Students were instructed to grab a book and find words and passages that stood out to them, or to use random words as the starting point for a poem. They were then instructed to pick one prompt from a series of prompts and write a poem based on that.
- PROMPT #1: Home Planet: Imagine you are from another planet, stuck on Earth and longing for home.
- PROMPT #2: Think about a time when you couldn’t decide, and write based on this.
- PROMPT #3: Imagine that the clock stops wherever you are right now, and everyone in the world is frozen in place. What are they doing?
- PROMPT #4: Weirder Than Fiction: Think of the most unbelievable moment in your life, and write a poem about the experience.
Lesson Note: ‘Poetry is a body of unprecedented experiences, ‘ said poet Kevah Akbar, in a writer’s workshop I attended. Authors Jack Collom and Sheryl Noethe add, ‘ Much of the fun [of this type of exercise] is the juxtapositions, which can be jagged or unexpected but can point to new meanings.’
Ms. Hernandez, 7th Grade
I don’t know
by Clark A.
I didn’t know what to do
Do i want to go or not
There i was waiting in line for demon
The scariest roller coaster i’ve ever seen
Should i do it
I ask my friend
He says “ yEs Do IT FOr mE”
I say “fine”
Then as i am so close to the line
I freak out
It’s too late to get out of line
I get on the ride
I close my eyes and hear “ALL CLEAR”
I tune it out
And it starts.
I feel like it goes for a million miles
I get to the corkscrew
My head bangs and
I feel the pain
When i get off i tell my friend
“NEVER AGAIN”
And then we do the rest with no problems
Prompt #3: Alone
by Zoe N.
One of them was laughing super hard.
Another is spacing out, and their fingernails are digging
into their arm as they pretend to laugh.
One isn’t even paying attention.
Another is typing on their phone.
One is smiling and staring at someone across the room.
Another is laughing so hard that
Tears appear in their eyes.
One is thinking about how they have to go home after this
And are dreading it.
Another is mad at someone for hurting them.
One left 30 minutes ago to “use the bathroom” and hasn’t come back.
But I was alone.
I was the only one there.
I felt like a thousand people at the same time.
I felt all the emotions.
Yet, when I looked in the mirror,
A blank stare reflected back at me.
I wanted to cry.
I wanted to smile.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to go home.
Mrs. McClain, 8th Grade
Clock
By: Max B.
05.07.25
303
I sit in class
Then all of a sudden at 10:35 everyone stops
The talking stops
The yelling stops
The sound of chairs moving stops
The sound of gum chewing stops
Everything just stops
I look around at everyone
and see their still bodies just sitting there
People looking at their computers and their work and their grades
I look around in class and see people playing games
Then all of a sudden at 10:40 everyone starts
The talking starts
The yelling starts
The sound of chairs moving starts
The sound of gum chewing starts
Everything just starts
And I just act like nothing happened
I belong home
by Laila L.
Home is where I belong
Not up here, not down there
Not left, nor right
Home is where I sleep,
Where I eat,
Where I drink,
Where my family is
Home isn’t a rainy place,
A hot desert,
A chilly place,
Home is family,
Home is breath taken,
Home is a nice weather place
Not some random goopy animals
And random slimy humans
Home is my language,
My communication
My heart, My eyes,
My ears, My nose
The place I walk and stand
The place I run and sit
Not where I’m being judged
What I wear, What I listen to
Where I sleep, What I eat
What I do, Why I do what I do
Home is where I find comfort
Not if I’m going to be alive or dead the next day
Home is where I belong
Mrs. McClain, 8th Grade
From PROMPT #1: Home Planet: Imagine you are from another planet, stuck on Earth and longing for home..
By Matteo M.
On a distant piece of land, a ways away from home
All alone with nobody here.
A small spec far away
All those millions and billions of miles away is my home
That is where I long to be
But it is just impossible to reach that far
Only a miracle could grant me my one wish
The wish to talk to my friends and family again.
Will I ever see them again?
So far, that spec is it could be hard to spot
I could only dream
I could only dream of getting out of this place
The strange animals
The near-death experiences
The unforgiving nature
One mistake
One mistake could cost so much
One mistake could ruin all that I have built up here
One mistake could ruin the chance of making it back
All the strange people
I am in danger on this planet ¨earth¨
All I want is home
From prompt 2
by Jhonefer M. D.
When i was 5
my parents gave me the choice on a game i could get
On the newly acquired ipad i.
They had given me the choice
get minecraft or a horror game
I felt pressured by myself
I wanted both
But as my parents laughed
After i asked if i could have
both
I realized i could only choose one
In my head
I imagine the things i could do
Build
Create
And survive
And in the other option
I had the choice
In going in this story of fear death
And so much more
That would
Create lasting memories
Knowing that i choose minecraft
Why?
Because with that game
I could create anything my heart desired
Big or small
Once choosing the game i wanted
I felt a wave of normalness
Knowing i had made the right decision
Now till this day i still
Still play the game i had chosen almost
1 decade ago
With this i realized
We take most things for granted
But as i write this i’m glad i chose
That game
End…
