Writing Poetry with Third Graders

I had the best time at Pinewood Elementary last month. I got to spend two days there, which means that, in addition to two large-group presentations, I did writing workshops with each third-grade class. Love!

The staff was amazing and enthusiastic, and the students were incredible. We had the best time. I’m going to share some photo highlights.

We had 50 minutes or so together, and in each group, we wrote a few group poems and one or two individual poems (first drafts only, of course, in that amount of time). I’ve written about how to do a couple of these before: biopoems and Things To Do poems (scroll to page 10 for directions).

Here are some more student drafts (mostly individual, with a few group poems thrown in)!

After the visit, I received a big envelope of letters from the kids. Over and over in their letters to me, the students proclaimed, “I AM A WRITER!” Or they signed them, “From Another Writer.” That made my heart sing. It was my #1 goal for my time with the third-graders…that each one would see himself or herself as a writer with things to say.

And they sent me poems! Poems with lines like:

Whisper to the licking night (Things to Do If You Are a Cat…)

and

Deep in space you race the stars (rocket)

and

I am a nice mouse so please don’t ice me (mask poem)

and

Orange little pumpkins (color poem)

and

these ladies rule and there black (ladybugs)

and

Terrific
Young
Little
Educated
Reader  (acrostic)

and

green klover in the green green grass (color poem)

and

I think you are cool (Roses Are Red poem)

and

Blue sky in the days (color poem)

and

Blue is a strong ocean (color poem)

I wish I could share ALL of the poems the students wrote, both while I was there and in letters to me afterward. Believe me when I say they’re the kinds of letters you keep to pull out on those not-so-great days. Kids told me all about their writing and also sometimes shared their fears about not being good enough at writing. I wrote a long letter back (sorry, teachers!). It was just awesome to feel like I connected with many of them, writer to writer.

Thank you, Sharon Stoick and all the 3rd-grade teachers, and thank you, students!