I presented at a Young Authors Conference yesterday and worked with 4th and 5th graders all day at Anoka Ramsey Community College in Minnesota. What a great group! After some brainstorming and group writing, the kids wrote individual poems (cinquains) from the point of view of either a castle or the Loch Ness Monster.
The theme of the conference was writing as a passport to other worlds, and it was cool to talk with kids and read their work and see how, with a little prompting and brainstorming, they could really imagine being something else! They had their choice of writing from the point of view of the castle (which we also did as a group poem) or of the Loch Ness Monster.
Here are some of the poems. I debated whether or not to correct spelling. On the one hand, I didn’t want to ruin the integrity of their work. On the other hand, the kids wrote these poems in literally 7 minutes. They had no resources with which to check spelling. So I did correct simple misspellings, but I didn’t change anything else…capitalization, punctuation, etc.
The Loch Ness Monster Poems
Loch Ness
I feel
angry
I am frightened
because of the fish
facetious of the fish
corny
Lexie, 5th grade
Loch Ness Monster
blurry
very scaly
super duper cold
very very fast in swimming
alone
Jackie, 5th grade
Underwater Secrets
I see
Giant fish snacks,
boats among gentle waves,
I see they are trying to find
the truth.
Andrew D., 5th grade
Loch Ness
I see
Boats all around
I need to get out, now
I’m surrounded, people looking
I’m scared!
Joey S., 5th grade
I live
in a cold sea
people are scared of me
the water is cold and scary
scary
Alyssa M., 5th grade
Scary
People looking
All just for me to find
hoping no one just saw me peek
nervous
Alex L.
Hidden from All of Scotland
The loch
Unclear water
One million years hiding
Make you think I am really fake
I’m here!
Lauren M.
Loch Ness
I see
sand everywhere
fish floating on the water
people looking all over for me
Help me!
Emma S., 4th grade
WATER mist
I feel
moss, the currents, dust
I am scared, blood boats help
thoughts running wild quick hurry
I’m gone
Shannon F., 4th grade
Loch Ness
I feel
like what I am
when I am seeing them
floating on a boat looking
for me
Keely W., 4th grade
Loch Ness
I see
people in boats,
on top of the water,
I feel their eyes looking for me.
nervous
Kacy I., 4th grade
People
hunting me down
I trick them then I laugh
They try to find me but they can’t
Ha! Ha!
Angie F., 4th grade
A Loch Ness Monster
I watch
the boats go by
going slowly past me
I’m gentle but they think I’m not…
I am
Briana C., 5th grade
Loch Ness Monster
Fighting
I see fighting
Blood & dust & weapons
I hide in the depths of my loch
Watching
Alexandra R., 5th grade
Loch Ness Monster
I see
boats with people
in them looking for me
I am in very cold water
Oh NO!
Yaroslav M.
Loch Ness Monster
Scared, cold
I feel slimy
fish soaring above me
People do not think I exist
they’re wrong
Dana N., 4th grade
I See What You Don’t
You see
Nothing is here
I see much more than you
Animals, Creatures, People too
Tired
Cici, 5th grade
Believing Me
I’m scared
people looking
at me not even blinking
amazed that they are seeing me
frightened
Lacy L., 4th grade
Beneath
the water where
I swim as fast as boats
Tingling water on my back
So fast
Tayler L., 5th grade
My Loch Ness Story
No friends.
So cold, so scared.
People say I’m fake.
Some say I’m real. Fish are scared,
I’m scared.
Samantha H.
Mystery
Thrashing
tight as can be
moving through the water
gliding throughout the cold lake
swimming
Alexandra N., 4th grade
Loch Ness
Loch Ness.
I am scaly.
I live in violent Scotland.
I am very mad at all the boats
passing.
Aunaca, 4th grade
Through the Eyes of the Loch Ness Monster
My view
searched for too much
always ducking under boats
getting tired of being searched
please stop
Justin B., 5th grade
No Peace
Loch Ness
is where I live.
None can ever find peace.
boats look for me but always fail
and leave
Calleigh S., 4th grade
The Myth
I’m the Loch Ness Monster,
And I get very mad.
When people are watching
for me, they get sad.
Because they never see
me, not one little bit. What
they thought was the Loch Ness
Monstery myth.
Kaeli A., 4th grade (Kaeli asked if she had to write a cinquain. Nope!)
The Castle Poem
Fighting
I see
rotting bodies,
weapons being in use,
moss growing on the long black walls
Help Me!
Brandi B.R., 5th grade
All you kids I met yesterday, these are terrific! I had so much fun reading them. Thank you all for sharing them.