Collaborative Poems

For our last class before the holiday and new year break, I wanted to try something that would (hopefully) be fun. We read several two-line poems from Joshua Beckman & Matthew Rohrer's collaborative book, Nice Hat. Thanks, and talked a bit about the process the two poets used when writing poems together. Students then counted off, and were put in groups based on their number. Each wrote three starting lines for as many separate poems, passing them on to others in their group, who added their own lines, creating a series of short group poems. Students were encouraged to think fast, and make "sense" only if they wanted to, or could.

Here are two poems apiece from each group in every class.

Ms. Jones, 3rd grade

Samir A., Jericho C., Devlin H., Sophie L., Aya S., Mark W., Angela Y.

He got a hat

he is wearing the hat

he is warm.

He likes it.

A woman killed a dog.

It was horrible.

I like popcorn.

So I yelled at her.

Michelle A., Allison C., Nicole C., Jacob E., Naomi G., Aleena I.

Pink, blue, how about you?

I don't know.

I have a blue shoe so blue!

Me too.

Tomorrow I will

go to a concert

and have fun.

It was loud.

Griffin B., Krista C., Isabella K., Divya P., Jerry T., Eric W.

The gray slug

is so slow

the pie is

sour

and candy is good.

I am a

joyful person 

and I am a dog

with fins

and with a head of steel.

Anton B., Racquel K., Andrena M., Asala M., Daniel S., Zohaib S.

I like to play

in the park

and go on the slide

I like the swings and the

monkey bars.

My favorite

food is pizza

it is hot

and crusty.

Maya G., Jennifer H., Abel K., David L., Andrew M., Sergio N.

Books make you smart

like Albert Einstein,

and Benjamin Franklin.

I like them both.

I'm in the car

I crashed.

Me too.

I hate crashing.

Ms. Goode, 5th grade

Jessica D., Sang H., Chanel M., Seyi O., Aimee P., Marti R., Cristina T.

This is

extraordinary.

Like my uncle's mole

that is so pretty

that it's weird

sorta cat dog

ugly!

I killed the devil

and kissed a pig

and ate a cow

and burned the cookies

and now I am owner of Heaven 2 a.k.a. Hell.

I love eating crispy buttons.

I am Zeus!

Nick C., Rezwan C., Andres G., Keyla J., Yusra M.

Yesterday I fell in the air.

A basket made of wire.

I hate so much

people

eating burgers

with monkey

lint!

In the basement

an elephant was there

eating my clothes

clothes taste good mmmmmmmmm

die

bird

Edina H., Chris K., Sharon M., Brenda Q., Sammy R., Jeremy S., Ninos Y.

My mom can cook

lots of paper.

Three seconds too much

why is time so slow?

I don't like this.

We made ice cream out of glue.

Let's have candy.

I ha ha

put a smile on your face

uhh!

People were

dancing in the woods

bubblegum in a dish.

I hate animals.

Georel A., Dragos B., Kush G., Yixuan J., Luis L., Stephanie Z.

I broke my

spine in the

woods of doom

the woods was

a freaking problemo. Don't say that! No, you shut up! Foo!

What the, never mind.

Or am I stupid?

I'm going outside.

You are?

Chocolate.

I don't care!!! Whatever.

Loooopy, I am.

Ahhh I am melting.

No no no it's hot.

Mary B., Vivian C., Liam D., Teksong E., Brandy K., Haris S.

That's cool

crazy.

I am

strange, are you?

The kitten got scared and said moo.

Eat all your vegetables

Homer.

Never

get sleepy

or else I'll

put waffles in your

pocket.

Homework

why homework?

Alex B., Long L., Rawabi S., Ruben V., Saleh Y.

Yesterday I saw

Liam for spelling bee.

And he ran away.

Some woman was running.

I think she saw him

running on the moon

and bumped her head.

Today I saw

a pink dog

was weird like a poodle.

And was so small.

There was a midget in the girls bathroom.

It was dumb

like Dumbo.

Mr. Sandlass, 4th grade

Matthew A., Elena D., Sherino M., David M., Toni S., Calvin T.

The art is

amazing

like forget-me-not blue

pants

are

nothing

Madison B., Muneeb Q., Yara S., Sam S., Vivian T., Darius V.

I like video games.

I will go to the land of party for the food.

I will eat triangle pretzels.

Day is light, night is dark.

Water is cool, the sun is hot.

Ice is cold and fire burns your skin.

Trizia B., Sargon D., Danyel H., George L., Diana P., Jason Z.

Spongebob.

That's a good show.

I know he's so smart.

People sing.

Christmas spirit.

People dreaming.

People eating.

People screaming.

People looking up.

Waleed A., Anastasia K., Cindy L., Kaelin M., Eric N.

It's Christmas eve.

It's Christmas morning.

I don't know how to build a snowman.

I built a snowman.

I was in a car.

I will fix the car.

Stephen D., Kayla H., Isis M., Joseph M., Milad Q., Mohammed S.

Eat your ice cream melted

at the ice cream shop

before it blows up.

I love vanilla.

Mr. Dean's hair is crazy today.

It looks like a porcupine.

