Last post of the year for me: "My Poems"

N.B.: This will be my last posting from the 2007 - 2008 school year at Shields. Some of the other teachers may continue to post for a few more entries. Posting will resume in fall of 2008, when the new residencies begin. Thank you for reading!

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After reading Nita Penfold's "My Poem,"--in which she describes her poems as "not polite ladies," who "won't sit still"--we discussed Penfold's method of describing her poems as people with their own will. We also talked about her use of the title as also the first line of the poem. I then asked them to write their own poems, "My Poems," or alternately, "My Words" (which could extend into other areas of language). These entertaining poems resulted; I felt like they were integrating a lot of the various imagery and tools we've experimented with this year.



Ms. Vilchis, Rm. 202, 3rd grade


My Poem Speaks
Andrea P.

My poem talks to me when
I don’t have nobody to
talk with. Or when I am sad
he confesses me and he
says funny jokes and words. But
my poem is a really good
speaker. He confesses me when
I am angry. But my poem
is the best.


My Poem Speaks to Me
Daniel R.

My poem speaks to me all the time
and we always play and in the night we
talk and we go to eat. We speak to
each other and we play games and
we go to sleep. My poem wanted to
sleep with me and always be nice
to each other, and my poem is the
biggest poem in the world, and he
acts weird and dumb. And he is
a bird and his wings are too small,
and when he speaks to me and then
he always falls down the stairs
and he is nice to me, and we go to
the park. We speak to each other.


My Poems
Sergio H.

My poems speak to me when I want
to read. My poems share the stories with
other people. My poem is a paper and on top
of the paper is a bird
that flies. And shows the paper
to other people.


Loud People in the Halls
Nicole O.

Loud people are in the halls
making lots of noise. Sometimes I
say to myself to be not
loud. When there’s lots of noise
I feel when there’s lots of noise
in the hallway I say to myself,
The girls and boys are so loud
and annoying and they’re so loud. I am
not loud at all.


My Poems
Maricela E.

appear on papers how the appear
in different ways
they appear like people
they could appear the
same poem once and
again it could
appear many ways
however you write it will
appear it could
be any way you want
they tell what to do


Mrs. Vazzana, Rm. 104, 3rd grade


My Poems
Victor P.

Cuando escribo, siento que me voy
a ser un niño inteligente.

Cuando escribo yo siento que
el papel se siente feliz.


Untitled
Luis M.

My poems keep my secrets.
My poems tell me, Run as fast as
you can, you can’t catch me.” My poems
act like two little brothers.
My poems don’t keep secrets from me.
My poems look like a sun because
they jump like in the folder. My poems
say thank you to me.


My Poems
Andrea R.

My poems come to my brain and come with me.
The peoples the teacher bring are scary sick.
When is Valentine’s? The teacher
is really beautiful.
When the teacher comes I write a poem to babies.
The day of moms I write a poem.
The teacher is really good poems because the poems,
the poems I write are not good.
I like the poems.
The poems are my favorite. When I write.
The people are really happy when I write the poems.
When the people see, and my mom says it’s the best writing.


My Poems
Esmeralda P.

The poems inspire me and
my poems are like family.
They are nice and sometimes
mean.

But they are always going to
love me and that’s never going
to change.

And I am going to love them
forever forever.

And I’m happy. I like my life.
March 26, 2008
Ms. Hamdan, Rm. B15, 3rd grade


My Poems
Angelica A.

My poems get that screaming.
They get annoying.
They get crazy.
They get nosy.
They get tired.
They get loud.
They get red.
They get heart.
They get too blue.
They get too mad.
They get too bloody.
They get blood on their hands.
They get too heart.
They get furious.
They get too much look.
They get very furious.
They get very sweaty.
They get burning.
They get drums in their head.
They get too loud.
They get too mad.
They get scared.
They get an idea.
They get too personal.
They get too sleepy.
They get too watery.
They get too much furious.
They get too softy.
They get too mad.


My Words
Sergio P.

come by my mouth
They give me answers
to make me smart and to
give me a start.
They’re not mean and they
don’t shout. They’re good
and nice.


