THE MORTIMER MINUTE: A Guest Post by Janet Wong

Earlier this month children's author April Halprin Wayland invited me to follow her in a Children's Poetry Blog Hop. Welcome to another installment of the Children's Poetry Blog Hop, aka The Mortimer Minute!

Here’s How-to-Hop, “Mortimer Minute” style!

• Answer 3 questions. Pick one question from the previous Hopper. Add two of your own. Keep it short, please! This is a Blog Hop, not a Blog Long Jump. This is The Mortimer Minute—not The Mortimer Millennium!
• Invite friends. Invite 1-2 bloggers who love children's poetry to follow you. They can be writers, teachers, librarians, or just-plain-old-poetry-lovers. 
• Say thank you. In your own post, link to The Previous Hopper. Then keep The Mortimer Minute going: let us know who your Hoppers are and when they plan to post their own Mortimer Minute.

Ready?

Mortimer: Is there a children's poem that you wish you had written? 

JW: “Puff” by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater. 

Mortimer: What do you have in your refrigerator?

JW: Yes, Mortimer: those ARE carrots you see there! Five pounds. Those carrots have been waiting for two weeks to get juiced. It will would be happening any day week now, except I’ll be on the road for two weeks (starting yesterday), speaking at conferences, attending book meetings, and visiting schools in Texas, Washington, and California. (Carrot $ has to come from somewhere.)

Mortimer: How can I (Mortimer) help you?

JW: In the kidlitosphere we have a thing called Poetry Friday. Bloggers put amazing posts up every Friday. A different host each week lists all these posts. I’m always enticed by a dozen posts but I rarely get around to reading more than 3. If I were to see “The Mortimer Minute” next to a couple of blogs next week, I would make a point of going there. You’d be giving me just the nudge I need. I mean, how could I NOT stop by a blog to visit you—for a minute?! 

My Mortimer Minute is almost up, so let me introduce the Hoppers who will follow me with The Mortimer Minute at their blogs next week!

Irene Latham

Irene Latham writes middle grade novels and poetry for all ages. Her recent works were inspired by her childhood love for exotic animals: DON'T FEED THE BOY is about a boy who wants to escape his life at the zoo and DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST (2014) is a collection of poems set at an African water hole.

Renée M. LaTulippe
Renée M. LaTulippe writes children's poetry and is co-author of LIZARD LOU: A COLLECTION OF RHYMES OLD AND NEW and seven early readers for All About Learning Press. Her children's poetry blog at No Water River features poetry videos, poet interviews, extension activities, and other poetry goodies. 

That’s it for this week. Thanks, Mortimer!

The Library

We continue to add "printables" based on poems in The Poetry Friday Anthology. You'll find them here at the "printables" link at PomeloBooks.com. Enjoy this latest-- based on the poem, "The Library," by Sara Holbrook. 

Printables

We know how visual kids are (and aren't we all, really?), so we decided we needed to create some mini-posters and postcards that feature our amazing poems. Thus, you will now find "printables" at our Pomelo Books site here. These printables take a poem and combine it with a contemporary image or photo that offers one interpretation of the poem. You can simply post it (electronically or print it out on paper) and offer a contemplative moment. Or you can use it as a prompt to talk with young people about how this image compares with what they imagine when they read or hear the poem. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a great poem image worth? Priceless!

Here's just one example:

Poetry Tips and E-books

As the U.S. school year winds down, we hope you'll continue to share poems with the young people you reach-- all year long. There are so many wonderful works written just for them and so many creative ways to invite them into the world of poetry. Here are a few nuggets from the instructional "back matter" of The Poetry Friday Anthology that you made find helpful. 

Your Poetry Checklist

     *Highlight poetry books on the chalk rail, a red wagon, or a table

     *Seek out poetry books from diverse perspectives

     *Link poems with picture books, novels, and nonfiction

     *Connect children’s poetry with social studies, science, and mathematics

     *Tell your colleagues about Poetry Friday!


