The second-grade CWP music and writing residency at CS 111Q has begun their exploration of poetic language! Students embarked on the first step in generating their own original poetry by creating their very own personalized Poetry Toolkits. These decorated, colorful, and doggedly individualized folder “kits” are vessels that carry their newly-learned poetic devices, the exciting words, and other elements of language that will help them build and deepen their writing.
After a lively and creative discussion in which teaching artists, Erin Anderson and Deanna Green, defined what a “toolkit” is — specifically, a musical toolkit, which involved many pianos, melodies, other instruments, and drumbeats! – they brainstormed with the students’ ideas about what could go inside a poetry toolkit.
The first “tool” was SENSORY DETAIL. The students got to work adding descriptive words like “smooth” and “sugary” to their decorated kits. Already inspired to create poetic lines based on their musical studies with Ms. Reece, the school’s music teacher, one student suggested that “a drumbeat sounds like a lion’s roar.”
It’s so exciting to see these students, with their kits displayed proudly in hand, already taking ownership of their poetic language and expressive ideas. And it’s even more thrilling to see them boldly sharing their ideas with their classmates, their community.
