THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY

THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY
April 12, 2016

Thursday, June 18, 2015

In Residence: A Book Filled with Poems

Happy Poetry Friday, Writerly Friends!


This week's Poetry Friday host is
Mary Lee Hahn at A Reading Year.
Thanks, Mary Lee, for kicking off our summer!
On Monday, I said arrivederci to the third grade poets at Northfield Elementary School. They held a poetry open house with readings for families and friends. Thank you to all of the parents and poetry supporters who filled the third grade classrooms. It was quite a celebration!

There was a big surprise for me. While I was in Italy, the students put together a book of poems.



The poems inside are odes and lists and extended similes. Each one is about what the students like about writing poetry, why they enjoy working with me, and their favorite parts of the residency.




I was overwhelmed by all of the third graders' amazing cartoons and equally amazing poems. But even more so, I love their generosity of spirit. So many students have come to love poetry as much as I do, and they're loud and proud about it.





I will post some poems from this book next week. For today, I have a few more third grade shoe odes to wear ... I mean, to SHARE.

Here are shoe odes by poets Julie B., Kayla K., Alexandria D., Brianna C., Arif V., and Rowan C.


Julie B.

My shoes smell like chocolate.
They keep my feet comfortable and warm when
I walk the mall.
My shoe is black as night.
It’s soft like a memory foam pillow.
It’s squeaky like a rubber duck.
I don’t want to be barefooted because
I don’t want my feet to be hot
like a fire breathing dragon
or cold like an ice bear.

Dragon Shoes at SheFinds,
they're hot stuff!
Kayla K.

The Ode to My Shoes

I couldn’t live without my shoes
because they’re so comfy, it’s like
putting your feet into bags of fluffy
marshmallows! My shoes sound like
“thump, thump, thump… click, click,
CLACK!” Like a clock ticking as
I walk around the whole day. My shoe
smells like green grass and dirt
mixed together. My shoes look like
a rainbow parrot flying in the blue
sky. I’ve been to North Carolina,
on the deck, to the store, at
the beach. But now they’re very rough
and worn out from taking me everywhere
I go.

Shoes for time travelers from Fanboy Fashion.
Alexandria D.

Ode to My Shoes

My shoes look like a pink butterfly
fluttering through the air.
My shoes smell like the taste of an unwashed apple.
My shoes feel smooth and squishy on the inside.
My shoes sound like a bear’s claws
walking through the smooth floors.
I have been to the mall in my shoes. I dream
of going to Paris in my shoes.
I can’t live without my shoes because I
walk around in them and they help me
run.

In these shoes, your feet will have wings. From Etsy.
Brianna C.

Ode to My Blue Vans

You look like the blue jays swiftly
flying across the blue skies.

You feel like petting the soft blue
feathers of a blue jay.
You feel like a handful of marshmallows
when I slide my foot in you.

You sound like the kids of the
marching band in a parade.

I would even dream of bringing
you with me to Hawaii.

I can’t ever live without you
because you keep my feet
comfortable and cozy when I
wear you.

Hand painted blue-feathered Vans from Pinterest.
Arif V.

I can’t live without my shoes
because I would’ve gotten 5,000
blisters.

You look like a cheetah and
help me run faster.

My shoes are as stinky as
a garbage can full of bad caramel ice cream.
This helps my opponents cover
their noses and I can defend
myself.

You have helped me to score
six goals without getting six
blisters. You gave me confidence
to score them.

You are really fuzzy like a
cat and help me keep calm.

You are like two hands and
one clapping the floor at a time.

Cheetah kicks from The Shoe Game.
Rowan C.

Ode to My Shoe

My shoe, like a jet black comet soaring
through the cloudy gray sky, a major, exciting
unpredicted thing for the day. It smells
like a garbage disposal, bad enough for all the
bullies to keep at least twenty paces away
from me, and feels like hard rubber. It sounds
like a mouse squeaking when I got down the halls. They
have [walked] all the way through Philly, from Walnut
Street to Independence Hall. I couldn’t live without

my shoes, because my feet would fall off.

You'll feel like a shooting star in these flip-flops.
Thanks to my wonderful third grade poets at Northfield Elementary for making my day, my week, my year with their poems. It's amazing to watch all of you grow, experiment with, and share my enthusiasm for poetry.



I'll be back next week with selections from the Northfield E.S. book of poetry.



In this series:

First Student Responses: "Words in My Pet Goldfish," "Words in My Bed," "Words in My Life"
In Residence: Poetry Friday Words: Poems by Laura S., Jason Y., Jeffrey G., and Isa L.
In Residence: The Simile Zoo: Poems by Sabine S., Asher, Cecelia D., and Evelyn D.
In Residence: Day 2 in the Simile Zoo: Poems by Allie L., Makaela M., Parker P., Matthew L., Vincent T., Lila R., Naomi C., and Julia J.
In Residence: Due Stanze: Poems by Avery,  Setutsi, Jen, Anlan, Arushi, and Johanna.
In Residence: Opposite Poems: Poems by Andrew V., Matthew L., Nathan W., Aly A., and Joanna B.
In Residence at Today's Little Ditty: Poetry Postcard Summer Activity for Kids and Families
In Residence: Shoe Odes: Poems by  Ilana M., Nicole C., Dylan L., Linnea J., and Ben K. 

8 comments:

jama said...

What fun to read all these shoe poems. Especially loved all the fragrant smells associated with them. :D Enjoyed the photos too!

Donna Smith said...

Heads exploding,
Shoe smell nosing,
Kids all oding,
Poets composing...

Lucky you to awaken a new garden of versers!

Bridget Magee said...

So much goodness, Laura! The voices and words of those kids are priceless! A "head blowing off" because of "so many ideas" - the ultimate compliment! =)

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

What a treasure they have given you, Laura. And what a gift you have given them too– I hope their love of poetry takes them far. Well, the love of poetry AND their shoes, of course. I think my favorite of this batch was Arif V. with his 5000 or so wonderful details.

Carol said...

If I knew that I there was a whole new group of poetry lovers that I had helped create headed out into this big wide world, I could die a happy woman! What a gift you have given these kids. And I love their shoe poems! I want to try shoe poems with kids.

Mary Lee said...

Thank you for all of this links in this series. I need to go back and dig in deeper for some lesson (and poem) ideas!

Keri said...

I agree with Bridget -- there's no compliment like having generated so many ideas someone's head is going to explode. :-) Poetry Power!!

Tabatha said...

Fantastic, Laura! Love that enthusiasm :-) Your students' imagery is so *fresh*: You feel like a handful of marshmallows when I slide my foot in you. My shoes sound like a bear’s claws walking through the smooth floors. I don’t want to be barefooted because I don’t want my feet to be hot like a fire breathing dragon or cold like an ice bear. It smells like a garbage disposal, bad enough for all the bullies to keep at least twenty paces away from me.
I am still thinking about shoes that smell like "bad caramel ice cream."
Those time travel shoes are the BOMB!!