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Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life March Challenge
As often as I can, I write alongside my students. On Monday, I shared a poem by Rebecca Kai Dotlich “What I’m Made of” that was published in the Dec./Jan. issue of Scope magazine.
Following a discussion of the choices that Rebecca made in her poem, we brainstormed ideas for our own. I wrote one as well. Today, I am sharing my poem. If you click the slicer badge on the left, you can find my students’ poems.
What I’m Made of
after Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Of trampolines and picnics,
Of hurricanes and Gulf Coast sand,
and dreaming of mountains.
Of birdhouses and biscuits on Sunday morning.
Of pecan picking, clover crowns, and wishes on a dandelion.
Of a locked diary and flooded memories,
Of Beechcrest Drive and Purple Creek,
Of piano lessons and nature hikes,
photo lenses to hide behind.
Of school dances, prom gown of pink organza,
I’m made of Donny & Marie, Ding Dongs by the fireplace,
Of macrame and cross stitch, The Natchez Trace and Brady Bunch.
I am Southern and soft, singing a song,
I am wind, water, and wonder.–Margaret Simon (c) 2018
I shared the following quote from a fourth grader on Twitter:
My student, Lynzee drew this on the board on March 1st.
Reflections on the Teche 
It’s great you write along with your students! I love your poem! The excitement in your classroom for writing is awesome!!!!
Thanks. I’m a true believer that the teacher of writing needs to be a writer.
Couldn’t agree more! 🙂
Lovely. I love this type of poem. It’s so reflective, and I think it’s interesting to boil our lives down to the essence. PS: I’m made of Donny and Marie too, but hadn’t thought of that before!
I hesitated to put it in because even in those days, they were considered pretty corny, at least by my brother and sister who were huge fans of Kiss.
This format reminds me of the Where I’m From poems. I connect to many parts of your poem- Southern, pecan picking, trampolines, school dances, and gulf coast sand. Thanks for sharing!
[…] Slice is inspired by the wonderful poem Margaret Simon wrote alongside her students after reading and discussing Rebecca Kai […]
The format reminds me of the Where I’m From poems too, but this form seems a bit more manageable. I haven’t wanted to tackle a Where I’m From poem this month, but this inspired me to open my notebook and start drafting away immediately. So my slice today was written alongside yours. I also really enjoyed reading your students’ slices. I had no idea what I wanted to write today, and I am very grateful for the inspiration. Love your poem and all the memories it brought back for me. And now I really have to find a copy of that Dotlich poem!
What a lovely poem, Margaret! I love the way you found inspiration from Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s poem and wrote alongside your students!