All posts in Leslie Reese

“Inside My Pencil”

The week before spring break, Bret Harte 2nd graders had a chance to explore two poems: Kathi Mitchell’s “What’s Under the Sky,” and my poem, “Inside My Shoe.” Students looked for patterns in both […]

Odes After School

Poetry students in Haines after school program talked about the difference between biography and autobiography. We then read “Ode to My Size” by Peter Acosta, in which the young poet accepts and celebrates that […]

Coming to the Board

This week some Swift 2nd graders listened to the book, All Because You Matter by Tami Charles; while others explored pages of Imagine A World by Ron Gonsalves. Whether talking about how each of […]

4th Grade Worlds of Color

After considering and writing about the meaning of blackness, Shoesmith 4th graders turned their attention to the blues. Beginning on March 11 they opened their eyes and hearts to more colors, and possible similes […]

“An Alien That Drives a Car”

Recently Swift 2nd graders have been playing with personification after reading Shel Silverstein’s “Whatif” poem. The narrator of the poem imagines little whatifs that crawl inside our ears at night, worrying us with questions […]

4th Grade Blues

Shoesmith 4th graders have been learning about the blues, listening to the blues, discussing the blues and snapping their fingers to the blues! After finding out our “blue names” using a blues name generator, […]

Poems for Readers

For two sessions in March, Bret Harte 2nd graders have been thinking about reading and writing. They shared things they like about writing, such as “it can help you make books,” “you can write […]

Haines Word Power

Last week Haines 4th grade after-school session was joined by Principal Moy! We talked about the power of words. Then each took a turn coming up with lines to create a first draft of […]

Their Own Worlds in Their Own Words

Recently, Bret Harte 2nd graders read “A Little Girl’s Poem” by Gwendolyn Brooks. Written from a young person’s point of view, the poem begins with “Life is for me and is shining!/ Inside me […]

Diversity and Belonging

In our recent sessions, Swift 2nd graders talked about diversity, and found that it is everywhere! Diversity can be found in flowers, people, languages, colors, natural habitats, cats, dogs, music, countries, and elsewhere. We […]

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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