Since this is a season of gift-giving, in Ms. Sanchez’s 5th grade class, we read Pablo Neruda’s Ode to My Socks. We loved the ways Neruda described the socks and his feet as so many very surprising things (sharks! fish! tropical birds!) and how that layering of metaphor and description showed his excitement for the gift. We then wrote poems that shared about a present that was really important to us, not because it was expensive or fancy, but because it had meaning. The students wrote beautiful poems! Also, many students took home copies of the poem in both English and Spanish to read with their families and compare the differences!
A Beautiful Blow of Music
-Celestine R
The guitar, the dust in the air, and the musical item sitting
in front me in delight at at my smile. I take
a glimpse of it, looking at the old dainty color.
I put my fingers, gliding them on a string,
a note plays. I glaze my hand down
the handle. It was dusty, like an old pair
of clothes. My breathe blows, and wooshes
the dust off. I shed a tear, thinking of her, my grandma.
The PURPLE-est
-Clarke H
The present I got didn’t call to me nor spoke
my name, I called to it. I was thinking how lovely purple
it was as silent as that bird you’ve never
seen, hiding away, it’s taste was so bland
you could call it art, its bumpy wave poking my fingers
like the road, looking like it’s halfway to night. Sitting
it down, to rest for another day, it’s really pretty
in my taste.
The Bracelet of Destiny
-Dylan A
The bracelet is like a heart to me because
my grandma gave it to me before she passed
away so if I lose it it’s like I lose my
heart and my life would be over.
A necklace my grandmother is passing down generation to generation
-Keyla M
The necklace
was a cloud
up in the
sky.
The necklace
was like a trip to
the past.
The necklace
was the color
of the night sky.
The necklace
smelt like
fresh blue
berries.
The necklace
is a Merry
Christmas but
even better.
