Thursday, March 20, 2008

Dream Land

On March 4, the students at Trumbull looked at In Your Wild Dream by Richard Hugo. We talked about dreams in general, their strangeness and how confusing they can be, and how that was reflected in the structure of the poem. We also talked about what using second person is supposed to accomplish. The student poets wrote their own Dream Poems, and they are strange and wonderful. Enjoy!

2nd Grade

In Your Dreams
by Rosalyn P.

You are at a moon. There’s cheese in the moon. then you fly way up in the sky, then you take a nap. You are at the water. You see a dog underwater. Then you jump out of the water. There’s a yacht. There’s a lagoon. You are in a cloudy, cloudy night and you make a wish. You are disappearing, then a wish comes, undisappearing you.

The Mystery Dream
by Nathan P.

You are in a forest. You are an alien, teleporting to a town. Then a lion comes and growls at you. You feed it meat, and it goes away.

Falling Down: Poem
by Nelvin P.

You’re in the city driving a car that’s cool. You’re on top of the Sears Tower, going to fall down. You’re riding your bike when the sidewalk changes to a robot. You go home, and tell your parents the sidewalk turned into a robot. You show them, but it is just a sidewalk again.


3rd Grade

Your Dreams
by Shirley L.

You are going to the mall with your parents, then something suddenly changes. You are looking at the toys in the toy shop, and your mom is right beside you. Now you’re at the woman’s store, you’re trying to look for your mom, you ask everybody, “Have you seen my mom?” You are alone and scared. Then you go look at another store. You find your mom. You just wake up. It was just a dream.

Strange House
by Noemi R.

You are in a strange house with skeletons inside. You ask the skeleton “Can I touch your rabbit?” He says YES. You touch it and it bites you. You call all the kids that are there and talk to them and in one second everything changes and the little house turns into a room, but everything is still the same. One thing changes – you can see a living room. You all go running for the living room where all of your parents are waiting.

Your Dream
by Emily M.

You are a person who lived in a castle where thrones were polished and there were knights in shining armor. You could eat whatever you want, whenever you want. You can do whatever you want. You can go to the movies or you can go to the library or the supermarket.


4th Grade

Shadow
by Rene V.

You walk outside your house. You see the sun. It’s shining really bright. Your shadow, it’s calm. But all of a sudden your shadow escapes. It runs off. You chase after it. It runs through a statue. You try it too, but you hit yourself. Your shadow turns into a fierce tiger. It tries to pounce on you, then you run the opposite way. All of a sudden, you’re in a forest. Your shadow is a parrot. It flies above you. You’re in a school. Your shadow turns into a human. He grabs an eraser and he tries to erase you. He zaps you. Your hand is left. Your shadow runs off again, and you grab a pencil and you draw yourself. You find some glue. You get your shadow and glue it on to yourself. Your mom asks you where you’ve been. You respond, “Nowhere.”

What a Bad Dream!
by Aven D.

You wake up on an Island that nobody can find. You are just on the island with a mysterious person and you say who are you, and he didn’t answer. You say, what is going on? They guy says you’re alone, nobody will ever find you. You stare at him with fright. You look around the island for food, and the guy keeps popping up and saying, you will never find food, and disappearing. Then you just walk away and keep looking. He gets mad because you won’t listen. You are making a sign that says SOS, but the man pops up again and says Nobody will hear you or see you. You will stay here until you die. You say, you’re lying! and he disappears. The next day, you were looking at the view, and suddenly, he pushes you into the water and you touch the sand and open your eyes and say goodbye. But somebody comes to save you! You wake with fright, but when you go back to sleep, you say it’s ok. Somebody saved me.

Animals in the Zoo
by Shaylene A.

You are in a crazy zoo. There is a crazy monkey. A little girl took the crazy monkey outside the cage. The monkey opens all the other cages of the animals. All the animals are chasing the people. The monkey wants to dance, so he gathers all kinds of animals to celebrate. They make Hawaiian skirts and start dancing. The tigers grabbed their whiskers and make music like they are guitars. You are laughing so hard, your face is red.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Music to my Ears

This week, the students listened to several selections of music, and wrote short, impressionistic poems about what they imagined while listening. Enjoy!

4th Grade

The Sneaky Death
after Witches Brew, Miles Davis
by Zachary T.

Someone tip-toeing
through a house
being sneaky.
Someone hiding.
He gets poisoned,
and coughs to death!