E-Resources for Poetry Teaching

One of the most controversial topics in the world of reading today concerns e-books. Some people think that e-books will replace paper books and change the way we read—and they’re afraid of those changes. We agree that changes will happen, but we’re excited by the possibilities. Consider:

• a teacher can read a book review at lunch and buy an e-book version of it (for less than the price of lunch);
• that book might be a collection of poems from Mexico or Australia but is delivered immediately without shipping costs or custom fees;
• the teacher can download the e-book onto an e-reader and also a regular computer that can be projected onto a screen for the whole class to read aloud together;
• e-resources are easily searchable. A teacher can look for a poem using keywords like family or armadillo. Even if you prefer paper books, you might consider owning a second copy that is digital as a teaching resource;
• and reluctant readers (who might not like paper books but might enjoy manipulating text on a screen) can read the book using electronic bookmarks, a glossary, and sometimes read-aloud features, too.

Poetry is particularly well-suited to e-books. Imagine: a second grader is standing in line at the post office with his mother. He is bored. His mother hands him her cell phone. To play a video game? No: to read a poem in an e-book. He reads the short poem to himself and likes it. Then he reads it again—as he’s been taught—aloud. His mother laughs. The woman standing behind him laughs.  He reads another poem aloud and directs his mother (in a second reading) to chime in and guess the rhyming word. The man in front of him turns around to say the rhyming words. Next thing they know, the boy and his mother are first in line and bursting with the joy of reading.

The Poetry Friday Anthology is available in both print and e-book forms. (For both K-5 and for Middle School) So, consider getting a copy of each so that you can project individual poems using the e-book version as you lead the teaching activities.

Also, check out our e-book anthologies featuring poems by many of the same poets from the PFA. Look for:
 
    PoetryTagTime.Blogspot.com (poems linked poem-to-poem for children and all ages)

    TeenPoetryTagTime.Blogspot.com (linked ekphrastic poetry for tweens and teens)

    PoetryGiftTag.Blogspot.com  (holiday poetry linked from poem to poem)


Meanwhile, we wish you many happy Fridays (and every day) with poems and poetry. And please share your stories with us about young people's responses. Enthusiasm for poetry is contagious!

See you over at Ed's place, Think, Kid, Think! for this week's Poetry Friday round up.

   

Week 36

It's hard to believe, but it is our last week in our year of sharing a poem every Friday in grades K-5 with The Poetry Friday Anthology. For Week 36 our theme is "Looking Forward" and our sample poem comes from second grade. Here is the poem by Allan Wolf in its entirety.


The Secret Seed
by Allan Wolf

A seed holds tomorrow
inside her shell.
What will she be?
She will not tell.
To find out what,
you’ll have to wait
and watch her grow
from grain to great.

[This poem can be found on p. 142 of The Poetry Friday Anthology.]

Take 5 Activities

1. Heighten interest in this poem with a small poetry prop— a tiny seed (of any kind or size). Hold the seed in your hand and extend your hand open as you read the poem.

2. Next, invite students to echo read the poem, repeating each line after you read each line aloud.

3. For discussion: What kinds and sizes of seeds have you seen or planted?

4. In this poem, alternating lines end with rhyming words. Guide students in identifying the rhyming pairs (shell/tell; wait/great). Read the poem aloud again and pause before the final rhyming word in each pair and invite students to complete the rhyme. Talk about what the words in the final line (from grain to great) suggest (growing from a tiny seed to something great).

5. Connect this poem with another poem about transformation, “Tadpole Wishes” by Terry Webb Harshman (Kindergarten, Week 7).


If you have been sharing a poem with young people every Friday, we would love to hear about it-- especially if you've used any of the poems from The Poetry Friday Anthology. And if you have not yet made the leap into Poetry Friday, we hope you'll think about trying it next year. If you need help, consider getting your own copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology. We now have two editions-- one for K-5 and one for middle school (grades 6-8). Both offer a poem every week along with teaching activities tied to Common Core standards (and TEKS in Texas).

Meanwhile, check out what other bloggers are doing this Poetry Friday at the round up hosted this week by Anastasia at Booktalking. See you there!

Week 35

It is Week 35 in our 36 weeks of sharing poetry weekly. We're nearing the end of the school year and looking forward to Summer Vacation, our theme for the week. Our sample poem comes from third grade is by Debbie Levy and offers a clever poem with a surprise ending. Here is an excerpt.

My Best Friend is Leaving
by Debbie Levy

My best friend is leaving.
I’m crushed, I’m dismayed.
I’m crabby, I’m crusty,
and yes—I’m afraid.

....
My best friend is leaving.
My summer looks bleak. . . .
Good thing her vacation
is only a week.

[Look for the whole poem on p. 181 of The Poetry Friday Anthology.]

