All posts in Poems

Writing Through Tradition

In Social Justice High School last week, we read Jane Wong’s “After Preparing the Altar the Ghosts Feasts Feverishly.” We discussed the layered meaning of food, cultures, and how this was reflected in the […]

Remembering Our Childhoods (8th Grade)

There are some realizations you can only come to by reflecting on your past. This is what the 8th graders of Clinton did as we explored our childhoods with the Aimee Nezhukumatathil poem “When […]

Remembering Our Childhoods (7th Grade)

There are some realizations you can only come to by reflecting on your past. This is what the 7th graders of Clinton did as we explored our childhoods with the Aimee Nezhukumatathil poem “When […]

I wish

In Ms Reed’s class, we wrote poems that make wishes! We talked about how we could write with our five senses and all of the different types of wishes we can make. We had […]

“power already in my bones” Corrupting the Sonnet

This week in class we read “My earliest memory is telling myself stories without” by Diane Seuss and expanded on some of the history of poetic forms we started with odes. We discussed how […]

Imagery Building!

This last week at Henry, we looked at Ayokunle Falomo’s “#BlackBoyJoy” poem. We learned about personification as a further expansion of metaphors and imagery. Check out some of our poems from this week! Mrs. […]

The Tools of A Writer

This week I introduced students to some of the tools I like to use on a regular basis in my personal writing practice. As a teaching artist, and “professional” writer, I like to let […]

2nd Grade Experts Weigh In

Today Swift 2nd graders talked about (1) things they know how to do well; (2) the recipes they know how to cook; (3) and how to give someone expert instructions. We passed around different […]

Retellings – Triumph & Magic

Two weeks ago, before illness took this poet away from the 4th floor of Hyde Park High School, we all sat around a table in Ms. Gholston’s art room and discussed magic. How would […]

Out Of This World: Retellings

After being ill last week, I could not have been more excited to return to Lawndale this week, which was all about reimagining the past and revitalizing our power, our magic. After a game […]

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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