Written Book Responses: Narrative Poems

The final written book response of the year is always the greatest writing challenge for my students. Their assignment is to write a rhyming or free verse narrative poem based on the books they read. This requires that they draw on the poetry-writing skills they have learned throughout the year in order to tell their stories.

I got this idea from a colleague of mine, Mrs. Vicki Callicut (Swinger), several years ago. It is a perfect way to integrate the disciplines of reading and writing.

My students worked very hard on their poems, writing several drafts and participating in conferences with me. The poems published below are some of the best written this year. I selected these poems with input from students in both AM and PM classes. The poems are positioned in no particular order.



“Alias, ‘Uncle Ricardo’”
Ten True Stories of World War II
By Paul Dowswell
(a free verse narrative poem by Ian)

Adolf Eichmann...
Such a cruel, cruel man
He thought the right path
Was to kill...
Kill Jews.
That’s all he wanted to do.

Simon Wiesenthal...
The opposite of Eichmann, matter
Of fact, he hunted Eichmann

A deceiver...
Simon sends a deceiver named Heymeck Diamont.
Diamont finds a picture of the culprit.
Next...
He visits Maria Messenbacher.
She is as cruel as Eichmann
Lies...
All of her words are lies.
So cruel in fact, she reports her own husband dead.
But wait...
What’s this...?
His name is still on the wanted list
Mixed emotions run through Simon’s head
Isn’t Eichmann supposed to be dead?
Oh, no!
Eichmann is far from dead
In fact he lives in South America
Argentina to be exact
On the corner of Garibaldi St.
Under the name of Uncle Ricardo
8 years...
8 years have passed until Eichmann is
Tested...
Tested in court...
What do you think the outcome will be?
Condemned...!
Condemned to death by hanging
I think such a man deserves a sentence as such
Don’t you...?
Or do you...?

Stuck in Neutral
by Terry Trueman
(a free verse narrative poem by Aramis)

I am paralyzed. I can’t move any part of my body
People think I’m a retard, but I remember everything I hear
Even though my Dad can’t stand my seizures . . .
I love them . . . it’s then when my soul leaves my body
I hear my dad is planning to kill me
And I can’t tell him if I’m ready or not
He says he wants to kill me because . . .
He loves me

My Dad believes you can’t teach retards
I too agree, but can’t he give them a chance?
Even though we are unteachable . . .
Crackle-crackle-crackle . . . red light, blue light
My Dad hears about Earl Detraux
He killed his two-year old retarded baby
He said it was because he loved him . . .
Yes, because he loved him
I always thought there was no reason for me to live
So I really didn’t know if I wanted to die or not
But now I know there is a reason . . .
And I want to live

My sister Cindy has a new friend spending the night
Her name is Ally Williamson
She is perfect; she has blondish-brown hair and all I do . . .
Is dream about her

I remember when my brother Paul saved my life
Bullies were going to set me on fire
But then Paul came to the rescue . . .
And he saved me
My mom is leaving for Spokane with Cindy and her friends
They will watch Spartans take on the Fighting Knights
But before they leave they yell.
Go Spartans!
Since I can’t take care of myself
Whenever I’m home alone
A girl comes to babysit me . . .
Her name is Vonda

Suddenly there is a knock on the door
It is Dad
Since Dad is here, Vonda leaves
It is the first time my Dad and I are alone . . .
I’m afraid he’s going to kill me

My dad comes into my room
He came to talk to me
He talks to me about when I was born . . .
And how he prayed

Words are starting to fade from my Dad
Crackle-crackle-crackle
Red light, blue light . . .
Seizure



Deep Down Popular
by Phoebe Stone
(a free verse narrative poem by Hannah)

Jessie Lou, not your average girl
Gets to walk Conrad home from school
He hurt his knee, so he wears a brace
He needs help to and from school
He keeps talking about this dumb doctor
“Oh, he’s going to fix my knee!”
I want to be able to walk with him.

So, snip, snip, snip, my hair is to my shoulders.

My sister Melinda is in a beauty pageant
So of course she gets all the attention
Everything she wants, everything she needs
Melinda this, Melinda that.
I’m glad she didn’t win, real glad
But she was so sad we didn’t go to the carnival.
It’s so not fair. I hate her.

So, snip, snip, snip, my hair is to my chin.

My on and off friend Tiny Bailey
Is making a plane for the parade
He’s been sneaking into the old barn
I think I’ll use him for the discovery project
His plane idea wasn’t a huge hit for the parade
I thought it was good, though no one else did

So, snip, snip, snip, my hair is at my eyes.

