Sestina: High School

We've been visiting with my middle schoolers at St. Jane Frances School this week.

After our lesson on wordplay, we were ready to write our final poem -- a sestina.

The sestina is a complex form structured around end words rather than a rhyme scheme. You can read about it here.

These are the steps we used to write a group sestina in Ms. Habicht's 8th grade class.

1. Brainstorm possible topics
We came up with a list, then voted. The class chose "High School" as the subject of their poem.

2. Brainstorm end/repeating words
We generated a large list, but narrowed it down to the six we wanted to use in our poem. They are:

CHANGE
NERVES
LOST
TEACH
FRESH
FRIENDS

3. Work in groups
Ms. Habicht split the class into six groups, one for each stanza of sestina. (They'd write the final stanza, or envoi, later). I gave each of the groups a sheet with the order of the six words for their stanza.

Ms. Habicht and I were impressed with the final poem. It captures the mixed emotions these students are feeling as they prepare for high school.

Since my son is also an eighth grader, this poem feels very real to me.

High School
 

by St. Jane Frances School English Class 8-1

Everything we once knew will change.

From the moment we step into school, we are nervous –

yet excited. We feel lost

like in a maze of people, who may teach

us the ways of high school. Fresh-

men like us will find true friends.

It’s time to say goodbye to our well-known friends,

and get ready for our big change

of becoming fresh-

men. Our bodies begin to show all signs of nerves

as our teacher

hands us the map of the school, knowing we’ll still get lost.

We reflect on the memories that will never be lost,

remembering walking through the Bazaar with green-tinged friends

and Mr. Kane strumming his guitar instead of teach-

ing. Although we seem confident, we are terrified of change

and hope that next year we can hide our nerv-

ousness, as we begin the blank page: the year we will be called fresh.

Starting out the year as a fresh-

man, middle school lost

in the past. Fighting nerves

as I try to make new friends.

Having mixed feelings about the oncoming change,

I wave goodbye to my teachers.

New school, new teachers.

It’s time to start fresh.

I’m excited about the challenge of change.

The fear of getting lost

scares me. I don’t want to leave my friends

because making new ones works on my nerves.

Chills race up my spine as I nerv-

ously glance at my new teacher;

remembering old friends.

I am a recluse freshman,

lost,

imagining myself in these halls of this new exhilarating world of change.

Sometimes change is good without the nerves

of feeling lost. I try to navigate my way to new teachers,

Fearing freshman year, though I know I’ll make the best of friends.

Thanks to the families at St. Jane Frances School for giving me permission to post the children's poems this week.

National Poetry Month is almost here!

All month, I'll be posting classroom-friendly poems by Maryland poets. These poets are featured in the new anthology Life in Me like Grass on Fire, just out from Maryland Writers Association. 

Wordplay Lesson

Today is the big day! I'm heading to St. Jane Frances School for the middle school poets tea.

Teacher Pat Habicht is a big fan of poetic form, particularly the sestina. This site has the rules of the form, which includes choosing six "end-words."

My favorite book on form is by Ron Padgett.

It takes some skill to stretch those six words, which each appear at least seven times in the poem. To prepare middle schoolers for sestina writing, I do a workshop on wordplay.

The model poem is "Murder Most Vowel" by Robin Hirsch. You can find it in the book FEG: Ridiculous Poems for Intelligent children.

(Read a review of FEG by Naomi Shihab Nye here.)

Begin by choosing a one syllable word. I picked BEAN.

Now run that word through as many vowel sounds as you can. You don't have to use all of them in your wordplay poem, but it's good to have choices.

BEAN
BEN
BIN
BON
BONE
BAN
BANE

These are going to be the end words for the lines in a short wordplay poem. It may not make sense. That's okay. Try to weave the end words around a silly little story.

I had several failed attempts and thrown out beginning words ("mood," "chair," "Sam" -- none of which worked for me), before I settled on "BEAN." When you're writing, aim for a last line with a joke or an off-rhythm, just as Robin Hirsch does in "Murder Most Vowel."

Here is my poem:

“What’s for dinner Mom?” asked Ben.

“A casserole of fish and bean,”

Mom said. “Look out! Don’t eat that bone!”

A rib stuck in his throat, the bane

of Ben’s young life – since then he has been

floundering.

Ms. Habicht and I allowed the students to work in small groups or alone. Composing a poem around a list of words is a challenge, but the middle schoolers were up to it. 

Here are some of their wordplay poems. These samples will give you a good idea of how creative kids can get with this lesson.

Expectations of  a Love Story 

By Courtney B. and Madison F. 
Beginning word: "Read"

If you read

about a rude

man who rode

to town to raid

the castle to rescue

the princess to ride

off into the sunset,

remember to rest.

Wily Will’s Wheel

by Hannah K. and Johanna M. 

Beginning word: "Wall"

Once, there was a large, navy-blue whale

who swallowed a round wooden wheel

that was used to make fuzzy silver wool.

The wheel’s wily owner, Will,

chased the whale into a well.

Will dove through the well’s wall,

and the whale swallowed him whole.

This one cracks me up:

Fabio’s Fall

by Jack C. and Ryan S. 

Beginning word: "Fall"

On a cold fall

day, a boy named Fabio fell

into a ditch. He was trying to file

his newspaper clippings full

of interesting facts.

As he fell, he yelled, Fail!

It was his own fault.

He felt like a total fool.

Fabio is still stuck in the ditch with a major concussion and two broken legs.

Madison and Kelsey's poem gives a good sense of how you can build a little story around the word list.

The Stolen Sail

by Madison W. and Kelsey L. 

Beginning word: "Sale"

There once was a guy named Sal

Who lived in a horse’s stall.

He stole a sail

That wasn’t on sale.

He went and sat on his stool

By the window sill

After months of searching for him, he was finally caught.

Hannah's poem is one of my favorites from this workshop. It turns out, you don't have to be silly to play with the words in this exercise.

Playing with Love 

by Hannah L.
Beginning word: "Hot"

It’s not shaped like the candy hearts

that melt sweet words on my tongue. It can hurt,

for it’s not always perfect, and can hit

you anytime, anywhere. It fills you with a heat

that burns through your heart, red hot

like a wildfire in July’s height.

It doesn’t know hate,

nor does it give a hoot

about appearance or heft.

It is something I can’t wait to be hoisted

up by. It is love.

I hope you have a chance to try this lesson with your own students. I'd recommend it for advanced 5th grader writers through adults. As I said, it's a challenge, but can also be fun.

Tomorrow, I'll post a sestina written by one of Ms. Habicht's eighth grade classes. They are preparing to move on to high school, which is the theme of their group-written sestina.