AMOS & CELIA HEILICHER MINNEAPOLIS JEWISH DAY SCHOOL

Poetry Comes to Life in Seventh Grade

Poetry Comes to Life in Seventh Grade

By Morgan Stair, Middle School Language Arts Teacher
 

The rain splashes down

Spreading drops on freshly green leaves

The dirt turns a dark brown

Petals are rinsed into sheaves

The falling rain creates a soft music

Different surface

Different acoustics

Birds peek out, curious

As the sounds slow

The leaves lift

The rain goes.
 

 -Sadie L.
 

In December, Heilicher seventh-grade students read and wrote a variety of poems ranging from traditional to contemporary genres, including Shakespearean sonnets, free verse, spoken-word poetry, and more.

The unit culminated in a STEAM-based project where students published their poems on self-created websites. Students selected pictures to symbolize each of their poems, and they uploaded a video of their spoken-word poem. Some students went above and beyond playing with and exploring the technology and design formats available to them.

Here are a few examples of the wonderful creativity and self-expression of our seventh graders. Enjoy!
 

The Flower

The shadow from the yellow flower

Has been heightening up for hours

The gray and lonely sky has been showering

Anyone who dared to go outside and the

Following eyes of the planter were watching

As the flower spontaneously towered over

And as he walked inside, he noticed

That he left the lawn mower on and to his surprise, the flower was falling.

It was dropping from the rain and on the ground now

He didn’t know what to do, did he give it too much water?

When he rushed inside, he then realized his entire garden was gone now.

The rain had stopped, his clothes drip-dropped,

Outside there were no more shadows.


-Alex G.


The Storm

The leaves were blowing,

Storm was growing

The snow was going,

Going to come.

Clouds darkened.

Frigid Blasts whirled around.

The sound,

The sound of snow swirling around,

What to do

What to do

It was cold, very very cold

Storm hasn’t come yet.

Not Yet.


-Asher S.


The Ocean

Ocean waves

Come out of the shadows they say. But is it really that easy? I feel the dark blue waves wash over me. And the little foam bubbles just washing away my soul. The waves come over me and once there over it’s not that bad, but you always know, that it will be coming back again. Once you finally end a big haul, you always think its over, just when it comes back, unexpectedly. So much weight on your shoulders, just to know that it will come back.

But what happens if you jump over the waves, or float under them? Does all this disappear like when someone passes, and you remember them, but you know one day, no one will.

Or will it be the opposite, fun and enjoyable. When you're swimming next to the turtles and fish and all the sea creatures ever imagined.

Or will it be the same. Just the waves coming, and you eventually learn, that there is no way to escape them.

 

-Abby M.


Listening

Listening is a great part of our lives,
We don’t really think about.
Without listening, we most likely would not know a lot of things.
For example if we didn’t listen to anything important,
How could we figure out revolutionary discoveries like;
Hearing a Rare species make a sound, or Stopping to smell the roses.

Among the Chaotic mess of trying to be calm,
We can still listen for the good things in life instead of forcing them to come to us.
Without listening how could we have a good experience,
If we can’t hear what is going on.

Shhhh. Stop and listen for the good things in life.

 

-Sol L.

***
  • Language Arts
  • Poetry
  • STEAM integration
  • Technology

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