Take 5 Activities

1. Feeling brave? You can sing this poem to the tune of “On Top of Old Smoky.” (You may also need to explain the word dismay to students.)

2. This time, read the poem aloud while displaying the words of the poem if possible and invite students to chime in on the last two lines of the poem—the surprise twist at the end (Good thing her vacation / is only a week).

3. For discussion: How can you keep in touch with friends when you’re apart?

4. This poem is another good example of humorous poetry. Talk with students about how the poet creates humor in this poem through the surprise twist at the end, confounding the expectation of the title and the long list of worries.

5. Share another funny poem about friendship with a surprise twist at the end with “Greetings” by Lesléa Newman (5th Grade, Week 17).


Join the Poetry Friday round up hosted by Liz at Growing Wild. See you there!

Week 34

We are rolling on to Week 34 in our year of sharing a poem every Friday. This week's theme is "On the Move" and our sample poem comes from fourth grade.  Poet Joan Bransfield Graham challenges young people to think about time zones across the globe in a very creative way. (She has also given permission to share the entire poem.)


Crossing the International Dateline
by Joan Bransfield Graham

On Tuesday at 4 PM,
     our trip ended—
we departed.
We got back home
     Tuesday 7 AM,
to arrive
before we started!


Note: This happened when we went to New Zealand (from California).



[This poem appears on p. 220 of The Poetry Friday Anthology.]


Take 5 Activities
1. Highlight the time on a nearby clock before reading this poem aloud.

2. Share the poem again, but this time invite students to say the 1st and 5th lines (On Tuesday at 4 PM; Tuesday 7 AM) while you read the rest aloud.

3. Challenge students to “do the math” calculating how long the trip in the poem actually took.

4. Talk with students about the arrangement of words and line breaks in this poem and where the crucial rhyming words occur (departed/started). Then read the poem aloud again emphasizing the rhyming words in particular.

5. Follow up with another poem about travel, “Directions” by Janet Wong (5th Grade, Week 34).


PFA poet Laura Purdie Salas is hosting this week's Poetry Friday party at her blog, Writing the World for Kids. See you there!

Week 33

Welcome to Week 33 where we are turning our attention to the poetic device of personification, our theme for the week. Our sample poem comes from fourth grade and is a wonderful weather poem by Irene Latham. Here is just the first stanza of the poem to whet your appetite.

Summer Storm
by Irene Latham

Cloud warns, get ready.
Lightning spits, all clear.
Thunder growls, Hello, Dog.
Dog yips, get out of here!


[Look for the whole poem in The Poetry Friday Anthology, p. 219.]


Take 5 Activities
1. As you read this poem aloud, add your own sound effects to fit the poem’s meaning at the end of the poem’s lines (for lightning, thunder, dog, rain, door, boy).

2. This time, display the text of the poem and invite students to read the second half of every line, pausing at the comma for them to complete each line.

3. Review emergency preparations for imminent storms.

4. Sometimes poets use their imaginations to guess what it might be like if something that is not alive had a real personality—which is called personification. Guide the students in determining which words or lines in this poem suggest that clouds, lightning, thunder, rain, and door have human feelings.

5. Follow up this poem by revisiting “Bird Alert: Storm Warning!” by Constance Levy (from Week 8) or selections from Sharing the Seasons, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins.


As it happens, today's featured poet Irene Latham is also the host of this week's Poetry Friday gathering. So, see you over at her blog, Live Your Poem.

Week 32

We are moving on to Week 32 and looking closely at the poetic devices of metaphor and simile, our focus for this week. Our sample poem is from fifth grade and is by poet Deborah Chandra. It paints a picture of night-time that children are sure to respond to.


Night Comes
by Deborah Chandra

Night
comes
slow,

....

circles round,
closer . . .
        closer . . .
settling down—
like a big black
cat
with fur of silk,
and deep dark purr,
lapping
the milk.


[Look for this lovely poem in its entirety on p. 258 of The Poetry Friday Anthology.]


Take 5 Activities
1. Before sharing this poem, take a moment to help students picture the day turning to night, the dark sky, the moon shining. Then continue by reading this poem aloud.

2. Share the poem again, inviting students to say the repeated lines Night / comes / slow (lines 1, 2, 3 and lines 10, 11, 12) slowly as you read the rest of the poem aloud—slowly.