The Sad Man
after The Wings, Gustavo Santaollala
by Nicole B.

There is a sad man sitting on the porch.
His wife died. He has no more family
but just a dog. He and his dog sit in
a whimpering motion. The man
really loved his girl.

The Great Person
after Rodeo, Aaron Copeland
by Omar F.

They are marching in a park.
He is playing with
his toes. He is
climbing up a building,
playing the instruments.
The King is coming
so make room!


2nd Grade

A Haunted House
after Witches Brew, Miles Davis
by Nicole B.

In a haunted house were ghosts
live. The ghosts play…music…
I’m frightened! But one does not look
like a ghost but it is a woman laughing
frightfully. Ha HA! Upstairs! It yells
like a girl. She said, My name is Witch!
It blows – it wasn’t a ghost. It was
my good friend Amy.

The Big Story
after Witches Brew, Miles Davis
by Eric C.

People practicing in a
parking lot that has
no cars in it and with
a monkey yelling in the
parking lot and someone
is going to kill that monkey.

The Half Sad, Half Happy Day

after Sejedo, Angelique Kidjo
by Areli H.

Someone got shot.
Somebody is dead.
Rain is falling down. The sun
comes out. Everybody is happy.
The person that was dead came
alive. They get him out of his coffin.
Everybody starts eating McDonald’s.


3rd Grade

The Bahamas
after Sejedo, Angelique Kidjo
by Colleen Q.

Blue seas
ocean
blue, the
shore.

Dancing happening
everywhere
warm,
hot,
sunny

A glass of
lemon drink
in your
hand, doing
the hula

Music
after Witches Brew, Miles Davis
by Prue M.

A person, surrounded by darkness.
A band playing horribly.
A person getting mad to
another, music that brings
people down, a spy who’s going crazy.

Dancing
after Witches Brew, Miles Davis
by Andrea F.

Mexican and American
dancing very fancy.
A Mexican playing the
trumpet very old school.
Adult old school women
thinking he’s cool.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

A Big World Voice

This week, we looked at Sweet Like a Crow by Michael Ondaatje. We talked about Simile and Imagery, and how the two ideas are connected. The student poets then created their own simile poems, trying to describe how their OWN voices sound. Some students wrote about other voices in their lives. The poems are quite stunning -- enjoy!

4th Grade

Sour Like Johnny
by Henry L.

He sounds like a girl
yelling at the night sky.
He sounds like a man cooked
over a fire.
He sounds like a boy with
lemon juice in his mouth.
Like a horse calling for help
in the river of despair.
Like when I yell when I
get a bad grade on any subject.
Like a fish flopping up and down.
Like a diver getting eaten
by a shark.
Like a baby crying eternally.
Like someone going into
a house, yelling at his wife
because he had a bad day.
But he is as sweet as my cousin.

Noelia
by Elizabeth C.

Your voice sounds like a blue jay singing in the morning sky. When you are sad, your voice sounds like a horse having a baby. You are as loud as a rooster singing his morning tune. Like a car stuck in the ice. A delicious burrito being fried. Like a hyena laughing nonstop. Like a new baby duckling swimming and screaming because of hot tea. Like the sound of a cute sleeping baby.

A Big World Key Voice

by Ataib S.

My dad’s voice sounds like it can break a whole kingdom. His voice is old school because he always talks about old cars and old things. He has bravery, confidence, loyalty. His voice is hard as a bamboo stick and a bull taking down a person. His voice is fast as a cheetah, an eagle, and a horse. His voice is an expert on talk shows, news, and winning. His voice doesn’t give up when it’s not over. His voice gets soft when he is not arguing. His voice solves big problems, like a big world key voice.


2nd Grade

Like Rain
by Maritza S.

My voice sounds like rain that falls down a tree, like tears are wet and then dry, like the leaves are moving. Like the air. It is dry like the sun, but wet like the rain drops.

Like a Lion
by Nicolas L.

My voice sounds like
a lion snapping its teeth.
It sounds like a child
yelling HELP!
It sounds like leaves
shaking from the wind.
Like a lion scratching
at the wall.

Like a Guitar

by Nelvin P.

My voice sounds like
a guitar singing a nice song, like a
puppy barking for help, like a nut
cracking on me, like a car racing,
like a rabbit eating a carrot,
like a tree blowing the branches away.


3rd Grade


Soft Like a Feather
by Amanda P.

