Harvey School News

Harvey sixth graders found inspiration with their poetry writing in an activity using paint chips to broaden their use of imagery and figurative language. As the spring colors are popping up all around us, the paint chips help students describe what they are seeing.

"I ask my students what does your color smell like? A pine tree after it rains or sunscreen at the beach?" said Middle School English teacher Deb. Matero. "What does it feel like - slimy as a worm or sticky as a melting ice cream cone. Does your color zig zag like a snake or bounce up and down like a yo-yo?" she asked.

Then the students use these brainstorming questions to write their poems.

Sometimes students dig into a pile of paint chips and write a poem based on a given prompt, choosing four to five colors to use in creating the poem. Other times, students write an open-ended poem or write in response to a character, setting, theme or mood of the story. 

"It's a no-fear approach to poetry," said Ms. Matero. "The students enjoy the activity, become more receptive to poetry, and they often write beautiful poems!"