I’ve been teaching a unit on poetry to my fifth grade class here at Morrison Academy, and my students have enjoyed writing poems in a number of different styles.  Now that we’re finished, I’ve chosen some of the best (at least one from each student) to put together into a poetry anthology.  The class is very excited that this has now been published as a Kindle eBook and is available for sale on Amazon.com!

The book only costs US$2.99, and the class voted to donate all proceeds to a nonprofit organization called Taiwan Sunshine (more information below).  This is a great ministry that our students have worked with on several occasions.


I chose a few possible titles from lines in various poems that I felt presented vivid and interesting word pictures: “Once in a Blue Moon”, “Gleaming Goodies”, “The Most Beautiful Blanket in the World”, “Like a Piece of Gold”, and of course “Better than Cotton Candy”.  The final title was chosen in a vote by my fifth graders and others.

Then I held an optional cover-designing contest among my students.  There were six different entries, some created individually and others in pairs or groups.  I showed the students all the entries on the big screen, and once again they voted for their favorites.  (Sorry, these aren’t the best quality photographs; they’re just pictures I took of the artwork lying on the carpet.) 

Below is the final version of the winning cover design.  I scanned it on the school’s color scanner, and then our computer teacher graciously volunteered to touch up the colors a little in Photoshop and add the black border.  You can see the difference!

Here’s the “product description” (like the blurb on the back of a paper book) that I wrote about our anthology.  I tried to use tidbits from as many students’ poems as possible:

Are you ready for a world tour?  Within these pages you can watch a Chinese New Year dragon dance, go snowboarding at Mountain High in California, experience Christmas in the Philippines, spend money on fun in a video game center in Odaiba, Japan; catch shrimp in Australia, and play soccer at Sacramento’s Don Nottoli Park.  Step into the Amazon rainforest to hear a croaking frog as loud as a car engine and onto the streets of Taiwan to be serenaded by a putrid-smelling trash truck that plays Beethoven’s “Für Elise”. 

You’ll have the opportunity to sample such delicacies as spiky giant crabs, milk tea, tiramisu, spicy curry, dried squid, and fizzy melon soda.  Here you can visit a garden to meet zombie-fighting plants and see for yourself how war can be like a broken ATM.  Take a break by an icy lake that reflects the stars’ smiles like a sheet of glass.  While you’re waiting for the morning sun, wrap yourself in the night, the most beautiful blanket in the world; but don’t let your dad’s raucous snoring ruin your sleep.  Finally, beware of insubordinate monkeys, the horrors that lurk in a messy desk, and that house-crushing hailstorm.  See the journey through to the end and you’ll discover the one substance on earth that is better than cotton candy!

Proceeds from the sale of Better than Cotton Candy will benefit Taiwan Sunshine, a nonprofit organization that provides support and encouragement for families of disabled children in Taiwan.  Learn more at http://taiwansunshine.org.
Better than Cotton Candy has been available less than 48 hours and already has four 5-star reviews!  In addition, as of earlier this morning it was ranked twelfth on Amazon’s bestseller list for children’s poetry!

The book is available on your Kindle or any device with a Kindle application.  The app can be downloaded for free from Amazon for the iPad, iTouch, iPhone, Android, PC or Mac, Windows 7 Phone, etc.  

Click here to view or purchase our poetry anthology on Amazon or download the Kindle application.  Morrison’s fifth grade students and Taiwan Sunshine appreciate your support!


Click here to read about Sunshine Leaking, the anthology written by my last year’s class.

Click here to read about A Boom in the Room, the anthology written by my class two years ago.

Interested in putting together your own anthology (or other eBook)?  Click here to see the step-by-step instructions I put together on how to go through the process.  It isn’t what I’d call a simple process, but it’s free and very doable for those willing to put in the time and effort.

Recently I had my students do a project where they got to create and write about their own imaginary worlds.  In one section of the project (my favorite part to grade!) they had to make a list of the laws that must be followed in their world.  It’s always an interesting glimpse into their priorities, to see what they consider important enough to make a law.  And the consequences they set for those who break the laws give an interesting glimpse into their sense of justice!

