When My Words Were...

I borrowed this exercise from Rachel Javellana, who presented it at the lesson plan potluck. Some of the students who have been struggling all year really dug into this prompt and wrote some great poems.


Mrs. Van Zytveld's class, 4th grade


What My Words Were
Niko M.


When my words were blood
I was dead

When my words were words
I was a life

When my words were breath
I was ugly

When my words were lost
I was find

When my words were a boy
I was a boy

but when my words became a bunny,
he was funny with his voice.


When my words were…
Madeline G.

When my words were black
I was mean.

When my words were stereos
I was loud.

When my words were intelligent
I was smart.

When my words were paper
I was able to write.

When my words were crazy
I was weird.

But when my words were funny
I didn’t want then to be
funny anymore.


Crazy Story
Kyle S.

When my words were lights
I wasn’t thinking.

When my words were nice
I was mean.

When my words were mean
I was nice.

When my words were gold
I was poor.

When my words were a web
I was an insect.

But when my words
became cows…
I ate people…


“I was…when my”
Karina S.

When my words were HOT!
I was ice and cold.

When my words were beautiful
I was ugly.

When my words were helpful
I was thoughtful.

When my words were April
I was capable.

When my words were painful
I was thankful.

But when my words became
hurtful and
brave, there was a war.

My Words
Kyra C.

When my words were cake
I was playing

When my words were cold
I was hot

When my words were ABC
I was saying my 123s

When my words were DaDa
I was saying MaMa

But when my words were “I want ice cream”
I was getting brain freeze

What My Words Were
Cassie R.

When my words were
deaf
I was blind.

When my words were
video games
I was the Sears Tower

When my words were
sun
I was moon.

When my words were
expensive
I was cheap.

When my words were
sky
I was a graveyard

But when my words became
optimistic, dead bodies grew out
of the grave yard.

When My Words Were
Xavier R.

When my words were hot
I was cold.

When my words were fat
I was skinny.

When my words were colorful
I was black and white.

When my words were angry
I was happy.

When my words were good
I was bad.

But when my words became
crazy they were running around
my dog.

Weird Things
Cleophus J.

When my words were donuts
I was hungry.

When my words were weird
I was normal.

When my words were pencils
I was pens.

When my words were tables
I was chairs.

When my words were books
I was drawing.

But when my words were ice cream
I was covered with little kids.


Ms. Otero's class, 4th grade

I Have Spoken
Yaritza M.

When my words were sad
I was playing “Moonlight.”

When my words were singing
I was metaphorically speaking.

When my words were scary
I was reading a book.

When my words were sour
I was sweet.

When my words were rebellion
I was spanked.

But when my words were sorry
I just grounded me for two months!

Feelings of the Heart

When my words
were tears
I was water

When my words
were angry
I was fire

When my words
were glad
I was wind

When my words
were hurt
I was earth

When my words
were hush
I was the trees

All these are
feelings of my
heart

When my words were…
Isabel H.

When my words were strong
I was weak

When my words were books
I was chalk

When my words were invisible
I was dust

When my words were light
I was dark

When my words were numbers
I was words

But when my words were high
the light was low
in the earth’s core

untitled
Miguel C.

When my words were mean
I was looking at the clock.

When my words were a book
I was looking down.

When my words were big
I was red.

When my words were paper
I was wood.

When my words were plastic
I was steel.

But when my words
became boards
chalks were writing.

What Have I Done to Myself! What Have I Become! What Am I!
Alex O.

When my words were blank
I was full of words

When my words were a black out
I was out and asleep

When my words were chocolate
I was as bitter as a grapefruit

When my words were rocks
I was as dirty as a garbage truck

When my words were stars
I was burned on fire by the stars

But when I was a chocolate bunny…
I melted away…

My Word
Ebene A.

When my words
were sweet
I was at the restaurant.

When my words
were out of clothes
I was shopping.

When my words
were water
I was taking a bath.

When my words
were underwater
I was at the moon.

When my words
were riding a horse
I was riding a pig.

But when my words
were kids
my lips were jumping.

untitled
Sherry Y.

When my words were fruit
I was a grandmother

When my words were cool
I was snakebit

When my words were on fire
I was fishbits

When my words were water
I was set on fire

When My Words…
Luisana P.

When my words were sad
I was happy.

When my words were mean
I was purple.

When my words were dreamy
I was sleepy.

When my words were dumb
I was smart.

When my words were green
I was Frankenstein’s monster.

But when my words became flowers
bees covered my lips.

Emotions
Sabrina V.

When my words were clear
I was gone.

When my words were sweet
I was candy.

When my words were huge
I was the sky.

When my words were cute
I was a pet.

When my words were fruit
I was delicious.

When my words were amazing
I was a marker.

But, when my words were
on fire…
it really burned me.

Strange or Real
Jackie C.

When my words were blank
I was white

When my words were horrible
I was relaxed

When my words were rainy
I was perky

When my words were trees
I was unknown

When my words were wacky yacky
I was Jackie

I woke up, I was feeling
weird, strange, and something happened.


Mrs. Garay's class, 4th grade

When My Words Were
Paul M.

When my words were bright
I was dark

When my words were running
I was tired

When my words were wet
I was thirsty

When my words were welcome
I was not coming

When my words were Paulie
I was eiluaP

But when my words became wet
fish covered my body

untitled
Jesus R.

When my words were school
I was homework

When my words were hairy
I was bald

When my words were # numbers
I was old

When my words were “You can’t see me”
I was gone

But when my words became
kind
the world ended

untitled
Natalie T.

