Room for Poetry

We had a fun final portfolio day for my classes with Ms. Guilfoy’s and Ms. Warren’s 4th and 7th graders. I passed out a poem I had written called “Room for Poetry” in which I summed up what we did over the year and talked about how impressed I was with their writing. I included all their names in the poem which they really liked. After reading this out loud, I said that they could write a new poem or look through their folders and pick out their favorite poem from the year. All the students wanted to write new poems! I was very pleased that when given the choice, they all chose writing. We had enough time so that some of them read the new poems and another of their favorites out loud. Here’s one example of student writing. It’s been a great year at Gundlach!

Last Day

I am very sad I have to say goodbye.

It almost makes me want to cry.

No more poems about that crazy ape.

I wish I could have made a special tape.

I hope you enjoy this poem I made for you and me.

Now sit back and read it with some special tea.

By D

Sally’s Tuesday May 8

Great writing continues to come from Ms. Guilfoy’s 4th graders and Ms. Warren’s 7th graders. Today with the older group we read Cornelius Eady’s poem “Success.” We talked about how the poem describes how it feels to be successful. We also noticed that Eady used an image of something outside of himself, the trees, to represent how he feft about himself. I asked the students to write about how they feel now that they are moving on from elementary school. Here are two responses.

“Success is Sometimes Bad”

My mind is blank.
I won’t think anymore.
I did my time.
Now I’ve met my score.
I’ve gone overboard.
I’ve done too much.
Now I want to stop
So I can get in touch.
My mind is made up.
I want to stop.
So much is happening
I’m about to drop.

By A

“How I Feel About My Success”

I feel like a monkey
jumping in a tree.
I feel like a donkey
running from bees.
I feel like an eagle
flyin in the sky.
I feel like a beagle
eating apple pie.
I feel like a dog
digging for a bone.
I feel like fog
now I’m gone.

By D