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Parker Poets Receive Honors in Competition
Recently, Illinois Humanities and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts recognized five Parker students for their work in 3rd grade teacher Nadia Pardesi’s class last year. Brayden Sterling was a Winner in the 2017 Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards contest and Ben Israel, Nia Nashashibi, Cyrus Parke and Darcy Rachel received honorable mentions. Students from across the state submitted more than 250 poems to honor the legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks, celebrate youth poetry programs and emphasize creative writing as an activity that binds people across the state of Illinois.
This came about as Pardesi was working with her students on a poetry unit that she integrated into the 3rd grade Chicago neighborhood study. Each year, her 3rd graders study Bronzeville, Pilsen and Chinatown. Working with the Integrated Learning and Information Science Department (ILIS), they study the art, architecture, culture and key figures of those neighborhoods. Incorporating poetry into this unit, Pardesi and her students read from Brooks’, Bronzeville Boys and Girls. This book is full of poems that celebrate the Bronzeville community, all from a child’s perspective. After studying the book, students took their own neighborhood walks, explored their favorite cafe or park and carefully observed the different noises and sights that make up their streets. And as a final step, the students wrote a tanka poem using their observations and reflections. Pardesi said that when her students heard about the 2017 Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards, “it was like a dream come true. They were so eager to submit their poems.”
Don’t miss your chance to support these Parker poets at the awards ceremony on Saturday, October 7. This ceremony is free and open to the public and includes readings from winning poets.
Click here to read these amazing poems from our students.
This came about as Pardesi was working with her students on a poetry unit that she integrated into the 3rd grade Chicago neighborhood study. Each year, her 3rd graders study Bronzeville, Pilsen and Chinatown. Working with the Integrated Learning and Information Science Department (ILIS), they study the art, architecture, culture and key figures of those neighborhoods. Incorporating poetry into this unit, Pardesi and her students read from Brooks’, Bronzeville Boys and Girls. This book is full of poems that celebrate the Bronzeville community, all from a child’s perspective. After studying the book, students took their own neighborhood walks, explored their favorite cafe or park and carefully observed the different noises and sights that make up their streets. And as a final step, the students wrote a tanka poem using their observations and reflections. Pardesi said that when her students heard about the 2017 Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards, “it was like a dream come true. They were so eager to submit their poems.”
Don’t miss your chance to support these Parker poets at the awards ceremony on Saturday, October 7. This ceremony is free and open to the public and includes readings from winning poets.
Click here to read these amazing poems from our students.
Francis W. Parker School educates students to think and act with empathy, courage and clarity as responsible citizens and leaders in a diverse democratic society and global community.