Ten Random Acts of Kindness and a Poem

We are beginning to focus on poetry in Reading Workshop.  The best poetry sparks some sort of emotion within the reader.  A good poem should make us laugh or make us cry.  It might surprise us or make us think.  It might open our hearts and connect us with the writer.

As we work towards the craft of becoming writers, and with the hope of opening awareness of others, students have a special assignment.  During the next five days, give to someone else.  The task is ten random acts of kindness.  This can be to a peer, a friend, a relative, or a total stranger.  The point though is to focus on the interaction of the person involved.

On Friday, Reading Workshop students will pick one event, emotion, thought, or idea from the week and share it in a poem.  I am sure with this year's students, there will be some amazing poetry.

The Feeling of Christmas at My House

As the holiday season approaches, family is what matters.  At my house, the Christmas breakfast is where all of the greatness of Christmas comes together.

The Christmas Breakfast

As the season approaches

sentiments turning to family

and the Christmas breakfast

eating together.

Steaming mugs of coffee

amid piles of torn wrapping paper.

Thankfulness for all we have

and the joy of the day.

We come to the table

with warmth in the house

and in our hearts

and celebrate our lives.

The assignment for students is to pick one part of their lives that best reflects their family and the holiday season, and write a gift of poetry.

Some Student Poetry

Here are a few samples of students' poems.  To see more, just click on the links on the sidebar.

From A Daily Bailey
I Think I'm Going to Puke

I’m not really feeling well
It’s something that I ate
I think I’m about to puke
It tasted like fish bait

Uh oh!
I’m gonna spew
I’m really, really sorry
If I get some on you

It’s all over the carpet
It kind of looks like plums
Hey! What’s that thing there?
It looks like lots of thumbs

I shouldn’t have eaten that food
It looked like an old baseball mitt
I’ll never eat it again
Not even a little bit

It’s all over the room
Even on the couch
I’m sorry it got everywhere
No need to be a grouch

I went and cleaned up                                                                       
Now it’s all gone
Next time I’ll go puke
Outside on the lawn

From Gabrielle's Gabby Page

Divorce, Divorce

Where do I start

It’s a course.

Divorce, Divorce

Why do our parents do that?

It makes me sad.

Divorce, Divorce

My sister and I

Had to cry

My Sister by Keifer

Inspired by Sara Holbrook

My sister is
a splinter
deep down in my skin


My sister is
a baseball game
one I can not win


My sister  is
a rat
with her little mice

Keifer's sister is the sweet looking one on the left.  Hhhhhmmm!

My sister is
a cucumber
one I want to dice


My sister is
a bug
one I want to crush


My sister is
an apple
that has turned to mush


My sister is
a bumble bee
always stinging me


My sister is
just mean
come on can’t you see

So Many Ways to Say it in Poetry

How else can you say it?  As we looked at one student's opening line of his poem, so many ideas for sharing were discovered.  We started with Poetry is not me


And came up with this list:

