I Used To Be The Whip / But Now I'm Nae Nae

I Used To Be The Whip / But Now I’m Nae Nae

We’re nearing the end of our poetry residency, and so we reflect. The 3rd graders at Moos recalled all of their big poetry vocabulary for the year, and then we thought about all the ways we’ve changed over time. Students wrote poems that follow the idea of “I used to be ______ / but now I am _____ ” and they were encouraged to write autobiographically as well as imaginatively.

3rd Grade

Untitled by Jordan C.

I used to be santa
But now I’m the grinch
I used to be a baby
But now I am a man
I used to be an ant
But now I am antman
I used to be a girl
But now I am a boy

Untitled by Delilah

I used to be a flower
But now I am a rose
I used to be Kendel
But now I am Justin Beiber
I used be the whip
But now I’m nae nae
I used to be short
But now I’m still short
I used to be the color blue
But now I’m pink

Untitled by Ethan A.

I used to be a building
But now I am a bridge
I used to be the sky
But now I am the waters
I used to be the bank
But now I am the classroom
I used to be the poet
But now I am the teacher

Untitled by Christian C.

I used to be santa
But now I am a ball
I used to be a bridge
But now I’m big
I used to be a gourd
But now I am a king
I used to be a desk
But now I’m a chair
I used to be a box
But now I’m a bag

Ms. Sweeney 3rd Grade

I Now by Josephine

I used to be a seed
But now I am a tree
I used to be a slob
But now I am neat
I used to be a snail
But now I am a gazelle
I used to be a baby
But now…

How I Was by Crystal

I used to be a slow runner
But now I am a fast runner
I used to be a girly girl
But now I am a tomboy
I used to be E
But now I am M
I used to be a horse
But now I am a teacher
I used to be long hair
But now I am short hair
I used be a woman
But now I am a girl
I used to be a penny
But now I am a book

Untitled by Brianna T.

I used to be a messy person
But now I am a clean one
I used to be smart
But now I feel like Albert Einstein
I used to be cool
But now I am a nerd
I used to be slow
But now I am fast
I used to be a hand
But now I am feet

3rd Grade

Untitled by Cherrilyn

I used to be boring
But now I’m crazy and funny
I used to be fancy
But now I’m cool
I used to be lazy
But now I’m awake

Untitled by Nathan

I used to be a pear
But now I am a watermelon
I used to be an apple
But now I am an alligator
I used to be a vest
But now I am a bird

Untitled by Mario

I used to be a volcano
But now I am a beach
I used to be a horse
But now I am a cow
I used to be an apple
But now I am applesauce
I used to be a tomato
But now I am ketchup
I used to be a crayon
But now I am a marker
I used to be a sun
But now I am a moon