Calligrams

For our last poetry lesson, I introduced my students to Calligrams.  These are poems or words arranged into images.  The students were excited to try and make some of their own!  Here is their work.

Haiku

In our third poetry lesson, we talked about Haikus and how to focus on the appearance of the ordinary world.  Yet again, my students amazed me with their insights.  Here is their work.

Falling cherry blossoms
I wait for them dancing through the air
With a silky wind

Shoe is like me
Like me, shoe is alone
Shoe is sad.  Me too.

Pencils are like my mother
It reminds me
That I have 2 arms and five fingers
Makes me feel thankful

There is a blue sky
Cloud is dancing in the sky
What a wonderful day

My brown left hand
Sometimes soft but sometimes hard
If I break the limit
And destroy the world

Falling to the dark
I watch a hope in the sky
I try to catch it
But I can't grab it

Pencils are like people in the bus
Pencil case full of pencils, bus full of people
No place to get in.

The scarf is like arms
It is warm
It is like hugging neck
It looks like hair

Eraser is smooth
And it is soft
Sometimes hard.

Letters of a calendar
Tells the date like a good teacher
Always tells the truth

Roots of an old tree
holds the tree like a parent
To make them standing still

The old and dirty chalkboard
Chalkboard was painted a yellow color
School's memory

The calendar was teared
Because of my bad hand
The calendar was very hurt

Time is like our moneys
But cannot stop and don't come back
But should be valuable

Limericks

In our second poetry lesson, we talked about limericks and particularly the ideas of rhythm and rhyming.  Here are some more poems from the students.

There once was a delicious tangerine
Which was eaten by pretty godness
After she ate delicious tangerine
She got a serious illness
Then she recognized it is decayed tangerine


There once was a farmer with hens
The farmer was called Danny Ann.
She went to the hen
But there was no eggs
In fact the hen was a big toy.


There once was a doll name of Tream
Who falling the dark in the dream
It legs are going break
With a terrible crack
And found out the way to going out


There once was a silly pig
That was a giant pig which wears wig
And he goes to party
He saw mirror at party
He knew he would not wear a wig


There once was a beautiful flower
A pretty girl was walking by tower
She smell near by
And bug is fly
And she is playing around for an hour


There once was a beautiful rose
Which smells like a dirty muddy toes
Smells like a cotton ball
Smell like a rotten apple
Nobody wanted to smell this awful rose.


There once was a boy named Tom
Who was always scared of dirty worms
When looking at rice with a bug
He was scared like a mice
As fast as he could he ran like a bomb.


There once was a Bill who called richman
One day, he heard someone called him
And he said I need a money
And Bill said "I don't have a bill"
So, Bill doesn't borrow bill and he go to hell.


There once was a beautiful deer
Unable to sleep very deep with a long neck
After she met a giraffe
And even could not see her eyes
She could go to bed early after the journey.

"I Am"

Recently, I have been doing a unit on poetry with my English Club Class.  We have read poems and written poems, and I am continually astounded with the creativity and wisdom these kids possess.  We began the unit with the "I am" poem.  Here is the profound, humorous, and brilliant work of my students.

I am a tangerine

I am a tangerine
I hear someone peels my skin
I see someone's mouth
I want to be delicious
I am a tangerine

I pretend I am delicious
I feel shamed
I touch someone's teeth
I worry if I am not delicious
I cry because I am not delicious
I am a tangerine

I understand why you are disappointed
I say I'm sorry
I dream to be delicious
I try to be delicious
I hope to be delicious
I am a tangerine.

I am a student

I am a student
I hear friends are saying
I see friends are playing
I want to play more
I am a student

I pretend for be best
I feel worried
I touch my book
I worry about my best
I cry of result of test
I am a student

I understand what you say
I say I want to get good result of test
I dream to get good result of test
I try to doing home work
I hope go to good high school
I am a student


I am giraffe

I am giraffe
I hear lion's crying
I see lion everyday
I want to become bird and run away from lion
I am giraffe

I pretend to eat leaves
I feel soft and warm wind
I touch ground and think about peace
I worry about my family
I cry because I'm too scary
I am giraffe

I understand my mother
I say "you don't have to worry mom"
I dream I can be free from this scary world
I try to become strong
I hope I can run away from this jungle
I am giraffe


