Two Voice Poems from Ms. Satterfield's 12th Grade English Class

My senior classes completed a novel study revolving around monsters in fiction.  Each class read one of the following novels:  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, or Dracula by Bram Stoker.  Near the conclusion of the novel, students, in pairs, developed presentations on one aspect of the novel their class read.  As part of those presentations, each student pair wrote a two-voice poem based on the novel.  Some students wrote extra two voice poems as well.  I would like to share some of these poems because many of my students had never written poetry before this project and should be recognized for their efforts.  If you are not already familiar with two-voice poetry, then each column represents a different voice, either from two different people or from within the same person.  The poems should be read line by line, often alternating between voices.  On lines where both voices are speaking, the thoughts are read simultaneously.  They work best read aloud.  Many of my students are beginning to feel comfortable with reading and writing poetry.  Hopefully I will have more of their poetry to share soon.    

List Poems from Ms. Satterfield's 12th Grade English Class

My seniors have taken another stab at writing poetry in correlation with the Renaissance Poetry Unit we are studying.  This time they have composed List Poems.  The first step in the process when writing a List Poem is to decide on a theme for the poem and list 10-15 words that relate to the chosen topic.  After devising these lists, students place each word in a relevant phrase, trying to include poetic devices such as metaphors, alliteration, etc.  The phrases are then placed in a coherent order to complete the list poem.  These are first-time drafts.  No revision is necessary for us to appreciate their on-the-spot creativity.  Writing poetry can be very challenging.  I am proud of their courage in undertaking new challenges as the year progresses.  These are poems from students who volunteered to share their writing with all of us.