The last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan

This novel in verse is a remarkable feat of mimicry. 

The poems sound exactly like they were written by real fifth-graders. Kirkus

August 27
First Day
Rachel Chieko Stein

We only have 180 days
at Emerson Elementary.
When this school year ends,
I will have spent
one thousand days
in this building.
I want a thousand more
so I'll never have to say
goodbye to friends
like Sydney and Katie.
I wish Emerson
could be my school forever,
but everyone is talking about a plan
to tear the building down.


You already know that I adore verse novels so I was excited to begin reading the Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. I read the whole book in one sitting - yes it is THAT good.

There are 18 kids in this fifth grade class. You might need to explain to an Australian audience that at this school elementary ends with fifth grade and next year these kids will head off to Middle School. This should be an exciting time which culminates in a special ceremony as the fifth graders are clapped along the corridor to the Middle School next door but the school board have decided to sell the old school building and hence the title. Yes this group are indeed the last fifth grade.

The teacher gives every student a notebook where they write poems every day. (There are notes about the poetry forms at the back of the book along with some writing prompts). These poems will go into a time capsule. The plan is to building shopping centre to replace the school so I imagine this time capsule will be placed in the walls of the new supermarket.

Laura Shovan uses poems from each child as a way to share the class journey over the whole year and along the way we also learn so much each individual.   If you have read Because of Mr Terupt you will recognise this concept. And if you have read The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary you know how to follow a book with multiple voices. I found the little illustrations were a great help but I also need to keep flipping back and forth just to catch up on the back story of each child.

The class are studying the US Bill of Rights. It seems obvious they need to present the school board with a petition.

October 24
Speaking my Mind (an extract)
Rennie Rawlins

Maybe it's true
a bunch of fifth graders
have no say in what happens
to our school, but
in fifth grade we're supposed to be
studying democracy
and constitutional rights,
right?
Well, I already know
the First Amendment
is the right to free speech.


Now read on. Here is the poem from the 20th February by Edgar entitled Bad News:

The bad news is, our petition failed.
The Board won't ever know
some fifth graders wanted to save Emerson.

Wait a minute - this is not a spoiler because it is only 20th February.  The US school year runs from August 25th to June 9th. This group of kids are not going to take no for an answer.

Donalyn Miller loved this book - read her review for the Nerdy Book Club.

Here are the publisher's teaching notes. Poetry for Children  also have a teaching ideas page. Here is a review with more plot details.  Here is an interesting podast interview with the author Laura Shovan.   You can see inside this book on the publisher website. In an Australian classroom you could pair this book with Troy Thompson's Excellent Peotry (Poetry) Book.

Listen to an Audio sample which has been made with multiple voices. This might be a useful way to share this  book with a class.


We meet 18 diverse, distinctive, quirky, totally believable kids navigating the changes that come with friendships old and new, first crushes, and other relatable challenges such as divorce and step families, death and illness of family members, being the new kid, homelessness, assimilation and identity. Jama's Alphabet Soup