Mood and Setting Poems

For this lesson, I used fellow poet-in-residence Laura Van Prooyen's Mood and Setting lesson on "Preludes (I)" by T.S. Eliot. In many of my classes, I had the students close their eyes and try and picture their own neighborhood at a particular time of day during a particular season, then asked them to write their own poems, focusing on their senses and trying to convey to the reader a particular mood. The results were very nice!


Mr. K, Rm. 205
3rd Grade

Midnight at My Backyard
Celina S.

It is cold and it is 10 pm.
It is fall and sounds like
crickets and dogs. It smells
like pinetrees. I am alone, it
is windy. People turn on their
lights. I see a rat and mouse.
Something is with me what
could it be? Yet I'm alone, who
is there? Nobody is at home.
Yet I feel someone is with me.
I look around and nobody
is there. Until I saw someone.
There you are! I found you,
you're it! I see you there!
Catch me if you can!

The Outside
David C.

It is the middle of fall
both cold and warm. It is 10 pm
the leaves are whistling in the wind and some
are captured in the ground and some of
them are crushed in the street.
I walked around, I saw a squirrel
getting ready to feast on an acorn,
also a rabbit dancing with its own kind.

The Night
Elizabeth C.

It was 9:30 of the night
outside my house. There were
birds singing. It was winter.
My friend was outside. And she lived
outside. So I invited her in.
My house to warm up. And
then her parents found her.

They treated her bad.
So they told her to come
back with us and we adopted
her. Her name was Isa.

Ms. Sandoval-Johnson, Rm. 001
3rd Grade

Untitled
Shawn

It is winter
it is
cold
it is snowing
the streets
are slippery
It is 3:05 am.
Nobody is
out
side
but me
I am
playing
in the
park.

The Angry Sun
Raymond C.

The summer sun has begun down
come the leaves all crunchy and hard.
The sun's light bright like a light so
bright like a light so hot like a
steak. The sun is hot like a soup too
hot too bright like a light at 4 o'clock.

The Man
Salvador I.

Summer has sprung his leaf,
it was 7:00 am, an old man was
walking he was starving, he saw
Chinese buffet at the corner, he
went in, see he paid $10 for him
he ate all he wanted, even carrots.

Untitled
Ruben

The summer has begun, kids
are playing, talking, laughing,
that means summer is here.
Most hate cleaning up,
most hate playing the same
things, oh but not me
because it makes me be a
better person, also it makes
me read and study for next
year, but I'm not scared,
I don't have fear.

Ms. Marfise, Rm. 002
3rd Grade

Untitled
Veronica G.

The summer evening burns up
As I crawl back from school
four o'clock
I smell steak and I go down
stairs. "I finished my homework,
can I have steak?" I yelled to my
dad. We set up the pool and
filled it with water. The trees get
wet while I enter the pool. On a
hot summer day.

I.
Denise B.

The summer sun is rising
8 o'clock
Morning run, walking dogs.
Playing catch, having breakfast.

My Neighborhood
Mireya

The summer sunshine warms my face.
It is 12 pm in the scary house. A lamp
is flying. The sofa is jumping. The clock
is ticking. The bed is walking. And also
the TV is turning channels without touching
the control.

Untitled
Elizabeth C.

Spring has a beautiful sky
Sun is light
Flowers are growing
Trees are growing their green
leaves
People are getting out of their
house.

Untitled
Shalynn S.

The summer night settles
down with the moon shining
bright on the cold blue pool. The bugs
are out at 9 o'clock. I smell the
burning hot dogs on the grill
my dad makes. The night is
bright like a lightbulb that gets
changed every morning when the
sun comes out where the water
tube stands still.


Ms. McCormick, Rm. 214
3rd Grade

Summer
Alicia

It's summer
I love it
I picture
it like
myself
in the
pool with
my cousin
and we
jump in
the pool
and it is morning
at 6:00 and
it sounds like
the jungle because
me and my cousin
were screaming
and we had
lots of fun outside in
the pool

Spring
Casandra S.

It was a nice day and it was Saturday.
The birds were singing and it smelled
like the nature trees, also looked like a doll
house life. The sun up, the flowers were
flowering, pretty ones too. I feel like a lonely
girl. Good morning to you.

Summer
Laura

Summer morning
looks so bright as a shiny
day would. Feels so soft
and fluffy like a pillow. As you melt
stop, I say. Don't melt, but
under a shadow. Don't worry,
I'll be back. But so warm
I melt too with my carrot
nose.

Mrs. Rodriguez, Rm. 401
5th Grade

Spring
Esteban M.

It is spring early in the morning
the streets are quiet and the air is very windy
at 10 am
It smells like a burning car that
just had a crash and I could see the
leaves of the trees turning red and yellow.
It sounds like two dogs barking
and fighting.
It tastes like people just got up in the
morning, making breakfast right
outside my house.

A Summer Morning
Lizeth

It was a summer in the
morning at 11:30 am. I went
outside, I smelled the fresh wind,
and I felt like flying on the
wind. Then my friend came and told
me let's go swim. So then we
went inside the water. I felt like swimming
all around like a mermaid.
The next day I felt like doing
the same thing.

Summer Day
Esmeralda T.

In a summer morning
the air smells fresh
10 o'clock
The sun comes up.
The birds come home
and stay on their
nest like a stone.
A mother comes with
a baby,
the baby walks to
a tree and tries to
climb it.
The mother laughs
The baby found a hat
It sounds like a bird
song.
The summer tastes
like flames of fire.
The baby looks up
at the birds on the
tree and the birds
come closer.
It's summer again.

Summer
Ryan

The summer came and it was hard.
The cement from the road is getting replaced.
The scorching heat melts us.
Inside is freezing due to the air conditioning.
The ice cream melts before we eat it.
When you reheat food
no need to use the microwave.

Ms. Breen, Rm. 201
3rd Grade

Summer
Jesica G.

The neighborhood is clean
everybody is happy, people
are walking their dogs
kids are playing with their
pets and other people, birds
are flying outside.

The Hot Sun
Diego L.

Summer is good
You can have
a pool. It smells like
a cool summer breeze.
I feel hot and
I head to put on
a tan.

Sunny Days and Hot Days
Cynthia M.

In a hot sunny day
Eating ice cream
Being fresh
Being wet
Happy times
Playing
Fun
Splashing in pools
Hanging out with friends
Going to pool parks
Enjoying