1. Poetry is unreasonable
2. Poetry is not what I write
3. Poetry is not my thing
4. Poetry has something I don't
5. Poetry is not bad
6. Poetry is not understandable to me
7. We can't connect
1. We play phone tag
2. The call is never answered
3. The meal doesn't fill me up
4. The hot sauce is mild
5. Poetry doesn't add up
6. We can't be together
7. Poetry and I aren't alike
8. Poetry doesn't have Internet
9. Poetry is like a game with no Xbox
10. Poetry is like eggs without bacon
11. We are two peas from different pods
12. Poetry is like pancakes without syrup
8. Poetry never answers my phone calls
9. I don't go with poetry
10. Poetry doesn't pick me up
11. Poetry and I don't mix
1. Poetry won't get in the blender with me
2. Poetry isn't the ice cream for my milkshake
3. We just don't mesh
4. Poetry is the book with no words
5. Poetry is the gun with no powder
6. Poetry is like the butt with no gas
7. Poetry is like bird doodoo on your windshield
8. Poetry is a clock with no hands
9. Poetry is a clock out of time
10. Poetry is an IPod with no music
11. Poetry is a battery with no charge
12. Poetry is a sentence with bad grammar
12. When I ring the door bell, poetry never answers
13. Poetry and me don't fit
14. Poetry is like a shirt that is just too tight
15. Poetry and I don't see eye to eye
1. Reading poetry is a fistfight
2. Poetry is like an annoying little brother
3. Poetry is like Lane on a bad day at school
4. Poetry is like black and white TV
5. Poetry bullies me
6. Poetry is a charging bull (and I am a red cape)
7. Poetry punches me in the mouth
8. Poetry is a hole in the shoe of a snowy day
16. Poetry is like reading with foggy glasses
17. Poetry is the seed that just rots in my garden
18. Poetry pizza has no pepperoni when I get my order
19. We were never meant for each other
20. Poetry and I are breaking up
21. Poetry loves me but I don't like poetry
22. Poetry is like a crap sandwich for lunch
23. Poetry and I don't get along
24. Poetry is a pie with no crust
25. Poetry is a puzzle with missing pieces
26. Poetry tortures me with its bits and bangles
27. Poetry is the math that just doesn't add up
28. Poetry was never my type
1. I'm smile and poetry cries
2. Poetry isn't the girl for me
3. Poetry is not my sweetheart
4. Poetry is sweet to my sour
5. Poetry is the wrong kind of tissue for my cold
6. Poetry is night to my daytime
29. Poetry was never my thing.
30. Poetry just ain't my bag, baby
31. Poetry is a baloney sandwich
32. Poetry is like last year's fashion
33. Poetry is to reading like the Bengals are to football
34. Poetry is like my wife's shopping problem
35. Reading poetry is like kissing your sister
36. I don't exactly like poetry
37. Poetry is like shopping for groceries with mom
38. Poetry is like slipping on oil
39. Reading poetry is like having your mom pick out your clothes
40. Reading poetry is like shopping without money
41. Poetry is like playing with your sister
42. Poetry is like life without video games
43. Poetry is colder that my ex-girlfriend
1. Poetry freezes my heart
2. Poetry freezes my sun
3. Poetry freezes my turkey on Thanksgiving
4. Poetry is the dark side of the moon
5. Poetry and Pluto are twins
6. Reading poetry chills my eyeballs
7. Reading poetry is like being burried alive
8. 
   
44. Poetry is the cold water shock of breaking through ice
45. Poetry is like looking in the mirror before makeup
46. Poetry is a poor sport
47. Poetry is like a car that won't start
48. Poetry is a rainy day
49. Poetry is like lunch in the loo
50. Poetry is reading quicksand
51. Poetry is a green vegetable
52. Poetry is like a broken heart
53. Poetry is like a sauerkraut sundae
54. Poetry is more of a pain than my little sister
55. Writing poetry is worse than cleaning your room.

It's amazing how students that don't like poetry can come up with so many poetic ideas.

Want to Put a Little Ryhme in Your Life?

We are working with poetry in Reading Workshop.  We have focused on free verse poems, and a few concrete poems, but sometimes it is fun to write a rhyming poem.  A great tool for this is at Rhymezone.

Pick a topic and see what you can do.  Write something that makes the reader laugh, or cry, or both.

I knew from the first day,

these students were weird.

But partway through the year,
It's worse than I feared

I tried to help them,

they definitely needed steered

But partway through the year,

It was worse than it appeared.

I wasn't sure what to do,

Their brains had been cleared.

And partway through the year,

No senses had reappeared.

I gave them good advise,

because I knew they needed steered.

But partway through the year,

their brains were still smeared.

It could be the teacher,

at first I feared.

But partway through the year,

His efforts should be cheered!

Have a nice day students!   You don't like my poem?  Well show me what you can do!

Poetry--I Ain't No Poet

Staring at blank faces,
students whispering,
bored and uninterested
as we start a new project.

Trying to spark a fire
that energizes and makes believers,
hoping Love That Dog
will bring out a Jack.

The unbelieving boy, Jack
who couldn't write
and didn't believe
he had a message inside.

With several Jacks
looking so miserable
as thoughts swirl around
filled with dread.

