Writing Together - The Chicago Poetry Center

Writing Together

After watching the group poems “Cat Poem” by Get Lit LA (Brave New Voices slam team) and “Learning Love” by Chucky Black & Victoria C, the 7th and 8th graders of Waters discussed what is possible when we explore what we have in common and write poems together. After pairing up, students used Venn Diagrams to interview each other and find out what they had in common. Then, they chose a topic and wrote poems that included a mix of individual and shared lines. Students wrote about shared lived experiences, favorite sports, mutual passions, and reflections on graduating, using poetry to build bridges between them.

Ms. Hernandez (7th Grade)

Volleyball Aydin C., Nathan C., and Roberto M.

We love playing volleyball!
I like the teamwork needed to be able to win
I like spiking the ball
I like the funness of Volleyball!
There are many different things about volleyball
I LOVE volleyball legends, they teach me new skills
I like being good at volleyball, even though I can’t run
I’m good at volleyball, but I hit it too low
There’s always opportunity to grow in Volley – ball!

Places Sami C. and Amelia B.

Oh the places we could go
Montana is so unique and looks really cool
Dairy Queen has the best ice cream
I like touching grass
I can wander in the jungle all day
All the places I could touch
Sometimes you wander a little too long

We are both Puerto Rican Alvaro L. and Matthew A.

Our dads are Puerto Rican
We are both Hispanic
We both live in Chicago
We both like playing tennis for fun
We both like Bad Bunny
and we both like rice and beans
We are both Puerto Rican

Ms. Hernandez (8th Grade)

Memories of Waters Kiera W. and Reeve S.

We will miss Waters
All the warm welcomes of the staff in the morning
I hug Ms. Mendez every day, until tomorrow

We will miss Waters
all the funny jokes we’ve laughed over
Seeing Ms. Judy every recess
We will miss these memories

Kandi Finn M. and Chloe S.

I like making Kandi
Colorful beads that turn into anything
Homemade Treasures to wear & trade
Kandi is fun yay hip hip hooray
Bracelets, cuffs, keychains, modes, anything is possible!
Beads, charms, shapes and colors!!
Kandi is super cool and awesome sauce wow wow wow
Kandi
is cool
Wow wow yay hooray cool

Music Avery W. and Aria M.

We love music
Hear this new song
on his new album
that I listened to the second it came out
Take my AirPod
What’s this song?
I’m not sure but I like it