All posts in chicago public schools

‘where the dove still sings’ : Poems of Place

Students wrote ‘Where I’m From’ poems investigating the real and fantastical in poetry. Lesson Note: “What I like about this exercise is that it asks poets to look at what we think and think […]

‘First of all, I am thankful for Beyonce’: Thanks Poems

Students read ‘Thanks’ by W.S. Merwin before crafting their poems and musings on thanks! Lesson Note: “Being grateful is linked to higher levels of life satisfaction, optimism, vitality, helpfulness, empathy, forgiveness, and positive affect. […]

“bit by/bit” Narrative Food Poems

Our class began with a discussion of food and memory in preparation for studying Gary Soto’s Narrative-Style poem, Oranges. Nostalgia and feelings came up frequently in our discussions. What emotions are attached to memory […]

Poetry | La Poesía

Metaphor| Metáfora Sabin Elementary School | 4th Grade Our work with metaphor! We read Nikki Giovani’s poem, “Poetry” What is poetry? Students thought about what poetry is to them. Check out some student poetry […]

Imagination | Imaginación

Sabin Elementary School | 4th Grade Leímos el poema “fresca” escrito por Nayyirah Waheed; y toma forma interesante con el título en el fondo del poema. Hablábamos sobre el futuro, lo que venga y […]

Allow Us to Introduce Ourselves: Acrostic Poems

Sabin Elementary School | 4th Grade We introduced ourselves to each other by reading acrostic poems we wrote about ourselves. Nos presentamos para leer nuestros poemas acrósticos. How would you introduce yourself in an […]

“The/ Feeling felt like denser snow…”: Narrative Poetry

Our class began with a discussion of food and memory in preparation for studying Gary Soto’s Narrative-Style poem, Oranges. Nostalgia and feelings came up frequently in our discussions. What emotions are attached to memory […]

‘I woke up early, the sun barely bright’: Talking With…

A lesson on Personification, giving human qualities to something non-human via the poem: A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island. We looked at Frank O’Hara’s touching and somewhat mystifying poem. […]

‘Griffins, changelings, alicorns, unicorns, pegasus’ and ‘It/ made us feel like/ movie stars’: Children’s Television Poems

What TV shows did we cherish when we were young? What did we learn from them? What makes a hero (both real or imagined), and how can we learn from them (even the villains) […]

‘…when I sit in my own sea…’: Kindness Poems

Students wrote and talked about kindness before reading the poem, ‘Small Kindnesses’ by Denusha Lameris. In crafting their own poems students focused on one idea, one stanza and small ways they have been kind […]

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I’M FROM THE CITY LIGHTS / STREAMING OUT IN THE NIGHT / AND HUGE SKYSCRAPERS / TOWERING OVER THE LAKE – MELISSA E., 7TH GRADE POET