Elementary School Students Celebrate NPM 2005
On April 27, 2005, the students of Johnnycake Elementary in Baltimore, Maryland experienced something quite different than their normal library time. In the spirit of National Poetry Month (April) and a successful trip to Graceland Elementary in 2005, the International Library of Poetry (ILP) decided to share poetry with more of today’s youth. Mrs. Townsend, the librarian at Johnnycake Elementary, invited ILP into her book-filled office. From there, five classes of students, representing grades one through five, enjoyed separate poetry sessions.
Janna Tanner, an ILP representative, began each class surrounding the students with “slithy toves” and “borogoves,” as she recited Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky.” Then, to begin the discussion, Ms. Tanner asked the students about Carroll’s made-up words. “Has anyone heard of a Jubjub bird?” All classes said no, yet some first and second graders could give brilliant descriptions of a Tumtum tree, as seen in several of their backyards.
With imaginations ignited, Ms. Tanner continued with an imagery exercise. The students giggled as Ms. Tanner, assisted by ILP representatives Charlene Stokes and Cassandra Szmajda, guided them through the visual exercise of the who, what, and where of a particular bird. The students, filled with ideas, were now ready to become poets. They picked several animals, then imagined the animals’ locations and actions. Once each class compiled a large list of possible images, the object became to create mental pictures. The third graders specifically enjoyed this exercise as Ms. Szmajda, who led the presentation for grades two and three, linked the image of a dolphin in a cage at the pet store. The image, while a little disturbing, made the students roll around on the ABC carpet. Their laughter showed the power of images and success of the lesson.
Images eventually led to poetry, as the students found out in the following exercise: alliteration. After reading Diana Silva’s alliterative poem “Hiding,” the fifth and fourth graders created a list of words that all begin with the first letter of their individual names. The younger students created a list as a class, while Ms. Tanner or Ms. Szmajda penned the words on a large presentation board. Then, ILP posed the challenge to the students to develop a phrase with as many of the listed words as possible. The students became tickled with themselves over their ideas, such as, “The koalas kiss in the kitchen.” Whether at the idea of kissing koalas or maybe just the word “kiss,” the students became uproarious, shouting out their own versions of alliteration.
The final exercise was the culmination of the previous ones. The students wrote image-based Haiku. All grades easily understood the syllabic pattern (5/7/5). Ms. Tanner and Ms. Szmajda prompted the students with a guide where parts of speech coordinated with Haiku’s three lines. As a class, the first graders wrote the most memorable Haiku:
Sushi is quite good
You can throw it like a ball
Catch it in your mouth
While there were some students unreceptive to the exercises and poetry, most seemed truly inspired. Compliments of ILP, each student received a folder containing poetry for children and the presented exercises. ILP also donated copies of Dr. Len Roberts’ To Write a Poem to the faculty. Mrs. Townsend set out several children’s poetry books that, at the end of ILP’s presentations, the students excitedly checked out. Hopefully poetry will transcend the month of April and be a creative force in the students’ lives all year long!