Last Friday, February 17, our post V-day session, I recited to my 6th grade students what may be considered to be the most widely referenced passage on love in modern times…you know the one… it begins, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy…” This ushered in our revising session on the love sonnets from last class. The students took out their drafts and a blank sheet of paper with which to create a form template; it was to keep them in step with their rhyme scheme, number of lines per stanza and number of stanzas. Throughout the revision process, we also worked on achieving iambic pentameter after doing a quick refresher on counting syllables. We were able to devote a valuable 30 minutes to revising time (re-working and completing our work from last week with a fresh set of eyes). The results, I must say are astonishing…you’ll get to them soon enough.
In the 7th and 8th grade class, we discussed the stages of the writing process and my own experiences with the revision process as a writer. Ms. Dydo graciously read the blog post from last week that detailed our last class, and then I shared the sonnet I wrote for love, and for them. They applauded my effort, which pleased me(maybe even made me blush), but I was most excited to be able to make good on the collective “we” that I consistently use when I teach them and when I write about our classes.
In preparation for their revisions, we completed an a exercise to strengthen form. I tasked the students to write a new sonnet about anything of their choosing, as they focused on rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter. I must admit, narrowing the plethora of teenager ideas to one, was a difficult task for many of the students, but it was still a valuable lesson-the writing process is so much sweeter when there is a draft with which to work, so I am looking forward to the students having that experience this Friday.
For some reason, I had to take this blog to church this week; I suppose it is because while I read these, my 6th grade student’s were giving me “my whole entire life” with these sonnets, which brought to mind yet another passage. “Out of the mouths of babes and suckling thou hast ordained strength.” I have chosen to showcase 10 sonnets from 6th graders alone, this week. This kind of love, this kind of wisdom, begs to be savored. These works exceeded my expectations and captivated me. I hope they will do the same for you…and there will be more sonnets for love next week. Lucky you!
6th Grade
Takrionna G.
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Love is my everything in my heart
Sometimes I feel like I’m in a black room
I close my eyes and think of art
Sometimes we look around
Sometimes my love hides from me
Sometimes my love brings me to tears
Sometimes my love has me ready for a ride
Sometimes I love just being me
Sometimes people try to steal my love
I stop them before they hurt me
Sometimes I say I love them
Sometimes I say I’ll hurt
My love is powerful
Your love to me is powerful
Jamarion H.
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Love is your heart; there’s no fear
But you love two people but you don’t know something
You don’t know something; it brings you to tears
All of the hate and love just flows
You love someone with your heart
And you grow to love, but there is fear
There are no groups, there is a part of you
will bring you down and into tears
You love the person that makes you feel good
She makes you really happy to be alive
You are in one world with you and her
She is the best thing that happened to you
She loves you and you love her
You want her forever and ever
Aniya C.
Love is Powerful
Love is powerful, it makes you whole
It can take away death from a distance
but it can’t take away your soul
It can make you lose your breath
Love can make you ill. When you feel it its real
Love is in the distance if you believe it
It can also make you steal
It also makes you admit it
Love can bring you into tears
Love can make you think of art
It helps you overcome your fears
It can also bring you out of the dark
Love is powerful
Love is thoughtful
Elijah B.
How You Love Me
Love started in my heart
Love is in my soul
You stuck me with the dart
You always make me whole
Love is also in my pride
and there is no fear here
I hope you will always be near
I hope you will be by my side
Love can also be a secret
Love can also be a dream
and love can be private
Love is something; not what is seen
Love can hurt badly
But it can also heal
Sequoya D.
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Love is in my soul, and I show it through art
I have a dream that it will be bright
I express myself, my feelings through my heart
In the middle of the night, I have that sight
I don’t like mean bullies and cowards
The sun comes so close it shines the most
I like hot showers and purple flowers
The look so good they make me boast
I will be in your big heart from the start
I jumped so high in the sky, I touched the ground
If you break my heart, it will feel like a dart
But I feel like this is my true love I found
Your love is like a big, fluffy cloud
When I sleep, your love is a heart beating sound
Amarion T.
Love is Everything
Love is forever in your blood
Love is what you can find in the dark
Love me and I will start to hug
Love is always through your heart
Love is forever on a date
Love is every time you say hi
Love is something you don’t hate
When you become a really nice guy
Love makes you sometimes sad
Love is always what you do
People still love you when you are bad
Love me and I will love you
Love is throughout the world
Love is what makes us people
Don N.
Valentine Fever
The thought of love is a great feeling
It is a care too, then love is late and faulty
Feeling love is a thing people feel
to be a thrilling potion for depression to heal
My love is like a dove or a piece of bread
with yummy butter spread
My love is soft like a pillow-top bed
My love is like a disease that spreads
at an alarming rate but only on a date
To me, love is like a behavior
It will be distraught sometimes to hear
Love can be like after being whipped and dropping a tear
Love is scary, like a hail Mary; it’s scary. It may vary
Love is deadly scary and sometimes tearful
Don’t let the bad side of love get you out of the good side
Da’Najia W.
Stay Strong
I don’t love you because you have a great soul
I love you like a big piece of art
I love you as a nice, big whole
and I take you to the very end of my heart
I love you like my most favorite food
I see you every night in my dreams
everybody thinks we are so over cool
that’s just the way most of everything seems
you smell like one of my best flowers
when I look up and see you here and there
It seems like being here is more like an hour
but basically I know you’re nowhere near
Everything might just be a little bit strong
but you cannot always tell what you did wrong
Navara T.
Love Isn’t Real
Love is heartache and love is pain
love would disappear without a trace
love can always be gained
but love can lose any race
Love will fall, love will break
but only some is held together
love might break and love will be raked
love will not ever be forever
Love is something that some don’t say
love makes you feel a very special way
but love might not be here every day
so love will lie in every lay
love isn’t real, love is a lie
and love will not ever say goodbye
Kaniya H.
Love
Love is a beautiful, special, valuable thing
love is a picture of pretty art work
to your love, you can sing lovable songs
love remains in your heart forever and ever
No matter how big or small your heart gets
or if you love someone more than one person
your love will grow and grow until it stops
it will always be your heart and your soul
I have gradual love for my family and friends
sometimes we lose people but they are in our hearts
love can cure sad people and their sadness
love can be a happy thing for all people
My love is a special thing for all
Is your love special like mine?
