Paint blot comparisons

To introduce comparison, the students and I read "Fog" by Carl Sandburg. We had a great discussion about how one thing can be/become another thing. Then, I made a few symmetrical paint blots to help the students discover their own "metaphor magic" to transform one thing into another. See their amazing poems:

Ms. Cole 6th grade


Paint
Kenya W.

This is a spaceship taking up
in the air.
A turkey to share.
This is some flowers in this
beautiful vase.
This is a person’s ribs.



Paint Blues
Lannell F.

The paintings look like a
rocket blasting off, and a robot
on a toilet and a baby looking
like a roach.



Pots Paint
William D.

First it was a plain
paper, then it was an
x-ray of the inside of
someone, then it was a
flower in a vase, now it’s
a skeleton with flippers.




Ms. Harris 6th grade


Heart
Michael B.

What I see is
two people taking
out someone’s
heart. The people are
blue. And the heart
is black and red.



Splash!
George G.

The paint is like
a man with a mustache,
big red lips, and a blue head.
Or an African mask, or maybe
it is a mouse with black hair
feasting on spaghetti.



Mr. Confusion
Jermel H.

The painting is blurry,
staring, and curvy.
Mr. Confusion is blue,
his mustache is black,
and his beard is red
and as big as his head.
Mr. Confusion is dreamy, but
chubby and lazy, crazy.
He’s the blue man.




Ms. Kessinger 6th grade


What is Paint?
Dominique B.

Paint is a polar bear
with blue and white fur.
Paint is a house on a
lost island.
Paint is a sword going
through a teddy bear.
Paint is two bears
on V-day.




Paint Dreams
Terry C.

I see a bear running
through the woods fast
as lightening. A bear
no one has ever seen in life,
but in a dream. The art
of paint becomes real in
dreams. That is my paint
dream.




Paint
Virginia E.

The paint comes as an Indian
woman that can look
all over Chicago and
it can stand in front
of our face and keep
moving.

What THEY loved.

We read Lisa Jarnot's poem "They Loved Paperclips." We talked about the advantages of using the third-person collective pronoun "they" to allow for some distance. The students began to see that they could write a poem that include not only their own perspective, but could allow for the viewpoint of others. See their work!

Ms. Cole 6th grade


They Love
Shirlette S.

Thye love their pencil moving
across their paper and
they love the weather when
it changes every day and
they love their eyes moving
from side to side and
they love their fingers moving
one by one and they love their
paper making rapply sounds
and they love their cars
horn as they beep
for someone to move out
of their way and they
love the air because
they get oxygen and they love
their straight
hair as they flat iron
and it pressed out



Poem
Jameena

They love shopping
they love cats and dogs
they love having family
they love working and going to school
they love spending money
the love eating
they love having a roof over their head
that is what they love



They Love
William D.

They love science books
they love the sound of
they wind they love the smell of
chicken fingers and mac & cheese
they like the shape of the
globe they love the smell of
new shoes they love plants.



Poem
Sendalio W.

They love hearing things on the
radio they like books they like the
sound of cars they like when there
is a word wall they like it when
family and friends come over they
like when kids come over they like
good grades they like video games
they like poetry they like playing
baseball and basketball they like
playing board games.




Ms. Harris 6th grade


They Love Outside
Carisma F.

They love outside and
everything out there
they love hearing cars
honk their horns and
the smell of gasoline
they love hearing the
crickets and crows they
love looking at the sky
to see what they can find like
shapes and animals they
love looking at the big green trees



Poem
Jermel H.

They love many things
they love crossword puzzles
they hate cats and they
love art they still love cooking
and really love puzzles and books they
like bike riding on Sundays they
love this and that they love
garbage and love bugs they eat
worms and slugs



Me and My Friends!
Dequan B.

They love Hannah
Montana they love
the click of the keyboard
they love hushpuppies they
love rings they love movies
they love airwalks they love
venns they love pizza and
a pool they love to become
a teacher they love to sing they
love to dance they love to
go to the movies they love
pickles they love me too they
also love Fridays and Spongebob.




Ms. Kessinger 6th grade

Love, Love Love
Lakeya S.

