Taking a break…
20 Apr 2008 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: grad school, stressed, too busy
I am taking a break for a while from making posts…so this week…and probably next week or two…there will not be a resource Monday or Listy Sunday post. I am working on final papers and exams for my two grad classes…so my free…writing time will have to be devoted to that. I am still hoping to post a slice of life entry on Tuesdays and to post a poem on Poetry Fridays…but I am not sure if it will happen this week!
Have a fab-u-lous week!
Day #8…Final Day of the Poetry Challenge
19 Apr 2008 4 Comments
in poetry, writers notebook, writing Tags: acrostic poems, poetry, writing
The children that I am working with “have” to learn how to write acrostic poems (so they can have one in their portfolio). So I decided to write a few myself to show them how to do it! Since I have two boys…I wrote a poem about both of them…here goes:
Jumping
On the court
Shooting the ball into the
Hoop
Up goes
Another—3 pointer!
Joshua LOVES to play basketball, watch basketball, read about basketball…he even slept with his new basketball on his birthday! Brandon on the other hand…has too many “loves”. He plays the electric guitar and writes music and poetry. He is an artist and sketches all the time. But…what he really likes is his skateboard and video games!
Born eleven weeks early
Rides a skateboard
Always drawing, sketching or writing in his
Notebook
Drums at his own beat
Often strumming on his guitar and
Never tires of video games
Day # 7…Poetry Challenge
18 Apr 2008 3 Comments
in poetry, writers notebook, writing Tags: nature walk, poems, poetry walk, writing
Here is my “nature” walk poem from yesterday. We all pretty much wrote poems that mentioned the “Earth” because my friends are talking about Earth Day with their classroom teacher. Happy Poetry Friday 
The Sun by Marie
Glowing
ball of fire
shining
down on Earth
warming us
with her
outreaching arms
of light.
The Nature Walk
18 Apr 2008 2 Comments
in poetry, writers notebook, writing Tags: nature walk, poetry, writers notebook, writing, writing workshop
YEAH! …we got to go on the nature walk…or should I say nature writing walk? My friends were so excited. Our mini-lesson was about poets observing the world around them…they take notes, or sketch what they see and then they write poems about the “seeds” they found. I have done this a lot with my personal children and with a fourth grade class but I wasn’t sure how it would go with first graders. They had a blast. My friends took it so seriously…they were poets…and proved it! They had boundries of where they could go and the rule was find a writing spot…sit/lay on your towel and begin observing and writing. We were outside for thirty minutes. I didn’t confer with anyone because I wrote too…but they didn’t seem to mind. They were so actively engaged. When we returned to the classroom we got in our share circle and everyone turned knee to knee with a partner and shared. (I knew if I only let a few share today that I would break some little hearts!) Once we turned back into the circle we talked about what we did as poets today and added to our “What Poets Do” anchor chart. Here is a poem by one of my first grade friends:
The Grass by A
A green prickly blanket covers
the Earth
keeping all the bugs and snakes warm
I promised them that writing workshop would be outside again today…I will share some more “nature” poems this weekend
Poetry Friday # 3
18 Apr 2008 1 Comment
in poetry, writers notebook, writing Tags: poems, poetry friday, poets, puppy
So I have been trying to write a poem all week about my puppy named Einstein. So far the poem hasn’t come to my brain…however as I was planning for poetry workshop (which we do every Friday in place of Reading and Writing workshop) I came across an anthology by Kristine O’ Connell George called Little Dog and Duncan …all of the poems are about dogs so I thought…like Katie says…read 100 before you write one…well I won’t go to that extreme…however, I will read a few to my first graders tomorrow and I am posting my favorite one below. Hope you enjoy…and if you don’t know Kristine …visit her website by clicking here! She is a wonderful poet to study with primary students
Hello!
By Kristine O’Connell George
Little Dog and Duncan
touch noses,
wiggle,
wag.
Friend?
Friend!
I chose this poem because my puppy would be the little dog…he will go up to the fence that holds in my neighbors dog…who is plenty big…and touch noses and wag his tail! They love each other and it is sooooo cute! The funny thing is that our neighbors also have a puppy that is smaller then Einstein (my puppy) and Einstein totally ignores him and goes straight to his friend!!!
