They read poetry, they wrote poetry, and finally, they shared poetry. Seaford Manor Elementary School second graders had an audience for their lyrical masterpieces at a poetry café on May 16.
Parents and other special guests were invited into the second grade classrooms, where each student shared an original poem. There were also group performances of songs and poems.
Students spent several weeks immersed in a poetry unit. They studied different poetic elements , such as line breaks, metaphor, simile, repetition, rhyming, and onomatopoeia. The young writers then crafted several original pieces and created poetry folders. Every child selected one to read aloud for their classmates and parents.
Teachers JeanMarie Aplustille, Cortney Campo and AnneMarie Motisi explained that students tried different poetry writing techniques. They did quadrant poems where they wrote four different versions of poems on the same topics, and also captured the emotions of small but meaningful moments in their lives.
At the poetry café, students wrote about topics important to them. Many did an ode to a favorite food, like pizza or ice cream, and some even wrote a tribute to a friend.