This past Monday I was excited to be back for another residency at the O School. I taught students during the summer session and I’m looking forward to having twenty weeks to share and write poems with a new group. For my intro lesson with the Group D (Elementary) students, we discussed the Autumn season, by looking at the poem, “Autumn Leaves,” by James McInerny. In his poem McInerny takes on a persona of an Autumn leaf. A persona is when the poet writes in the voice or point of view of someone or something else. I am but a leaf upon the ground/I am a remnant of all summer past/ The ember sun above me shines/to warm me on my bed of grass. Through the voice of the leaf, students were able to understand the beauty of nature and embracing change and growth.
Together students brained stormed about things connected to Autumn: plant life, weather, and animals. These are works in progress. To protect the privacy of students, their names are not included in their work. Readers feel free to experience the changing seasons through the writing and artwork below.
Group D (Elementary) Students
I Am a Raven
The bird is black,
when the light shines on its feathers,
they look like a rainbow.
Bird’s Nest
What a bird nest does, is that birds
can lay eggs in them.
The bird nest is where the bird lives.
It’s made of leaves,
brown mud,
and grass.
Squirrels
Brown
Gray
Eats nuts,
lives in trees.
It hibernates,
Stores food,
Changes colors.
Fox
