All posts in Joy Young

I remember . . . .

For our week 18 of poetry, O-School students explored ideas about memories. We discussed the importance of remembering. Whether it’s remembering happy moments such as birthday parties or family vacation, or sad memories like […]

Poets Become Mind readers

Twain 6th graders became mind readers for their 6th week of poetry. I asked students, if you could look inside someone’s head, what interesting things would you find? Most students wished they knew what […]

Poetry Out Loud 2025 National Champion !!!!

This year marks Poetry Out Loud’s 20th Anniversary and there is much to celebrate. On Thursday May 8, 2025, Isavel Mendoza, a 12th-grade student at Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts in […]

Personas that make us laugh

Twain 5th students became comedians for their 6th week of poetry. Poetry can help us make fun of ourselves and the world around us. Sharing jokes and laughter connects people. Together we read Lesléa […]

Poems and Paintbrushes

As we get closer to the end of our residency, I wanted to have have a colorful theme. For their 17th week, O-School students learned about Ekphrastic poetry. Ekphrastic poetry is poetry that is […]

Ask me any question

For our 5th poetry session, the theme was questions. Twain 6th graders were asked, Why do people ask questions? Most students mentioned how people ask questions because they want to gain knowledge and know […]

Sky wears a hat

For their 5th week of poetry, Twain 5th graders discovered exciting things about nature. I asked students what were some of their favorite things about nature, their responses were amazing: flowers, rain drops, autumn […]

I’ve got the school blues

For their sixteenth week of poetry O-School students explored Spoken Word poetry. Spoken Word poems are made for the stage, its storytelling told through elements of rhythm, rhyme, repetition, and even hip-hop. Most students […]

Memories come back like a boomerang!

For Twain 5th graders fourth week of poetry, they went back to the past using their memories as time machines. We explored how to use our five senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight) […]

Odes of every flavor

For our 4th week of poetry, 6th graders discovered odes. An ode is a poem that gives praise and celebrates a person, place, or object. Together we read Marcus Jackson’s poem “Ode to Kool-Aid.” […]

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“Writing poetry makes me feel like I can see myself, like I can see my reflection, but not in a mirror, in the world. I write and I know I can be reflected.”
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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