This week we started a new poetry unit that I call "Poems Can Be About Anything." My purpose is to show students that poems are hiding everywhere; there is beauty in all objects and all parts of life. The job of the poet, I tell them, is to find the poems and give them life.
Monday we read a famous poem about a wheelbarrow. Yesterday we read a brilliant poem about a safety pin. And today we read one about some broken glass on the ground. To the uninitiated, this might sound really dull, but the kids are really enjoying it. On top of that, we've had some great discussions about the poems, as I teach them about poetry "moves." (Ask them to define moves for you, they should be able to do that.) And on top of THAT, reading these poems about "ordinary" things will help them become better poets themselves.
So after reading today's poem, we grabbed a camera and headed out on a "poetry walk," searching for beauty in places non-poets might not notice. In the sidebar of the blog (if you're reading this in an email, you'll have to go to the blog to see them) you can check out the photos they took. And I promise I'll be sharing the poems--we are in the drafting stages right now, but they're already looking really good. You might also want to click the links above to read the poems we've shared and maybe even ask your child about them.
Now I have to go and decide which poem to read tomorrow...one about a gas pump or socks. (I'm not kidding.)
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