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?
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
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.
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