As the fall term ended, second grade students had the opportunity to reflect on all the different kinds of writing they did this fall when they selected their favorite pieces to submit to the class literary magazine.

Students explored different styles of poetry this fall. They learned about the distinctive pattern of a haiku and wrote a haiku on a topic of their choice. The uniqueness of their names inspired students to create acrostic poems, using each letter of their name to share something about their identity. Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Hope is the Thing with Feathers,” prompted students to think about their hopes and dreams, writing poems expressing hopes about traveling in time machines, getting a dog, and everyone staying healthy. Students also read the poem “Swift Things Are Beautiful” by Elizabeth Coatsworth, noticing how  the first stanza focuses on things that are “swift” and the second on things that are “slow.” This was an opportunity to learn about antonyms. The class brainstormed sets of antonyms and chose one to write their own poem in the style of “Swift Things Are Beautiful.”

Students also explored a variety of prose writing this fall. They began the year by writing about what they did over the summer and an “All About Me” piece, sharing details about themselves with their new classmates. Inspired by a visit this fall from storyteller Silvermoon LaRose, a member of the Narragansett Tribe, second graders wrote their own creation stories and myths. They wove imaginative tales about the origin of blizzards, how arctic foxes came to be, and why cheetahs run so fast. Second graders also chose their favorite places and meaningful life events to describe in personal narrative. 

Before Thanksgiving, students selected one or two of their favorite pieces to submit to the class magazine and created artwork to be considered for the cover. Second grade teachers Willa Gustavson and Maura Visconsi collected and bound their writing, and each student brought home a copy of the class literary magazine, “Voices,” for Thanksgiving Break.