My voice sounds like
a dolphin swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.
Like a hot summer day in Florida.
Like wind brushing dirt on a sidewalk.
Like water running down a park fountain.
Like only one leave in the wavy air.
Like a lock opening in a big hollow door.
Like a little piece of chalk writing on a chalkboard.
Like the moon sleeping at night
or like the sun waving hello.

My Voice Sounds Like…

by Isaac A.

My voice sounds like a piano singing,
like a bird always chirping,
like an ocean waving,
like a dog scaring people,
like a star shining,
like a gate squeaking,
a bear roaring to a lion,
a tiger scratching wood.

My Voice
by Alesandra P.

My voice
sounds like
the wind
in the air.
All animals
talking in
the rain forest.
Screaming and
singing a song.
As quiet
as the park
when no one
is there.
Happy as a
clown
at the circus.
As loud as
the door
slamming shut
at night.

My Voice

by Khalid W.

My voice sounds like a chicken doing karate on the street. My voice sounds like an apple standing on the table. My voice sounds like a coin spinning. My voice sounds like a swing going back and forth. My voice sounds like a drum banging on the wall. Like an alligator hunting for fish. My voice sounds like a tornado. Like a person hang gliding. My voice sounds like a policeman giving someone a ticket. A baker making a cake. Like a teacher giving homework.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Emotion Party!

Last week, we worked on Personification. We read two poems that personified different emotions, Fear and Shame. After a group poem to get them started, the student poets were asked to choose their own emotion to personify. The results are astounding. Enjoy!

2nd Grade


The Bully
by Faith H.

Mad is so not nice. She’s a bully who gives wedgies to people. Her favorite color is black and she has a family and friends. She loves rock and roll so much. She is not nice and will never BE nice!

Happy
by Nicole B.

Happy is a 6 year old girl. Happy is always happy. She likes to wear a rainbow dress. She is skinny. Happy likes to jump, run a lot, and dance. Happy’s brother is Joy. Her mom is Nice and her dad is Excited. Happy’s future is to make everyone happy.

Crabby
by Cedric E.

Crabby follows you.
He is always angry.
He drinks blood.


4th Grade

Sad
by Michael Z.

Sad is like a little boy crying with blue eyes with a lot of tears when you lose someone you love in your family. Sad goes in your school, dreams, jobs, in your body. It’s invisible, following you in day and night. He is brother of Joy and Happy, and his favorite color is blue, the saddest color of them all.

Anger
by Jessica S.

Anger is a little boy with
a red face. Anger is mean
and very grumpy as if
he is very, very mad.
Anger is a ghost who
wanders around at night.
He has a white see-
through body like a
white blanket. Anger
has black hair and
hates the sun.
Anger is a very scary
boy. Anger’s brother’s name
is Mad. Anger and Mad’s
favorite color is black.
Anger lives in New York.
Anger will haunt you
like this black shadow.

Confused Man
by Ismael P.

C is a man that is crazy.
O is the man saying “OH!”
N is for Confused saying “I’m rude”.
F is for a kid saying Confused is freaky.
U is for Confused riding a unicycle.
S is Confused doing something wrong.
E is his ear falling off.
D is the silly things he says in his mind.


3rd Grade


Lonesome

by Emely M.

Lonsome is a girl. She has some black, thin hair with two red streaks. Lonesome has white skin and she wears a black dress. She talks to her imaginary friend in her room in the corner. Lonesome has no real friends. And that girl is me.

Joy
by Brandon R.

Joy is a man who
makes everyone joyful. He is
in the family of Happy.

His eyes are gray. He
likes to explore
many places. He rides
vehicles. He has tons of friends.

He likes to go
to the rainforest.
He likes to discover
animals and plants.
He is the joyful man
in the world.

Happy
by Khalid W.

Happy is a boy that loves animals. He loves to ride on airplanes. He is 7 years old. He loves to go to the park and play with his friends. His favorite animal is a bird. He loves to go hiking. His birthday is on May first. He loves to play games, and he loves to see his dad.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Blizzard in a Rollercoaster!

This week, after a couple of weeks off, the student poets at Trumbull dove headlong back into poetry with a look at traditional Odes. Odes are poems that elevate the subject to a high place of honor. They writer speaks directly to the subject of the poem, describing and comparing it in as many amazing ways as possible. The students at Trumbull did a great job getting back into the swing of writing with this fun form. Enjoy their efforts!

3rd Grade

Oh Sun

by Celene H.

