Knowing that the students were working on science projects, I thought they might enjoy using a stereotypical scientific formality and using it as a form of poetry. They used the old saw of "Observation; Hypothesis; Findings; Conclusion" as a poetic form, as a springboard for seeing what's poetic in the world, and therefore is a form of fact.
That said, some students went for the outright realistically silly:
Chipmunks
by Kayla A.
Observation: Chipmunks are made of walnuts.
Hypothesis: Chipmunks are made of walnuts because they crack themselves up.
Findings: Chipmunks hate walnuts.
Conclusion: I learned that chipmunks and walnuts do not go together.
Paper Flowers
by Sophia P.
Observation: Flowers are made out of paper.
Hypothesis: I think goats and rabbits eat the flowers because they are made of paper.
Findings: They use the paper flowers as food when there’s nothing else to do.
Conclusion: Flowers are not made out of paper, they’re made out of candy—that’s why they taste so good.
Others went towards the serious real and surreal:
Cat Ears
by Caitlin C.
Observation: A cat’s ear works better than a human’s ear.
Hypothesis: Cats have more muscles in their ear than the human ear.
Findings: Cats have 32 muscles in their ear and humans have only six muscles in their ear.
Conclusion: Cats and human ears have a different number of muscles and cats’ ears work better.
Dolphins
by Anjalae A.
Observation: Dolphins are made of water.
Hypothesis: Dolphins are made of water so they don’t need fish.
Findings: Dolphins are made of water because they swim underwater.
Conclusion: Dolphins are not fish.
Some saw in the actual gestures and things of the world behaviors that had a biological and/or social meaning. They recognized that behaviors have a context that is as important as the behavior.
Here is one involving animals:
My Freaky Animal
by Madeline G.
Observation: Cats are made of water.
Hypothesis: Cats are made of water so you don’t need to give them water—they just lick themselves when they’re thirsty.
Findings: They even shed their skin and drink it.
Conclusion: Cats are made of water so they can live.
Amazing. We've all seen cats lick themselves--little did we know why they were doing so...
Here's one about the perennial mystery of the uvula.
The Dangly Thing
by Jackie C.
Observation: The little dangly thing at the back of your throat: is it decorative or an important part of you?
Hypothesis: I think it might be important because I touch it and I start coughing.
Findings: I found out that your dangly thing is important.
Conclusion: It is important since it makes you get a brain freeze.
Again--so true that it creates a truth.
Here, though, the poet makes an important social observation, and uncovers what we didn't know but already felt to be true:
The Truth About Green Grass
by Jesus R.
Observation: Green grass is made of thousand dollar bills.
Hypothesis: Green grass is made of thousand dollar bills because grass like rich people.
Findings: People mow the lawn and then rake the grass up and put it in the trash. Then the garbage truck picks it up and takes it to Washington DC and gives it to the President.
Conclusion: Green grass is made out of money because grass is born from trees’ roots.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Ekphrasis
The students looked at Breugel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus and puzzled over why it is so difficult to see Icarus; they then read William Carlos Williams' poem based upon the painting and discussed description as interpretation.
They then chose from three pictures to write their own ekphrastic poems about: a sculpture by Giacometti, a collage by Max Ernst, and a New Guinean ancestor mask.
Some of the poems don't go much beyond description; some, however, use the pictures as jumping off points to say something important about human psychological and social being.
New Guinea Ancestor
based on an ancestor mask
Julian V.
His teeth
have braces.
I think he
could get
hung up on
the wall?
I think it
could be
a baby’s
coffin?
It could be
a calendar
for something?
Giacometti
based on a sculpture by Giacometti
Xavier R.
Looks like
a house with
out cover
from the out
side.
It looks
like a
cage from
the in side
of the house
in the cage
it looks like
a ruler in
side
Don’t Get Eaten
based on a collage by Max Ernst
Javonna C.
Hey, do you
see what I see.
I see ducks
ducking around
like they’re on
something
worm
worm
run
don’t
let the
ducks
get
you
do you
want
to stay
alive
ok
that’s
on you
Pain of Sadness
based on a collage by Max Ernst
Trenati B.
