I was SO nervous about teaching seventh grade. I had not stepped foot in a middle school class for seven years and was completely out of my element. I had no concept of the seventh grade cognitive level, maturity level, or reading level. On top of it all I remember really disliking my seventh grade class during student teaching. However, my mind has completely changed. After meeting my adorable little bunch, I think I am really going to appreciate this experience.

As a first day activity, I gave my students a poem called “If I were in charge of the world.” 

I read the poem out loud to the students and then asked them to underline their favorite line. Then we went around the room and discussed why that was their favorite. We went on to look at the different stanzas and what the content for each was saying. (The first is about what is being taken away. The second is about what is enhanced. And so on…)

Finally, I passed out pieces of blank paper and had the student write their own poems keeping the same structure as the original but changing the content to reflect themselves. We all wrote our own products and then switched with each other to read how our classmates viewed the world. Here are the products. WARNING: You will be filled with warm fuzzies, rainbows will shoot from your eyeballs, and an unexpected “awwww” will emit from your mouth.