Kindness Tastes Like....

KINDNESS TASTES LIKE POTATO CHIPS IN THE MIDDLE OF MY PASTRAMI SANDWICH Sanislo elementary 3rd grade poets March 30, 2012

KINDESS TASTES LIKE POTATO CHIPS IN THE MIDDLE OF MY PASTRAMI SANDWICH Since I am a fan of pastrami and potato chips, I know this is true—but mostly because of the swiftness and brilliance I’ve seen, while working with Sanislo third-grade poets.

I am honored to have spent ten weeks with these students, exploring a theme which has much relevance in our fast-paced and often rough-tumbled word—kindness.

We began with List Poems, on the topic of how to grow a friendship, inspired by Sark’s poem “Being a Wonder Full Friend.”

Wonder Full—full of wonder—the way we are naturally, and the generosity that comes with this.

We experimented with imagery, such as “Sea otter, you swim as smooth as wood polished three times a day.”

We experimented with repetition, such as “You can count on me/ to make you pancakes when you are sick./You can count on me / to dance with you when you don’t have a partner./You can count on me /to shovel your driveway, when your back hurts.”

We experimented with specificity in order to bring the reader into our world, such as “I think I could act like Tom Brady, and throw a Hail Mary pass (a long forward pass, in football) to Wes Welker and make sure it’s a touchdown, if you were there.”

We experimented with hyperbole, such as “I will bring an Arabian foul to class to do the splits and the tango, with a rose.”

Thank you Ms. Parkhurst and Ms. O’Connor for your guidance and support, and your wonderful poets! -Ann Teplick, WITS Writer in Residence, January 6-March 30, 2012

©2012 Sanislo School Press

Ms. O’cOnnOr’s class

Eyes as yellow as a sunflower

Ms. Parkhurst’s class

Kindness, like a flamingo Dancer IN a sparkling river