His hair rocks.

Tristan C., Klea K., Jorge L., Khang N., Minh N.

Dancing shoes.

Two dancing square shoes

with laces.

Basketball players.

The image was pleasant

the first time I saw it

wrestlers dancing

wrestlers dying

Body Part Poems

In her poem, "Anatomy Lesson #2: The Palpation of Bony Landmarks," Katrina Vandenberg urges readers to see beyond the surface of things, beyond the cold and confusing language of science, using "the art of finding" to explore deeper issues of love, compassion and understanding. The poem's anatomical jargon was discussed, and students were asked to consider an under-appreciated body part in poems of their own.

Ms. Jones, 3^rd grade

My Pinky

Michelle A.

I can't see it

but I can feel

it. For me it looks

nice and soft but it

is hard and I don't

care. It is pretty

and pink. It is small

and cute. Pinky, you

help me live. Also

you help me have

five fingers. Thank

you Pinky.

My Heart

Isabella K.

My heart is pounding fast because

I have so much excitement. My heart

is beating fast because I'm home. My

heart is pounding fast because I'm happy.

My heart is happy as me. I think I am going

to die.

The Skull

Sophie L.

Boom! I fall down the

stairs. There is a big bump

on my head. Inside my head

there is a malfunction

in my skull. Now my head

is cold and painful, the

malfunction is going crazy.

I cannot control myself,

someone stop me from run-

ning into that Boom!

wall.

Heart of Love

Andrena M.

Your heart is full of love

and relaxation and not sadness.

To be mad you have to fight it.

You're on the beach in Hawaii looking at

the sunset, and lay on the nice and soft

sand on a towel. Hear the waves

of the water.

Untitled (Body Part Poem)

Daniel S.

Beneath my shirt and other clothes

There is my heart,

Beating,

Beating,

Beating,

Beating,

all day long.

Faster

faster

slower

slower.

It never stops.

When it stops,

say goodbye.

Why? What happens,

you die!

Ms. Goode, 5^th grade

Untitled (Body Part Poem)

Alex B.

Dear colon, you look

like a piece of pasta. You

are so wiggly and small.

You are our trash man from

a different world. You are

a colon from a different

world.

The Rib Cage

Kush G.

The rib cage is

most important of all. It protects

anything that is in.

In there is my stomach,

other things and your good loving

heart.

The rib cage is

great and it protects too.

The greatest part in your

body that we love so.

Teeth

Yusra M.

You may not care about them

but if you didn't have the

white little things in your

mouth you can't chew, you

can't be able to talk sometimes.

I wish teeth were perfect.

I hate the dentist, it is just

a waste of time even if you

really need it. Teeth are just

as important a body

part than the other teeth

are as fragile as a six billion

dollar glass on the edge of the

Sears Tower. They're unusual but sort

of nice to have.

The Backbone (Back)

Sammy R.

It's big, hard, rough.

It moves back and forth.

It can ache.

If you don't have one

you will be shorter than ever.

I lay on my back to

wash my hair in the

bath tub.

Mr. Sandlass, 4^th grade

The Backbone

Waleed A.

How come I can't have

a good life without a

backbone? It looks like a crocodile

sticking out of your skin.

How can you stand up

without a backbone? Is the

backbone white or blue? I like

it when you have a backbone

because I can't even fall or

stand up or move or drive

a car. That's why I like backbone.

Our Hands

Stephen D.

Our hands can do a lot,

They can even tie a knot.

They are very strong,

They help us swim through a bog.

With our hands we can swing a bat,

We can also pick up a rat.

Our hands are very, very white,

Yes, these hands belong to Reginald

Dwight.

How the Heart Feels

Klea K.

The heart feels.

The heart is all emotions.

The heart makes you feel.

The heart feels.

The heart takes over all body parts.

When you kiss you kiss with the heart.

The heart keeps all emotions.

The heart feels.

The heart is the shape of love.

If you love, you love with the heart.

The heart keeps all emotions.

The heart feels.

The heart is your life.

Your heart is the kindest body part.

Because it is the most important body part.

Which means it saves your life.

That's how the heart feels.

Eye

Cindy L.

The eye is unknown

once you go past it.

Something makes colors.

Something makes light.

Too much light makes pupil

close. Too much dark makes

it open. It opens wide and

freely. Amazed we are one

and all of the eye.

The Hand

Isis M.

For the people each has different

color skin. On each hand there

are like a V shape. Each line on your

finger is about 1 cm. You use your

hand for holding pen and paper

that you give to Mr. Dean or Mr. Sandlass.

Mouth

Yura S.

I like my mouth. Without a mouth I would

not talk. You would not be able to talk to your

teacher. So you won't have any homework, hip, hip,

hooray!

Thumb

Jason Z.

The thumb bone's the smallest finger

on your hand. I like my thumb so much.

It helps me a lot. I could never pick up anything

without it. It helps me grab stuff. My

favorite thing about my thumb is video

games, sports, and writing stuff. My thumb

bone is my most helpful bone. (Besides the

heart.) (And brain.) (And lungs.) (And intestines.)

(And I don't want to name all the other things.)