Wishes: A Collective Poem to Build Classroom Community

I love beginning the school year with collective poems. It's a great way to build classroom community. In a collective poem, each student contributes a line based on a theme. Collective poetry is also a nice warm-up to poetry writing because it invites all students to participate without the pressure of having to compose an entire poem from the get-go. (I first discovered collective poetry in Wishes, Lies, and Dream, by Kenneth Koch. I explain why this book is a great classroom resource HERE.)

On fun topic for a back-to-school collective poem is WISHES. To get students thinking about the idea of making wishes, start by reading the poem "Wishes" from my poetry collection, Leafy Landmarks: Travels with Trees. The poem lists a series of wishes, some serious, others whimsical.

"Wishes" is based on an actual Wishing Tree, an old cedar in Seattle, Washington. Thousands of paper cards have been tied to this tree over the years, each displaying a special wish.  These cared flutter with hopeful spirit whenever the wind blows.

Explain to students that the concept of wishing trees is centuries old and practiced by several cultures around the world. Then explain that, together, the class is going to write a collective poem about wishes. Write "Wishes For . . . " on the board. Then ask, "What would you wish for to make it a great school year?"

Encourage students to make specific, tangible wishes instead of general wishes. For example, if a student makes a general wish for "friendship" ask "What specific actions would lead to friendship?" That general wish might become "for everyone to have a friend to play with at recess." Write student response on the board as a list poem. You can finish the poem the same way that "Wishes" ends, with the line "A forest of wishes takes root in this place." 

Now, create your own wishing tree. Write each student's wish on a card. You can "hang" the wish cards on a paper tree bulletin board. Better yet, laminate the cards, tie them with colorful ribbons, and hang them on an actual tree on school property. Invite other classes to add their wishes to the tree. 

You might end up with a school-wide wishing tree! 

Want to extend the collective poem fun? Check out THIS LESSON on writing a classroom collective poem about kindness and THIS LESSON on writing a classroom collective poem on the prompt "Poetry is . . . " 

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About Michelle Schaub

Michelle Schaub is an award-winning children's poet. and teacher. She is the author of the picture book poetry collections Leafy Landmarks: Travels with Trees, Fresh-Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmers’ Market, and Finding Treasure: A Collection of Collections. She is also the author of the lyrical picture books A Place for Rain, Dream Big, Little Scientists and Kindness is a Kite String: The Uplifting Power of Empathy. Her poems appear in several anthologies, including  Great Morning! Poems for School Leaders to Read Aloud.  Michelle loves visiting schools and speaking at conferences on the power of poetry to boost literacy. Find out more at:  https://www.michelleschaub.com/.