My Poem
Moises A.

Writing poetry is like kicking a soccer ball.
But when I see it I go crazy. When I eat I think
my plate is a paper of poetry. I like dancing
with my friend Miss Poetry. I like dancing with
my friend Miss Poetry. I will have so much fun.


My Poems
Marcos B.

They’re like a man with
words all over him. Or like a
shoe but the words are shoelaces.
My poems come if I imagine
this. They come if I’m happy but
they come quiet. When I’m
sad they come to me screaming.
I like my poems and I’ll write them
all until it’s too late to play
with the words in all.


My Poems
Joel D.

My mouth is loud
My car is in the parking lot.
My mind is getting find.
My mouth is in the President’s house.
My car is far, in the Pacific Ocean.
My mouse is in the house.
My March is in the garage.
My name is in flame.
My friends are friends.
My bank is thank.


My Poems
Nestor H.

are the stars in the beautiful
night sky. How I get my
poems is like hair; when you
are a baby you start
out with little bits of hair.
Then as you get older
you get more hair. This is
how I get my thoughts.


My Poems
Jordy D.

keep making me write more
I feel my poem is going to
rip the paper if I stop
he’s not nice and he keeps
tapping me on the
shoulder,
I get mad sometimes
I tell my dad


My Poems
Jazmin N.

They way the wind blows me
and tells me something. They way the
clouds tell me what to writea dn
the way the air tells me to do.
The way in the night the soul of
me tells me to write this. The
soul of me wakes me up just
to write and write. When I go to
sleep my poems come to me
and would not let me sleep. Until
I write it.


My Poems
Giselle H.

My words come to me when I’m in a middle
of a dream. The words are like if they
jump out and say, “This is boring. I’m
leaving.” And suddenly you wake up and have
an idea. If you think it stinks don’t throw it
in the sink. They rhyme doesn’t need to
follow. They point isn’t needed. All you need is
inspiration. If at first you don’t succeed don’t
give up. And don’t fuss just try again.
If I daydream a word
stretches me back.

Special Project, part 1: My Heart

With Valentine's Day approaching, with its barrage of red frilly hearts, I wanted to take a different look at the heart. We did this with the help of "Little Clown, My Heart" by Sandra Cisneros. The students brainstormed images that they associate with the heart, which I wrote on the board. I then asked them to write their own "My Heart" poems, BUT with the rule that they must not use any of the words on the board (many of them stock heart imagery: red, love, family, pink, Valentine's Day, etc.). Amid groans, they wrote poems comparing their hearts to people, things, machines, etc. I think they were surprised by what they could come up with.

This is the first part of a special project that I am doing with these classes. Next week we will revise our poems, and made illustrations to go with them, which will be posted in the school hallway. Stay tuned for photos!

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Ms. Vilchis, Rm. 202, 3rd grade

My Heart
Miguel C.


Little computer, my heart writes
all the time sometimes and sometimes
you don't. You broke apart and then
you come in one piece and you
work again.


Little Metal, My Heart
Sergio H.

Little metal, it does not move, and
jumps into the fire. My heart is not
burned, he goes to the water, steam comes
out of the water. My heart is black.


My Heart Different Colors
Jocelyn H.

I have different colors in my heart.

My heart is like my teeth, all
going to fall off, oh now, when,
today, Monday or Friday.


My Little Heart
Zamira M.

Little heart that shines in the
dark. And walks in the fire. Also
swims in the purple water. It's filled with
love to my family.

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Ms. Vazzana, Rm. 104, 3rd grade

My Heart is a Snowman
Maricarmen J.

Little snowman heart,
sometimes you jump a lot.
Sometimes when you are happy you
like dancing the song of Frosty.
And she said to me, if I tell her
something bad she is going to
get out from me.


The Heart that is an Angel
Hazael G.

The angel heart always
helps me and tells me not
to be afraid. And to be brave.


Untitled
Kevin C.

My heart is an eagle and
flies around my body.


My Heart
Luis M.

My heart is funny.
My heart plays the piano.
My heart is blue.
My heart rides a car.
My heart jumps around the house.
My heart goes to school.
My heart is a clock.
My heart puts 100 jackets.
My heart is a volcano.
My heart is a giant.

