Writing: The Poetry of Life

Writing: The Poetry of Life

Objective
To think and write about the special qualities of everyday life, just as the author Margaret Wise Brown did in her book, THE IMPORTANT BOOK.
 
Description
In Margaret Wise Brown’s THE IMPORTANT BOOK, each page is a verse about a different element. One example is:
 
The important thing
about the sky is that it is always
there. It is true that it is blue,
and high,
and full of clouds, and made of air.
But the most important thing about
the sky is that it is always there.
 
Notice how the author wrote the poem; the beginning line is repeated in the end line, while in the middle she writes about what makes the sky special.
 
Write your own ‘important’ poem. Choose something from everyday life. Think about its most important quality. Why is it so important? What does it do that makes it special? Its color, smell, size, shape, sound or texture? Maybe even why that element might be important in history or in stories.
 
Student Example, 4th grader:
The most important thing
about the moon
is that it is yellow
The moon is small
but it lights up the sky
the moon is round
but the most important thing
about the moon
is that it is yellow