For the past two weeks students at McCutcheon have been writing, reading
and discussing America. As part of the Hands on Stanzas Inaugural poem
competition the students wrote poems intended for the Inauguration of
President Elect Barack Obama.

Prior to writing the poems, we read the poem I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes.
Looking at how Hughes uses a personal experience to talk about a

This week we talked about metaphor in both the 6th & 8th grade classes. We read an excerpt from Claribel Alegria's poem I Am Root.

After
identifying the metaphors in the poem and talking about what Alegria
might have intended when she wrote them, both classes wrote poems
comparing themselves to an aspect of nature.

Here are three poems from the 6th grade classroom:

Untitled
by Jacky P.

I have energy
fast and strong
lazy and loyal

This week we talked about metaphor in both the 6th & 8th grade classes. We read an excerpt from Claribel Alegria's poem I Am Root.

After identifying the metaphors in the poem and talking about what Alegria might have intended when she wrote them, both classes wrote poems comparing themselves to an aspect of nature.

Here are three poems from the 8th grade classroom:

I Am a Butterfly
by Kiara N.

I started small, and have grown
big and mature.

In the 8th grade room at McCutcheon last week, we looked at Lisel Mueller's poem Not Only the Eskimos. The poem describes different types of snow and the students discussed what images were their favorite.

After our discussion, they wrote descriptive poems about variations of all different kinds.

Last Thursday at McCutcheon the 6th grade class read Li-Young Lee's poem From Blossoms. We talked about how Lee used description to capture his memories of summer and peaches.

The students then wrote poems about a specific food and the memory they attach to that food.

Here is some of their work:

Grapes
by Takeyia H.

When I think of
grapes I see my mother.

I can hear my mom
talk as I sit there.

I can smell my
mom's perfume.

Last week at McCutcheon the 6th grade class looked at exceprts from SA Griffin's poem America Poem.

After talking about how Griffin uses description to describe the United States, the class wrote poems describing Chicago.

Here are three examples of their work:

Chicago
by Camillus J

Chicago has lots
of buildings
It has long
never ending
streets
at night it
looks like the
buildings turned
into stars
Chciago feels

There was a lot happening at McCutcheon last Thursday! The 8th graders were very busy escorting guest principals which left only a handful of students for our class. Those of us there, however, managed to have a great discussion about William Greenway's poem Theater.

After reading the poem, the students wrote descriptive poems of their own about a specific place or room.

Here are three of their poems:

Park
by Danita S.

The place you never want to leave

In the 8th grade class at McCutcheon we talked about the importance of description in poetry.

We read Grammar of Sparrows by Tony Hoagland. The students each selected one image from the poem and expanded on that image to write a descriptive poem.

Here are three of their excellent poems:

The Colors of Birds
by Michael A.

Have you ever seen the colors of Birds,
The color expressed in their feathers,
The color of love and understanding,

Today in the 6th grade class we read Pablo Neruda's Ode to Flowers Along the Coast.

We talked about how Neruda uses his line breaks to move the poem forward and the class wrote Odes of their own.

Here are three of their poems

Ode to Football
by Christian C.

Football is always fun.
You can feel the warmth
and the wind go through
you.

When you catch the ball
you can feel strong inside,
when you make a touchdown,
you feel great inside.

In the 6th grade classroom at McCutcheon today we read Gwendolyn Brooks' poem We Real Cool.  The students caught on quickly to the rhythm of the poem and some even performed the poem as a rap. 

We talked about how her lines and stanzas added to the rhythm and the students wrote poems about things that they do and the outcome of those things. 

Here are three of their poems:

Untitled
by Jeremy W.

I went to school