The business of school is back. Lots to do with my fifth graders.
Even with the busy, crazy, rainy days, a predictable schedule helps.
Predictable means poetry on Thursday.
This Poetry Thursday I planned to take them a step beyond noticing, naming, and connecting. A tiny step toward writing and playing with words.
I 
turned to a favorite: Georgia Heard’s Falling Down the Page. I wanted a poem that was straightforward in meaning and replicable in structure.
Marilyn Singer’s In My Hand seemed just right. The list of things that one might hold pulls each child to the page. Then with a closer look, the rhyme is exposed and the clever use of verbs. All things kids love to do. This poem invites. You can’t help but want to play with nouns and verbs.
In My Hand
I like to hold in my hand
a baseball,
a shell,
a fistful of sand,
a feather,
a letter,
a red rubber band.
Things that tickle,
Things that trickle.
Things to snap and toss and fold
or just hold.
I collected my students’ poetry notebooks.
to lift their lines and the things they hold dear.
In Their Hands
by Room 5
The things we put in our hands say a lot.
They reflect current crazes and
things loved for ages.
a paint brush
a gemstone
a puppy
a phone
a fistful of orbeez
a stress ball
a baby
a chocolate ice cream cone.
a basketball
a ninja star
a green glob of slime
a lizard
a tech deck
a bookmark that keeps time
Things to squish and to squeeze.
Things that drip, lick, and coo.
Things to play with, to keep you dry, and protect you.
Things that bounce.
Things that move
Things that can set a mood
Things to paint from the heart.
Things that can soothe
Things that are made only for you,
but it’s a beautiful world so share it too.
Poetry Friday is hosted by Keri Collins at Keri Recommends.
To Read To Write To Be 