Poetry and Playfulness (8th grade)

Our first poetry unit in Ms. Krasic’s 8th grade class is on play and surprise. We talked about how poetry can give us tools to express some of our deepest emotions and thoughts, while also giving us a place to play with language and tap into our weird inner small kids.

To practice this silly side of ourselves, we read Valerie Worth’s poem “Paper Clip,” and then came up with the most surprising similes and metaphors we could for the most boring objects in the room. We stretched our imaginations by expanding these comparisons into short poems.

Ms. Krasic 8th Grade

The Old Expo Marker Riddhi

The old expo marker

Is an old

lamp post

forgotten and with rust.

It’s flame brings

warmth

to the grave

that its next to.

They sit in

silence

getting older

as we sleep.

Excess Paper Zaira

The paper I ripped

Off of my lined paper

looks funny.

It sits there on its side

the tips of mountains I

would love to climb.

Sitting on my table waiting

to be thrown, to be moved.

But mountains don’t move.

They sit there until they crumple.

But when I pick it up to throw it

It looks like my after school lunch.

The ramen in the cup as I pour in

The hot water. Its ready to be eaten.

Squishing around the cup so it

cools down while I watch my

shows, not paying attention to

it.

Bottle Noman

The bottle standing tall

like a tower

echoing like a bell.

Standing Still

looking like a

rocket ready

to launch

into the midnight sky.