They love the chalkboard
they love gospel music
they love fights
they love tweety bird
the love crazy people
all these things they love the most
they love Bowow and Chris Brown
they love school
love, love, love is all they say
they love fruit
they love concrete
they love chicken
they love to freeze
they love tornadoes



They Love Fabric
Lyneisha F.

The love needles they love
thread they love seeds and
candy they loved machines
they love the sound
of pencils on paper and
fabric they love the fabric
on Sundays and
they love clothes
that have their name and style
the thread for the needles
the ruler for the thighs and
also when their fashion
are going down the aisle.



They Love
Moesha T.

They love tornadoes
they love poems and
strawberries the cars
the fabric the fries the
sound of a hum they love
school on a Saturday they
love computers all through
the week they love the
hairstyles that they wear
Mondays they love the coats
they love the shoes that
match the ceiling and the
Tide they use to clean their
clothes what they love is
Ms. Van’s poems she brings.

In My Head

This week, we stepped outside of ourselves to see what kinds of images might be lurking inside of us. We read "A Boy’s Head" by Miroslav Holub, translated from Czech by Ian Milner. The students were amazed at what kinds of things represented knowledge and were excited to explore images of their own. Look at their great work!

Ms. Cole 6th grade
Week 8
12/13/07


Takayla’s Head
Takayla J.

In it there is a bee buzzing
and a tooth
for my science project.

And there is a little girl
bugging me
while I don’t want
to be bothered with.

And there is
an entirely new whole honey nest
an entirely new big wheelcar
an entirely new carnival

There is a tree, tree light
bursting

There is a spelling word:
pioneer
surgeon
qualified
infection
outrageous
trail blazer
clinic
application

independent and more.

There are chores.

And it just cannot be ripped
I believe only what cannot be ripped.




In My Head
Antonio R.

In it there is the Best Artist.
There is the big spider in town.
There is Spiderman in Chi-Town
saving the town. The is a
picture of 50 cent and
Tony yayo at 50 house.
There is when I first learned how
to ride a bike.



In My Head
Pierre M.

In it there is a carrot
There is money
There is a clock
There is my grandfather resting in peace
There is my mother
There is my father
There is my nephew
There is school
There is Christmas coming
There is snow
There is a progress report
There is a dog
There is a needle
There is home, home sweet home
There is a kitchen
There is a mall




Ms. Harris 6th grade
Week 8
12/13/07

Da’shana’s Head
Da’shana W.

In it there is a huge party

and there is a ball
game which shall last forever

and there is
a concert
an entirely new song

There is a pond
streaming




Clusters
Raymos H.

In there is earth.
There is Lake Michigan and
its wonders.

There is land with buildings
and hotels and apartments.

There are cars roaming around
the street.

There are entirely new schools
and hospitals.

And it just cannot be flamed
or stolen.



In His Head
Nicole H.

And in his head pop stars.
Doors . . . opening
little kids running out
of the door singing
1.2.3 lock your doors . . .
4.5. pick up toys
grown ups walking away
from rivers. But never
loved to be a head?



Ms. Kessinger 6th grade
Week 8
12/13/07

Jacobi’s Head
Jacobi D.

In my head I see a box
and a boy that will sit in it.
I see 303 and me going to pass
6th grade. In there I see
Christmas. Friends. Family
having a good time. In there
I see peace and quiet. So much peace.



Briana’s Head
Briana D.

What’s in my head is not
to dread. I’ve got purple in my
head. I’ve got a blue shirt,
red socks, some blue jean pants.
Algebra, which is math. A best-
friends necklace, how about you.
A jacket my BFF my wanna be,
are you crazy? I have red in my
head. I’ve dreams that need help.
I see people in my future who
ask to marry, but in my head I’ll
have to carry.



Sherrell’s Head
Sherrell W.

In it there is
a pink and blue shirt,
and a blue skirt.

And there is Lil Wayne
with a hat that he
just got.

And there is
an entirely new boombox
an entirely new book
an entirely new bird.

There is a stage
which artist’s rap/sing
on.

There are long yellow
socks.

There is my walking
down a runway.
There is me on an island
that can’t be removed.