Its raining outside, its such a
Slow and gloomy day
Until Conrad’s a-knockin’
On my door, asking to be my date
I run upstairs, jumping into clothes
So he won’t have to wait
We go to the dance, laughing and playing
At the end he kisses me

And I feel Deep Down Popular.



War of the Rats
by Paul Dowswell
(a rhyming narrative poem by Jeff )

In Stalingrad war rages on
Can the Germans be withdrawn?

Both forces will fight through and through
Who do you think withdrew?

The German Sixth Army arrives alive
Can the battered Russians survive?

The battlefield, like a vision of Hell
For the Nazis it's not going well

The most lethal soldier of all, the sniper
The best one of all, Zaitsev, a deadly viper

Zaitsev got forty kills
Due to his amazing skills

Zaitsev takes on another sniper
Which one will need a body diaper

At the end of the battle
The Nazis are rattled

For the Führer, their boss
Has suffered his first major loss



Waiting for Anya
by Michael Morpurgo
(a free verse narrative poem by Cristina)

German soldiers invaded my town
They destroyed Jewish families
Then I met Benjamin
He trusted me
Told me he was Jewish
Had a daughter named Anya
Waiting for her to come
Benjamin took children to Spain for freedom
I knew I had to help
Food
Clothes
They gave me money to buy supplies
German soldiers multiplied
Like cockroaches
Checking every house
We had to hide the children
Dad came home from war
And helped Benjamin
They took the children to Spain
To be free
Like a bird
They made it safely
Every child
Then something went wrong
German soldiers found Benjamin
My dad and I could do nothing
That hurt my heart
Like a big empty hole
They took him to a camp
A concentration camp
Soon the German soldiers left
Left the town
They can't hurt Jews
And make more rules
German soldiers who hurt Jews
Made Jews' lives like hell
Then the day came
She was here
Anya
She is here
But her dad gone
All this time he waited for her
But now he is gone, probably dead



A Friend Called Anne
by Jacqueline Van Maarsen
(a rhyming narrative poem by Calista)

When war started in Amsterdam
That's when Jacqueline met Anne

She walked with Anne to her house
All dressed up in a nice blouse

On the day of Anne's party
A few people arrived tardy

Jacqueline called Anne to play
This is what Anne had to say

I am busy, I can't talk right now
But I'll call you later somehow

Jacqueline wondered where Anne went
Because she left without a hint

Jews started to leave the town
Then the population went down

On the day of liberation
The biggest problem was starvation

Anne's father came home with news
That would make them both blue

He said Anne and Margot died
Then later Jacqueline cried and cried

Jacqueline got to read Anne's diary
That made her very merry

Mr. Frank decided to publish it
Then it became a big hit

Mr. Frank was a good guy
But then cancer made him die



Holes
by Louis Sachar
(a rhyming narrative poem by Tyler)

Stanley Yelnats has a horrible curse
It takes him to the worst place in the universe

The place is called Camp Green Lake
Digging all day just makes him ache

Only the warden know why they dig
Maybe she is looking for something big

He meets a kid named Zero
Can he help Zero read and be a hero?

One day Zero runs away
People thought he was going to decay

In the desert, Stanley found him
Their chances in the sandy oasis were dim

They decide to climb God's Thumb
While the pair are climbing, they become glum

After resting on God's Thumb for a while
The pair walk back over a mile

A couple of hours before daybreak
They are digging around Camp Green Lake.

While the pair are digging for treasure
Stanley falls into a hole with displeasure

There are toxic lizards in the hole
At least they aren't out of control

While lying in the hole with the blues
Stanley's lawyer comes with good news

"You're leaving Camp Green Lake,
and it looks like you have a suitcase to take."

Right before Stanley's very eyes
There is a suitcase with his name on it nearby

Stanley and Zero open the suitcase
They meet a lot of money face to face

Zero goes with Stanley to his abode
Off in a nice car they rode

Most students and I agreed that the best poem of the year was written by Ismael. His poem was written in quatrains and was based on the book A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer. Because of the mature nature of the book and poem, I elected not to publish it on our class blog. Congratulations to all my young readers and writers for a job well done!

A Funny Kodak Moment

Jeff brought in a football-shaped cake for his creative book response on the book Crackback by John Coy. After everyone had been served, I snapped this picture of Hunter, Josh, Jeff, and Ian wolfing down the leftovers. I think Chandler was just observing them demolish the remains.

