Spring	Spring	Summer	Summer	Autumn	Autumn	Winter	Winter

Author：Andrea ／ Season：Spring

		Description I chose spring because spring is a vibrant season with lots of things to write about, like green buds, flowers, or bugs. I started searching and recalling everything about spring, including plants that grow and animals that are active in spring time. I kept that picture in my mind, and then combined that with the joy of reading in spring, and my poem was done. Afterthoughts Writing a poem is a type of learning that I have never attempted before. It is fun and meaningful. I found out that writing a poem would have been easier if I had some related pictures with me, or if I could read other related poems beforehand.

Author：Nicole ／ Season：Spring

		Description Spring is the beginning of all lives with trees growing new leaves and grass budding out of the ground. That’s the reason I chose spring. When I started writing, I thought about blossoming green everywhere, and then I thought about phrases about reading. Then I asked myself, what is it like reading in spring time? Then I thought about animals would be happy to do some exercise after a long winter, what other animals could I add? Then I thought about what fun I could have reading in spring? Then I just wrote down my answer. Afterthoughts This is definitely a fun exercise. I imagined myself as a poet writing down beautiful verses. It was not too difficult. Since we needed seven words for each verse, I got stuck sometimes. I hope to have another chance like this to become a little poet.

Author：Ryan ／Season：Summer

		Description Summer is all about plants blossoming and bugs singing. They just make summer even more livelier. Reading in such a joyful season should be fun. I emptied all my brain juice and tried to come up with contrasting verses. With a little help from my teacher, and my poem was done in no time. Afterthoughts I am not really good in Chinese, so writing a poem like this was an enormous challenge for me! I took a look at the poems by others on the whiteboard, and then I began thinking about my poem. Even though I am not good at writing poems, I found out that if I put my mind to it, I can still write a poem. That’s really something!

Author：Henry ／ Season：Summer

		Description I picked summer because there is a long summer vacation filled with fun. During this long break, besides going outdoors, reading is also a good choice. The fun time reading under a big tree by the pond and enjoying the day just brings me a nice feeling. Afterthoughts In this poem writing exercise, I realized that writing a poem is not as easy as I thought it would be. I have nothing but admiration to our ancestors who were able to express their thoughts clearly in so few words.

Author：Jessica ／ Season：Autumn

		Description I am responsible for autumn. In my poem, I described the scenery, bugs, and something related to reading. In order to make my verses more poetic, I went online and looked up some beautiful phrases, and then I added them into my poem. Then I modified bits and pieces here and there, like maple leaves turning red, to make the autumn scenery more colorful. Afterthoughts I found out that writing a poem is not an easy task. This ought to show how well-read our ancestors were. After the poem was done, I was very proud of myself. When my teacher said I did well on it, I was ecstatic!

Author：Vanilla ／ Season：Autumn

		Description There has to be something fitting about the season, and reading, so I searched online to get more inspiration. My poem describes about the changing of scenery from dawn to dusk on an autumn day in a rural small town. It would be very pleasant to read in such a beautiful surrounding! Afterthoughts It was quite a special experience to write a poem by myself. After this exercise, I can finally appreciate how well-read our ancestors were. They have to choose not only beautiful verses, but also rhyming words. I am really impressed.

Author：Samantha ／ Season：Winter

		Description I began my poem with a verse that describes winter. There should be no leaves left on the trees in winter. After completing the scenery outdoors, I brought the poem inside the house and added some verses describing about reading. Near the end, I asked what benefits and happiness reading would bring to conclude my poem. Afterthoughts I found out that when I was writing my poem, I had difficulties getting just the right number of words to fit into a verse. The words have to fit the subject, so I had to discuss with my teachers and classmates. Furthermore, writing a poem with plain or straightforward text will lose that poetic feeling to a poem!

Author：Winnie ／ Season：Winter

		Description When I was writing this poem, I first thought about the inner feeling and perception that I wanted to convey, then I began thinking what words should I use to do that. This way, my readers would be able to receive the message that I tried to send. When the poem was done, I went over it by myself and tried to feel the poem. After a few changes, my poem was finally done! Afterthoughts Writing a poem is really fun. It may not be as simple as I thought, but I need to challenge myself and learn new things gradually to improve myself.

Source: the Beautiful Voices│ Picture: the Beautiful Voices