Fifth Grade Future Poetry Fanatics

Today we did a mini “Nikki Giovanni” poetry workshop with her “Winter Poem”. I found this great website called Dada.net where she recited her poems.  I asked the students to close their eyes and visualize in their mind the pictures that the poem triggered.  We listened to the poem three times to make sure they got the gist of it.  After that they shared their feelings from listening to this poem and they picked their favorite parts.  The students really got into this poem and when it was time to write their own poem, they jumped into it.  They seemed like they really enjoyed writing their own “Winter Poem”.  I discussed with them how the poem was “free verse” and written in the first person.  I pointed out to them Giovanni’s techniques she used such as using lowercase letters, no punctuation, and writing it as an ongoing sentence.  Everyone finished their poems so quickly. I was so proud of them. Everybody read their poems aloud too!  Finally we relaxed and listened to various other children’s poems from Nikki Giovanni.  Their reaction to her poetry was just the same as mine.  The energy in her poetry seems to captivate everyone.

I went to Central to work with the kids, but I was only there shortly since they also had to work with their counselor. They did do a journal entry though, where they wrote silently for ten minutes. They were to write about anything that came across their mind.

The students are working on a “Rainbow poem” right now.  This is how it works:

1. Write down in order the colors of the rainbow

2. For each color, on the next line pick a noun/object that is the same color

3. On the third and fourth line, using verbs in the “ing” form tell what the noun/object is doing

The Kids broke out Langston Hughes poem “My People” again and for each line they made up hand motions that exemplified the meaning.  They were split into two groups and after they had practiced they performed for the other group and Mrs. Taylor.  Their performances turned out wonderful!

So you all have probably been wondering what has been going on and the “Where I’m From” poems, but the students just recently finished them this past Monday and I am planning on a little surprise to do with them. Tuesday, we started something new after the students shared their “Where I’m From” poems to their classmates. I read the poem “My People” by Langston Hughes. After reading it out loud we discussed how the poem made everyone feel, images in the poem, and personal connections that emerged from them hearing the poem. It was quite a success, with everyone pitching in their input. Afterwards the students then drew a picture of an image that they saw in the poem.

Wednesday, I introduced a “Where I’m From” poem which was written by George Ella Lyon. The students are working on writing their own by following the form of the original poem. So far, they are having a lot of fun doing it.

“Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon

I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush,
the Dutch elm
whose long gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.

I’m from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I’m from the know-it-alls and the pass-it-ons,
from perk up and pipe down.
I’m from He restoreth my soul with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself.

I’m from Artemus and Billie’s Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost to the auger
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.
Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.

I am from those moments–
snapped before I budded–
leaf-fall from the family tree

Here are the poems the students wrote after reading poems by Matsuo Basho and learning the rules for a Haiku.

Adan “Spring”

Spring is the time of

the year to let the blossoms

 bloom ’till Winter night

Christian “Winter”

Winter, white with snow

Silver dust blankets the trees

Still stays over night

Shelby “Dyna”

A beautiful cat

paws her mouse and her red ball

She is very sweet

Tyler “The Bat”

In the creepy night

the bats come out to find food,

sweeping through the air.

Lena “Hot Days”

The air is most warm,

on these unwanted hot days

of the short summer.

Megan “The Harvest”

The peanuts are picked-

the aromas of sweet grass

flow into the air.

Rebecca “Rainbow”

The rain has ended

The sun peeps out from the clouds

a rainbow appears

Hector “Sungazer Lizard”

Sungazer Lizard,

with sharp, brown spikes on his back

plays dead on the sand.

Jason “Football”

Football is so cool.

Passing footballs in the air,

Fans cheering for the home team.

Tybee “A Monkey”

A monkey loves me,

always she is watching me

with her small baby.

The students have been working so hard on their poetry so we had a read aloud October 17th so that they could share with their classmates what they have been working on.  They shared poems from their mobile, their “experience” poem, and their alliteration illustrations. It worked very well and everyone was eager to share.  Surprisingly, all the boys vollunteered first.

By Lena

                                                              Amazing Appliance of Alliteration!

Hector plays hardcore hockey, hustling and hitting the puck with horse-power. By Hector

They’re looking up now, but they were hard at work!

By Shelby