The medium hand was coming to
town with his tweezers.
The geese ran but
there was nowhere
to hide.
Monsters on every
corner.
I think one was a
leech
ready to suck their blood.
The ship in the back
solo.
It was probably for the sadness.
Ancestor
based on a New Guinean ancestor mask
Destiny S.
It’s like someone’s skeleton
The little squares are his bones
Its teeth are like pumpkin teeth
This is a body mask
Why did they make the nose too big?
Who did it smile at? Was it you?
Who did it laugh at?
Did you make a joke?
Bird Killer
based on a collage by Max Ernst
Rodrigo R.
I see bird heads on human bodies. A hand
with a knife. A leaf on a knife. Two houses.
A blanket drawing. Three shadows. The human
body has bird hands. Three sticks from
a ship. Three boxes. A long metal pole. The house
walls are cracked. The bird-human bodies
are chasing each other.
Life or Luck
based on a sculpture by Giacometti
Alex O.
It is a
palace or
is it a
dungeon with
skinny twigs
maybe a
playground
for the
rare golden
bird did
the tail
come from
the golden
bird for
luck or
did you
need the
blue and
red rare
birds for
your life
to be more
slow so
you live
longer
The Palace at 4PM
based on a sculpture by Giacometti
Leo S.
There is a bird dead
The bird has hung in
a box since winter in the door
A person was looking out the window
for a long time waiting for something
She stayed there till she died
A piece of an octopus tentacle that moves—
it kills at night
The house was quiet
A mirror watches every step
each person’s move
It breaks every minute somebody comes
The Long Lost Building Down Town
based on a sculpture by Giacometti
Leilani D.
I visit a
building it was
made of stick
It was made
of a bat,
mirror that slides
a vase sitting on
the ground a
pepper hanging
a box all
around the pepper
slides of wood
slide up and down
a symbol
of a town
at 4pm
the sun is down
Strange Meaning of Life
based on a sculpture by Giacometti
Jordan A.
It is 4pm
this strange palace
comes out at night
The bird comes out
The backbone shakes
The sculptures come alive
They just want to
stretch out their mission
to show me the
meaning of the truth
in my opinion
this means
that there may be
many doors to life
but some doors
have different feelings
but still why this
why doors to life?
They then chose from three pictures to write their own ekphrastic poems about: a sculpture by Giacometti, a collage by Max Ernst, and a New Guinean ancestor mask.
Some of the poems don't go much beyond description; some, however, use the pictures as jumping off points to say something important about human psychological and social being.
New Guinea Ancestor
based on an ancestor mask
Julian V.
His teeth
have braces.
I think he
could get
hung up on
the wall?
I think it
could be
a baby’s
coffin?
It could be
a calendar
for something?
Giacometti
based on a sculpture by Giacometti
Xavier R.
Looks like
a house with
out cover
from the out
side.
It looks
like a
cage from
the in side
of the house
in the cage
it looks like
a ruler in
side
Don’t Get Eaten
based on a collage by Max Ernst
Javonna C.
Hey, do you
see what I see.
I see ducks
ducking around
like they’re on
something
worm
worm
run
don’t
let the
ducks
get
you
do you
want
to stay
alive
ok
that’s
on you
Pain of Sadness
based on a collage by Max Ernst
Trenati B.
The medium hand was coming to
town with his tweezers.
The geese ran but
there was nowhere
to hide.
Monsters on every
corner.
I think one was a
leech
ready to suck their blood.
The ship in the back
solo.
It was probably for the sadness.
Ancestor
based on a New Guinean ancestor mask
Destiny S.
It’s like someone’s skeleton
The little squares are his bones
Its teeth are like pumpkin teeth
This is a body mask
Why did they make the nose too big?
Who did it smile at? Was it you?
Who did it laugh at?
Did you make a joke?
Bird Killer
based on a collage by Max Ernst
Rodrigo R.
I see bird heads on human bodies. A hand
with a knife. A leaf on a knife. Two houses.
A blanket drawing. Three shadows. The human
body has bird hands. Three sticks from
a ship. Three boxes. A long metal pole. The house
walls are cracked. The bird-human bodies
are chasing each other.
