Fourth Graders at High Point Academy Learn That Poetry Comes in Many Forms

“I felt like it would be really fun to go and meet the people at the British Home. So it turned out better than I expected. I really liked talking to the older people and learning about what experiences they had before. I think it’s important to think of other people just because they can inspire you to do things that they once did. It could just make you know more about the world.”—Vyom M., almost 10.

Ten-year-old Beatrice Z. started off the discussion: “Well, basically, we did a writing unit earlier in the year and made a poetry packet. So we studied all different kinds of poetry, and in the end, we made these big projects from a certain poem that was our favorite. So my favorite form, I think, was the cinquain (a five-line poem) because I easily related to it. So I made a cinquain poem, and I decorated it. It was about the beach, so I brought it here today to the British Home to share. One of the points, I think, is it puts a big smile on the faces of some of the elders that live there. They see children come in and share something. And I think some of the poems, they can be really relatable, or some are just really beautiful in a way, and you can share the joy.”

Emily W., age 10, discovered that inspiration can come from anywhere. “So I think in second grade or third grade, we read a book at library time about animal crossings and now I love animals and how they go across a tunnel or a freeway bridge, and then I thought it was just really cool to make a visual representation of animals going across and write a poem about it. It made me feel happy to share my poem at the British Home because when I help people, I feel good about myself. I think I can spread joy to everyone, and others who might not have the opportunity to write poetry themselves can enjoy what we’re doing. In the future I might be writing poetry or something else. I think I would like to be an author; one of my jobs when I grow up could be to write all sorts of books, like picture books or graphic novels and chapter books. I’m very bad at drawing right now, but maybe I’ll learn, and then I can do the illustrating.” Emily had another notable observation. “When we went to Barnhart for so many months because of the fire, the students there wanted to spread joy also. So they helped us like we’re helping other people now. And I think that’s really nice of them.”

Beatrice agreed. “I think maybe Barnhart kids felt the kind of feeling we feel today with the older people, and maybe if we have joy, and others out there don’t, we can spread the joy to them.”

Ricky F., age 10, came up with the idea for his poetry project by considering his favorite animal—the lion. “So I just drew a big strong lion for my poem and then wrote poetry to go along with it. It wasn’t rhyming or anything. It took maybe five days to do the project. We came to the British Home to show the elderly our poems. I think they seemed happy because they were seeing kids reading poems to them. Before I went to the British Home, I didn’t know what to think. But now I think the people are really well cared for, and I really liked talking to them and learning about what experiences they had before. I think it’s important to think of other people just because they can inspire you to do things that they did, and it could just make you know more about the world.”

Thinking about his theme, Landon S., age 10, said, “Night and dreams. That’s how the night seems dark and like nothingness. But when you finally get to go to sleep, you see light and magic and dreams. And I hope to show that to other people. My poem was an acrostic. In my illustration the top is night, and the bottom is dreaming. I was happy to finally share what I feel. I hope the people at the British Home felt good when they heard it, and maybe they can share some of that happiness with other people.”

Both fourth-grade teachers were gratified to see such creativity. Mrs. Becky Lievense laid out her approach: “So, for our poetry unit this year, we studied many different styles of poetry. The kids learned about and practiced all the different types, and then they chose one poem to turn into a poetry project. And we left the poetry project open-ended. We told them that poetry can come to life in many different ways, like in music and art, and it can be represented visually in many different ways. So their assignment really was just to create a visual representation of their poem. They utilized everything that they know, also incorporating what they’ve learned in the art and music classes at school. High Point has such terrific specialists, that the kids had a lot to draw on.”

Like Mrs. Lievense, Mrs. Karla Yulo introduced a lot of different forms of poetry to the students. For their project they picked a poem that they enjoyed and created a visual representation to showcase that poetry. “What surprised me was how creative and unique each project was,” she said. “Of course it was so sweet to watch the kids interact with the residents because you don’t get to see that every day.”

The British Home opened its doors on September 22, 1931. Nestled in the foothills of Sierra Madre, the Home carries on its mission, which is the tradition of providing the most comfortable, nurturing environment with care and devotion for all elderly people.