By Kathy Greeley, ELA Coach
Graham and Parks students and staff love poetry! During the month of April, our whole school community listened to, wrote, and read poems together. We kicked off National Poetry Month with our 2nd Annual Family Poetry Night on April 6. About 75 students and families attended workshops to write a variety of kinds of poems, including: Sensory Poems; Haiku; “Found” Poetry; Illustrating a Poem; Writing like Maya Angelou; PoeTREES (poems based on inspiration from the trees in our courtyard garden).
At the end of the evening, we had a Poetry Slam in the Cafeteria where over 30 students read one of their evening’s creations to the crowd. Kallie, a kindergarten student in Claudie’s class, read her poem called “Teapot.”
TEAPOT
It looks white
It sounds like water
It smells like mint
It tastes like honey
It feels like liquid
The second week of April, just before vacation, we had a wonderful assembly with special guest poet, Charles Coe. Mr. Coe has published two books of poetry (All Sins Forgiven: Poems for my Parents and Picnic on the Moon). He shared a number of selections during the assembly and talked about how he thinks about writing poetry. A group of 5th graders kicked off the assembly with their collectively-written poem “What is Poetry” that began like this:
WHAT IS POETRY?
Poetry is
Art
words
soft as silk
Weaving in and out to make a poem.
In addition to spoken poems, our 4th and 5th grade Chorus sang a Longfellow poem called “The Arrow and the Song” and students from the CRLS Habasham Club performed a traditional Ethiopian dance.
We closed out National Poetry Month with “Poem in Your Pocket” Day on Friday, April 29. Students and staff selected a favorite poem and carried it with them during the day. In passing, people would ask, “Do you have a poem in your pocket?” and you would take out your poem and read it aloud. It is a great way to get to hear a lot of different poems and to make connections with new people.
Although National Poetry Month is over, our love and passion for poetry is a year-round affair!