Life or Luck
based on a sculpture by Giacometti
Alex O.
It is a
palace or
is it a
dungeon with
skinny twigs
maybe a
playground
for the
rare golden
bird did
the tail
come from
the golden
bird for
luck or
did you
need the
blue and
red rare
birds for
your life
to be more
slow so
you live
longer
The Palace at 4PM
based on a sculpture by Giacometti
Leo S.
There is a bird dead
The bird has hung in
a box since winter in the door
A person was looking out the window
for a long time waiting for something
She stayed there till she died
A piece of an octopus tentacle that moves—
it kills at night
The house was quiet
A mirror watches every step
each person’s move
It breaks every minute somebody comes
The Long Lost Building Down Town
based on a sculpture by Giacometti
Leilani D.
I visit a
building it was
made of stick
It was made
of a bat,
mirror that slides
a vase sitting on
the ground a
pepper hanging
a box all
around the pepper
slides of wood
slide up and down
a symbol
of a town
at 4pm
the sun is down
Strange Meaning of Life
based on a sculpture by Giacometti
Jordan A.
It is 4pm
this strange palace
comes out at night
The bird comes out
The backbone shakes
The sculptures come alive
They just want to
stretch out their mission
to show me the
meaning of the truth
in my opinion
this means
that there may be
many doors to life
but some doors
have different feelings
but still why this
why doors to life?
Friday, November 9, 2007
Monster Poems
Using simile and metaphor to create "oogly" monsters...
It Is
By Classroom 304
The monster’s hair is like needles.
The monster’s head is like a pillow.
Its eyebrow is a green caterpillar.
Its eyes are as big as the warts on its face
and the nose is as black as the night sky.
Its mouth is as big as a bear’s foot.
The twenty ears are sharp knives.
Its teeth are as sharp as a saber-toothed tiger’s teeth.
Its chin is as pointy as a hook. Its neck
is as long as a giraffe’s.
The shoulders are as hairy as a dog.
The body is as shiny as glass. The four
arms are as blue as the ocean.
The 44 fingers are red as blood.
The fingernails are sharks teeth.
Its 15,000 legs are as hairy as my dad’s feet.
Its feet are slimy like snails.
Its toes are green leaves.
The toenails are as big as 90 ostriches.
It is a mad scientist and is as fierce as fire.
Furball
By Classroom 303
Its hair is like a pillow of cold.
Its four heads are as big as a giant pumpkin.
Its unibrow is as dark as a shadow.
Its four eyes are clocks.
The nose is as long as Pinocchio’s.
Its two mouths are pink as bubble gum.
The chins are as pointy as pencils.
The five ears are red balls.
It has four bolts in its neck like Frankenstein’s monster.
Its two shoulders are elephants.
The two arms are as long as a 50-inch table.
Its hands are biog as lions.
Its fingers look like chicken sticks.
The fingernails are shark’s teeth.
Its body is as big as a room.
Its 50,000,000 legs are as short as ants.
The knees are people.
Its feet are as flat as a piece of paper.
Its toes are as big as a Sumo wrestler.
The toenails are as big as the Titanic.
The tongue looks like a person.
The Oogly Oo-Oo-Ah-Ah Toe Monster
By Classroom 305
Her hair is as fuzzy as a squirrel’s tail.
Her foreheads are two pumpkins.
Her unibrow is a tower.
Her five eyes are as blue as the recycling can.
The seven noses are as hairy as cats.
She has twenty ears as big as elephants.
She can open her mouth as tall as the Sears Tower.
Her teeth are as sharp as shark’s teeth.
Her chin is shaped like an acute angle.
Her neck is as fat as a hippo.
Her four shoulders are houses.
The six arms are as long as a giraffe’s neck.
Her six hands are like hot stoves.
Her fingers are thin as sticks.
The fingernails are crunchy chips.
Her body is a square.
Her legs are as long as stilts.
Her feet are as small as mice.
Her toes are crayons.
Her toenails are as yellow as the sun.