But there's a writer inside
waiting to overcome
a mind screaming
I ain't no poet.

What Was the Author Feeling?

Have you ever thought about what the writer was feeling?  In most instances, great writing is the result of situations or problems that spark strong feelings.  The writer is faced with an emotional situation and uses writing as an outlet.  

Sometimes feelings of joy need to be shared.  Other times relief in dealing with sadness or grief comes from sharing through writing.  In this poem, Mother to Son, by Langston Hughes, he describes facing the challenges in life. 

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

What was he feeling as he wrote this poem?  How does that relate to your feelings as a reader?  Do think there is usually a connection between the author's feelings and the reader's feelings?

Image from http://www.thewanderers.in/travel/recent/

A Christmas Gift of Poetry

Students are writing Christmas poems as a gift of writing. No gift means more than a heartfelt poem.  Students are writing a free verse poem for a family member to give over the holiday.

This list has ideas for topics that students brainstormed.

Food	Family Time	Traditions	Memories
Christmas dinner	Family together	Christmas Eve	Special gift
Christmas breakfast	Shopping	Getting up early	Cutting down tree
Nuts and bolts	Traveling	Christmas morning	Special time together
Cooking together	Things they do for me	Hanging stockings	Visitor
Making cookies :)	Decorating the house	Decorating the tree	Trip
Baking together	Wrapping presents	Opening presents	New Pet
Homemade noodles	Christmas party	Playing euchre	Accidental Openings of gifts
Oyster dressing	Putting up lights	Visiting Family
Making smokeys	Playing with gifts	Waking up parents
Spicy pretzels	Playing games	PJ's on Christmas Eve
Chips & dip		Family Picture
Pies		Stockings First

How Hard Do You Work?

How hard do you work?  Would others around you agree?  What do peers think of you as a worker?  What do your parents think about your work ethic?   Do teachers see you as a student that works your hardest?  On a scale of 1 - 10, how would you score yourself as a worker?

As we study poetry in Reading Workshop, and look at To Be of Use , these questions came to mind.  This poem is a favorite of teachers because there is absolutely nothing teachers admire more than a hard worker.  This is also a character trait discussed frequently in Reading Workshop.

To Be of Use
Written by Marge Piercy

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.

Comments are allowed to be in the form of poetry.

Image from http://darrenhardy.success.com/2009/06/hardwork/

Reading Poetry

Poems are built on ideas, experiences or emotions in a condensed form that makes the reader search for understanding.  The reader should slow down, think about each line and the words in it, and then reread and reconsider.

However, to understand poetry the reader must not go gently, but should attack.  As we begin to spend time in Reading Workshop with poetry/word study, students must overcome their fears and dive into the language of poetry.  Whether it be as a reader, analyzing the work of others, or when revising their own work, students must go full speed ahead.  They need to take the advise given by Eve Merriam.

How to Eat a Poem

Don't be polite.
Bite in.
Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice
that may run down your chin.
It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are.

You do not need a knife or fork or spoon
or plate or napkin or tablecloth.

For there is no core
or stem
or rind
or pit
or seed
or skin
to throw away.

What is Merriam's point?  What about the poem makes you think that?  What thoughts do you have when tearing into her poem?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/emdot/10362168/sizes/s/

Dreams for Your Future

This school year is half over/still half to go.  As the new semester begins, take a minute to think about your goals.  This poem, Mother to Son, by Langston Hughes describes facing the challenges to a greater life. 

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

What hopes and dreams does your family have for you? What challenges are ahead of you (stairs to climb)?  What do your parents want to see you accomplish?  How do they picture a better life for you?  Do they see your life ahead half full or half empty?  What successes do they hope for in your future?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/renatela/265244280/sizes/s/

Tell the Story of Your Street

Chicago author Nelson Algren said, “A writer does well if in his whole life he can tell the story of one street.”  Chicagoans, but not just Chicagoans, have always found something instructive, and pleasing, and profound in the stories of their block, of Main Street, of Highway 61, of a farm lane, of a path sometimes traveled.