3. For discussion: What are the best and worst things about the night?

4. What comparisons does the poet make in this poem? Help students identify the similes and metaphors in the poem (like a big black / cat; as the world / fills up / with cool / milk, for example).

5. Follow up with “Poem Like the Sea” by Patricia Hubbell (3rd Grade, Week 29) or selections from Sky Magic, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins.


Now head on over to Random Noodling where Diane is hosting this week's Poetry Friday gathering.

Week 31

It's Week 31 and time to focus on the FORM of poetry. Our poem for the theme "Different Forms," comes from third grade and features the always-popular haiku form. The poet? Author of the prize-winning poem picture book, Won Ton, Lee Wardlaw. She offers THREE separate haiku poems that reveal a bit about the feline personality. Here is ONE of her three "Catku" haiku poems to whet your appetite.


Catku
by Lee Wardlaw

Stranger coos:  “Itty
pwetty kitty!”   A fur ball
serves as my reply.

[For all three "Catku" haiku, look on p. 177 of The Poetry Friday Anthology.]


Take 5 Activities
1. Point out the clever play on words in the title: Catku = haiku poems about cats. Then read the poems aloud in a kitty cat voice to convey the cat’s point of view.

2. Share the poems again, inviting students to say the quote in italics in the third stanza, “Itty pwetty kitty!” with exaggerated sweetness.

3. For discussion: If these are the elements of the “cat instruction book,” what might a “dog instruction book” include?

4. This is an example of a poem form that usually does not rhyme, a haiku poem. Originally a Japanese form of poetry, a haiku focuses on nature in only three lines (generally 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables). Guide students in understanding the haiku form with these examples.

5. Follow up with another descriptive cat poem, “All Worn Out” by Kristy Dempsey, and with Lee Wardlaw’s haiku picture book, Won Ton.


Don't forget to join the Poetry Friday round up hosted by PFA poet Robyn Hood Black over at Read, Write, Howl. See you there!

Week 30

We are rolling into Week 30 and looking at a theme that specifically targets poetry elements: Rhyme, Repetition, and Rhythm. Our sample poem this week comes from Kindergarten and it's almost like a chant full of fun animal names! Here's an excerpt.

Loose Tooth, Whose Tooth?
by Carole Boston Weatherford

Loose tooth, whose tooth?
Bat’s tooth, rat’s tooth.
Loose tooth, whose tooth?
Snail’s tooth, whale’s tooth.

...

Loose tooth, whose tooth?
Piranha’s tooth, iguana’s tooth.
Loose tooth, whose tooth?
Boar’s tooth, your tooth.

[You'll find the whole poem on p. 56 in The Poetry Friday Anthology.]

Take 5 Strategies
1. Before reading the poem aloud, survey students on how many of them have a loose tooth.

2. Read the poem aloud again and this time students can say the repeated line Loose tooth, whose tooth? each time it occurs.

3. For discussion: Which of these animals is new to you? If possible, look up images of unfamiliar animals on the Internet.

4. Poems usually rhyme at the end of lines, but sometimes they rhyme in the middle too—called internal rhyme. Challenge the students to find the pairs of words that rhyme (bat/rat, snail/whale, aardvark/shark, etc.).

5. Revisit a previous “list” poem about animals, “Animal Talk” by Charles Ghigna (Week 27).


Join the whole Poetry Friday crew at A Year of Reading hosted by our very own fabulous PFA poet, Mary Lee Hahn. See you there!

Week 29

Here we are at Week 29 in our year of sharing poetry every Friday. Our theme focuses on poetry itself, with "Poetry Poems." It's always fun to use the form of poetry to celebrate poetry itself. Our example this week comes from third grade and compares poetry to the sea. Check it out! Here's an excerpt.

Poem Like the Sea
by Patricia Hubbell

Like the sea
A poem
Can be
Wild and wavy
Or smooth and calm

...

Like the night
A poem
Can be
Cozy or scary

...

Like the stars
A poem
Can
Glitter and shine

...

[Get your copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology to read the poem in its entirety on p. 175.]


Take 5 Strategies

1. Tuck a copy of this poem into a can and label it, “A POEM CAN.” Show the can before taking the poem out and reading it and challenge students to listen for the repeated phrase "a poem can" as you read the poem aloud.

2. Then follow up by inviting students to say the words "A poem can" as you read the rest of the poem aloud. (You also may want to explain the pun or double meaning in using the phrase "a poem can" two ways.)