It Is
By Classroom 304
The monster’s hair is like needles.
The monster’s head is like a pillow.
Its eyebrow is a green caterpillar.
Its eyes are as big as the warts on its face
and the nose is as black as the night sky.
Its mouth is as big as a bear’s foot.
The twenty ears are sharp knives.
Its teeth are as sharp as a saber-toothed tiger’s teeth.
Its chin is as pointy as a hook. Its neck
is as long as a giraffe’s.
The shoulders are as hairy as a dog.
The body is as shiny as glass. The four
arms are as blue as the ocean.
The 44 fingers are red as blood.
The fingernails are sharks teeth.
Its 15,000 legs are as hairy as my dad’s feet.
Its feet are slimy like snails.
Its toes are green leaves.
The toenails are as big as 90 ostriches.
It is a mad scientist and is as fierce as fire.
Furball
By Classroom 303
Its hair is like a pillow of cold.
Its four heads are as big as a giant pumpkin.
Its unibrow is as dark as a shadow.
Its four eyes are clocks.
The nose is as long as Pinocchio’s.
Its two mouths are pink as bubble gum.
The chins are as pointy as pencils.
The five ears are red balls.
It has four bolts in its neck like Frankenstein’s monster.
Its two shoulders are elephants.
The two arms are as long as a 50-inch table.
Its hands are biog as lions.
Its fingers look like chicken sticks.
The fingernails are shark’s teeth.
Its body is as big as a room.
Its 50,000,000 legs are as short as ants.
The knees are people.
Its feet are as flat as a piece of paper.
Its toes are as big as a Sumo wrestler.
The toenails are as big as the Titanic.
The tongue looks like a person.
The Oogly Oo-Oo-Ah-Ah Toe Monster
By Classroom 305
Her hair is as fuzzy as a squirrel’s tail.
Her foreheads are two pumpkins.
Her unibrow is a tower.
Her five eyes are as blue as the recycling can.
The seven noses are as hairy as cats.
She has twenty ears as big as elephants.
She can open her mouth as tall as the Sears Tower.
Her teeth are as sharp as shark’s teeth.
Her chin is shaped like an acute angle.
Her neck is as fat as a hippo.
Her four shoulders are houses.
The six arms are as long as a giraffe’s neck.
Her six hands are like hot stoves.
Her fingers are thin as sticks.
The fingernails are crunchy chips.
Her body is a square.
Her legs are as long as stilts.
Her feet are as small as mice.
Her toes are crayons.
Her toenails are as yellow as the sun.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Odes to Hybrid Animals
I had the students create creatures by collaging various parts of different animals together; they then wrote an ode to their new creature. Here are a few examples.
Cool Snakturtle
Rayes W.
Oh, Snakturtle I love the way there is
one of you yet you rule the world. You are stronger
than 50 lions all together. I love the way
you slither in your shell when you are
ready to fight. You can blow up and come back
whenever you want. You can force things to
kill themselves whenever you want. Snakturtle
you can go inside people and make them rob
a bank. Snakturtle you are cool, especially
because you are a smart ghost. Snakturtle, I love
you.
Ode to the Bat-bird-legged-fish
Alex O.
Oh Bat-bird-legged-fish you can not see
in the light.
How I love to see you live on land
and water.
You are king of water and land.
Eating fish and insects day and night!
You can fly and stand on branches
with your legs of a bird.
Bat-bird-legged-fish you are so wonderful
and useful.
By Day By Night
Yaritza M.
(By Night)
Rhino-tiger, you fearsome beast,
Why, on living flesh you feast.
With a glance I turn to stone,
Now I’m yours to own.
(By Day)
You’re a gentle thing,
Now you eat plants.
Head of a rhino,
Body of tiger.
(By Night)
No longer gentle,
A fear come true.
My nightmare starts at night,
And ends by day.
Frofird
Keven T.
Oh frofird your tail of a fish
you feet are like bird feet
but you’re a frog. One weird
frog. You swim and walk on
land. You eat leaves. You make me
laugh with your sound. Just like
a bird trying to say “hello.”
Sam’s Ode
Sam S.