Shared Creative Book Responses

Georgette, Josh, Aramis

The last week of school before Christmas Break, several students visited Mrs. Sykes' AM and PM classes to share their creative book responses. I selected several students I thought had created original visual or performing art activities for their selected books and also students I believed would present their responses clearly and confidently. All of the students I asked to share with Mrs. Sykes' classes accepted the challenge, conquered their fears, and presented their projects to an unfamiliar audience. Mrs. Sykes rewarded each of the presenters and communicated to me what a great job they had done. We hope Mrs. Sykes' students will be encouraged to read some of the books we shared with them.

Hannah, Billy

Landon, Christian

Ismael, Eddie, Teresa

Thomas, Chase

Best Written Book Response: AM Class

During the first grading period students completed story frames for their written book responses. For the second nine weeks I assigned students to write a simple one-page summary of their books. This was a stretch for some students, but of course my job is to nudge them to new levels. We have discussed periodically how good summaries tell the beginning, middle, and end of a story, and they must leave out lots of details. I selected Ian's paper as the best written book response for the AM class because he summarized the story well, and he wrote with complex, complete sentence structure. Over the past few weeks we have focused heavily on sentence structure by analyzing, critiquing, and practicing how to write complete sentences so we will be ready to begin constructing solid paragraphs for expository essays when we return to school in January.

Cirque Du Freak #12:
Sons of Destiny

by Ian

In the beginning of the book Darren, Debbie, and the circus members are standing around Shancus, Evra Van's son who was killed by Steve Leopard, the Vampeneze Lord. So, Darren, Vancha, and the other circus members quiz Darius, Darren's nephew, about what Steve was up to. Later, Darren, Darius, Vancha, and Alice visit Annie, Darren's sister. After they meet with Annie, Darren re-bloods Darius so that Darren's vampire cells and Darius' Vampeneze cells collide, and Darius becomes a vampire. Annie later tells Darren that his friends are being held in the stadium. So Darren and Vancha arrive at the stadium. There they spotted Steve and Gannan Harts speeding for the exit. Then when Darren catches up with Steve, Darren and Steve start fighting to see who becomes the Lord of Shadow. Darren ends up killing Steve, but later he finds out Steve is his brother! Near the end, Darren travels back in time to scare off young Darren Shan away from the Cirque Du Freak, therefore altering the timeline. Afterwards, Darren ends up dying on the roof of the Cirque, finishing off with, "Good-bye world, I'm going . . . I'm going . . . gone."

Best Written Book Response: PM Class

Nick's summary was selected as best book response from PM class. He summarized well, wrote with complex sentences, and seems to show mastery of capitalizing proper nouns (a major problem with many students this year).

Dragons of Deltora #1:
Dragon's Nest

by Nick

Lief, Bardaj, and Jasmine have started a mission to track down and annihilate the four sisters who are evil inventions created by the Shadow Lord, and they are poisoning Deltora. To finish the mission they have to find and awaken the last ancient seven dragons of Deltora.

The seven Ak-baba, another of the Shadow Lords evil accomplishments, hunted the seven dragon tribes near the point of extinction. At the end of the hunt only one dragon from each domain, separated by gem type, remained alive. To save the seven dragons, the best known adventurer in Deltora, Doran the Dragon Lover (one of the dragons' best friends), talked them into sleeping until a king, wielding the magic Belt of Deltora, called them to awaken. He made each dragon promise not to take advantage and conquer each other's domains while they were in their magical sleep.

The Sister of the East is located at Dragon's Nest. Once Lief and his companions locate Dragon's Nest, they find out that the Sister of the East is a giant egg. To kill it, they give the ruby dragon, Joyou, all of their strength. Joyou releases a giant fireball, and the Sister of the East is annihilated. Then they find a map showing them where the Sister of the North is located, and on the map it says it is at the Shadowgate.

Creative Book Responses

Creative book responses will be presented in class beginning this Monday, December 10 through Friday, December 14. This will be the last book response of the second grading period, and as a formal project it is weighted equal to a test grade. Students have a choice of visual and/or performing creative book response modes keyed to Bloom's Taxonomy. For more information see the handout distributed in class. As always, students will need a copy of the book or a printed cover of the book to share when they do their presentations.

Written Book Responses

Written book responses are due Wednesday, November 28. For the second quarter students will be writing a simple one-page summary of a recent novel or nonfiction title they have read.