PS4 Celebrates Poem In Your Pocket Day

Last Friday, students and staff celebrated Poem In Your Pocket Day by sharing poems with friends and family members.  Poems were read in classrooms, hallways and even in the cafeteria!  Take a look at some of the highlights of the day.

Ellington Poet, Byron M. (Class 523), shares a poem in the cafeteria

Dayanil P. (Class 523)

Students from 201 writing poems

Class 201 shares their poems

Derrick, from Ms. Luciano's class, reads a poem that he wrote

Students from Class 101 share original poems

Happy PIYP Day!

Today is national Poem In Your Pocket Day!  Students and teachers at PS4 will be sharing poems in the hallways and classrooms of the school.  The idea is simple, write an original poem or find one that you like and put it in your pocket.  Then share it with friends, family members and teachers!  Here's a perfect poem to get you started.

Keep a Poem In Your Pocket
By Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

Keep a poem in your pocket

And a picture in your head

And you’ll never feel lonely

At night when you’re in bed.

The little poem will sing to you

The little picture bring to you

A dozen dreams to dance to you

At night when you’re in bed.

So - -

Keep a picture in your pocket

And a poem in your head

And you’ll never feel lonely

At night when you’re in bed.

For some kid-friendly poems, click here!

Poet of The Month: Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is our famous poet of the month! During the month of March, which is Women's History Month, students will be studying her poetry.

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. She is an author, poet, historian, songwriter, playwright, dancer, stage and screen producer, director, singer and civil rights activists. In 1959, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1993, Angelou wrote and delivered a poem, "On The Pulse of the Morning", at the inauguration for President Bill Clinton at his request. Maya Angelou currently makes her home in two cities; Harlem, New York and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Click here to see one of her most famous poems.

Poet of the Month: Matsuo Basho

Drawing of poet, Matuo Basho.

Matsuo Basho is the father of haiku poetry!  This Japanese poet was born in Japan in 1644.  His literary name, Basho, came from the plantain trees [basho] near a hut that was built for him. He composed stanzas of haikai no renga (a sequence of linked verses, usually by a group of poets), whose opening, and most important, stanza (hokku) was later separated as the verse form haiku.  His poetry is noted for its sensitive exploration of nature of beauty, loneliness, suffering, and death. He traveled a lot and was very spiritual.  He died in 1994.

For more information about Matsuo Basho, see Mr. Cantu or click here for haiku worksheets!  To read haikus written by elementary school students, click here!  Would you like to enter a poetry contest?  Get your parents permission and click here!

Poet of The Month: William Wordsworth

Born on April 7, 1770, in England (United Kingdom), William Wordsworth was the second of five children born to John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson. Wordsworth learned poetry through his father, who guided him with the literary works of Shakespeare, Milton and Spenser. He began publishing his sonnets in a European magazine in 1787. After graduating with a degree in Arts, William took tours, often enjoying the landscapes and doing walking tours. Most of his poems are romantic, portrayed living figures and he showcased his love for them. His poems were published in 1793.

During the month of May, teachers and students will be reading poems written by Wordsworth. Here is an excerpt from his most famous poem entitled Daffodils;

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

Poet of The Month: Edgar Allan Poe

Each month, PS4 students study a famous poet! This month's famous poet is:

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American poet and short-story author, known as a master of scary stories. He also wrote detective and science fiction stories. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but grew up in Richmond, Virginia and was orphaned at an early age. Throughout his life, he had many jobs. He was a sergeant in the army, a literary critic and a magazine editor. His most famous poem, The Raven, was written in 1845. Here is an excerpt:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more."

Do you think you know enough about this poet? Take this quiz and let us know your results by posting a comment.

Poet of The Month: Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman is the famous poet of the month! For the month of January, students will be studying his poetry.

Walt Whitman was born on May 13, 1819 in West Hills (Long Island), New York. He is considered by many to be the greatest of all American poets. Walt Whitman celebrated the freedom and dignity of the individual and sang the praises of democracy and the brotherhood of man. His Leaves of Grass, unconventional in both content and technique, is probably the most influential volume of poems in the history of American literature. Whitman died in 1892. Read one of his poems below.

A Farm-Picture THROUGH the ample open door of the peaceful country barn,
A sun-lit pasture field, with cattle and horses feeding;
And haze, and vista, and the far horizon, fading away.

Happy Poetry Month!

I Run
by Adonis M. (Grade 5)

I run to the house
I run to the kitchen
I run to the barn and grab a chicken
I run to the hallway
I run to the basement
I run back upstairs and take a breathe in
I run to the school
I run to the lunchroom
I run to the yard and sit on a mushroom
But, that's not all I do with my feet
I also run to my bed then go to sleep


School
by Stacey P. (Grade 5)

I love playing and laughing
art and crafting

School is so fun
I can play in the sun

You have to be responsible
and lead the way

Because success and victory
save the day

Education and learning
Well, they're the same thing

So, prepared, be nice, share
And remember...be fair.


Flying Squirrels
by Sekou (Grade 3)

Flying squirrels can fly and glide
They jump
They thump
Flying squirrels don't run, but they can
They chew food a lot and have big eyes
They don't have hats
But, they do like bats
They have different colors
and live together