Sweet Like a ???

Today we read Michael Ondaatje's poem "Sweet Like a Crow." The students really gained an understanding of comparison/simile and were very excited about the surprising and strange associations this poem offered. The students then began to imagine how a voice might sound and came up with comparison's of their own. They had many surprising images!


Ms. Mitchell 5th grade


My Voice
Rafael V.

My voice sounds like some
one baking nice warm bread.
My voice sound like some
one jumping in fifty thousand
dollars. My voice sounds like
nice wood getting burned.



My Voice
Malia C.

My voice sounds like
cash money saying: I’m
rich I’m rich. You’re
broke, you’re broke.
My voice sounds like
some ice cream with three
cherries on top.



Sweet Like a Bat
Thalia V.

Your voice sound like a
huge chocolate bar being crunched
into tiny tiny pieces with
your foot like someone has just
squished your toe, like
wind blowing with flowers
straight behind, a butterfly
turning into a caterpillar and being swept
away. Oh. Oh. Like a kitten
swimming in a Jacuzzi. Oh yeah!



My Voice
Arniece W.

My voice sounds like a pretty red diamond sparkling
and glowing.

Like someone making a chocolate fountain in their mouth
going down like a chocolate river, like a dark
purple and white butterfly flying high.

Like chile cheese fries with cheese, bacon bitties
and others, like a really mean, angry monkey
throwing bananas everywhere and swinging
from tree to tree.

Like my best friend and a squirrel getting in a
fight.




Ms. Kennedy 5th grade


My Voice
Michaela C.

My voice sounds like an elephant
hollering for help. And a sound
of waving water. A toaster when
toast comes out of it. A sound of
candles melting, and a brilliant
thunderstorm rattling. A sound
of washing machines when
the clothes are twirling. It sounds
like people chewing on gum really
hard.



Your Voice
Roxana A.

Your voice sounds
like a cat taking a
shower in the toilet.
A rooster being
beat up. Your voice
is like a mirror being
broken by a huge rock.
A monkey doing the
bathroom in the zoo.
You sound like a little
munchkin being followed
by a cheetah.



Her Voice Sounds . . .
Alan R.

Her voice sounds like a
toilet flushing,
like a monkey trapped in a
cage.
Like a fire alarm in your house.
Her voice is like paper crunching
on the floor.
Like a train whistling,
like a bee in your ear.
Her voice is like an airplane
passing by your house.
Like a mom in the hospital
having a baby and screaming.
Like a baby crying for help.




Ms. Schaeffer 5th grade


Your Voice
Vanessa E.

Your voice sounds like a screaming
pig, a ruler falling,
a choking squirrel,
you eating frosted flakes,
like scratching on the chalk board,
the school bell,
the sound of a timer,
maybe your voice sounds like stomping
feet,
a singing chipmunk,
falling pencils,
like a big storm,
but of course, when you go to
sleep, you snore.



Your Voice
Ricardo V.

Your voice sounds like a person jumping off
a cliff, like a man was pushing you
off the cliff, like someone eating corn flakes,
an airplane crashing, like waves, a waterfall,
an old lady screaming, like the sound when I
pick my nose. Your voice sounds like someone
vomiting. Your voice sounds like a hippie person
dancing to the Eighties and your voice sounds
really wonderful.



My Voice
Luis M.

My voice sounds like a train whistle and smooth,
or a cave when you speak and your voice gets
louder then lower and sounds like a fish
making bubbles and it sounds like a bell
from a church and the voice sounds like a squirrel
chirping and sounds like frosted flakes
being smushed by a car.

Paint blot comparisons

To introduce comparison, the students and I read "Fog" by Carl Sandburg. We had a great discussion about how one thing can be/become another thing. Then, I made a few symmetrical paint blots to help the students discover their own "metaphor magic" to transform one thing into another. See their amazing poems:

Ms. Mitchell 5th grade
Week 11
01/22/08


Paint
Dylan M.

It looks like a face with
a rose on its nose. The
black looks like a baby
girl’s t-shirt. The two white
eyes look like eggs. If
you see it upside down,
it looks like a rocket
ship. The top looks like two
great green flowers about
to open. The bottom looks
like a foot ball players. It
looks like an elephant.



Green Paint
Sonia C.

The green paint creates a
fish. A green fish.
It stands still looking around
the ocean, blue and beautiful.
Then, moves on in the ocean.



Paint
Dymon G.

It looks like a lobster
with a trimmed tail.

It sits over looking like it’s
about to snip and snap.

With it’s furious face, saying
you want some, get some, because
I’ll make you wish you never
snapped and hurt me.

Also, with flaky skin, flakier
as you look down her tail.




Ms. Kennedy 5th grade
Week 11
01/22/08



I See
Eric M.

I see a boxing frog.
He got punched back.
He has his fists up
and his eyes closed.
He has blood out of his ears.
He has black feet
and black hands. He
is screaming for help.
He is hungry.
He has a broken leg.
He has red shorts.



