In hopes of complementing students’ collaboration with the Chicago Symphony using the theme of landforms, I decided to do a lesson on personification. We looked at a poem written by Norris, who was a 5th grade student in 2009. The poem was written in the voice of Mt. St. Helens, a volcano in Washington state. We talked about giving human characteristics to nonhuman things, and looked at how lines such as “I live on a rocky throne,” “When I decide to blow out ash.” and “I shoot up fire and light the night” provide clues about the kind of landform being personified. We brainstormed ideas and collaborated on first drafts. Ms. Rodriguez’s class had already worked on a poem about fast erosion, and so we looked at ideas for revision.
Mrs. Barbeau 2nd Grade
we are a river
we started at the top of the mountain
wet, soggy,
traveling with friends:
sticks, rocks, mud
and little sand buddies
flowing through high boulders
kidnapping little pebbles along the way
for snacks, we devour fish
sometimes we meet the beach
it waves and hugs a greeting
sand buddies crash
into their kin
Ms. Froman 2nd Grade
Sand dunes are like
a magician changing shapes
A mountain range is like
a second grade class lining up for recess
A canyon takes its time like
Raphael builds a lego set
or someone taking their time brushing their teeth in the bathroom
A tsunami could be angry
at it’s brothers (brothers are so annoying)
An island sticks to the ocean’s
floor
like when you get stuck working
a math problem