All posts in Fullamusu Bangura

Maybe We’re Metaphors

Hello again, dear reader! Last week, Grissom’s 6-8th grade students turned into cosmic metaphor explorers. This lesson was inspired by Joy Young and began with a quick question: what’s something you wish you could […]

Spreading The Love

Grissom’s 6th and 7th grade students are no strangers to expressing their love, as I was lucky enough to learn last week. Students spent some time watching Rudy Fransisco’s “If I Was A Love […]

Sticky, Icky Poems

This post is a throwback to some poems Sayre’s 8th graders wrote about their pet peeves. After reading “Flexers” by Sabrina Y., students wrote their own poems about icks they have. Check out a […]

“Chicago Is Gotham City”

Happy Spring Break, reader! Last week, Sayre’s students dove a little deeper into figurative language with metaphors. We spent some time reading Philip B. Williams’ “Declaration” and discussing the parts of the city we […]

Poems as Eyeglasses

Hello again! Last week, Grissom’s poets got real about what poetry means to them. After watching a video of Jamila Wood’s “Blk Girl Art,” we discussed feelings we associate with reading poetry. Students were […]

Wintertime Love

Last week, Sayre’s 8th graders took a detour from their ick poems to write about people and things that they love. After watching Rudy Fransisco’s performance of “If I Was A Love Poet,” students […]

Songs of Ourselves

My first week with Grissom’s middle school students could not have been more welcoming. Student poets did not hesitate introducing themselves and sharing what they already know about poetry. Together, we read “This Body […]

The Name Game

Each of our names tell a story about us, and last week Sayre’s 8th graders dug deep into their origins. Some of us are named after loved ones, and others have names inspired by […]

Poems Are Like Burgers

Sayre’s 8th grade students had a lot to say about poetry. After reading Jamila Woods’ “Blk Girl Art,” we spent time crafting our own works about what poetry means to us. Check out some […]

Word Searching

Happy Winter Solstice! Carver’s students spent last week carving out some time for poetic exploration with books from my personal collection. After spending some time catching, up, students spent time drawing words from different […]

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I’M FROM THE CITY LIGHTS / STREAMING OUT IN THE NIGHT / AND HUGE SKYSCRAPERS / TOWERING OVER THE LAKE – MELISSA E., 7TH GRADE POET