon.
Grab some letters.
Grab some paper.
Then mix it with a spoon.
When your done put it in a pan.
Then put it in the oven and watch it rise.
Now you have your tasty poem.
How To Color A Poem
By Aubrey L.
Get a few color pencils, any you like.
Then look at your poem with your sight.
Then start coloring where ever you like.
Don’t be so rushed, be polite.
Don’t get so mad if it doesn’t look right.
What matters is you took time out of your
day to color the poem anyway.
How To Love A Poem
By Chloe M.
First write a poem you really love unconditionally
Then care for it functionally.
Next feed it….cause it really needs it.
Last tuck it in and say goodnight, so that it
knows there should be no fright.
Ms. Yassky’s 5th Grade
Group 2
How To Sing A Poem
By Taniya A.
First get your microphone.
Rehearse your poem song.
Dance to your poem song.
Play your poem song.
Smile at your poem song.
Laugh at your poem song.
Perform your poem song live.
Listen to your poem song on the radio.
How To Live A Poem
By Nyah D.
Be feisty, don’t be friendly.
Live great, not only good.
Dream a poem, don’t sleep on it.
Eat the poem, don’t waste it.
Treat the poem like a baby,
take care of it.
Love the poem, don’t hate it.
Live the life of a poet.
How To Joke With A Poem
By Tyasia H.
1. First you can have fun.
2. Never be serious.
3. Write anything makes only you laugh.
4. This is common, but write anything you desire.
5. Do anything, go crazy!
6. You can read you’re poem with anyone.
And that’s how to joke with a poem.
Oh! and make someone laugh with your poem.
Ms. Henry’s 6th Grade
Group 1
How To Find A Poem
by Dalana G.
Don’t be tricky
Just remember
Sometimes it can be sticky
Look under the bed
in the closet
or in the car
it can’t be too far
Maybe its in the bed
or under my leg
head
or maybe its dead
you can’t give up
all you need is your hand,
face, foot, or butt
maybe it is in my face.
Running at fast pace.
I will find you a poem
and show them
How to find that poem.
How To Act A Poem
By Morgan R.
5 mins before showtime
stop stressing
You’re going to act a poem
and everyone’s going to be clapping
When everyone reads
they visualize
You’re acting as a vision
they’ll realize
You can act
You can dance
You can do anything
everyone will
know your name
after showtime
You’ll have the fame.
How To Build A Poem About Life
By Macario W.
You start with nothing
You’ll build up
It falls down
But you rebuild
Sometimes you stop building
Then go up again
It continues to build tall
you run out of blocks
Things break, but you
build back up.
Go up till you
reach the top
But whatever you do
I’ll be back up
till the top.
Ms. Henry’s 6th Grade
Group 2
How To Wear A Poem
by Ophelia H.S.
Each and every morning
I wake up
I brush my teeth
And I put on my poem.
Each and every day
My poem carries
My thoughts, my feelings,
my emotions and my personality.
Each and every night
I take off my poem,
And put on my pj’s.
Then all of my
thoughts, my feelings,
my emotions, my personality
All go to sleep.
How To Blend A Poem
By Brooklyn M.
To blend a poem, you need a good recipe.
You need good love, good heartbreak,
good rhyming, good lines, and icy lines.
When you blend a poem you need
good metaphors, good similes,
some sour verbs, strong, adjectives.
Finally, you need a good blender,
a strong blender, a great blender.
Now throw that poem in the blender,
and make a creamy, delicious poem!
How To Plant A Poem
By Kaleb P.
Hey you!
You need to go outside with a shovel
and dig a hole in the ground and
put words in the hole, then cover it up.
Hey you,
You need to make sure to water your plant
and make sure the sun hits your plant
so it can grow.
Hey you,
you should check out your tree,
it will grow in a big beautiful
green tree with words and paper
on it.
