Our fourth grade students at Commodore Sloat Elementary spent the spring term reading, learning, and writing poetry. They focused on different forms, worked with similes, metaphors, and personification, and learned to put forth their own ideas poetically.
Autobiography
I am a sister to Jennifer, Stephanie, Justin, and Justice.
A am funny, crazy, creative, and active
I am a lover to my family
I feel safe with family and friends
I feel free when I ice-skate
I need music, I need fun, I need play
I give love, laughter, and hugs
I fear haters
I am a resident of California
I am Amaka Duru
-Amaka
From an exercise in Point of View, and Personification.
The Ball’s Point of View
Balls bounce
hit the ground
feels bad
hits the racket
blasts out of the park
hits a tree
bounces onto someone’s head
is kicked
comes back
makes a grand slam.
-Adrian
The Baseball
Here I am, the guy you see every day baseball is on tv. I get hurt a lot as you can see, every time a bat hits me. Here is the windup, I’m about to get thrown. Here I go. I’m up in the air. I’m going down. Smack! I hit the glove. Now I’m getting thrown up again. Hey look, it’s Buster Posey. I’m heading right to him. I’ve always wanted to meet him. I hit his glove so hard I black out. I wake up because of a shout. A man yelled, “Out!”
-Peter
From an exercise in writing Odes
Ode to cards
They wait on Andrew’s cabinet for someone to challenge Andrew to a duel. When Andrew wins with his cards he brags, jumps, gets new cards. Andrew buys covers for his cards so they won’t bend. Andrew Li trades cards.
- By The Great Andrew
Kitten
It was morning on a happy day,
and a cute kitten was
thinking
about
the stories Mommy told him about Pegasus.
ALL I WANT TO DO IS FLY!
he yelled.
Sister says: Cats stay on the ground
where they can eat rats.
Where humans live in their fancy hats
and feed us cats.
That help us through all our lives,
even when the humans are busy picking chives.
-Taj
Ancient Writing
Waiting in a temple
Never to be discovered
The Ancient Writing yells,
“I am here explorers!
Come and get me!”
The temple said,
“They can’t hear you, dude.”
The Ancient Writing complains,
“I have always wanted to be discovered.
Why haven’t I been disc…”
Suddenly, he heard stomping.
It was an explorer.
-Spencer
The students were asked to consider the importance of line breaks, how to organize the words on a page, and to focus on the images they want to stand out.
My Room
I love my room
I do my homework there
and art there
and read there
and play there
sometimes dusty and
sometimes rusty
I always stay there
more than an hour
I can’t eat there but
I do
I see green walls
I hear birds
I hear music
No difference
but I love my
-Priscilla
From work with Abstraction and Personification
Foolishness
When foolishness crashes through the window, people will run into telephone poles. People will also stick their tongues out and there will be more circuses.
When foolishness crashes through the window, people will wear huge shoes and run red lights.
When foolishness crashes through the window, people will do dumb stuff like litter, and trip and fall.
-Hayden
Friendship
When friendship flies through the door
Everyone has a friend
No one is lonely
Everyone is happy
No one is sad
Everyone will have fun
No one will be bored
Everyone will have someone to sit with
No one will sit alone.
-Oona
Darkness
When darkness walks through the door
Night will be permanent
Zombies will rise
Bats will be hunting
When darkness walks through the door
Frankenstein will awake
More vampires will summon
Love will be crushed
When darkness walks through the door
RIch will be poor
Friendship will break
Gods will be devils
Peace will be war
When darkness walks through the door
Darkness will be permanent.
-Sam
When happiness walks through the door
When happiness walks through the door
the dark light is no more
When white light is in ore
to the doors say no more
When happiness walks through the door.
-Jalen
When Peace walks through the door
When peace walks through the door,
Joy will fill the air
Love will be everywhere.
When peace walks through the door,
People will be nice
There will be no mice.
When peace walks through the door,
There will be no guns
People will always have fun.
When peace walks through the door,
Fighting will stop
Slaves won’t have to mope.
When peace walks through the door,
Babies won’t get sick
People will not kick.
When peace walks through the door,
Peace will be everywhere.
-Nevaeh
From looking at Pablo Neruda’s own Questions Poetry.
Questions
Do windows squint when they
see the sun?
Who makes the sky
rain?
Is laughter bitter
or sweet?
How do flowers bloom
from trees?
Who made the sky dark
when it is night?
Is darkness always
so black?
Are words happy when
they are read?
How many questions
does earth ask?
-Mandy
Questoins
When people see or wear green, does that mean money? Where do children get lunch? How do teachers teach? Where is Disneyland located? Who is the custodian at school? Which animals can fly?
-Austin
Question Poem?
Why does family matter?
Why does matter matter?
Why do close pins pinch the lines?
When will the earth explode?
Will everyone survive the plane crash?
-Gregory
From an exercise in repetition, and the work a repeating line should do.
She walks up a hill
for far from the city.
She lies in the grass,
watching stars.
The stars sparkle.
The stars sparkle.
The stars sparkle.
Making wishes on the stars in the sky, trying not to make the stars pass by.
-Alyssa
Star gazing
I look up at the beautiful sky,
The stars shimmer and shine.
I look up at the beautiful sky,
stars make constellations,
the moon big and bright.
I look up at the beautiful sky,
crickets chirping in the night,
and grass beneath my feet.
I look up at the beautiful sky,
an airplane passes by.
-Nicole
Sun
The sun the sun
is burning in the tree
the sun the sun
is burning me
the sun the sun
is making things grow
the sun the sun
is making glow
-Evelyn
This fall the 3rd-5th grade students at Sunset Elementary focused their creativity on food writing. Using all of their senses to write similes and metaphors, to personify food, making them characters in exploring their worlds and going on adventures; they've written odes to the food they like best, and even recipes of themselves.
