Inspired by Wallace Stevens’ Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, students examined a sea shell from different angles and then used similes to describe it in verse.
Lesson Note: ‘My approach to writing has this belief at its core: To become…a more confident writer is to take a learning journey. Learning through practice-repeating an activity over and over-has always been one of the main ways that humans learn. To be on a learning journey as a writer means that you move from one place to another.’-How to Be A Writer: Building Your Creative Skills Through Practice and Play by Barbara Baig.
Ms. Ruan, 7th and 8th Grades
6 ways to look at a seashell
by
Peiwen M.
1. It is curly like a Fritos.
It looks like a war horn.
2. It looks like a round butter cookie.
The shell is like a croissant.
3. The shell looks like a cave.
The shell feels like a rock.
4. The shell is twisted like a spring.
5. The shell is like a turtle.
6. The shell feels like a horn.
The shell is like a twister.
Sea Shells
by
Qiqi L.
1.
It is as curly as Fritos.
It looks like a war horn.
2.
The shell looks like a round butter cookie.
3.
It looks like a waffle.
It feels like play-doh.
4.
This shell is twisted like a croissant.
5.
It looks like a turtle shell.
6.
It looks like a torch.
Ms. Wright, 8th Grade
The Difference in Shells
By Crescent D.
1. Seems like a water
Unicorn circling around
Itself
2. Shaped like a baby
Hiding inside a pod
3. Light air floating
Around itself
Shells
By: Karen X.
1.
The shell looks like a
Waffle cone ice cream on
A sunny day
2.
The shell is as bumpy as
A picnic basket on the green
Grass
3.
The shell is as shallow as
A baby pool
4.
This shell looks like a
Snail’s shell that detached themselves
From their body
5.
This shell looks like a
A hill made for walks
Buried under the sky
6.
This shell is as accurate as
A real shell
Found on the ocean seas
Ms. Wright, 8th Grade
6 different ways to look at a seashell
By Samantha L.
1.
Round and puffed like a croissant
Warm and buttery as if it just came out of the oven
2.
A spiral butter cookie
Just like the ones my sister made
3.
Hallow as an ice cream cone
With ridges and patterns on it
4.
Looks like a conch shell
but without the spikes
5.
Looks like cereal
From Chex Mix
6.
Looks like home
for a snail
hermit
by Steven L.
1.
It has a horn-like a narwhal
stabbing through the air.
2.
It is spiraled like a patterned rug
that probably costs like $20.
3.
It is empty like a natural cave
unsearched and unknown.
4.
The shell looks like a fallen ice cream cone
causing children despair.
5.
Emptied out like a seaside cove
left for kids to explore
6.
The shell looks like a fallen ice cream cone, but further away
the child is being pulled away to get another one, I guess.
