Thanksgiving Day

I’m thankful that all my five senses work. I can see and hear and touch and taste and smell. I’m also thankful for my sixth-grade students who generated nearly a score of sensory images for me to savor just before our Thanksgiving break.

“Without saying the word ‘hear,’” I said, “give me some phrases that have to do with sounds. Without using the word ‘smell,’ let’s come up with some images that make our noses twitch.”

And they did:

Hearing

mousetrap snapping
computer printer printing
students talking
wind brushing trees
writing with a pencil on paper
dragging a chain
dragging a desk
opening a door
slamming a door

Smelling

potpourri
fragrance of flowers
students chewing gum
unbrushed teeth
smoke from trash burning
burning rubber
bubbling hot tar
cookies baking
cutting onions
spraying deodorant

Guess what’s next? From little images, great poems grow!