Constrained Vocabulary Poems

The students were asked to discuss the question "What is a word?" After some consternation, revelation and debate, during which it was decided--in each class--that words are sounds that mean something (the debate hinged on whether or not a scream, then, is a word) they were then asked to write down something that they're asked or told to do just about every day, e.g. "Clean your room." These words were then written on the board: voice, curve, planet, animal, turn, & sense; the students were told that their poem had to include the quote and these six words, though they might change the words slightly, e.g. "curve" could become "curvy" or "curved," &c...

This exercise leads to a wide variety of responses, structurally and thematically.



Mrs. van Zytveld's 4th grade class


untitled
Julian V.

“Go to bed now” I like to
stay up late and turn the
channels back and forth
and my animals lay down with
me and sometimes I hear voices
and sometimes they don’t make sense
and I go peek out on a curve of a wall
in the hallway sometimes I wonder
what is out of the planet.


“Clean Up”
Madeline G.

My mom’s voice is always saying “Clean up.”
Whenever I sense she’s going to turn around I clean
real fast. When she is doing something I curve
around and so somewhere else to rest.
She’s like an animal who will
kill me if I don’t clean.
I mean it’s like she came from planet
“Clean up.” That is all she ever says,
“clean up” “clean up” “clean up.”
But yet I deal with her making me
“Clean up.”


“Make your bed”
Max O.

This comes from my
mom’s voice it turns or
curves in my head I
sense I have to do it
like an animal I live
on this
crazy
planet


“I Don’t Know”
Araceli C.

“DO YOUR BED”
Voices everywhere
Turning around
Animals in motion
Sensing flowers
Curve on the road
Pluto is a small planet


C.J.
by Cleophus J.

“Study the planet Jupiter CJ”

“Study the animal jaguar, CJ”

“I can’t hear your voice CJ”

“Turn the channel CJ”

“Curve your body around CJ”

“Use your senses because Kendall is coming CJ”

“CJ come help me make the bed”

“CJ do your homework”


“Listen”
Keven T.

Listen to your
animal try to
hear his voice
and turn around
then use your
sense to eat
the planet and
curve around.


“Walk the Dog”
Madeline N.

I hear voices in the park
I sense a turn on the corner
I curve around the tree
I see an animal inside
Mars is a planet I see
through a telescope


“What do you want to eat?”
Cassie R.

I can hear my mom’s voice saying
“What do you want to eat?”

I turn and sense waffles.

While I eat I think of animals and planets.

When I am in a car I see
a curved dog.

When getting to school I remember
my dream about the cheap people
who sold me a tiger.

When I get to class I go
and do the math.

After math is science lab.

Then I write this poem.


Getting Dressed
Xavier R.

In the morning my mom said
“Wake up” her voice was beautiful
then she went to the kitchen
then I turned around and sensed
donuts. In a few minutes I
was done getting dressed.
On the floor I saw an animal,
it was my dog Ralphy. Then
I went to the living room—there
was this big planet…


Mrs. Garay's 4th grade class


The Curve
Gustavo C.

I sense a voice.
It said “Turn right
when u hit
the curve
on the
highway.”
When I got
to the curve
I saw a
planet and animals.
And it was
okay.


Nightmare
Kayla A.

I hear voices in the dark.
I sense that I’m not alone.
The light turns on.
The door curves open.
Someone walks into my room.
I’m not sure if it’s a person.
I feel like I’m on a different planet.
Now I see that the thing is an animal.
Now the animal speaks.
“Make the baby a bottle,”
says my little nightmare.


untitled
Xochitl Z.

My dad’s voice sounds like a lion!
My back turns toward my dad!
My imaginary dog lives on a planet
called Jasmine.


“Listen to the Teacher”
Ilene M.

I use my voice
to talk to animals
I tell them to eat planets
I tell them to turn around
I tell them to listen
to the teacher I tell them
to curve on the highway
I tell them to sense
their hands.


Voices
Ashley H.

There are a lot
of voices in this planet.
I use my voice a lot.
My mom used her voice
to tell me “clean your
room.” My brother
has a deep voice. Mrs. Garay
has a big voice.


The Unusual Sea
Natalie T.

“I see the curved sea”

“It looks like a planet full of water”

“Its voice (or waves) sounds like
a frightening animal”

“It senses trouble when people
throw nasty garbage in it”

“It turns and twists to get free”


The Creepy Feeling and Movement
Idalia H.

Here are some six creepy words:
I hear voices very loud and right beside me
I sense a feeling in my body
I see a scary turn in my house
I see a car curve right down my house
I see another planet beside me
I feel a creepy animal by me
but them everything dies beside me.