The best poems draw us in and make us part of them.  Images bring us into the author's world.  Write a poem that tells the story of your street, path, road—real or imagined or metaphorical.

Thanks to Eye of Amoeba for a link to the University of Chicago's Essay Questions.
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/therefore/27861465/sizes/s/

Poetry for Self-exploration and a Special Kind of Fame

Who are you?  Do you know yourself?  One of the greatest aspects of poetry is the way it helps the writer explore his/her thoughts, ideas, and opinions.  Feelings need to be understood and analyzed in order to express them.  This poem is an example of one author's ideas about being famous.

Famous
Naomi Shihab Nye

The River is famous to the Fish

The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.

The tear is famous, briefly to the cheek.

The idea you carry close to your bosom
if famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.

I want to be famous the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole,
not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.

What do you want to be known for?  In what way do you want to be famous?  Rewrite the last two stanzas to reflect your view on being famous.


Start by thinking about 2 things:

1.  I want to be known for . . .


2.  I am going to show this by . . .
                     or
     The reader will see this by . . .

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/tlk/2379992801/sizes/s/

Poetry, Just Dig In

Poems are built on ideas, experiences or emotions in a condensed form that makes the reader search for understanding.  The reader should slow down, think about each line and the words in it, and then reread and reconsider.

However, to understand poetry the reader must not go gently, but should attack.  As we begin to spend time in Reading Workshop with poetry/word study, students must overcome their fears and dive into the language of poetry.  Whether it be as a reader, analyzing the work of others, or when revising their own work, students must go full speed ahead.  They need to take the advise given by Eve Merriam.

How to Eat a Poem

Don't be polite.
Bite in.
Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice
that may run down your chin.
It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are.

You do not need a knife or fork or spoon
or plate or napkin or tablecloth.

For there is no core
or stem
or rind
or pit
or seed
or skin
to throw away.

What is Merriam's point?  What about the poem makes you think that?  What thoughts do you have when tearing into her poem?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/emdot/10362168/sizes/s/

Poetry-worthy Topics

As we begin to spend time in Reading Workshop on poetry, one of the first tasks is to list events  that merit consideration of the time and effort to put them into a poem.  Don't sell an idea short.  Use it if it is something that interests you, something you are passionate about, something that makes you smile, think, wonder, cry . . .

Here are a few ideas from my break:

Nuts and Bolts (Checks Mix)
Teenage Daughters Driving
Presents from My Students
Bubba


This poem was built from my struggles with helplessness as the parent of teenage daughters driving in bad weather.

I sit in my chair,
book unopened
new snow outside my window
sipping a cup of coffee
waiting
and waiting
The ache in my stomach
wishing for time to hurry
while I anticipate the ring.
"I made it.
The roads aren't too bad."
AAAhhhh
Another episode in the life
of the parent of a teenage driver.

What topics fit you and your life?  What parts of your life do you want to put into poetry?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualthinker/363932691/sizes/s/

The Challenge of Writing Poetry

Poetry is so hard to write.  It is so personal, and no matter whether you are 8 or 80, the difficulty is right there, staring you in the face.  My daughter, Megan is taking a poetry writing class as part of her post secondary class at Ohio University Lancaster.    She shares the challenge.

Poems are Personal

"Poems are personal," he said.
As if I want to share,
with fifteen people I don't know.

I scribble things out
because after two hours
I've got nothing to share.
No love stories, at least not with you.

"Poems are personal."
What's my story to you?
Feelings are hard.
To tell you would leave me bare.
I can imagine me pouring out my heart,
only to see your blank stare.

So nice to meet you.
You'll learn a lot,
because "poems are personal."
I'll have to give this some thought.

Elementary rhymes,
and childish themes.
Poems aren't my style,
or that's how it seems.

As I sit here and write,
with so little heart,
this poem isn't personal,
but it's definitely a start.

As we start our focus on poetry in Reading Workshop, what are your thoughts?  Opinions?  Ideas?

Partner Project with First Grade

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On December 18 the first grade students came to sixth grade for the afternoon. Each student partnered up with a sixth grader and worked together to write a poem to take home to the first graders' parents. The students co-wrote first drafts, read it aloud several times, and then published a final copy to take home.