Most of my students came up with the kinds of things you might expect (don’t murder, don’t steal, etc.) but there were a lot of unusual ones as well.  Here are some that I found the most interesting.  Enjoy!

http://www.everything-taxidermy.com/


No act of violence and/or aggression is allowed.  The violator will need to do public apology, attend 100 hours of Anger Management Course, and do 1,000 hours of public service.

No drinking wine after 10:00 p.m.  (Consequence: pay $400.)

All adult ghosts receive $500 every month without working.  (Consequence for adult ghosts not getting $500 every month: $500.)

No war.  (Consequence for having war: 30 years in jail.)


Every doctor needs to have a PhD and will have professional learning every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  (Consequence if they don’t: $1,000.)

There can only be 5 movies out in the theater each day.  (Consequence for having more than 5: $7,000)

No cutting down trees.  If you cut down 1 tree, you’ll have to plant 10 trees.

No pouring oil in the ocean.  (Consequence: 5-10 years in prison.)

All people shall have guns or will be executed.

No betraying your own species unless you are a qualified spy.  The bigger the betrayal, the longer you have to stay in prison.

Everyone must learn how to use a gun when they are 5 years old.  (Consequence for those who don’t: go to the army and serve for 5 years.)

Show kindness and respect to people that sell stuff to you or anyone else.  The consequence is working with that person that you were mean to for three weeks and they don’t have to pay you any money for your work.

No one can have slaves unless there is a proper explanation for one.  The consequence is cleaning up three houses each day for one week for someone.

Obey your commanding officers, or else you will go to prison or have to do a chore for the officer you opposed.

You can’t kill or even catch a glimpse of the king.

Citizens shall not steal.  If caught, the citizen can face scraping gum off the floor for an hour.

Citizens shall not poach endangered animals.  If caught, the citizen could face fines of up to $100,000 or having to go to high school again.

Citizens shall not smoke.  If caught, the citizen can face fines of up to $550,000 or having to dance in front of a crowd of one thousand people.

Citizens shall not commit adultery.  If caught, they can face drinking five glasses of mud and eating one serving of fire ants.

Citizens shall not abuse a child.  If caught, the parents can be taped to the wall and laughed at for one day.

No smoking anywhere except the smoking rooms, or else you will have to smoke ten smokes at a time in a small room.

No barging into other people’s conversations.  Punishment: you will have to live with no talking for a week.

No eating candy.  Punishment: 50 years of jail and a $50,000 fine.  (In this world, the citizens are teeth!)

No playing pranks.  (Consequence: 8 years in jail.)

All names of people and places have to start with the letter “P” or you’ll be imprisoned until you die.

Everyone has to get educated for at least 21 years until you become 30 years old, or you’ll be banished.

Don’t kill the king.  You will be in the jail forever.

Everyone has to prank six times a day or they will be banished.

Do not play with fire near the only Doughnut Tree.  You will be warned and fined $100.

Treat others kindly.  Punishment is being put in the stalks.

No littering.  Punishment is having your house turned into a dump.

No wasting water.  Punishment is having no water for a month.

Don’t tell lies.  Punishment is being the court note taker for one month.

Restaurants who use bad chemicals in their food shall be put in jail for fifteen years.

No cheating others.  You will spend your time with a poisonous snake in a small room.  The snake might decide to bite you.  Then you will die.

No destroying nature unless told to, or you’ll go to jail for one month.

No wearing clothes that aren’t decorated with a star, or you’ll be sent to jail for two years.

The population shall not be higher than one million people.  If it exceeds the limit, the youngest child dies first.

One household shall not have more than four people.  If it exceeds the limit, the youngest dies first.

Let the elderly eat first, then you.  The punishment for not doing so is 20 years in prison with two meals per day.