Day #6…Poetry Challenge
17 Apr 2008 2 Comments
in poetry, writers notebook, writing Tags: nature walk, poetry, poets, writers notebook, writing
Today our focus in writing will be that poets observe the world around them. They write poems about things in nature. I wrote this poem yesterday morning in my notebook. I am going to use it as part of my mini-lesson today. Hopefully it will be warm up enough for my first grade poets to take a nature walk…with notebooks…and write! (I brought beach towels for sitting so this should be interesting!!!)
Early Spring Morning by Marie
Sunlight
glistens through
the windows
saying
good morning
and
spreading
cheer
throughout the house.
Day #5…Poetry Challenge
16 Apr 2008 1 Comment
in poetry, writers notebook, writing Tags: books, knowledge, poetry, writing
We have continued to observe objects in our classroom…today I focused on the books in our library corner…
Books by Marie
Open up a book
and feel the
energy
surround you.
All the wonder and
adventure
will fill your
head with enjoyment
and empower you
with knowledge.
Open up a book
and feel the
energy
surround you
Einstein
15 Apr 2008 Leave a Comment
in slice of life, writers notebook, writing Tags: slice of life, writers notebook, writing
We have a yorkie-poo that is almost 8 months old. He has been a great joy to have around. He is a very happy puppy and well disciplined…for a puppy anyway. And…I must mention that he is very spoiled because he is the ”baby” of the family! This evening, as I sat at the computer working on a case study paper for a grad class… he kept coming over and bumping his head (on purpose) on the door of the amour that the computer is in. I didn’t know what he was doing but honestly it was beginning to get on my nerves. After about the fifth time that he did it I took him to the door and asked if he wanted to go outside…no that isn’t what he wanted. After the sixth time…I got up to get him some water and a little treat…no that isn’t what he wanted. After the seventh time…I asked him to talk to me and tell me what he wanted. My 12 year old said, “Don’t you know he just wants you to play with him!?” So, I asked Einstein, “Do you want to play? Go get purple…(which is what we call one of his toys). He dashed off to his toy box and got purple…and brought him to me. Josh was right…Einstein wanted me to pay attention to him and not the computer! Josh said, “See I told you…his name is Einstein you know…that means he is smart enough to get you to stop working!” I just had to smile…and get off the computer for a while!!
Day #4…Poetry Challenge
15 Apr 2008 2 Comments
in poetry, writers notebook, writing Tags: mini-lesson, observing, poetry, poetry challenge, poetry month, scientists, writing
The golden
wand
freshly sharpened
waits
to spill
it’s magic of words
out upon
a piece of
paper.
April is for…Poetry Lovers
14 Apr 2008 Leave a Comment
in coaching, poetry, teacher resource, writing Tags: Georgia Heard, Katie Wood Ray, Lester Laminack, poem, poetry, poetry month
Since it is April…National Poetry Month…and since I am in the Poetry Challenge this week at Two Writing Teachers … I decided that for this resource Monday I would round up some of my favorite poetry resources….just a thought…Katie Wood Ray says…”to write a poem, you have to read 100 poems first” I agree with her 100%. Reading like a writer has been the number one thing that has helped me to become a better writer…so go for it…read a 100 poems and then write one for yourself!
About 8 years ago I heard Georgia Heard Speak at a summer literacy institute for 3-5 teachers. Her topic was Poetry and she walked us through her book called Awakening the Heart. I love this book and use it every year when I teach my poetry unit in April. She has another book that I love called, For the Good of the Earth and the Sun. Both of these two books are enough to get you started writing poetry for yourself!
Here are two poetry anthologies that I use:
Creatures of Earth, Sea and Sky …the poems are written by Georgia
Check out these PDF handouts from Georgia Heard: http://www.noycefdn.org/literacy/documents/PoetryTools10-23-04.pdf http://www.arliteracymodel.com/pdf/conference/050919/georgia.pdf
Georgia Heard has recently teamed up with Lester Laminack to write a wonderful resource for K-2 teachers to use for teaching children how to read and write poetry. It is called: Climb Inside a Poem: Reading and Writing Poetry Across the Year. Georgia and Lester have stated, “It is not only possible but vital to weave poetry into the daily fabric of a school day by reading a variety of poems for a variety of purposes throughout the year. We believe that children will fall in love with all kinds of poetry, if they have a chance to read or hear a variety of poems.”
The lessons in this collection are well-organized and can be taught as a unit of study or throughout the year. I agree with Lester and Georgia…exposure to poetry…will allow children to envision themselves as writers of poetry. I didn’t get this resource until January at the Reading Recovery Conference…to bad I didn’t have it to start off the school year with!!
Happy Poetry Month