3. Talk with students about any poems they have read or heard that were cozy or scary like the night.

4. Discuss with students how poets can create poems in many different ways. Here the poet combines several features in the poem: the repetition of key words (Like the phrase, "a poem can"), the four-line stanza, and a lyrical description in each stanza (in the form of a simile). Yet, the poem does not rhyme. Then read the poem aloud together once again.

5. Connect this poem with another about poems, “Recipe for a Poem” by Kristy Dempsey (2nd Grade, Week 29).


Now scoot on over to Gottabook where Greg is hosting Poetry Friday.  See you there!

Week 28

What time is it? It's time to share a Poetry Friday poem from The Poetry Friday Anthology! We're in Week 28 of our weekly sharing of poetry every Friday all year long. What is the theme? Books! This week's sample poem comes from second grade and is a fun poem written in two voices. Here's how it begins and ends. You'll have to look in the book on p. 134 to read the WHOLE poem. [If you haven't already, get your copy of the book here.]


I Might Go to Mars
by Juanita Havill

Me: “See you later, Mom.
I’m going to the moon.”

Mom: “And I’m fixing lunch.
Be back by noon.”

...


Mom shrugs and frowns,
gives me that look.

So I tell her my secret:
I travel by book.


Take 5 Strategies
1. Double-check that students know that Mars is in outer space, a detail that makes a big difference in this poem. Then read the poem aloud, using a high pitched youthful voice for the lines for Me and a lower, authoritative voice for the lines for Mom and your normal voice for the final stanza.

2. Invite students to read the Me lines in unison. If possible, display the words of the poem to assist students.

3. For discussion: Where would you like to go if you could go absolutely anywhere?

4. This is a poem written for two voices or characters as if it were a conversation. Consider how the ending rhymes (moon/noon; so/go; look/book) help make what could be simply dialogue a rhyming poem.

5. For another poem for two voices, look for “The Way You Sound To You / To Me” by John Grandits (4th Grade, Week 13).


For Poetry Friday, go to Check It Out where Jone is hosting our weekly gathering. See you there!

Week 27

It is Week 27 and time to focus our attention on words themselves, with our theme, "World of Words." Here, our poets incorporate wordplay in fun and interesting ways. Our sample for the blog this week is by Children's Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis. It's his poem for first grade-- here's just a taste.

Gnat and Flea
by J. Patrick Lewis

If it jumps, it’s a flea,
If it flies, it’s a gnat.

...

A bunch of fleas—a swarm,
A batch of gnats—a cloud,
A bunch of dogs
With munchy fleas
Cries out loud.

[Look for the whole poem on p. 93 in The Poetry Friday Anthology.]

Take 5 Strategies

1. Read this poem aloud using a high-pitched voice for the lines related to fleas (lines 1, 5), a low-pitched voice for the lines about gnats (lines 2, 3, 4, 6), and a normal voice for the lines about dogs (lines 7, 8, 9). (You may need to alert students to the silent g in gnat.)

2. Then invite students to jump during the flea lines, make flying motions during the gnat lines, and make scratching motions during the dog lines while you read the whole poem aloud. Use your voice (high, low, normal) to cue them to the correct motions. Read and perform it several times to get it all right!

3. For discussion: Which is more annoying, a gnat or a flea?

4. Sometimes poets weave facts into their poems; use this poem to discuss collective names for groups of animals.

5. For another poem by J. Patrick Lewis that compares two animals, read “Frog and Toad”  
(Kindergarten, Week 21) or look for more insect poems in Hey There, Stink Bug! by Leslie Bulion.


Don't miss out on the Poetry Friday fun hosted by PFA poet Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe. See you there!

Week 26

It is Week 26 and time to share a silly poem from our theme, "Nonsense." This one comes from fifth grade and is hilarious to act out. We have permission to share the whole poem, so enjoy!


How to Open the Attic Door
   by April Halprin Wayland


To open up the attic door,
(to find that old cartoon you drew),
you have to sing a silly tune,
you have to sing it backwards, too
and play it on the noodle flute
while putting on your bathing suit.
And always wear blue cowboy boots!


[From The Poetry Friday Anthology, p. 252]


Take 5 Activities
1. If possible, stand by a door while reading this poem aloud.

2. Share this humorous poem again and invite students to choose their favorite line from lines 3-7 and chime in when that line appears while you read the whole poem aloud.