Everyone must pick a job after they are 12 years old, unless they get stuck with their parents or going to school.  The punishment is working until they’re 66 years old when everyone else gets to stop at 65.

Thou shalt not eat meat except on holidays.  If caught thou shalt be eaten by the pack of hungry wolves near the Dark Forest.

No one should lend money to someone else.  The punishment is paying $100 to the government.


I’ve had my classes do this project for several years in a row now.  Click on the links below to read some of the interesting laws created by my students in other years:


Student laws from 2016

student laws from 2015

student laws from 2013

student laws from 2011

student laws from 2009

student laws from 2008

student laws from 2007


I’ve been teaching a unit on poetry to my fifth grade class here at Morrison Academy, and my students have enjoyed writing poems in a number of different styles.  Now that we’re finished, I’ve chosen the best ones (at least one from each student) to put together into a poetry anthology.  The class is very excited that this has now been published as a Kindle eBook and is available for sale on Amazon.com!

The book only costs US$.99, and the class voted to donate all proceeds to Josie’s Angels, a nonprofit organization in the Philippines (more information below).  This is a great ministry that some of our high school students have worked with on mission trips to the Philippines.


I chose our book’s title from among several lines in various poems that I felt presented vivid and interesting word pictures, and then I held an optional cover-designing contest among my students.  There were seven different entries, some created individually and others in pairs.  As you can see, all those who participated did a great job and were quite artistic!  I showed the students all the entries on the big screen, and they voted for their favorites.  (I know these aren’t the best quality photographs; they’re just pictures I took of the artwork lying on my desk.  Yes, that’s the shadow of my hand with the camera across each of them!) 

Below is the final version of the winning cover design.  I scanned it on the school’s color scanner, and then our computer teacher graciously volunteered to touch up the colors a little in Photoshop and add the black border.  You can see the difference!

Here’s the “product description” (like the blurb on the back of a paper book) that I wrote about our anthology.  I tried to use tidbits from as many students’ poems as possible:

In the mood for adventure?  Step inside these pages and experience crazy coasters and soaring stunt planes, a terrifying tsunami and an atomic bomb.  You’ll meet characters ranging from heroic Jedi to monsters of all varieties; sprinting soccer stars to a malicious doctor who eats his patient (who happens to be a chicken).  Join us for a trip around the world: listen to nature singing in harmony in the peaceful countryside of Ostfriesland, Germany; run barefoot across a beach in Busan, Korea; dodge the noisy traffic of a street in Vietnam; sample a soft pineapple mooncake in Hsinchu, Taiwan; and wrap yourself in the dangers and charms of New York City.  Prepare to mourn the tragic deaths of a lovely butterfly and a lonely wolf; then console yourself with music as relaxing as blankets and comforting as pillows.  Along the way, watch out for wayward Frisbees and the sun about to crash into the earth.  Hold your breath as you’re blasted with ash from that erupting volcano and sprayed with the seeds of an evil tomato.  But who needs a shower when you have liquid sunshine leaking over you?

Created by fifth-grade students, Sunshine Leaking features poetry in a variety of styles, from free verse to diamond poetry, tanka, and haiku.  Proceeds from the sale of this anthology will benefit Josie’s Angels, a nonprofit organization that provides food, education, and a secure living environment for impoverished, abused, and at-risk girls in the Philippines.  Learn more at http://bit.ly/josiesangels.
Sunshine Leaking is available on your Kindle or any device with a Kindle application.  The app can be downloaded for free from Amazon for the iPad, iTouch, iPhone, Android, PC or Mac, Windows 7 Phone, etc.  Click here to view or purchase our poetry anthology on Amazon or download the Kindle application.  Morrison’s fifth grade students and Josie’s Angels appreciate your support!


Click here to read about A Boom in the Room, the anthology written by my last year’s class.

Interested in putting together your own anthology (or other eBook)?  Click here to see the step-by-step instructions I put together on how to go through the process.  It isn’t exactly easy, but it’s free and very doable for those willing to put in the time.