conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me a description for a book titled The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary about School, Emerson, Elementary with the genre: Children's Books, Growing Up & Facts of Life.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Gr 4-6-At the end of the term, Emerson Elementary School will be bulldozed to make way for a shopping center and students will be reassigned to other schools in the district. This change is particularly hard for the 18 fifth graders in Ms. Hill's class. She tasks them with keeping a poetry journal throughout the year; their poems will be placed in a time capsule at the end of the year. The students write about their feelings, the project, the imminent changes to their community, and their worries about middle school through alternating poems divided into four quarters. One girl's mother is being deployed, a boy's father recently left the family, and another boy's beloved grandfather is ailing. With the gentle guidance of their teacher, who may have been arrested in the 1960s protesting the Vietnam War, they become socially aware and organize a movement to protest the school closure. The distinct personalities of the students shine through in a variety of poetic forms. Sadness, humor, anger, and hope are expressed in authentically young voices. The poetic forms are discussed in further detail in the back matter, making for a great teaching resource. VERDICT This gently evocative study of change in all its glory and terror would make a terrific read-aloud or introduction to a poetry unit. A most impressive debut.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me the first five paragraphs for this book.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary
  Subjects: | CYAC: Novels in verse. | Schools—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Stories in Verse. | JUVENILE FICTION / School & Education.
  I am grateful for my children's patience and humor. And most humble thanks to my husband, Rob, who is not a writer, which makes his understanding that rarest of gifts: empathy.
  Listen to those voices. Whether you are reading aloud or silently, imagine that these poems are no different from speaking with a friend. They try to make you laugh with a joke, tell you a sad story, or share a secret. But like people, poems don't always reveal everything they know. You might want to ask the poem, "What do you mean when you say that?"
  Sometimes the fun of reading a poem is laughing at silly rhymes like the ones Jason Chen writes. Other times the fun comes from creating pictures in your mind, like the ones described in Norah Hassan's poems. Best of all is when a poem hints at something that makes you want to figure out its meaning for yourself. Why is that the most fun? Because that is the moment when you become part of the poem.
  In acrostic poems, the first letter of each line spells out the subject of the poem. This cool form is read the usual way, but also vertically, down the side of the page.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Add another sentence about Poems.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary
  Subjects: | CYAC: Novels in verse. | Schools—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Stories in Verse. | JUVENILE FICTION / School & Education. 
  I am grateful for my children's patience and humor. And most humble thanks to my husband, Rob, who is not a writer, which makes his understanding that rarest of gifts: empathy. 
  Listen to those voices. Whether you are reading aloud or silently, imagine that these poems are no different from speaking with a friend. Poems are very much like people. They try to make you laugh with a joke, tell you a sad story, or share a secret. But like people, poems don't always reveal everything they know. You might want to ask the poem, "What do you mean when you say that?"
  Sometimes the fun of reading a poem is laughing at silly rhymes like the ones Jason Chen writes. Other times the fun comes from creating pictures in your mind, like the ones described in Norah Hassan's poems. Best of all is when a poem hints at something that makes you want to figure out its meaning for yourself. Why is that the most fun? Because that is the moment when you become part of the poem. 
  In acrostic poems, the first letter of each line spells out the subject of the poem. This cool form is read the usual way, but also vertically, down the side of the page.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me two more paragraphs.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: There are many ways for poems to rhyme. The most common are rhymed couplets (two rhymed lines), tercets (three rhymed lines), or quatrains (four rhymed lines). Rhymes can add humor to a poem.
  Senryu poems follow haiku form, but they do not have to be about nature. Often, senryu focus on human nature.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Swap the first and the last sentence.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Often, senryu focus on human nature. The most common are rhymed couplets (two rhymed lines), tercets (three rhymed lines), or quatrains (four rhymed lines). Rhymes can add humor to a poem.
  Senryu poems follow haiku form, but they do not have to be about nature.There are many ways for poems to rhyme.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Give me the last five paragraphs.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Think about something you do every day. Do you rush out the door every morning, or wake up early and get things done? Write a free verse poem describing a routine. Brainstorm by listing everything you do before school, or while getting ready to play a sport. Once you have a list, pick a few things that seem interesting. Spend a few lines describing each item.
  Describe your favorite thing to do at recess. A game, a sport, or talking with friends? Try using short lines for this poem. Short lines give a poem a fast rhythm, and we all know recess goes by too fast.
  Write an "I Am" self-portrait poem. Think of each stanza as a paragraph with its own main idea. Begin each stanza with the phrase "I am": "I am shoulder pads and a football helmet," "I am hands that sign words," "I am recipes of my own invention." The more detailed images your poem has, the better your readers will get to know who you are.
  Have you ever asked where your name comes from? Names are part of who we are. They can connect us with our family history. What's the story of your name or nickname? Was there ever a time when you didn't like your name? What do you like about it? Tell the story of your name.
  Write about your favorite piece of clothing—a lucky shirt, a pair of jeans you've graffitied with colored pens, or your favorite fuzzy socks. What makes that thing special to you?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Reverse the sentences.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: What makes that thing special to you?
  Write about your favorite piece of clothing—a lucky shirt, a pair of jeans you've graffitied with colored pens, or your favorite fuzzy socks. What's the story of your name or nickname? Was there ever a time when you didn't like your name? What do you like about it? Tell the story of your name. They can connect us with our family history.
  Have you ever asked where your name comes from? Names are part of who we are." The more detailed images your poem has, the better your readers will get to know who you are. Begin each stanza with the phrase "I am": "I am shoulder pads and a football helmet," "I am hands that sign words," "I am recipes of my own invention. Think of each stanza as a paragraph with its own main idea.
  Write an "I Am" self-portrait poem. Short lines give a poem a fast rhythm, and we all know recess goes by too fast. A game, a sport, or talking with friends? Try using short lines for this poem.
  Describe your favorite thing to do at recess. Spend a few lines describing each item. Once you have a list, pick a few things that seem interesting. Brainstorm by listing everything you do before school, or while getting ready to play a sport. Do you rush out the door every morning, or wake up early and get things done? Write a free verse poem describing a routine.Think about something you do every day