“Go to School”
Justin O.

I hear a voice saying “GO TO SCHOOL!”
I used my common sense and turned over
I saw an animal eating a cannibal
I met Janet, then I saw a planet
We hit a curve then we swerved
I saw a flag then I wanted to tag
Then I heard a sounds then I got pounded
Then I saw a bird


“Do not eat”
Jesus R.

When I woke up my voice was hard,
so I went to school.
When the teacher said “What is 5x5”
I said “20” but she thought I said “money.”
Then my throat got bad.
The I said, “No, 20” and the teacher
said “No! I am not an ATM machine
you know.”
So now it was time to go.
When I got home, I said “My throat hurts!”
“Did you eat?” “No, do not eat” I said.


“ ”
Virshauna B.

“Today we’re going to read
about the planets”

“Why does the orbit curve
around the sun?”

“Make a right turn on Caccavale
Road.”

“Why do you think animals
are part of the economy?”

“Your voice is very soft
and you talk a lot.”

“Do you ever use common
sense?”

“Pluto isn’t a planet
it’s a big, gray paint ball.”

“Oh, take out your homework.”


“What are you?”
Jaques C.

“I could sense your blood.”

“I turn around the boat.”

“Your voice seems scared.”

“I’m the most feared thing on the planet.”

“Don’t throw curve balls at me, and I’m
not an animal.”

“Don’t get twisted again.”

“Clean your room.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.”




Ms. Otero's 4th grade class


Lazy Sleepy Head
Alex O.

Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! time for school
it is your turn to brush your teeth first. 30 more
minutes.

Mom’s tone of voice has animal noises
in her sentences it made no sense because I was
sleeping.

Will the planet curve like a curve ball
in baseball?

Wake up! Don’t make me get your dad with
the belt.

Oh! fine but I’m not getting up they will need
the military and the army combined.

I am thinking this but not saying this.
They don’t know this.

When dad steps into the room I jump
up I’m up! I’m up!

Then dash to the bathroom. I say, “Will this
always go on?”


“Clean Up Your Room!”
Miguel C.

My mom said turn off your
TV. Lower your voice down
right now. You have a curve
of paper in your room. Take
care of your animal or I’m
going to give it to your friend.
I see a planet of non-
sense.


Weird and Crazy
Rodrigo R.

“Do your homework”
“Some kids don’t lower their voice”
“The planets curve around Earth”
“I sense something”
“I turn around so the bad breath won’t get me”
“The animals hate me”
“I see a girl act like a cat”
“Some weird things happened”
“My chocolate tastes weird”
“My dad eats my homework”


unititled
Isabel H.

I went to a different planet
I heard a voice
It was an animal
He will always turn around
I always tell him “Take a bath”
because I can sense his smell
but the weirdest thing about
him is that he looks like
a big curve.


Weird Stuff
Jordan L.

“Eat animal food. Eat planet
food. Help your dad turn
a car. Help your dad curve
a car. Help your dad sense food. Eat
your sense. Do your voice homework
and curve. Curve your food. Help your
animal fix a car. Sense your homework.”


Do Your Homework
Luisana P.

I always hear my mom’s voice
saying “Do your homework.”

My mom always turns around to
say “Go do your homework.”

My mom always says “Go feed
the dog after doing your homework.”

I always sense when my mom
is going to say “Go do your homework.”

My mom curves me over to say
“Do your homework.”

Sometimes I wish I was on another
planet and not hear my mom say
“Do your homework.”

Sometimes when I am at school
I can still hear her say “Go
do your homework.”

Sometimes I wish she could
stop saying “Go do your homework.”

I am sometimes tired of her voice
saying “Go do your homework.”


untitled
Ronnie B.

My mom told me “Don’t raise
your voice.” “Turn on the TV.”
At the zoo mom told the animal
“Go away.”

At the scary house dad yelled
“Go around the curve.”

The planets were spectacular
at the planetarium.

My sense told me to run
away from the crazy man.

I ran away like a maniac.


What I Do
Jackie C.

“Did you do your homework?”
My parents say to use a low voice
then I cut my animal’s food in a curve.
After that I could turn on the TV.
We watch Spiderman
he says “My spider sense is tingling.”
Now I turn off the TV
I eat dinner
then watch a planet show
I take a bath
I use the shampoo from a curved bottle
I go to bed
My voice goes to bed
I have a dream I have spider sense.


“Do Your Work”
Leo S.

Wash that animal of yours.
Turn that radio off now.
You don’t make sense at all.
The city made the worst curve ever.
Your voice is weak you can’t talk.
There is a planet in another galaxy.
What happened in the emergency?
There was a shooting somewhere.