The poems--and the 8th graders--were truly *stars*--!




Well, that was fun! I spent a very quick 30 minutes with the entire (!) 8th grade, working with words related to astronomy (aster/astro/sidus/stella roots). We brainstormed a list to work from, and I gave them 5 or so words as well, and they had to use 2 of theirs and 3 of mine, and write a nonrhyming poem of 5-8 lines...in 8 minutes. Then, we had several kiddos eager to share! And some were goofy, and some were absolutely amazing. "I'd like to explore the black hole of my life," was one final line of one lovely poem. Wow. Metaphors. I asked them to share their thoughts at the end; what did they like? And they were bubbling over: they liked doing this because it woke them up, they hadn't done anything like it in a long time, they liked hearing other people's poems, they liked working with nonrhyming poetry...

Yeah, we had fun. They will be following through with the poems, or so we left it. I hope they post them in a crazy constellation in the hallway (my suggestion). Even if they don't, this was something fast, different, and energizing for both them and for me. And this was their science class!

WILL SOMEONE TELL THE OTHER TEACHERS/ADMINS THAT KIDS LIKE POETRY, PLEASE?

Sometimes, I get weary thinking about the fact that I have (at least) ten more years until retirement. Then, this happens. I will get most of these kids in about two more years, and I have a lot to look forward to, I think. 

Today, I will send forth my sophomores to "poemize" the school-- I have printed copies of various poems, quickly glued to colored paper, and they will hang them in the halls where-ever they choose. I hope people take a minute to read them. 

Here I am, doing my part. I hope your day is awesome. (And if you want the lesson, I would be happy to share...)

C✨🌟✨🌞🌑

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