Sunday, November 2, 2014

Reading is...

Last spring, during our poetry unit, inspired by Baseball Is... by Louise Borden, I asked my 7th graders to write a "Something Is..." poem.
After everyone shared in class, I was extremely glad I had done this poem with my students because I was impressed with what they came up with. An idea that allows them choice in topic so they can write about something they know + a strong mentor text = powerful results.

Of course, since they were doing it, I needed to also, so I wrote a "Something Is..." poem, too. When brainstorming my list of things to write about, the one that stuck with me the most was reading, so that's what I went with and let my thoughts and words take me where they would.
Reading is…
getting lost
in stories
finding an escape
from the everyday
Reading is…
having a fresh start
every time
I crack the spine
and turn to
the first page
with a held breath
of anticipation
Reading is…
finding myself
in the pages
of a book
discovering
who I am
who I want to be
Reading is…
getting my acceptance letter
to Hogwarts
jumping on the train
at Platform 9 ¾
finding friends
family
my truth
and bravery
in a world I didn’t know
I could dream up
that J.K. Rowling showed me
I can
Reading is…
gasping
laughing
crying
cheering
swooning
yelling at
rooting for
learning with
and from
the characters
I grow to love
Reading is…
fairy tale castles
summer at the beach
outer space
deep in the ocean
around the corner
far from home
on the other side of the world
mythical lands
adventures
I visit
through the worlds
found in
the pages of a book
and my imagination
Reading is…
writers who become
authors
with agents to push for them
editors to guide them
copyeditors to correct them
designers who create covers
publicists who tell everyone
marketing, printers, publishers
booksellers, librarians, teachers
friends all supporting
that book
and recommending others read it
Reading is…
going to a mall
The Exit 8 Big Top Mall & Video Arcade
open 365 days a year
meeting Ivan
and Stella
and Ruby
and Bob
and Julia
and George
hoping for the best
while fearing the worst
and holding back tears
of sorrow
and joy
having Katherine Applegate’s
words
touch my soul
and teach me more
about humanity
and kindness
and people
than I thought
a book could
Reading is…
the way I experience lives
hundreds
thousands of lives
beyond
the one I live
that I carry
with me
always
Reading is…
what I turn to
when I need
to be alone
to find hope
to get answers
to learn things
to take a break
to discover inspiration
to know
I am
not
alone
in this world
Reading is…
letters swarming
words swaggering
sentences slithering
paragraphs sailing
steadily across
the pages
Reading is…
late nights
when I
just
can’t
stop
turning the pages
until I can’t
keep my eyes open
any longer
struggling to
so I can know
what happens
next
Reading is…
covers and
jackets and
spines and
pages and
acknowledgements and
dedications and
titles and
blurbs and
stories
Reading is…
getting lost
being found
finding escape
discovering hope
opening eyes
seeing myself
experiencing others
knowing more
figuring out
Reading is…
what you make of it
when you embrace it


What would the topic of your "Something Is..." poem be?