When my words
were blue
I was a teardrop

When my words
were pink
I was embarrassed

When my words
were green
I was money

When my words
were Spanish
I was in my Ecuadorian homeland

When my words
were red
I was a heart

But when my words
were orange
I turned into a popsicle

Hoo Loo
Xochitl Z.

When my words were
bottle I was water

When my words were
a princess I was a flower

Numbers and Money
Xavier M.

When my words were cash
I was money

When my words were math
I was numbers

When my words were water
I was an earthquake

When my words were wind
I was a tornado

When my words were punch
I was fighting

But when my words became
a calculator
the numbers multiplied

The Weird Place
Gina C.

When my words were money
I was a money tree.

When my words were a map
I was 50 states.

When my words were shapes
I was a pyramid.

When my words were Sox Rock
I was a stinky sock

When my words were 3xeach
I was 3 words.

When I was a leaf
I was a huge plant.

Strangeness
Jordan A.

When my words were mountains
I was a pebble

When my words were Sun
I was a flashlight

When my words were Earth
I was a ball


When my words were an octopus
I was seafood

When my words were Cubs Rock!
I was attacked by smelly socks

but when my words became
loopy, I was in a big pool
of soupy

Bunny Words
Justin O.

When my words
were money
I was a bank

When my words
were tests
I was a D

When my words
were glasses
I was wearing them

When my words
were happy
I was mad

When my words
were biting me
I was a snake

But when my words
became oil
cars needed oil changes!

Spells

The students read the "bubble bubble toil and trouble" witches' section from Macbeth and wrote their own spells.

Mrs. Van Zytveld's class, 4th grade

Report Card
Carlos D.

Once my parents told me if I ever get
a bad report card I will have no birthday
party so one day I went into my closet
and said “Remix! Throw some As on dat!”
I just got my report card…

My Spell
Cassie R.

A frog of the color of white…
Mixed in poison inside a cauldron.
With a mouth of silence…
& an ear of no fear.
A drop of time & an ice cream
bar. What does this all equal?
To stop time, make everyone freeze
(except me) & hear no one or nothing
except the TV.

Spell to Get Rid of Homework
Sam S.

“Flashcards in, journal in, but all that will be left
is the encyclopedia. Next the words, here they
come O mighty homework vacuum for
the poor kids being tortured with homework having
no video games is like being tortured with boredom:
RISE RISE RISE and break this
horrible curse!!!”

Spell
Kyra C.

Take this girl from a serving bench
and turn her to a serving wench
Every girl in this room
must speak their mind
Give me a dragon ear
so I can hear and hear
“onomatopoeia”
I have honey
with my money.


Mrs. Garay's class, 4th grade


I Wish
Frederick T.

No more teachers alive
No homework and only kids
No parents
First, do the spell
I need four virgin hearts
and a box of Luck Charms

Spell
Idalia H.

round and round
you’ll see a blur
to make this person disappear

double, double chicken trumble
make this chicken have a bubble

prid and pride
have a soda make it come
right through the person if you
say their name from time to time
they’ll be blind

double, double chicken trumble
make this chicken have a bubble

Frankenstone
Jaques C.

Put it on the casket
boil and groil
flame my creation flame

Flame, man, flame
I have to give you a name

Now lift it up
Let me see
Our creation is finished
Let’s make three

Flame, man, flame
I have a cool name

Spell
Ashley H.

You will see stuff go round and round
then after that you will fall to the ground.

You will be hexed
for the rest of your life,
then after that,
something will happen to your wife.

I will need
a snake’s head
a part of your bed
a fish’s eye

and then a fly.
You will be hexed
for the rest of your life,
then after that,
something will happen to your wife.

Summer Come Everly
Jordan A.

Get the fiery pot of doom
throw in a flower that never bloomed
dump half a cup of socks that have mold
with a half-eaten sandwich that old
because it was sitting out for forty days
it smelled like going through a maze

Then I would say “loopy Suppy
Sunny bunny”

The put one beam of light
and it was bright
Add a bowl of water
my soul shook like Harry Potter
Add some toys and fun
A roller coaster
A nice warm day
A No School sign

Then I would say “loopy Suppy
Sunny bunny”

When I say “lunar”
Summer will come sooner.


Ms. Otero's class, 4th grade

Spell
Cristian B.

A star from the sky, a minotaur’s
horns, children’s sweat, dog’s breath,
monster’s blood, a girl’s hair,
a woman’s beard, a wolf’s howl.

Yell this chant to spawn a…

Spell
Jordan L.

Thou puppy shall not stop
peeing on your acefay. On thou
birthday you’ll get run over
by a rucktay. The ollercoasteray
will explode. Ouyay will have explosive
children. Everything you touch’ll turn
to skittles. Prilay oolfays!

My Magical Poem
Isabel H.

Pumpkin, pumpkin twist and turn
bake in an oven and then burn.

I found a pumpkin
in the yard I am
going to be powerful.
I did my spell
to become queen.

Pumpkin, pumpkin twist and turn
bake in an oven and then burn.

It turned out
I didn’t become powerful
I just became weaker
and lamer and sadder.

Spell
Sabrina V.

Put things above our pot
those things are goo or not.
Also put that near the cool stone
it helps the spell al go to one.

Wait here! Get the snake.
What? No? I have to wait?

Oh, the spell is ready now,
this will happen so be wowed.
You see you will be uncool
in case you want to be a fool.

Be gone see how you’ll be
not for us including me.

Now you’re missing? That’s not it!
You’re really supposed to include a mitt!
Oh, the snake?
I was really supposed to wait.

Now it’s gone
I’ll want now one…
Bye-bye
and enjoy the spell.