Oh sun, do you squirt light on the people?
Oh sun, you are a king.
Oh sun, do you rule the world?
Oh sun, do you have a kiss?
Oh sun, do you have a bunch of lemons inside you?

Ode to Windy
by Daniel Y.

Windy blows people because
people go outside. Windy
moves people back to work.
No people go outside. No
more people go outside because
scared of Windy.

The Tornado
by Almir N.

Tornado is like a bunch of wind.
A tornado smells like dust.
Tornado, you are like a wind
monster throwing cars.
Tornado, you are destroying
anything you see.
Tornado, you are spinning
around so fast.
You remind me of a
game called Crash because
you spin around.

O Ocean
by Andrea F.

O beautiful ocean
you are my hero in the
hot summer day in July.
You know what they say,
you are the body that is
filled with sea creatures that
we love to see.

You are a mountain
with rocks falling
off like waves.

You are the on
who saves us
from painful thirst.
But at first, you were
just for drinking
but now we are clean
because with your
water we take baths.

The Snow Day
by David G.

Oh beautiful snow, you are
as soft as a blanket and
your cold is as big as an ice cube.
You are everywhere on top
of the roof and close to my
door. You also are in my snowsuit.
You travel in the air and you
are so dangerous. The sun is
about to come out. The
snow melts and we will say
bye-bye to you snow.


2nd Grade

The Blizzard in a Rollercoaster!

by Faith H.

O tornado, you make
people throw up by spinning
around and around. You
keep spinning and I
can’t stop you. You
keep on spinning and my
eyes pop out. You look
like a huge flower.

The Green Poem

by Giovanni F.

O beautiful green,
you are the color of the grass.
You are a sweater.
Green, you taste like blueberries
and smell like cherries.
You are leaves on a tree
or a turtle in the water.

Shark
by Roberto D.

O red, you are
like a shark.
You taste like
whipped cream and are
dark like a crayon.
You are sweet
like a strawberry.
You are like a house
or like a letter.

The Shiny Yellow
by Rosalyn P.

O yellow, there’s a sun in the sky
and there is a whale jumping in the
water. Your shiny yellow is shining.


4th Grade

Ode to a Diamond

by Jennifer B.

O beautiful diamond,
I love how shiny you
are. When I look at
you, I can see my
reflection and a lot
of my faces in the
squares or triangles
you have. I love when
you turn, you look like
a turning disco ball.
I love how you are
triangles, and you are
so pointy like a needle
or a knife. You are my
dream of shinyness.

Ode to Lemon
by Alexis C.

O beautiful lemon
you look like
a ball. You are tasty
and juicy. You look
like a sun, round
as a hole. You float
on water, we play catch
with you. You are round
as my eyeball.

Ode to Snow
by Allan F.

Snow, you are
beautiful. You are
more awesome than
white pearls.

You are better
than diamonds.

Ode to a Strawberry

by Tanayra B.

You, strawberry, are so
sweet. So juicy. Sister
to a lady bug. Dipped in
red syrup. Splashed with little
dark chocolates. Star of all
food. Your strawberry inside is
a pool of goodness. Strawberry
you are so much better than
an apple. You feel so funny
in my hand, in my mouth.
You are wonderful. You
have a pretty leaf on top
to complete your perfection.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

True Confessions!

Happy New Year!

To start off the 2008 and get us back into poetry, this week we looked at This is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams. This poem uses short lines and specific language to beautiful effect to create a bouncy rhythm when the poem is read out loud. We talked about what poems are built of (lines and stanzas), and what a short line will do to the rhythm of a poem. Modeled after Mr. Williams's poem, the students were asked to write their own true confession, and include an apology. I asked them to decide if they really meant their apologies, or if sometimes, do something bad actually feels pretty good. Enjoy their great poems!

3rd Grade

Time to Wrestle
by Aztlan G.

I fought my
cousin and his
brother and
I won I did
the Walls of
Jericho to my
cousin’s brother
and I did the
Angel Rock then
his grandma came
in them my cousin
tapped out and I did
the spear to both
of them. Their mom
came in and she
got mad.

Just to Say
by Prue M.

I’m so
sorry
that I stayed
up really
late for
watching TV
and playing too
much Nintendo Wii.

I tried to stop
but I couldn’t.

I was trying to
beat my level in
Atlantis Squarepantis.

I know I was supposed
to read but the game
you got me was cool.

Again, so SORRY!

