All posts in Poems

Chicago State of Mind

This past Monday at Howe, we merged poetry & rap with their intuitive collaborator — basketball. We began by defining poetry — getting creative with words to express emotions. Then we explored other places […]

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 […]

Heroes

Students read Gwendolyn Brooks, “Young Heroes II | For Don at Saalam”, and we talked and wrote about what a hero is an where we find ours. There is no one mold for a hero […]

Almost There

Students read Nayyiryh Waheed’s poem “fresh” and wrote about what it means to be on the way or almost to something —maybe a goal, maybe an event— and what we might think about to […]

I Was Scared, Not Anymore

Students read “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou, and wrote poems about their fears, overcoming them and ways they will help help protect others and help them overcome fear. In the words of […]

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 […]

Dada!

Today, we explored Dada poetry. We talked about how Dada artists were dealing with a world at war and post-pandemic and how they decided art should be random and meaningless. We discussed whether or […]

Personification (7th Grade)

The first step to building empathy is putting ourselves in the experiences of another, especially if that other can’t speak. The 7th graders of Clinton asked themselves what inanimate objects, animals, or fictional characters […]

Personification (8th Grade)

The first step to building empathy is putting ourselves in the experiences of another, especially if that other can’t speak. The 8th graders of Clinton asked themselves what inanimate objects, animals, or fictional characters […]

“Gems”

Today Brennemann 2nd graders read two “little” poems written by Nikki Grimes: “Moon” and “Shower.” Both poems had six lines or less, yet they packed a lot of interest. As a group we worked […]

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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