Tieraberfly you are vicious and
evil but I see deep down in your heart
there is some good. I know you like
flesh, but you should like plants. You are
endangered, you want your revenge, but revenge
doesn’t do anything. I like you because you
can fly. You have stripes and big ears, but
why do you hate other animals? You almost
look like a rabbit’s head and a striped
body like a tiger and wings like a butterfly.
Butterflies and rabbits are nice, but the
tiger part must be the bad part. Please
control yourself and be good. 2/3 of your body
is good, but only 1/3 of your body is bad.
Control yourself!
The Weird Story
Gina C.
O great Bearflyasaurus
you will be flying
in the trees and
getting stuck in
the trees. Some day
another
Bearflyasaurus
will help you
down from the tree
and then you
will keep getting
stuck in the tree
and then you will go
to the forest
and you will have
more fun where
you are now
and I will
miss you
very much.
Cool Snakturtle
Rayes W.
Oh, Snakturtle I love the way there is
one of you yet you rule the world. You are stronger
than 50 lions all together. I love the way
you slither in your shell when you are
ready to fight. You can blow up and come back
whenever you want. You can force things to
kill themselves whenever you want. Snakturtle
you can go inside people and make them rob
a bank. Snakturtle you are cool, especially
because you are a smart ghost. Snakturtle, I love
you.
Ode to the Bat-bird-legged-fish
Alex O.
Oh Bat-bird-legged-fish you can not see
in the light.
How I love to see you live on land
and water.
You are king of water and land.
Eating fish and insects day and night!
You can fly and stand on branches
with your legs of a bird.
Bat-bird-legged-fish you are so wonderful
and useful.
By Day By Night
Yaritza M.
(By Night)
Rhino-tiger, you fearsome beast,
Why, on living flesh you feast.
With a glance I turn to stone,
Now I’m yours to own.
(By Day)
You’re a gentle thing,
Now you eat plants.
Head of a rhino,
Body of tiger.
(By Night)
No longer gentle,
A fear come true.
My nightmare starts at night,
And ends by day.
Frofird
Keven T.
Oh frofird your tail of a fish
you feet are like bird feet
but you’re a frog. One weird
frog. You swim and walk on
land. You eat leaves. You make me
laugh with your sound. Just like
a bird trying to say “hello.”
Sam’s Ode
Sam S.
Tieraberfly you are vicious and
evil but I see deep down in your heart
there is some good. I know you like
flesh, but you should like plants. You are
endangered, you want your revenge, but revenge
doesn’t do anything. I like you because you
can fly. You have stripes and big ears, but
why do you hate other animals? You almost
look like a rabbit’s head and a striped
body like a tiger and wings like a butterfly.
Butterflies and rabbits are nice, but the
tiger part must be the bad part. Please
control yourself and be good. 2/3 of your body
is good, but only 1/3 of your body is bad.
Control yourself!
The Weird Story
Gina C.
O great Bearflyasaurus
you will be flying
in the trees and
getting stuck in
the trees. Some day
another
Bearflyasaurus
will help you
down from the tree
and then you
will keep getting
stuck in the tree
and then you will go
to the forest
and you will have
more fun where
you are now
and I will
miss you
very much.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Fourth Grade Simile Poems
Similes
Joshua M.
You are as slow as a turtle.
Glass is hard like stone.
You look as ugly as a pig.
You are thin like a flag.
Crazy Things
Jordan A.
Grandpa is as slow as a turtle.
Anger is like the color red.
Seconds are as fast as a cheetah.
Pumpkins are like rainbows.
Fat cats are like pillows.
Worms are like candy.
The midnight moon is like a cookie.
Gym tee shirts are as yellow as the sun.
Girls are made like a volcano.
Boys are like monkeys.
What Happens When You’re in Love?
Jordan L.
Does your heart squish like Play-Doh
or like goop in your hands or do you feel
calm like when birds sing?
Do you get frightened like when you
hear thunder or like when you’re surrounded
by devils?
Do you heat up like lava?
Maybe you tell the truth?
or do you die?
Simile
Jackie C.
Is crying like the
color blue?
