Children's Lives
Introduction: Ask the children to imagine
themselves on a big city street amidst the
hustle and bustle of a week day as you read
this poem.
Commitment in a City
by Margaret Tsuda
On the street we two pass.
I do not know you.
I did not see
If you were--
fat/thin
dark/fair
young/old.
If we should pass again
within the hour,
I would not know it.
Yet--
I am committed to
love you.
You are part of my city,
my universe, my being.
If you were not here
to pass me by,
a piece would be missing
from my jigsaw-puzzle day.
From This Place I Know: Poems of
Comfort; poems selected by Georgia
Heard, Candlewick Press, 2002.
Extension: Discuss what apathy means. Now ask the children to imagine themselves on the streets of New York City the day after 9/11. Ask them if they think people paid more attention to each other.
Introduction: The following poem is about a spelling test, or is there more to it?
One
by Butch McElroy
We had a
"Most commonly misspelled word"
Spelling test
Yesterday in English,
Fourth Period.
I commonly misspelled them all.
Except one.
Loneliness
was the only one I got right.
From Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets, selected by Naomi Shihab Nye, Greenwillow Books, 2000.
Extension: Ask the children what other theme is present besides the spelling test. Ask them if they've ever felt lonely and what are some things that they could do to keep from feeling lonely?
Published by a Child
Introduction: Ask the children what some of their
earliest memories are.
Remember by Gloria Rabel
I remember when I was little,
my father said,
"Are you sure this is our baby?
This looks like a Spanish baby."
I remember when I was in first grade,
Everyone was on page 189
and I was on
page 1.
Extension: Ask the children to ask their parent(s) or guardians about some of their memories of the children's early years; share them the next day.