‘the child is being pulled away…’: Shell Game

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 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 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 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 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

6 different ways to look at a seashell 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 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.

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