Poetry and Playfulness (5th)

Today in Ms. Shah’s 5th grade, we talked about 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 getting in touch with 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. Shah 5th Grade

Pencil Shavings Vanessa

The pencil shavings are
like Christmas cookie springles
are like little people dancing
around a tree. Or maybe
they are like spices that
lay on the ground. But
they could be a little gift
that sits under a building. Or
they are Christmas lights
hanging from above. Or
maybe they are little leaves
that just hit the ground.
They could be like small
veggies that are about to
grow. Or seeds that were
just plated. Pencil shavings
are not just pencil shavings.
They are sprinkles, people dancing
around trees, spices that just lay
on the ground and so much
more. So when you see a pencil
shaving there it’s not just that.

The porcupine Inaaya

The cushion is spiky like a porcupine.
The porcupine is curled up
Deep asleep in an Enchanted
Forest.
When it wakes up it runs
to search for food
like a penny rolling down
the street.

I am a hole puncher Jaion

The hole puncher is a nail
When it sits silently
It makes no noise
When it punches holes in our paper
it sounds like an engine
clicking and rumbling
working like an engine.
After serving its purpose it sits still
no clacking and rumbling
but sits still like a nail.