Love
by David F.

I told a
friend I
love her.
3 days
later I
apologized.
I shouldn’t
say that
and we’re
friends again.


2nd Grade

The Erased Megaman Game
by Giovanni F.

I erased my brother’s
Megaman game. When
he found out, he was
so mad, he erased
my Megaman game.
I said I’m sorry,
and we started
to play over again.

Sorry Poem
by Nelvin P.

I broke my brother’s video game
called Sonic Heroes. It was
in my Game Cube to hide it
from him. He just looked
and found it. Forgive me
brother, I will fix it up.

List of Confessions
by Erica N.

Locking out Daniela and
playing on the gameboy that night,
but I’m sorry for doing that.
Please forgive me.

Not cleaning the room
when it was my turn but
I’m sorry, please forgive me.

I broke the plate and
I’m sorry, please forgive me.

I scratched my sister’s DVD
but I’m sorry, please forgive me,
I’ll buy you a new one.


4th Grade

The Outdoors
by Wenny L.

Me and my
cousin were
playing in
my house
my mom said
we should not
go outside
but we did
anyway and my
mom saw us
and we got
in so much
trouble and
we said sorry
but it was
fun when we
played jump rope

Trouble in Wrestling
by Brandon R.

I have wrestled
with my
cousins even when
I wasn’t
supposed to.

I made both
of them
cry then they
told on me
and I

have gotten into
a lot
of trouble.

Sorry
by Jellisa A.

One time when
my brother
was taking
a shower
I opened the door
and I put a lot
of toilet paper
in the toilet
and I blamed him
but when I
saw my mom
screaming at him
I felt sad
then I told
my mom that
I did it
and I told
my brother
I am sorry

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Dreaming without Buying

This week, in my last visit with the Trumbull students before the new year, we read In Praise of Dreams by Wislawa Szymborska, a famous Polish poet. In the poem, she writes about all of the things that she can do and see in her dreams that she can't in her waking life. The poem is written in couplets , so we also learned what that word means, and how to create them in their own poems. The students wrote their own Dreams poems, with the rule included that they could not BUY anything in their written dreams. Enjoy the results!

4th Grade
I Am Dreaming

by Ismael P.

In my dreams
I’m a wrestler, fighting in the WWE.

I go to Antarctica
and I control all of the snow in the world.

I am a sky scraper
touching the sky.

I am a dog
running away from another dog.

I am a cat
running because someone wants my fur.

I am
the President of the entire world.

Dreams
by Steven M.

I can eat
a million pieces of candy in one minute.

I beat John Cena
in RAW and Ray Mysterioso.

I am bored when
today is yesterday and yesterday is today.

In My Dreams
by Daniel M.

In my dream
I am a famous soccer player.

I am the President
of the United States.

Some aliens
take me to their ship.

I can control
fire, wind, water, and land.

I am a superhero
controlling everything up in space.


2nd Grade
Dreams

by Roberto D.

I am a spider
eating a cookie.

I am a rock star
playing with a guitar.

I am a football
flying up to the moon.

I am Santa
at the North Pole.

I am a pencil
writing in a book.

I am a car driving
on the road.

I am a dog
seeing a bone.

In My Dreams
by Felix A.

I can eat a cookie
without using my mouth.

I can open a box
without using my hands

I can make the rain stop
when I clap.

I can pet
an alligator.

The Amazing Dreams
by Nathan P.

I can eat
through metal bars.

I can jump
to the sun that is blue.

I can change animals
different colors with my finger.

I can make the sky
fall to the ground.


3rd Grade
Dreams

by Santiago D.

I am a toy that
takes electricity.

I am trucks formed
as Super Saiyn.

I am glue and a
rock with paper.

I am a bear
being eaten.

I have 300 shirts
that say D-Generation-X.

I am a clock
ticking.

Dreaming in Your Sleep
by Edwin T.

I am dreaming
about a football player making an interception.

I am dreaming
a rhino fighting a pig.

I am dreaming about getting mad
and going to Mr. Perkins, and Mr. Perkins
telling us to get along and we did.

My Dreams
by Amanda P.

In my dreams I
have a house made out of money.

I speak with lions
in a jungle.

I see a beautiful
waterfall and a rainbow.

I see a wonderful, colorful
garden house.

I fly on a cloud
over the seventh heavens.

I run with horses
of all different colors and sizes.

I swim with dolphins
in the Pacific Ocean.