Poetry by Fifth Graders in Ms. Massey's Class at Mitchell Elementary in Ann Arbor

POETRY FROM Ms. Massey’s Fifth Grade Class at Mitchell Elementary

GROUP POEMS

Now You Know *

Group 1

Color shines color glows

And just in case you don’t know

Red is for poppies, hidden among the wheat

Orange is for the sunset, glowing for all to see

Yellow is for that warm feeling I get

When I eat my Momma’s scrambled eggs

Green is for rolling around in the soft grass

Blue is for the cloudless summer skies

Indigo for dark of night

Purple for the all-powerful kings robes

Pink for the color of a kitten’s paws

Color shines color glows, and now you know

Among Us * Group 2

I see red vent I call a meeting Red is sus Everyone loves purple so they vote green because he is mean But he is the sheriff, But gray is on a killing spree Coral finds blue dead and reports it But at the meeting I don’t see red. Where is he? We vote pink when we leave the meeting Purple is dead and gray killed him But black is helping gray kill me And they do kill and I rage quit.

Wait a minute why is the window broken? And my phone is in my cat’s mouth Outside

Feelings * Group 3

The feelings

Underneath. It’s easy to Love but love can Take time. But they Have taken everything Out of you. But you make joy out of it. The joy has ended In silence.

The feelings

Underneath. You have overcome the silence.

The world gives You so much pain Love is embracing The hard parts. There is no freedom. This time I realized That I’m happy.

Is an alternative to spaghetti

I love listening to my Aunt Betty

She has good stories

Even though most of them are boring.

I still love her stories though. And then, she brought out cookie dough And I got really happy

And I ate a Laffy Taffy

We were watching Ed, Edd, and Eddy

And then Aunt Betty

Called me to the table

Because Uncle Joe got a music label

And then we also got cable.

Let’s Talk About Nature *

Group 5

Am I a cat white like snow With black spots like a leopard?

Am I a parakeet with a loud Voice and a lot to chirp about? A parakeet with stormy feathers?

Am I a cachorro Tiny like a pea, big like a robot running through door, medium like a Desert tan backpack?

Am I a mouse, scurrying through a Hole–two satellite dish ears and big Tail like long hair?

Am I cheetah who runs fast or A lion who roars a lot?

Locked Away * Group 6

Is a bird free of its cage?

Wrapped in heavy, rusted chains, Shallow blue eyes peering

Through bars.

Wishing one day to see sunshine

One last time.

Remembering what it was like Looking down through

Dark green pine trees.

Hearing crickets chirp in the Night, owls hooting, wolves

Howling looking for food. The world gives you so much Pain…

inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities.

Our writing and tutoring programs uphold a culture of creativity and imagination and support students in establishing strong habits of mind. Through publication and community engagement, we provide students with an authentic and enthusiastic audience for their writing. Our programs provide an energizing creative outlet for students and meaningful volunteer opportunities for community members.

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A way to figure things out by ourselves

A way to help us connect to our world

We create a safe place to be ourselves and try new things

We support the ways that writers work (like thinking, sketching, talking)

We study the writing we want to do so we can try it

We learn how to change our writing for genre, audience, and purpose

We work with a group of writers who help and support each other

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A way to help us learn who we are and who we will become

A way for us to use our power to make changes and build a better world

826 National was inspired to take a stand on issues of inclusion and diversity in light of the many events that spotlighted social and racial injustices throughout the country. We as educators, volunteers, and caring adults need to be aware of the wide range of issues our students face on a day-to-day basis. We need to support these young people as they navigate through and try to make sense of the world and their own identities.

We need the support and the feedback from our community to ensure 826 is living up to these standards. Through our inclusion statement, our internal diversity and inclusion group, cultural competency resources provided to staff and volunteers, and partnerships with other organizations, we are always working towards being a more inclusive and supportive organization.

We at 826 have the privilege of working with the next generation of scholars, teachers, doctors, artists, lawyers, and writers. It's our job to make sure they are able to take their own stands.

As an organization committed to encouraging youth in their creative expression, personal growth, and academic success, 826 National and its chapters recognize the importance of diversity at all levels and in all aspects of our work. In order to build and maintain the safe, supportive 826 environment in which great leaps in learning happen, we commit ourselves to inclusion: we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, nationality, marital status, English fluency, parental status, military service, or disability.

The 826 National network is committed to encouraging youth to express themselves and to use the written word to effectively do so. We encourage our students to write, take chances, make decisions, and finish what they start. And 826 strives to do this in an environment free from discrimination and exclusion.

by Gerald Richards, CEO

826michigan inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities.

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