Heart Broken
Michaela C.

It looks like two hearts
surrounded by a person who
is in love. But, his heart
is broken because the girl
doesn’t love him.



3 Paintings
Catterin G.

The paint is a little girls with red
hair, and on the edge of the red hair,
I see black hair.

I see a nose, red nose, 4 teeth,
red eyes, a black scale and skin.

I see 2 hearts that look like
claws, and an evil spider with
a green head.



Ms. Schaeffer 5th grade
Week 11
01/22/08



The Paint Splash
Dominique B.

It looks like a man doing yoga, or
an alien that’s red and came from Mars
with black armor. In the middle there
looks like a ghost. And it has blood
red hands and arms.



The Paint Splash
Ariel T.

The plain white paper turns
into a mutated man in a
space suit. It turns into a robot.
This plain white piece of paper
turns into a cactus or a man
with green eyes.
My last white piece of paper
is a bat, or a gorilla. Maybe
an airplane that is
red, green, and black put together.



The Paint Splash
Leslie M.

There was one time three little
paint splashes turned into a flower.
The other one turned into a
Christmas tree. The next day,
they turned into a human and
the other one turned into a spider.
The other one turned into an
eagle. Two days later, it was
an airplane.

In My Head

This week, we stepped outside of ourselves to see what kinds of images might be lurking inside of us. We read "A Boy’s Head" by Miroslav Holub, translated from Czech by Ian Milner. The students were amazed at what kinds of things represented knowledge and were excited to explore images of their own. Look at their great work!


Ms. Mitchell 5th grade
Week 8
11/27/07


Dymon’s Head
-Dymon G.

In it there is my mom telling me to wake up
and trying not to think of school too much

And there is a store filled with generous shoes

Thinking of all the wonderful gifts on Christmas
then right after that my birthday

In it is heavenly chocolate chip dough pie
fresh from the oven

There is a memorized birthday list

An entirely new day

The tunes of soulja boy & I-15 going on & on & on

It cannot be cut down



In Neila’s Head
Neila R.

In it there are lots of words
and questions about life.

And there is my cousin saying
chu-chu which means he wants
to watch Thomas the train on T.V.

And there is an entirely new
me, an entirely new house,
and an entirely new school.

There is a river filled with chocolate.

There are equilateral triangles.

There are a lot of gray rainy clouds.

And it cannot stop.
I believe that only my heart can stop
what I think about my life.

There is a lot of promise that not a lot
of people think what I’m thinking.




My Brother’s Head
Rafael V.

In it I see him playing
with car toys.

In it I him
in a 1945 van.

In it I see all kinds
of car toys only him
playing with them.

In his head I see him
making a mess in my room.

All I see is him having
a good day and me having
a bad day.



In my head
Marc B.

In it there is a devil side
and an angel side.

In it there’s a blood fountain
but the angels ice it up.

In it there’s a brave guy
that wants to come out
its in chains because
of the devil side of me.

In it there is a video game
calling my name.





Ms. Kennedy 5th grade
Week 8
11/27/07

In My Head
Alan R.

In it is a penguin flying
that is red and pink

And there is
a boy charging up
a dog that breathes fire

And there is
a puma hunting in the sky
me walking on the sky

There is a
river full of ire

And it just cannot
get out of my head





In My Head
Sergio D.

In it there is me
playing Xbox 360.
There is a game inside.
There is Halo 3 in there.
There is me killing all
the zombies with a
bazooka and a sergeant
killing them with a laser. There
is me driving a Jeep where
it is the end of the
world. I believe I will
never stop playing
my game.





In Oswald’s Head
Oscar L.

In it there is a fling rat
there is a dead dog
there is a hamburger
there is a book
and a math problem
there is a soccer ball
I believe that only
a head could be
trimmed




Ms. Schaeffer 5th grade
Week 8
11/27/07

In Kelvin’s Head
Kelvin H.

There are snow balls.

There is a little puppy.

There are presents just for me.

There is a snowman
shaking hand with Santa Claus.

There are miles of
hot chocolate rivers.

There are chocolate bunnies
with whipped cream
inside.

There are penguins
and husky dogs dancing
to disco music.

There are games for
free at stores.

There are snow white
birds flying to Antarctica.




The Army Life
Tariq R.

There is the army
inside my head
that is green with so much
of a war of fight
with blood and fight
real hard as a legend




In a Girl’s Head
Tyriona W.

In a head there is the F.B.I.
protecting her from villains.

And there is a singer singing on
a stage in the clubs.

There is football, baseball, soccer,
cosmetology jobs.

There is a growing diamond
of love and peace and quiet.

There are movies like Peter Pan
and DVDs like Manda playing inside.

There is a lot of promising for her,
that she lives with no voices.

And she believes she will be
a singer. That’s her goal.




In My Head
Marquis G.

In my head is a jet pack.
In there is me, just me.
In my head is my mom,
and in my head is to become rich.