Poetry Break!: Poems by Children - Young Voices collected by Charles E. Schaefer and Kathleen C. Mellor

Introduction:
Reveal that the poem was written by a student their age over thirty years ago. Ask the students to think about the student's poem while you read the selection.
The World Has Changed

By Charlotte Liberty Walker
The Spence School, Manhattan, New York

A whirlwind: not of leaves that
grasp the sand and whirl it with them,
on a prairie;
but, of,
paper and cigarette butts,
on a sidewalk.

Extension:
Begin a discussion about time affecting the feeling of the poem. Does it matter when it was written? Ask students to submit their best work. Collect and print the class’s collection of poetry. Submit poems for publication with student and parent permission.

Reference:
Schaefer, C.E, & Mellor, K.C (eds). 1971. YOUNG VOICES. New York, NY: The Bruce Publishing Company.