Are lights as bright
as the sun?
Is a pumpkin as round
as a ball?
Yellow is as bright as
a sun?
Clothes like
fur to us?
Is the radio as loud as
a fire bell?
Is black as
dark as a spooky night?
Red like Rage
Yaritza M.
Can red be like rage,
Or as blue as the sky?
Is emotion like time
Or as round as Earth.
Minds like yours
Measure knowledge.
Is a raisin as thick as bark,
Or like a small star?
Questions are asked,
Why not answered?
Imagine pieces of things
You discovered.
Things You Don’t See
Amara R.
Pools as blue as the sky.
Crows as black as darkness.
Water as clear as glass.
Thunder like banging things.
Horses like steam.
Lions like fiery light.
Joshua M.
You are as slow as a turtle.
Glass is hard like stone.
You look as ugly as a pig.
You are thin like a flag.
Crazy Things
Jordan A.
Grandpa is as slow as a turtle.
Anger is like the color red.
Seconds are as fast as a cheetah.
Pumpkins are like rainbows.
Fat cats are like pillows.
Worms are like candy.
The midnight moon is like a cookie.
Gym tee shirts are as yellow as the sun.
Girls are made like a volcano.
Boys are like monkeys.
What Happens When You’re in Love?
Jordan L.
Does your heart squish like Play-Doh
or like goop in your hands or do you feel
calm like when birds sing?
Do you get frightened like when you
hear thunder or like when you’re surrounded
by devils?
Do you heat up like lava?
Maybe you tell the truth?
or do you die?
Simile
Jackie C.
Is crying like the
color blue?
Are lights as bright
as the sun?
Is a pumpkin as round
as a ball?
Yellow is as bright as
a sun?
Clothes like
fur to us?
Is the radio as loud as
a fire bell?
Is black as
dark as a spooky night?
Red like Rage
Yaritza M.
Can red be like rage,
Or as blue as the sky?
Is emotion like time
Or as round as Earth.
Minds like yours
Measure knowledge.
Is a raisin as thick as bark,
Or like a small star?
Questions are asked,
Why not answered?
Imagine pieces of things
You discovered.
Things You Don’t See
Amara R.
Pools as blue as the sky.
Crows as black as darkness.
Water as clear as glass.
Thunder like banging things.
Horses like steam.
Lions like fiery light.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Poems using "of"
A spin on Kenneth Koch's "Swan of Bees" exercise. Students are asked to use not only the word "of" as a connective, but also the phrases "full of" and "made of." I added the phrases based upon the fact that students would often use those phrases on their own. I just decided to formalize the gesture into the exercise itself. Two students used each possibility in stanza form, as in Leo S's untitled poem:
school of birds
house made of dogs
world full of invading Corn Pops
school of guts
people made of bugs
world full of bugs that have heat vision
volcano of snow
volcano made of water
volcano full of flying cows
dogs of cows
dogs made of monkey butt
dogs full of houses
sharks of fish
sharks made of lions
sharks full of people
world of roller coasters
world made of ice cream
world full of dead dogs
Here's a more typical example, filled with a good ear for words and the fantastic synapse-fast jumps from wishful thinking ("Birds made of chocolate"); amazing image ("Statue made of lightning"); silliness ("Ham full of hands"); and opposition ("Trees made of paper").
Mysteries
by Cassie R.
Shoes of flame
Statue made of lightning
Reading full of writing
Board full of basket
Ham full of hands
Cats of lizards
Wonderings of mind
Snakes made of ties
Belts full of cement
Paper made of markers
Sweaters of summer
Trees made of paper
Lakes made of Pepsi
Birds made of chocolate
Limos made of pillows
Tarantulas are full of eyes
Haiku
Here are a few haiku (complete with the rule that you have to mention or suggest a season) from the first class:
haiku
by Madeline N.
The day I twisted
my ankle there were flowers
outside and roses.
haiku
by Yaritza M.
I feel cold today
Hot weather gone, no more
I feel cold and dead.
Halloween Haiku
by Christian B.
I love Halloween.
Let's go TP someone's house.
Give me come candy!
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