About Hands on Stanzas

Hands on Stanzas, the educational outreach program of the Poetry Center of Chicago places professional, teaching Poets in residence at Chicago Public Schools across the city. Poets teach the reading, discussion, and writing of poetry to 3 classes over the course of 20 classroom visits, typically from October through April. Students improve their reading, writing, and public speaking skills, and participating teachers report improved motivation and academic confidence. You can contact Cassie Sparkman, Director of the Hands on Stanzas program, by phone: 312.629.1665 or by email: csparkman(at)poetrycenter.org for more information.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Introductions & Clothes Poems

Welcome to the McPherson Elementary Poetry blog! This is my first year at McPherson, and I am thrilled to have this opportunity to post these examples of student writing on a regular basis, twenty weeks out of the year. I hope to present much of their work over the next six-plus months, along with links (as available) to the poems students are reading.

For our first week of classes, no poem was brought in for students to read. Instead, we discussed the Hands on Stanzas program, and what students knew -- if anything -- about writing poetry. Students were then asked to write a poem about the clothes they were wearing that day.


Ms. Barreda, 8th Grade


My Jeans!

Alexsandria B.


My favorite jeans are so cute

With a cool variety of blue

Nice and flare

When I first saw it

I stared...


And said those are mine!

Fits with everything and...

Looks mighty fine!


I Hate My Uniform

Mayra H.


School uniform

I hate it

Yes! I do.

School uniform

keeps me locked,

I can't express myself,

and people can't see the true me.

A white collar shirt & blue jeans,

can it get any duller

than it's already been,

gray or white or maybe navy blue

is the only color you can wear

underneath.

Don't understand why we have

to wear it,

if it's boring and dull.

I want to be free

to express myself as I can be.

Everyone is different in one way or

the other,

but when we get to school,

we are dressed like one another.

So I'm writing this poem

to say one thing.


I hate my uniform

because it's just not me.


Untitled (Clothes Poem)

Diego T.


My shirt is very cool

I have to wear it in school.


My socks are very white

they look like they're light.


My shoes are very small

but I use them to kick a ball.


What I Wear to School

Airam V.


What I wear to school is very dull.

My shirt is white with no design

but it is still very dull.


What I wear to school is very dull.

My pants are somewhat fuzzy and

pockets don't have much space,

but it is still very dull.


What I wear to school is very dull.

The shoes I wear are just simply black

with no design.

I wish my shoelaces were at least white.


What I wear to school is very dull

but what I like is my hair

holder on the right.


So now I figured it out.

What I wear to school is not

that dull.


Mrs. Turk, 7th Grade


Untitled (Clothes Poem)

Alejandra B.


My thread bracelet that my little

sister made.

My purple gym shirt with big white

letters saying McPHERSON SCHOOL.

My white hoop earring that matches

my shirt.

My first communion and baptism necklace.

My white K-Swiss shoes.

My Mickey Mouse socks.

My purple see-through glittery clip.


Untitled (Clothes Poem)

Danielle B.


My gym shirt has the

words McPherson School.

I feel good when I wear

my jeans. I feel good

because they keep me warm.

My watch is pink

and it tells me what

time it is. My ring

is gold and it has

three hearts in

the middle.

My yellow

band is yellow

and it says Live Strong.


Untitled (Clothes Poem)

Daniel T.


My shoes are comfortable and new

I got them a few months ago

My jeans are clean

Everyone has seen

My shirt is white

It's in everyone's sight

My hair is gray

I used gray hair spray


Ms. Touras, 6th Grade


Untitled (Clothes Poem)

Agnes F.


Sometimes I hate the uniform.

You have to wear the same color

almost every day to school.

But sometimes I don't mind

the uniform because of my jeans

and my skating shoes. I like to

wear bracelets, and hair-bands.

I have a hair-band on with a frog

that my friend gave me.


Untitled (Clothes Poem)

Aidan K.


Today I am wearing

jeans and a white

polo shirt. My jeans

are too small and too

big. My shoes are fine

but the laces are really

long. My watchband is

kind of broken but the

timepiece still works.

The right nose piece

from my glasses is missing

but I am still in uniform.


Clothes

Ledio S.


I have my new shoes on today

They are two sizes too big

I bought them like that because

My mom says I grow like a tree


Why do I have to wear a uniform

It's the same thing every day

White shirt, blue jeans

It gets pretty boring this way

But the weekend finally comes

We are free for two more days


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