All posts in Leslie Reese

“Comparing Madness!” 5th graders play with figurative language

Students have not allowed the months of distance learning to thwart their imaginations! The title of this post is borrowed from Michael N. in Room 206 – one of the 5th graders at Avondale-Logandale […]

“Even 4th Graders Have the Blues”

As distance learning has continued, I met with Shoesmith 4th graders via computer audio and video once again – this time to talk about the blues; and the lament as a poetic form that […]

5th grade Poems Inspired by Luis Tubens

For our 8th remote poetry lesson, 5th graders at Avondale-Logandale took inspiration from the poem “Bidentity,” by Luis Tubens, in which the poet expresses his identification with both Puerto Rico and Chicago. We learned […]

Where to Find a Poem

Swift Elementary School 2nd graders believe that poems can be found nearly everywhere! After we read “Finding a Poem” by Karla Kuskin, students brainstormed places where poems are found and wrote their own poems. […]

4th graders Go To Work in the “Crazy Ideas Factory”

For our first poetry session of 2021, Shoesmith 4th graders taught me about oobleck, and then went to work in what I like to call the “Crazy Ideas Factory.” That means they played with […]

5th graders wonder: What does it all mean?

To kick off the new year, Avondale-Logandale 5th graders wondered which is more important: questions or answers? We also wondered what makes us rich? Family? Gold? Money? Hard work? Wisdom? Students read Naomi Shihab […]

Beginning the New Year With Acrostics

For our 1st session of the new year, me and the 2nd graders at Swift Elementary spent time getting reacquainted and sharing stories about what we did over the holiday break. After that, I […]

“Goodbye [2020] Hello [2021] Poems” from Avondale-Logandale 5th Graders

For our 6th remote session together, we had a poetry reading and 5th graders at Avondale-Logandale school shared poems and songs that they have been creating since November. Listening to so many expressions of […]

“Everyday I Have the Blues:” 5th Grade Blues poems & songs

Has 2020 given you the blues? Have you felt like lamenting? I wanted to create a poetry lesson that allowed creative exploration and expression of our bluesy feelings, so, for our 5th session together, […]

5th grade Creature poems!

For our 4th session together, Avondale-Logandale 5th graders considered the types of personalities that school and work days might have. They said that Mondays are grumpy; Tuesdays are tired; Wednesdays are a cross between […]

Donate

Support our student poets today!

CONNECT WITH US!

Twitter Facebook-f Instagram

STUDENT POETRY

Click on a school name below to browse student poems from current school partners.

POETRY ARCHIVE

Click on a school name below to browse student poems from our archive.

RECENT FACEBOOK POSTS

TESTIMONIALS

“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.”
-Oscar S.

“Writing poetry makes me feel free.”
-Buenda D.

“Writing poetry is like your best friend.”
-Jessica M.

Search

CONTACT US

General Inquiries
info@poetrycenter.org

Programs (School & Organizational)
programs@poetrycenter.org

Reading Series and Events:
curator@poetrycenter.org

The Chicago Poetry Center is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
FEIN: 23-7400515

SEND US A POSTCARD

Chicago Poetry Center
1448 E. 52nd St, #256
Chicago, IL 60615

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