Poetry

There are moments in our day when I just let them go.  Yup.  You read that right.  I just let them be.  I give them a wee bit of direction at the beginning, but really, the goal is to get them writing and collaborating.  We have plenty of poetry lessons that deal with the specifics of poetry.  Sometimes, we just need to be creative with our friends.  They were able to do that with Mr. McNulty on Thursday.  On Friday, I asked them to share during our morning meeting.  The best part of the sharing wasn’t a specific poem though, rather, it was how they all rallied around ONE particular poem that had been written as a rap.  The author didn’t want to rap her poem and 6 or more of her classmates offered to do it.  They had a ball.  This brought a new conversation to the table, one that I had not intended to have, but was totally cool and helpful to have with them.  Some people write for other people, and then they collaborate to make the piece even better.  There are songwriters who can’t sing.  Poets who can perform.  What a fantastic conversation!  Hearing a variety of kids read one poem was also wonderful.  And, in the end, she rapped her own poem.  Her classmates had given her the courage to try it, and it was FABULOUS.  So was the smile on her face, and those of her classmates as well.

Best.  Job.  Ever.