I am a poem... You are too!

The Poem

If I were a poem

I think I’d be

Jiggly as jello

And tepid as tea.

I’d pounce like a panther

And squeak like a mouse.

If I were a poem

I’d creak in my house.

I’d make you laugh

Or bring you to tears.

If I were a poem

I’d calm your fears.

But, …

I am a poem

Planting through deeds,

Words that rhyme

When someone else reads,

Words that move

And words that change,

Words so familiar and

Words so strange.

There is a way

That you can be,

Metaphorically speaking,

A poem like me.

For you are the words

That someone else reads.

Your life is a poem -

Go plant good deeds!

 

I wrote the above poem this week for my fifth grade reading class. We've been studying poems, in particular the use of similes and metaphors. In my writing class, they are learning the proper way to write a friendly letter. Seems kids don't write letters these days, and not one of my students has ever received a letter from family or friend that they can recall.

For our poem lessons, I had copied several funny poems from Kenn Nesbitt's website, Poetry4Kids.com. After reading them and finding the concepts I needed to teach, I wrote my own. Haven't shown it to them yet. I had made copies of his poems (permission from author granted), and put them on the overhead projector. The kids laughed at them, thought they were very clever.

I had asked them to pick one or two poems they liked, which they did with no trouble. Coming up with reasons for liking the poems was a bit of a struggle, though. Most of them managed to think of 3 reasons they appreciated their chosen poem. The last part of the task was to write a letter to Mr. Nesbitt telling him which poem they liked best, and why they enjoyed it so much. Their letters were supposed to be completed by today, but it seems the final copies won't be finished until Monday. I'm going to mail them off after the kids address the envelopes.

I know Mr. Nesbitt will enjoy the letters... he has a fine sense of humor!

I need a collection of poems suitable for 3rd-5th graders. In fifth grade, students need to be able to identify the mood of the poem, the narrator, rhyme pattern, and any figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, idiom, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and personification.

I know many of you like to write poems. If you are up to it, whether they be funny or somber, reflective or trivial, would you share them with me?

Either write one in your journal and link here, or email them to me. I will give you credit and include your name on the poem, of course, and I would need your permission to copy it for classroom use only.

If you are going to do this, I thank you in advance!

 

Tags: Similes and metaphors, Kenn Nesbitt