I discovered The Private Eye Project years ago and have a set of jewel loupes in my classrooms. For our nature field trip last week, I brought them with us. One of our goals was to look at nature from different perspectives, as art and as explorers.
I took this picture of a rock one of my students shared with me. There is a whole kingdom inside one sedimentary rock. Use your imagination to write about this ordinary object in an extraordinary way. Make a list of what the rock looks like. You can create an extended metaphor poem. Leave a small poem in the comments and encourage other writers.
I used a formula for writing a pantoum about an ordinary object by PÁDRAIG Ó TUAMA from On Being.
A rock can be a kingdom
if you look through a jewel loupe.
Pick a small rock on a walk
before you embark on a new journey.If you look through a jewel loupe,
this rock seems insignificant,
but you can embark on a journey.
If you look closely, you may find yourself.This rock may seem insignificant
but a student thought it a gift.
If you look closely, you may find yourself.
When I hold it tight, I feel warmth.A student gave me a gift–
Margaret Simon, draft
a small rock.
When I hold it tight, I feel warmth.
A rock can be a kingdom.
Reflections on the Teche 