Written by: Kathy Mavity - DMS ELA/Social Studies Instructor
On January 7th and January 8th, 2021, Mrs. Lafond's, Mrs. Hayes', and Mrs. Mavity's 6th graders completed their poetry writing unit by sharing their poetry books on the stage set up in Mrs. Hayes' classroom. The celebration took into account social distancing rules. Public speaking is a life-long skill and this celebration day allowed students to practice using their voices while entertaining the crowd.
We began our poetry unit by creating poems about ourselves and items that mattered to each individual writer. Students practiced writing with various figurative language elements. We then worked on shape poetry to expand students' writing knowledge by placing descriptive words into meaningful shapes. Jenna Zubke, a 6th grade student, shared her thoughts on the celebration, “I really enjoyed how we were able to choose our own poems for the poetry celebration. It gave us some freedom and let us use our own creativity. When we were younger, we learned about poetry but in our poetry unit, we got more in-depth with it.”
Students also worked with free-verse poetry, which does not follow specific rules, although the writer uses artistic expression. This style of poetry allows students to express their feelings and to transfer their thoughts to paper without any constraints. Dr. Lewton took time to come and listen to the poets as well as to share a poem that inspired him. The buzz generated among students and the positive feedback that the celebration gathered, establishes a place for this culminating project to the end of 6th-grade poetry writing in the future.
Best Friends by Olivia Easum
For the wag of a tail, and a bark of hello, to no other friend I would ever go. To whisper my fears and lick away tears. To run and jump and twirl all around. There's no other friend that I've ever found. I love my best friend.
Personification Poem "Who am I?" by Callie Bowden
I can be in many shapes and sizes. I can teach you all about one thing. For each one of me, my name is different.
I can either be hard or flimsy. I can also give you cuts if you're not careful. I can also get very damaged if you don't take good care of me.
I can lead you onto different paths if you choose the right one of me. Everyone has used me, but don't always like to because I'm too "boring". You have used me for almost your whole life.
Who Am I?
Answer: A book