Embarrassment is a dorky white teacher...

Today in class, I modeled how to write a free verse poem concerning an abstract idea made more tangible by addressing each of the five senses.

Prewriting looked something like this:

Victory is...

Looks like - a Statesmen in the endzone
Sounds like - the roar of the crowd
Smells like - pigskin leather of a football
Tastes like - sweat inside a helmet
Feels like - smooth metal of a trophy

I emphasized the need to create images based on the five sense. Thinking I was funny, I said, "But you don't have to worry about the sixth sense." And to make it worse, I whispered "I seeee deeaaad peeoople." You know, when you're a teacher, you're on stage.

Some kids giggled, but the best response was from a kid in the front row who said, "I seeeee whiiiiite peeoople."

Indeed.