Week Two and its Halloween! The students and I read two poems: October, by Bobbi Katz, and Theme In Yellow, by Carl Sandburg. We discussed persona and voice, and how you might transform into someone else on the page. We also discussed poetic line for the first time today, and why a line might be different in fiction or an essay than poetry.
I asked students to write a poem in which they became a Halloween creature, and to write using their creature’s voice, and not their own. There are some surprising, delightful creatures below. I wish I could include every drawing I received!
A quick note that there’s no poems from Mr. Koltak’s class, as they were en route to a Halloween boogie. I support all dancing breaks. And, they even got to write their poems later, which I’ll get to see soon! [Update! Mr. Koltak’s class now has poems below!]
It’s also worth mentioning that we did all of this in costume. All of us. In short: it was a great day.
Mr. Batlle
4th Grade
I’m A Zombie
Arely R.
I’m a zombie who fell on a bed
I’m a zombie who jumped on a head
I’m a zombie who hates school
I’m a zombie who’s always a fool
I’m a zombie I’m always crazy
I’m a zombie I’m always lazy
Bruja
Sandra Q.
Yo soy una bruja que le gusta volar en el aire y lanzar
hechizo y ver a las personas en la noche.
Witch
Sandra Q.
I am a witch who likes to fly in the air and throw
spells and see people at night.
The Witch Story
Xiumara H.
I am a witch that likes to eat soup
and dance when I eat.
I scare kids at night
and I love pizza and cats.
I smell like cheese. I scare kids
and then I eat them and then
they run.
Happy
Olivia C.
I am
a clown I love
to scare people and invite people to
McDonald’s and eat burgers and
drink pop and
eat happy meals
Ms. Brown
5th Grade
Walking TNT
Alexis G.
The walking TNT can walk, fly far, and is very silly
because he DJs on the weekend and eats
Creatures
Andrea A.
I am a cannibal
that eats
people and
animals,
and has a
store of
human meat,
my favorite
book is about
human meat
Doll
Valeria C.
Day—
I am a doll I love my owner she is
nice with me, never does anything to
kill me or damage me, I love her so much
Night—
I am a doll I hate my owner
She pulls my hair she tries to
kill me she thinks I love her
I hate her she will kill me but
not if I kill her first she made
me insane hahahahahahahah
Creatures
James G.
I am a zombie
I don’t like brains
I like pizza
and candy when
people see me
they run. When
I see them I
want to play.
My favorite
thing to do
is run if I
could.
Mr. Koltak
6th Grade
The Zombie
Merelyn D.
I am a zombie that looks
really bad I live far
away from Chicago. I live in
a very far forest, I only
come to Chicago on October
31st. What I do is that
I eat people then when the 31st
is over I go back to my far forest,
until next year.
The Mummy
Zion C.
I am a mummy that came from the dirt
and I am coming for you people.
I live in a castle and it is scary and I got scared once.
I have been alive for 1,00 years.
People say that I am fake and
people say I am not. I was killed
one time and I came back to life.
People talk about me a lot.
My mom left when she was
taken by someone.
People said that I was born
in a coffin. And people
say that I am lazy.
I am a superhero and people
say that I am not.
I only come out at night.
Halloween
Vincent T.
I see the children trick or treating
I live on a pole on a farm
I keep the trickier crows away
I sometimes sneak off to scare
but I seem to fly in the wind
so its hard to get back
When I fall asleep the
crows start taking my hay
but I hae been a scarecrow
for forty years because
I cannot change
Ghost
Josue P.
I am a ghost
I live in a house,
a house that was
forgotten. If you
dare to come
in then come.
Once I was
alive but now
I am not, I
am just a creature
that scares people
at night. My house
is protected by children
that are dead, noises
from the piano, children
laughting, children crying.
No one could see
me, I cannot see
myself in the mirror.
Sometimes I get
lonely, so I just go outside
and scare people.
I am not like dracula I only
sleep at night he drinks blood
I scare people.
On halloween I always come out
and scare people. One
day I will rule the
world with darkness.
In full moons I become
powerful.
If you dare to stop me
you won’t because I
will stop you and
destroy your life
for ever.