This is a great way for students in Reading Workshop to grow and learn.  They have the opportunity to be the teacher.  They used their skills to help younger students learn and be successful.  Not only did they help write a message to the younger students' parents, but they also taught the art of writing meaningful free verse poetry.

There were smiles all around, and a lot of hard work put into the afternoon project.  Students from both grades benefited and learned from the experience.

 

To see more pictures, you can visit the Reading Workshop Wikipage or go directly to the pictures at Christmas Poems with the First Grade.

A Christmas Poem

There is no better present than a Christmas poem.  Students in Reading Workshop will be writing a poem to publish and take home as a gift.  Then, they will partner with a first grade student to help them write and publish a poem to take home to their parents.

Christmas Thoughts
Henry Van Dyke

I am thinking of you today,
because it is Christmas,
and I wish you happiness.
And tomorrow, because it will be
the day after Christmas,
I will still wish you happiness.
I may not be able to tell you about it every day,
because I may be far away or we may be very busy.
But that makes no difference--
my thoughts and my wishes
will be with you just the same.
Whatever joy or success comes to you
will make me glad.
Clear through the year. . .
I wish you the spirit of Christmas.

What part of this poem means something to you?  Why is this meaningful to you?
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/etolane/349044647/sizes/s/

Larger Than Life Poem

After I read Larger-Than-Life LARA written by Dandi Daley Mackall, aloud to the class, Katie had an excellent idea in her post Lara at Laurelville.  She wondered what kind of poems Lara might assign to our students.

As I thought about her post, and looked back over some of Lara's poems, I thought this was too great of an opportunity to ignore.

Here are a couple of examples of Lara's poems:

Sara Rivers with the silvery voice,

Reach for the stars! It's still your choice.

You can do it, though it's scary.

Fear is so unnecessary.

Joey Gilbert, I'm not mad.

I just think you're very sad.

Maybe you still miss your dad?

Miss the love you never had?

Joey it will be okay,

If you try out for the play.

I could help you learn your part.

The backstage crew could use your art.

Don't pretend that you don't care.

You can do what you can dare.

Mrs. Smith, it's all okay.

Please don't worry for this play.

Things can always work out best,

Sometimes life is just a test.

I can understand--you bet!

Besides, I'll like to work on set.

So students, the assignment is to write a "Larger Than Life" poem.  Please be sure a lesson, or bit of kindly advise is given, and include interesting details.

Need some help with rhyming, check out Rhyme Zone.

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Free Writing Choice Friday

Students need time to write. Students need to be able to pursue writing projects. Students need to make choices about their education. Students need to prioritize and work on projects they deem important.

This means, choose a genre and write. If students haven't had as many opportunities to write poetry as they would like, forge ahead. Read some Sara Holbrook, I Never Said I Wasn't Difficult or follow the steps of Sharon Creech in Love That Dog and Hate That Cat. Write poetry and publish it to share.

Every Friday, students will have one hour to write whatever they choose. It can be any project, as long as they are writing. I will be available for conferencing, and can meet with students to address their individual needs. Peers can assist with revision, and as listeners to essays being read aloud to find errors or inconsistencies.

Students, if you have been wanting to write a fictional narrative or a memoir, plan on it. Do some prewriting, and/or spend some time thinking. Consider your characters and the problems they face. Decide how to get the reader into your story with a great opening, and how to build the excitement to the climax. Write an ending that will make the reader think about your story a few hours or maybe even days later.

Maybe your online journal needs some work. You can take this time to add details to entries, or to write a separate entry about your SSR book. If a book has especially touched you, or forced you to think about something, tell the reader about it.

Did you notice a blog post, where you wanted to comment? This is a time that you can share your thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Spend a Free Writing Choice Friday and give the readers of The Reading Workshop something to consider. Or, challenge an idea or opinion with facts that make the reader reconsider.

Free Writing Friday is a chance for you, students to write about what matters to you, writing in whatever genre you choose. The only requirement--write.

Image from http://flickr.com/photos/outlandos/
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