Go Inside

We read Charles Simic's "The Stone." The students and I had a good time imagining getting very tiny and having the ability to go inside of something. Using their senses and concrete images, here are some of their ideas.

Ms. Mitchell 5th grade

Rock
--Joshua A.

Going inside of the rock
and what is inside.

It must look like the moon.

I feel like going into
the rock.

But what is real inside
of the rock. Is it like a moon
or an ocean? The rock
would look like this.

Stone
-Ricardo D.

Go inside a stone.

From the outside
it looks like an oreo.

Yet within it looks
like an egg in an egg
in an egg.

Go Inside a Flower
--Thalia V.

Go inside a flower.
From the outside the flower
is a water fountain for a bird.
Yet within, it’s dry and hot.
I have seen my brother circle around
it yelling flower you’re mine!
I have seen people tear it up. Leaving
some petals behind. I have seen
flowers torn apart inch to inch.
Inside a flower it is dark. There
is enough room to fit the cars tower.
It feels lumpy soft and hard.
That is what a flower is.


Ms. Kennedy 5th grade


Go Inside a Book
--Michaela C.

Go inside a book
that would be my way.
Let somebody else become a river,
or a whale with hard teeth.
I am happy to be a book.

from the outside the book is a whale.
No one knows how to become it.
Yet within it is hard and thick
even though it is dirty and big.
the book smells funny outside.

I have seen it break
with different shapes. Perhaps it is full
with different stuff. It is behind a bush
on the fresh green grass.

Poem
-Shannon B.

Go inside a mean hard dirt viper
that has been in a bag.
Let somebody else be a teacher.
From the outside the viper is cool, evil
and terrible. The viper is like a rock that’s dirty
and hard. Yet within, it must be nice, smooth
and clean, not mean. I have seen
a viper but it was cool, hard, evil and mean.

Poem
-Eric M.

Go inside a can of Coca-Cola that is not open.
Let someone else be a rat or shiny cat tooth.
From the outside the coca-cola is sharp and wet,
it is pointy like a sharp knife that is little.
Yet within it is tasty and very small and damp.
I have seen this can in a very hot volcano.

Ms. Schaeffer 5th grade

Poem
-Kelvin H.

I go inside a tiger.
Let someone else be a cheetah.

From the outside I feel
smooth and furry skin.

Yet within
I have the eye of the tiger.

I have seen me
fighting crime. I fly and run
super fast.

Computer
--Cesar C.

I go inside a computer.
Let someone else search the web.
From the outside sick people
feel my head is empty.

Yet within, I’m full of knowledge.

I have seen a little arrow
inside me. Other people have touched
me, felt I was cold and heard all of the sounds
I make, all the clicks.

Sometimes you can smell me,
when you use me too much or leave me
on. You can see me in libraries.

Poem
-Ariel T.

I go inside the concrete ground.
Let somebody else sink through the cement.
From the outside the ground is being walked on.
Yet within, it must be hard, cool & quiet.
I have seen foot prints that lead away to the sky.
So, perhaps the concrete is a shade of gray, strange
writings on the side.

Magic

On our first day, we read the poem "Magic" by Dahlia Ravikovitch. I asked the students to think about some things they might want to be:

Ms. Mitchell, 5th grade

My Heart Leads Me
Flor T.

Today I’m a unicorn.
Last night I dreamt I was
a big red letter.
In the morning I’ll be a butterfly flying
away from home.
Today I’m a pencil writing.
Yesterday I was a heart bumping.
Tomorrow I’ll be me and just me.


Magic
Neila Noemi R.

Today I am a pink dog.
Last night I was an alien exploring earth.
In the morning I’ll be Patrick Star
looking for Sponge Bob.
Today I am a bicycle riding to school.
Yesterday I was a backpack thrown
on the floor.
Tomorrow I’ll be a white yellowed
flowered dress denied to be worn.

Magic
Jose M.

Today I’m a tiger,
tomorrow a wild dog
always wandering like a puma
always running to attack my prey.

Last night I dreamt a fox
looking for food.

In the morning I listened
and put my breakfast in a bowl.

Today I’m a watch,
tomorrow a shorty.

Yesterday soft clothing,
today a pink eraser.
Tomorrow
I’ll be today.

Ms. Kennedy 5th grade

Today, Last Night, In the Morning and Tomorrow
Andre W.

Today I am coffee
covered in marshmallows
so hot and brown.

Last night I dreamt I was
a cheetah running fast
as wind.

In the morning
I was a waterfall so sparkly, so
bright.

Today I am a god making
world peace, making paradise.

Yesterday I was a coach
teaching things back and forth.

Tomorrow I’m just
a normal kid like
everyone else.

Magic
Berenice T.

Today I’m a tornado
in Chicago.

Last night I was
a book with 1,000 pages.

In the morning I was
a shark with very sharp teeth.

Today I am the world
with water.

Yesterday I was
a tree that the humans
turned into paper.

Tomorrow I’ll be
Ms. Kennedy teaching everybody
my class.



I Will Be
Alan R.

Today I’m a tree
that is made into maple syrup.

Last night I dreamt I was
an alien with a human head with eyes
in the back of my head.

In the morning I was
a new car that does not pollute the earth.

Today I was a planet that
was made of rocks and fire.

Yesterday I was a TV with people
watching wrestling.

Tomorrow I will be myself
and go do chores.


Ms. Schaeffer 5th grade

Imagine That
Dominique B.

Today I am a forest
with a lot of trees.

Tomorrow I will be a new plant
wandering in space.

Last night I dreamt
I was a stream.

In the morning
I was a lake.

Yesterday I was fish
just about to be caught by a fisher.

Today I am a book
just waiting to be read.

Tomorrow I will be a star
twinkling in the sky.

Magic
Jeremiah D.

Today I am a burger
that is all types of colors.

Last night I dreamt about being
a big fat whale that was
polka-dot all over its body.

In the morning I was
a bomb that had exploded on Iraq.

Yesterday I was playing football.

Today I am Mrs. Blackman

Tomorrow I will be the sun.

My Dream
Andres G.

Today I am a dolphin swimming.

Tomorrow I will be a toy
almost worn out.

Last night I dreamt
I was a tortoise living
in my shell.

In the morning I was
a tornado on the roof
of my house.

Yesterday I was a knight
fighting with a dragon to save a princess.

Today I will be the sun
that shines in the sky.

Tomorrow I will be a grown person.