3. For discussion: What is the secret in giving clear directions?

4. This poem is another good example of using both end rhyme and rhyme in the middle too—called internal rhyme. Challenge the students to find the words that rhyme, including slant or “almost” rhymes (cartoon, drew, you, tune, too, noodle, flute, suit, blue, boots). Read the poem aloud again emphasizing those words in particular.

5. Link this poem with the nonsensical “Eight-year-old Uncle” by X. J. Kennedy (3rd Grade, Week 26) or share selections from If You Were a Chocolate Mustache by J. Patrick Lewis.


Join the Poetry Friday round up hosted by poet Julie Larios at The Drift Record.


And if you're enjoying our weekly segments from The Poetry Friday Anthology for grades Kindergarten through Grade 6, we're excited to announce that a new edition for middle school is being released Friday, March 1! Same idea-- a poem a week for grades 6, 7, and 8, with Take 5 teaching activities for every poem. Check it out here!

Week 25

It is Week 25 in our year-long sharing of poetry every Friday. If you're using selections from The Poetry Friday Anthology, one of your choices for this week's theme, "Song and Dance," is this fun poem by Jaime Adoff for Fifth Grade. You really need to check out the whole poem to get the full-- musical-- effect, but here is an excerpt to get you started.


Beats on Top of Your Head
by Jaime Adoff

I've got my
hip
hop
and it's time to
drop
another beat
on top of your head.
Rhythms fall like rain
Rhythms call my name.

....


I've got my
hip
hop— don't wanna stop
but I've come to the end of this poem
my friend.


[Look for the complete poem on p. 251 in The Poetry Friday Anthology.]


Take 5 Activities
1. Tap a regular rhythm (“drop” or play a beat) while you read this poem aloud.

2. Invite students to join you by chanting the hip / hop lines with a pause in between the two words while you read the rest of the poem aloud.

3. For discussion: What are your favorite kinds of music?

4. Poets give their poems shape and structure in many ways. Talk with students about how the short lines and line breaks give this poem a distinctive rhythm. Then read the whole poem aloud together again.

5. Follow up with “Your Chance to Dance,” a poem by Brod Bagert (1st Grade, Week 25), with Jaime Adoff’s book The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth: A Celebration of Music, or with selections from Hip Hop Speaks to Children, edited by Nikki Giovanni.


Now scoot on over to Sheri Doyle's place for our Poetry Friday gathering. See you there!

Week 24

It is Week 24 in our weekly sharing of poems every Friday in grades K through 5. This week our theme is Science and Technology. We are so pleased to include a science/technology-themed poem for every grade level since it's not your typical topic for poetry. But our poets provided several fun and thoughtful examples. Here is Stephanie Calmenson's poem for Kindergarten.


They Call It “Science”
   by Stephanie Calmenson

They call it science.
I call it why-ence.
Why is the sky blue?
Why do I look like me and not like you?

....


I like to ask "WHY?"!


[Go to p. 50 for the poem in its entirety in The Poetry Friday Anthology.]


Take 5 Strategies

1. Create a simple sign or card with the word why on it. Show it each time the word appears as you read the poem aloud. Pause dramatically before each line.

2. Read the poem aloud again and invite students to say the final “WHY?” in the poem. Cue them by holding up the why card.

3. Challenge the students to think of two more “why” questions.

4. Sometimes poets make up words to make their poems even more interesting. Help students find the “made up” word in this poem (why-ence).

5. Follow up with another poem full of questions: “Dreamland” by Carole Boston Weatherford
(2nd Grade, Week 19).


Look for the Poetry Friday gathering this week hosted by Linda over at TeacherDance. See you there!

Week 23

Our year of poetry is rolling along and we are now in Week 23 with the theme of Exploring. Our sample poem excerpt comes from Fourth Grade. It is by British poet Graham Denton and here's just a taste.

Give Me Wings
by Graham Denton

Give me wings
so I may know
the world above
the earth below,
those endless oceans
of the sky
where I can float
and I can fly.

....


Give me wings
so I may be
a bird at last –
unbound and free,
a bird whose heart
forever sings,
unburdened by
this gift of wings.

[For the whole poem, go to p. 209 in The Poetry Friday Anthology.]


Take 5 Activities
1. Before sharing the poem aloud, pause to encourage students to close their eyes and imagine being able to fly; imagine wings; imagine sky. Then continue by reading this poem aloud.

