I kind of gave up on the 30 Day Poetry Challenge, not intentionally, but life got in the way. I got stuck on one challenge, then just plain refused to write a poem about a car, so I quit. I did not, however, give up on challenging my students to write a different poetic form each day. And I write with them, so technically I am still taking the poetry challenge.
In our classroom ABC daily poem challenge, we were on G on Thursday. The only poetic form I could find for G was a Grossblank. Grossblank is a poem with 12 lines of 12 syllables (a gross) written in blank verse, no rhyme. Because I thought this form was particularly challenging, I allowed them to write a quarter Grossblank, 6×6. Also to help bait the poetry fishing hook, I gave them lists of wordgroups, a technique introduced to me by my poet-friend-mentor Sandford Lyne. So with groups of words in hand and fingers for counting, we got to work on our poems.
Once again, my students amazed me. My fifth grader and sixth grader took the full challenge. Kaylie is obsessed (and that’s putting it mildly) with Hunger Games. Her poem, while it draws on the theme of the series, can stand alone. Colby is new to my class, but he is slowly discovering his inner poet. His poem draws a deeper meaning while he contemplates mirage and reality, a quite sophisticated theme, I think, for a sixth grader. If you enjoy their poetry, please leave a comment that I can share with them. They would love to hear from you.
But What’s to Come
by Kaylie
(inspired by and dedicated to the Hunger Games)At sunrise, she runs, barefoot, in leaves of green, words
do not come to mind. She dunks under the fence, into
the woods, where stores are not seen, and hunger isn’t
abroad. Where no trespassing takes place. Into dreams,
she runs past men and voices, beyond the breaking
dawn, into a swirl of familiar places.
She lifts her bow at a rustle, her arrow finds
a home in a rabbit’s eye. She gathers berries
of the sweetest aroma, breath in the air, hush.
Out of the woods, names are called, unpromising to
the tributes, for they must survive to be victors.
Through the darkest times, many deaths will come alive.The Magic Touch
by Colby
Along the road in the hot summer sun, a dog,
a mirage in the dust wandering in his wake.
The heat is unbearable with the sun floating,
unforgiving in the open. No shade in the still.
Starting to feel abandoned. Far, far, away. Fear
in his soul like a pup separated, detached
from its kin. The miraged dog leading the lonely.
Walking barefoot in along the trails through thick dust.
He walks and roams in spite of hunger and fatigue.
Still he follows the dog, his wake, his destiny.
The dog is getting closer. It’s close enough to
touch.The man speeds up inching ever closer. Touch. Oasis.
After seeing the movie, Hunger Games, I can picture in my mind, just what Kaylie is talking about in her Grossblank Poem. Her words are so vivid, that I can just feel what she is saying. I am so amazed by her talent.
Thank you for letting us in, to your gifted, and awesomely talented students.
thanks, Meemaw. I didn’t know you watched the Hunger Games. From Kaylie
Thanks for sharing some of your thinking behind the poetry challenges.
I was struck by Kaylie & Colby’s TITLES to their poems. As someone who struggles with writing titles, I’m always a tiny bit jealous of people like Colby & Kaylie. Both of your titles capture my attention and give me a tug into your poems. Thanks for sharing.
Ruth
Incredible poems! What visual images in “her arrow finds a home in a rabbit’s eye.” The way Colby ended his poem, powerful use of a single word.
Do you know the book R Is for Rhyme by Judy Young? I believe it has a different kind of poetry structure for each letter.
Wow! Such poetry talent! I’m always envious of poets. I want to be a poet, but it doesn’t come very easily to me. I’m embarking on a poetry unit in 1st grade and I’m super excited to try writing poetry alongside them. I hope my poems live up to the quality that your poems do!
Jennifer, Thanks for your comment. I suggest using simpler forms with the first graders. Read, Write, Think has a wonderful interactive for the diamante. Good luck with this new endeavor.
These poems are wonderful. I miss writing poetry in the classroom (ok, I just miss the classroom, period). I’d never heard of a grossblank. Thanks for the introduction. Definitely one I’ll have to try!
Kaylie and Colby, I’d like to teach them both. Both pull me in with their sensory writing. One moment I am with Katniss on the hunt. The next moment I am rereading Colby’s words slowly to absorb the images and grasp his meaning. Very cool. Great job giving them a place to start and a form to try as they find their voices and become poets.