WritingFix is currently seeking additional student samples from this writing assignment that can be featured in this space. Submitted student work must show evidence of revision, editing, and the final draft must be typed and sent through e-mail. Teachers: if you can help us obtain one, two or three student samples, along with a digital photo of the student(s) and a signed permission slips, we will send you either a complimentary copy of one of the Northern Nevada Writing Project's print publications.

Write to us at publish@writingfix.com and write "If Poems" in your e-mail's subject line, if you have a student sample to share with us.

Dance Teacher
by Kristina, seventh grade poet

If you can point and flex your toe,
And bring people up when they’re low,
If you can criticize with praise,
Or make children’s spirits raise,
If you can always make us improve,
In every step we move and groove,
If on stage is your place to be,
And you have no fear of what people see.

If you dream to leap and fly through the sky,
And in your steps you want to fly,
If you understand the positions of arms,
And you think pointe shoes are little charms,
If you can glide through things without a care,
Or you have many pins in your hair,
If you bring people up when they’ve had a bad day,
And tell them that their routine was okay.

If you can always come out with a smile,
And express yourself just once in a while,
If you have no fright of embarrassment,
Or your recitals make a true statement,
If you don’t care how good we are,
It only matters that we try through and far,
If you are a role model of mine,
Then you are a dance teacher, quite divine.

(Click here to view/print Kristen and four of her classmates' If poems)

Advice for my Little Sister
by Kristina, eighth grade poet

If you can deal with peer pressure without losing yourself
And find simple ways to turn down the opportunity,
If you can laugh at yourself with everyone else
And look at everything with a positive attitude,
If you can find the strength to admit you’re wrong,
Even when you may think otherwise,
If you can cope with loss of a childhood friend
And realize that maybe the friendship wasn’t meant to last,
If you can deal with drama but not exaggerate the situation
And admit that you’re human too,
If you inspire the mind of someone else
And inspire yours as well,
If you can keep your spirits high through struggle
And continue to stay high until the end,
If you can learn to apologize while looking someone in the eye
And accept one sincerely as well.
If you can learn to get along with someone you despise
And be polite for it may lead to demise,
If you can stay true to your family
And leave no one behind,
If you can play on a team and work together
And not make it about “I,”
If you can succeed with these goals during every day
And taking it minute by minute, day by day,
If you can listen, little sister,
Then your life in middle school will breeze by this way.

(Click here to view/print Kristina's poem)

Leader
by Dakota, eighth grade poet

If you can form a group
And listen to other people's ideas
Without becoming jealous,
You can be a leader.

If you can march your group
Into the unknown
And come back alive
with everyone you took in,
You can call yourself
A leader of the brave.

If you can walk your group
Into enemy land
And not let any member start a fight,
You can call yourself
A leader of control.

If you can walk
Into the darkness
And not let it destroy you,
You can call yourself
A leader of the light.

If you can lead
A group of men
Through a city
That's set for an ambush
And keep going without stopping,
You can be a leader of power, stealth, strength, and will.

(Click here to view/print Dakota and two of his classmates' poems.)

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