###


Ms. Hamdan, Rm. B15, 3rd grade

Untitled
Sergio P.

My heart is fun. It also has friends:
my lungs and brain. When my
heart hates me it turns black
and kicks my lungs. My heart thinks
it's smarter than my brain.


The Heart
Joel D.

My heart fights, drives.
My heart lives. My heart
explodes when it cries. My heart
is a box of chocolate.


The Heart that Plays Soccer
Moises A.

My heart is green. When it sees a ball it
goes and kicks it. It is also filled with red stuff.
When I roast marshmallows it gets hot. My heart
does cartwheels. It also jumps around. I feel good
about many different things my heart does. It is also
fun.


My Heart Pumps Blue Blood
Judith G.

When I bleed it's red blood. When
I bleed it's red sangre, it hurts sometimes.
Mi corazon me da mis wesos sangre. Then my
blood gives my skull blood. Mostly my body
is water, when I sweat I lose a little
water, then I drink water and go to sleep
so my bones can get stronger and stronger.
That's what my heart does.

Our Words--3rd graders

These poems sprang from reading a poem by Mahmoud Darwish called "Psalm Three." I asked the students to follow a slightly more open-ended version of his form, and to employ nouns, feelings, opposites, and an occasional rhyme (but not all the time) to describe their words. The assignment seemed to lend itself better to descriptions of surreal scenes and fantastic landscapes, which still worked out fine.

I'm very excited that two or three students who normally are reluctant to write or don't write at all, all turned in work this week. One of those poems is featured below. Also, in Mrs. Vazzana's class, which is an ELL bilingual classroom, I encouraged students to plug in the Spanish word if the English word wasn't coming to them. Victor took this idea and ran with it. There was also one student who, of his own volition, wrote a first draft, then a revised draft, during one class period, and turned the second draft in to me. I'm glad to see that the value of revision has started to take hold.

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Ms. Vilchis, Rm. 202, 3rd grade

Funny Water #2
Zamira M.

When my words were water,
I was sleeping underwater.

When my words were water,
I was swimming by the cat.

When my words were water,
I was in the gulf of Mexico.

When my words were ice,
I was freezing.


The Sugar Words
José A.

When my words were water
I was dripping

When my words were feelings
I was sad

When my words were sugar
I was a candy

When my words were bananas
I was yellow

When my words were houses
I was hard



In Ice and In Spring
Daniel R.

I was in the water.
I was melting.

I was drinking water.

I was a fish in the water.

I was in ice and then I melted.

I was in ice and I was in winter
and I became a penguin.

I was a penguin so it was spring then
I became a bird.


Manners
Carlos L.

When my words were angry they
broke in pieces.

When my words were happy they
smiled too much.

When my words were sad there
was water in all of the places.

When my words were eating candy
they were fat.


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Ms. Vazzana, Rm. 104, 3rd grade


Untitled
Victor P.

When my words were strong
I was good

When my words were big
I was quick

When my words were little
I was a dog

When my words were pelo
I was a cat

When my words were shoes
I was a rat

When my words were a hand
I was an elephant

When my words were a camisa
I was a house

When my words were a cabeza
I was playing anything


Words and Things
Hazael G.

When my words were
quiet I was sleeping.

When my words were
smart I was reading.

When my words were fast
I was running.

When my words were
a car I was driving.

When my words were
a skateboard of fire I was
riding it.


Untitled
Alexsandra

When my words were strong
I was powerful

When my words were a tree
I was giving apples from
the tree


I Was So Loud
Miguel M.

When my words were strong
I talked so loud. When my words
were so loud I was so happy.
When my words were loud I barked
so loud.

###

Ms. Hamdan, Rm. B15, 3rd grade


Untitled
Jennifer R.

When my words were ice cream,
I was dropping and hopping it.

When my words were jelly,
I was belly.

When my words were December,
I was September.

When my words were a boat,
I was afloat.


Power Four
Sebastian C.