I am winter

I am winter
I hear the sound of cold wind
I see white snowflakes coming down from the sky
I want the warm air of Spring and Summer
I am winter

I pretend to be cruel and harsh
I feel lonely when people all stay home during x-mas
I touch through the public transportation
I worry if someone die because of a cold storm
I cry when nobody loves me
I am winter

I understand everyone in this world wait for me because of x-mas
I say I want to be friendly with everyone
I dream I can't be a warm warm warm spring
I try to be nice
I hope I can be more kind and cozy weather
I am winter


I am ghost

I am ghost
I hear words of mind
I see in front of me
I want to be a part of dark
I am human

I pretend myself
I feel nothing
I touch nothing
I worry nothing
I cry nothing
I am me

I understand my mind
I say myself
I dream part of me in the mirror
I try to break myself
I hope to be a perfect
I am lapis

I am a student

I am a student
I hear everyone say study
I see my store and I am surprised
I want good for test
I am a student

I pretend
I feel very happy
I touch my lunch
I worry about hungry
I cry because I am hungry
I am a student

I understand my friend told something
I say Hello to my friend
I dream to play with my friend in outdoor
I try to think how to play fun
I hope the class will finish quickly
I am a student

I am a basketball player

I am a basketball player
I hear the coach making orders
I see the other team players guarding me
I want make a lot of points
I am a basketball player

I pretend I'm Michael Jordan
I feel great when I play basketball
I touch the ball and dribble
I worry if I make a mistake
I cry when I lose
I am a basketball player

I understand my teammates
I say let's win
I dream to be the best player
I try to make the basket
I hope I be the best
I am a basketball player

I am Kim Ho Jin

I am Kim Ho Jin
I hear myself
I see the movie
I want to be a sports man
I am a boy

I feel good
I touch tv
I worry my hope
I cry silk
I am not girl

I am a student

I am a student
I hear teachers talking loudly
I see my friends playing happily
I want to quit private tutor and enjoy my life excitingly
I am a student

I pretend I'm not that sleepy
I feel actually sleepy
I touch my pencils frequently
I worry if I took my test badly
I cry when the test score comes out badly
I am a student

I understand that I have to try harder
I say that I will one day study harder
I dream my test scores get better
I try to take the test better
I hope go sleep longer
I am a student

I am a music lover

I am a music lover
I hear pianist who is playing emotional music
I see violinist who is playing artistic music
I want to play musical instruments very well
I am a music lover

I pretend to be a nice musician
I feel very happy
I touch music and melody
I worry that I can't do well
I cry because I should practice too hard
I am a music lover

I understand that I should practice very hard and have positive thinkings
I say "I can play music very well.  I can do it!!"
I dream to practice very hard and become a good performer
I try to practice very hard and become a good performer
I hope to try my best and become a good musician
I am a music lover

Syria

The UN Security Council recently made a decision on what action to take towards Syria.  Pretend that you were at this council.  Would you vote to take action against Syria, or would you vote to stay neutral?  Why?  If you want to do something about Syria, what would you like to do?

(Student comments are below!)

Introductions & Miss America

Hello everyone!

This week, I started this blog for the my Middle School students in Daejeon.  Throughout the semester, we will be practicing our English by responding to topics relevant in the broader contemporary world.  Our first topic was the recent reaction to the winner of the Miss America pageant, Nina Davuluri.  The students responded to this fictional post, and their comments will soon be posted:

“The online world was in uproar this week, and all because of one name: Nina Davuluri.  Ms. Davuluri, an Indian-American, recently won the Miss America pageant.  Many viewers were not pleased with her victory.  People said she shouldn’t have won because she “isn’t American,” and that her heritage might even link her to terrorists.

            Although these racist comments are foolish, the whole situation has made me ask why we have the Miss America pageant at all.  How can we choose one person to represent our entire nation, when it is a nation of so many cultures and races?  Our diversity is what makes us strong, and it is impossible to say one woman represents that more than another woman.

            What is the beauty that we are celebrating?  Are we celebrating diversity, or did this contest reveal that people fear diversity?  And what makes a person an ideal American, the perfect “girl next door?”  Personally, I don’t think this contest is a healthy way to answer these questions, but I would like to know what others think.”