When Life Hands You Lemons...Write a Poem

It is usually against the rules to eat while in class. There was recently an exception made in Harrison Little’s Fourth Form English class, however. As an introduction to a new poetry unit, Mr. Little asked his students to suck on lemons in class. That is right, lemons. He asked them to do more than taste, however, he wanted them to smell, feel, and look at the lemons, too. The students were then to write twenty-five lines, incorporating all thoughts about all five senses, and to use similes and metaphors, also. “I was trying to literally and figuratively get around the bad taste poetry leaves in most kids’ mouths. I was trying to clear the waters before we delve into the unit,” explained Mr. Little. He went on to say that, “Poetry is not all about rhyme and meter, it is about looking at things in their most basic forms. It is about finding different ways to look at the world, and ways to express yourself using different perspectives.” Click here to watch Mr. Little explain the project to his students.

 

The kids listened, and they came up with twenty-five lines each. Mr. Little then took lines from each project, and built a poem with them. Read the poem below:

 

Mr. Little’s Fourth Form Class

January 8, 2010