When my words were sunny
I was the light

When my words were funny
I was laughing

When my words were strong
I was crazy

When my words were ugly
I was nice

But when my words became
stones…
I couldn’t talk


When My Words
Alejandro

When my words were strong
I was weak. When my words
were sand I was at the beach.
When my words were sad I
was blue. When my words were
hot like the sand it turned
like the sun.

Abuelito...who?

Sandra Cisneros' poem, "Abuelito Who," describes the relationship between a little girl and her aging grandpa. Today, I asked my third grade students to choose someone that they love, and write a poem about them, using some of the same techniques as Cisneros: what they do, what they say, and some things or objects that remind them of this person (an introduction to metaphor).

Hamdan-B15

My Dad
Moises A.

My dad is a soccer ball.
My dad likes to play soccer.
My dad says, Come on, you can do it.
My dad who helps me get ready for soccer.
When I see the ball roll on the grass I think
like my dad kicked it.
He is like a bird on my shoulder.

Little Bear Who...
Giselle H.

Makes me feel at home. Who likes
to hug me. Said in my head that
she loves me. Who hugs me tight at
night. That plays with me like real. She makes
me feel like she's my sister. Little bear
who is like a sis. She is special
because she's the only person who has time
for me. She's like a star in the sky who is
really just a bear. I love her just like
a person.

My Dad
Joel D.

My dad is a motor
that he fixes when is car
breaks down.

My dad and mom that show
me soccer and when they broke up
I saw them in the soccer ball
through the field. And saw
them fight and I cried and
went home so I could rest.
And got back together.
And saw them at the field
and saw them get a kiss.

Dad
Marcos B.

My dad who likes music and goes to the store.
My dad who told me to never give up.
My dad who is like half of me but loves
all of me.

My Dad
Judith G.

My dad likes to go to the movies with me.
He takes me to the movies to see nice
and scary movies. He tells me I'm his diamond.
He is the moon. The owl too.


Vilchis-202

The Adventures of Grandma and Grandpa
Abel V.

I live with my grandma and grandpa
because my dad and mom, they live on
the 2nd floor. I stay with my grandma
and grandpa. I play with them Loteria
and La Ormigita. That's why I love
my grandpa and grandma. And because
he gives me money but he also
gives me stuff when I go visit them.
They always will love me. And
when my grandma takes a shower
she sings. And when she goes to church
she sings to the people. The End.

My Abuelito
Maricela E.

My abuelito liked to see me but he never got to see
me. He wanted to see also my sister, my two brothers.
He says to think about him, and he says to keep
all of us safe. I remember when I saw him
when I was little. And he also was my best
abuelito.

Elizabeth
Nicole Ortiz

Elizabeth is my sister. She always
plays dolls with me. I like my
sister so much because she's fun and we
have fun together. we always
go to the zoo a lot. She has blonde
hair, she sleeps with me a lot.
She's the drops of water.

The Cool Kids
Carlos L.

My cousin teaches me how to
play games and takes me
to a party. He's just like a
jacket. He shows me
how to paint my hair.


Vazzana-104

My Dad
Jhoan B.

My dad buys me clothes
and he tickles me and
we play a lot and my
dad is like a best
friend and that is why I love him
like we are brothers, and that's why
I love him.

Mi papá y yo
Vanessa G.

Mi papá me ama porque cuando el se acuesta en
la cama yo me acuesto con el porque cuando yo me
acuesto el me hace caricias y me da besos
cuando viene del trabajo. Me da vestidos.

My Best Father
Hazael G.

My dad is strong as a car, but
smaller like a door, eats smart
like a racoon. He called me mi'jo
and soldier, he said that I'm his love.
He's fast like a thunder.

I Love My Family
Wendy L.

1.
Wendy you are my star.
Dad, you are my heart.
Wendy, are you playing today?

2.
I love my little baby brother.
My baby brother is playing
with me.

3.
Mom, I love you.
You love me.
My baby brother is happy.

My Uncle Died
Esmeralda P.

My uncle says
that he loves me so much.
My uncle likes to
hug me, my uncle thinks
that they love him.
I love him so much.
I miss so much that
God is with him
and he is with God.
We laugh together.