The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan*

The school board has decided to close Emerson Elementary so a grocery store can be built on the lot.  For various reasons the eighteen students in Ms. Hill's 5th grade class are devastated that the school is closing.  To ease their sorrow she has them create poems throughout the year which they will place in a time capsule. 
The reader learns about each student via their poems throughout the four school quarters. 
The story does not end perfectly (very realistic), but the satisfaction arrives from the positive changes within the characters.
The teacher never makes her own appearance.  The reader learns bits of her life through the students' poems. 
In the back Ms. Shovan offers explanation for the different types of poems utilized and shares poetry activities.
Strategies: inferring, character traits
*Highly recommend.
Mentor text for poetry.
-Borrowed via Inter Library Loan.  My county does not own this book.