3rd Grade Poetry
Over two weeks this spring my 3rd graders explored the poetry of color. My goal was to share poetry of primarily diverse authors and illustrators (see my previous post).
We began class by reading author Malathi Michelle Iyengar's note in Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown about how she vividly remembers scrubbing her brownness off in the bathtub as a child. She shares with the reader her shame turned to pride in the color of her skin. As I read, you could hear a pin drop.
I then read several poems from Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown. We listened for descriptions that appealed to our senses.
We then read the poem Brown from Hailstones to Halibut Bones. We shared all kinds of luscious smells, sights, and sounds of brown. Students then went to tables to read poetry or try their hand at writing color poetry on paint chips.
We talked about what made the children the same and what made them different. Rich conversations about their skin, hair, and personalities ensued. Next, I shared the names of some of the paint colors I found on paint chips. We found them to be quite poetic! I challenged them to create their own paint chip to reflect who THEY are (both outside and inside). This was an opportunity to:
We began class by reading author Malathi Michelle Iyengar's note in Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown about how she vividly remembers scrubbing her brownness off in the bathtub as a child. She shares with the reader her shame turned to pride in the color of her skin. As I read, you could hear a pin drop.
I then read several poems from Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown. We listened for descriptions that appealed to our senses.
We then read the poem Brown from Hailstones to Halibut Bones. We shared all kinds of luscious smells, sights, and sounds of brown. Students then went to tables to read poetry or try their hand at writing color poetry on paint chips.
Day 2
Day 2 began by reading All the Colors of the Earth.
We talked about what made the children the same and what made them different. Rich conversations about their skin, hair, and personalities ensued. Next, I shared the names of some of the paint colors I found on paint chips. We found them to be quite poetic! I challenged them to create their own paint chip to reflect who THEY are (both outside and inside). This was an opportunity to:
- Be creative and use multiple colors to create a "just right" shade.
- Be create and name the color.
- Dig inside ourselves and share a piece of what we might see if we could go inside our bodies and see it accurately reflected by a specific color.
My takeaways
- Students were very invested in getting their colors "just right." I saw a lot of experimenting with different colors.
- We had our fair share of copying paint chip colors. As I circulated I tried to have conversations with students about this, but I clearly did not get to everyone.
- Missed opportunity - we ran out of time! I would have loved to have spent a third week reading and discussing Honeysmoke: A Story of Finding Your Color.
- I will absolutely do this again, but give us more time to dive deeper.
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