***The article was written by Liyana Autery, a participant of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program, funded by the Harry Anderson Memorial Trust.
On Monday, Oct. 20, Amy Bryan and Kimberly Hampton’s fourth-grade classes participated in their eighth poetry café.
These students have spent the past few weeks reading different forms of poetry and working on their own custom poems, which they read to their classmates. All 38 students participated.
They began their poetry unit by reading the book “Love That Dog,” by Sharon Creech, which follows Jack, a boy who thinks he hates poetry — until his teacher and his yellow dog help him discover his voice.
They had also studied famous poems written by various authors like Robert Frost, Valerie Worth and William Carlos Williams.
The kids also kept journals where they would practice and write a variety of poetry types, some being shape poems, acrostics, number poems, haikus and more. The students got to write about things they felt were meaningful to them, from their families to their pets.
Bryan and Hampton chose a poetry café theme because many real cafés host open mic and poetry reading nights, and they wanted to give students a similar experience. The setting helps make their poetry sharing feel special and authentic.
They also invited the third-grade classes to help bring excitement to the event. To complete the café-like atmosphere, they served hot chocolate and cookies during the readings.
