Something Special about "You"

I find "I Am poems" very fun and a creative process. Throughout my life, I've written several of these in my classes with students and on my own. Often when asking students to write this type of poem it can be overwhelming or challenging if students do not have a real clear 'picture' of themselves or have some self esteem issues. Also, it's a self reflective piece. One week ago I had two classes at Reed write their own. Here are some samples from Mr. Garland's class (with 5th and 6th Graders).

Untitled
Domonique W.

I am Domonique
I am very smart and listen
I'm good while I'm in school
but while I'm home I am a goofy girl who just likes to play
I am athletic
I like to play soccer, basketball and football
I am nice

I like lots of animals especially cats
I can sense when somebody is sad
I'd like to know if the world will be the same
in the world 4000
I am very playful
I am Domonique

I like Christmas where I get lots of presents
I like Thanksgiving
My Grandma cooks lots of pies
I am very curious about things
I am in the spelling bee because I like to spell
I am Domonique

What I liked so much is her use of repetition and that she gave us snippets of her self (personality, likes, and what she wonders about in the world / in her world).

I am Nikia
Nikia M.

I am Nikia and this poem about me.
I am Nikia and I like to go shopping.
I am Nikia and I go and get my nails done.
I see my friends at the mall.
I see my Mom at her job.
I see my Dad working hard.
I see my Brother working hard for me.
I dream of stars.
I dream of my family.
I dream of my Dad and Mom.
I dream that I was stars.

Nikia's approach is slightly different whereas she writes almost in a repetitive/chanting poem format. The feel (to me) is very authentic and real.


Pam Osbey
Artist-in-Resident
Walter Reed Elementary

Colors, Searching and Collaborations

Wednesday's classes were a literary gumbo of diverse themes and ideas. I chose to do three different arcs of poetry lessons that would address voice, tone, form, and themes of individuality, reflections, impossible things, and colors. The 8th graders discussed Tupac's, "What Is It that I Search 4", while the 5/6 graders completed collaboration poems about strange and odd questions and answers; and the 3rd Graders used their pens to paint some colors.

Color Fiesta
Detric S. - 3rd Grader, Tomlinson Class

It's the color blue and it's my favorite color.
Like the sky is blue
and green - that's the color of a dollar
and leaves.
And red that's my sister's favorite color.
And that's the color of a rose.
And gray, that's the color shirt I got on now.
And yellow is the color of the sun.
And blue it's the color of the river.
And orange it's the color of an orange.
And white is the color of paper.
And pink is the color of yogurt.
And black is the shoes I got on now.
Clear is the color of my uncle's car.
Purpose is the color of my sister's room.
And brown is the color of my mom's car.
And the dirt and dark brown is the color a crayon
and the color of my house.

Detric is a great reciter and he normally reads his poems every class period.

Untitled Poem
Vaughn F and Pam O.

When do pigs fly?
They take Southwest Airlines to Arizona on Fridays.
What is the sky made of?
It's made of popcorn, hot sauce, orange juice and water.
How can people fly?
They sit on the wings of little flies and bees.
How many stars in the sky?
5 Million little spiders times 5,000,000,000
Can you eat a dog?
Yes, you saute his body into little pieces, it tastes just
like fried chicken...

This lesson was taken from Kenneth Koch's "Wishes, Lies and Dreams". For the most part it worked well. The lesson pairs up students to write collaborations with others and to create impossible crazy questions and answers. It's a fun activity.

Things that People Search for
Carmen E. - 8th Grader, Lapota

I know what people search for
Some search for happiness
Some search for love
Some search for a place or position in the world

I know what people search for
Some search for life
Some search for joy
Some search for a place or position in the world

I know what I search for
I search for happiness
I search for joy
I search for a good life in
the middle of the world

Carmen is a consistent writer in Lapota's class. I expect to see more great work from her and the others in the very early morning class!

Please check back weekly for more work by these students!

Pam Osbey
Artist-in-Resident

What About America?

This is the question, I posed on Wednesday morning for the 8th graders in Lapota's class. I wanted to see what they felt about America? Likes? Dislikes? Suggestions for improvements? I used a free verse poem called, "America" written by a seventeen year old writer from the teen anthology, "Make Some Noise!". At first I wasn't sure this was going to work, as you know it's an early morning class. And I am asking them some deep questions when they just rolled out of bed. The poem generated a lot of feedback on our government, and the stance of the speaker in the poem, who some thought lost a family member to war. The tone of the poem was more in a questioning, melancholy way, and the students did relate with this poem about how they felt about certain things in this country they felt needed to be changed.

But fortunately for me, they did 'get it' and after the initial brainstorming, here are a few poems I got:

What About America?
Carmen Emanuel

Some parts of America
is good and some is bad
But most of all there are more bad things
that happen in America
The guns, so many people get killed by gun fire
Up to about 5,000 people get killed everyday in America by guns
Someone needs to stop all the fighting also
So many people get killed in fights
Someone needs to stop the madness and stop killing people
I see this sign too much and people is still doing the same thing
I just want people to stop killing!!!

Dear Reader
Danielle Swain

The sorrow of many hearts in America
crying out to the Heavens for peace
Why
Why must the cries be so loud
It's almost like America is burning
Praying for peace
Dying for peace
The liberty statue shall fall
and all the sea will dry up
and people, thousands of people
will fade away
Bringing new life into the world
Then maybe
Maybe the sun will shine again
Rebirth is brilliant, isn't it?

To America
Reginald Radford

So many deaths
so little time
how can you stake claim
when the one in charge
is the reason for these deaths?
A ruthless leader is what we
have
taking after his father...
Thank God
we still stand
Because with the rulers of today
Thank God we
Still stand...


Check back next week for more fabulous work by the writers at Walter Reed Elementary.

-- Pam Osbey