Poetry

Second graders have been studying poetry lately, reading and writing poems.  As we read, we are noticing some of the tools poets use, such as repetition, rhyme, personification, onomatopoeia, and alliteration.  Here’s a poem we enjoyed after walking back from Meeting for Worship:

October's Party
By: George Cooper

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came—
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly "hands around."

We have used traditional themes from nature to inspire our writing, spending time looking carefully and using descriptive language. Many students have tried to implement some of the poetry tools they noticed poets employ.

Feathers were the focus of one writing session.  After everyone had written their own individual poems, we shared a word or phrase to create a group poem. 

Here’s an example from one group:

Starlight, black and white

Colorful

Tiger striped lines

Coffee color

Metallic

Beautiful

Soundless delicate pattern

Dot, dot, dot

Spot, spot, spot

Feathers, feathers everywhere

We are encouraging the students to read poetry at home and bring some in to share with the class. If you have a favorite poem, feel free to send it in.