2. Next, invite students to join together on the first line of each stanza, Give me wings (also the title of the poem).

3. For discussion: Where would you go if you had wings to fly?

4. In this lyrical poem, the poet uses alliteration to repeat the same sound(s) in the beginning of several words for greater emphasis. Help students in locating examples of this (for example, swoop/sweep; whirl/wheel; beneath/breast).

5. Link this poem with “Explorer” by Joan Bransfield Graham (3rd Grade, Week 23) or selections from Give Me Wings, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins.


Now head on over to A Teaching Life where Tara is hosting the Poetry Friday gathering. See you there!

Week 22

It is time for sharing our poem for Week 22 with a theme focusing on "A Kinder Gentler Place." Our sample poem for the week comes from Fourth Grade and is a compelling look at a difficult topic, bullying. Here is just an excerpt from this powerful poem.


Poem for a Bully
   by Eileen Spinelli


Somewhere deep inside you
there’s a softer, kinder place.
I know this will surprise you—
but I’ve seen it in your face.

....

I wish that you would take a step—
a small, but brave one too—
and look inside yourself to find
the good I see in you.


[Look for the rest of the poem on p. 208 in the book, The Poetry Friday Anthology available here.]


Take 5 Activities
1. Before reading this poem (in a soft voice), point out to students that many poems are funny, but some are serious—like this one.

2. Share the poem aloud again and this time invite students to read the last line together.

3. For discussion: How do we help each other be our best selves?

4. In this lyrical poem, the poet is reaching out to the reader. What details reveal the poet’s hopes? What thoughts or emotions does the poem prompt in us?

5. Combine this poem with “The Bully” by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (5th Grade, Week 22).


The wonderful people at Teaching Authors are hosting Poetry Friday this week. See you there!

Week 21

It's Week 21 in our year-long sharing of poetry every Friday. Grab your copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology and turn to page 167 for this gem-- one of my personal favorites from the whole collection. It's "The Do Kind" by Janet Wong and it's in our Third Grade section under the theme of "Love and Friendship."


The Do Kind  
   by Janet Wong

When my ball flies over the wall,
you run and get it back.

When my books fall down the stairs,
you help me pick them up.

Some friends are see friends,
me me me friends.

You are the do kind,
the me and you kind.


Take 5
1. Before sharing this poem (in a soft voice), point out to students that many poems are humorous, but some are serious—like this one.

2. Read the poem aloud again and this time invite students to chime in on the words me me me in Line 6 and me and you in Line 8. Cue students by pointing to your ear.

3. For discussion: What makes a friend special to you?

4. Poems usually rhyme at the end of lines, but sometimes they rhyme in the middle too—called internal rhyme. Challenge the students to find the internal rhyming words in the lines of this poem (see/me; do/you).

5. Link this poem with another poem about friendship by Janet Wong, “Forgive and Forget” (2nd Grade, Week 22), and with selections from The Friendly Four by Eloise Greenfield.



Tabatha is hosting Poetry Friday over at her blog, The Opposite of Indifference. Check it out!

Week 20

It is Week 20 and time to focus on our theme of Art and Colors. Here is a poem for this theme from Fourth Grade. This poem by Lesléa Newman is a clever riff on the classic poem by Gelett Burgess, "I've Never Seen a Purple Cow." Here, she packs in 19 color words in unlikely combinations with a variety of animals.


I’ve Never Seen a Purple Cow
   by Lesléa Newman


I've never seen a purple cow
A hot pink horse, a light green sow,
A ruby dog, a turquoise cat
A copper crow, an orange bat,

...

A swarm of bright magenta flies
And if I did, I'd check my eyes.


[You'll find the poem in its entirety in The Poetry Friday Anthology on p. 206.]

Take 5
1. Encourage students to close their eyes and imagine a hot pink horse, an orange bat, and a sky blue pig. Then continue by reading this poem aloud.

2. Display the poem and invite students to choose their favorite colorful animal and chime in when that color/animal phrase appears.

3. Talk with students about all the words for different colors in this poem (purple, hot pink, light green, ruby, turquoise, copper, orange, green and yellow, black and lavender, sky blue, dark red, navy, violet, cherry, indigo, scarlet, magenta).

4. Poets love to play with words and how they are arranged on the page. Here the poem is almost like a list, but with regular end rhymes. Invite students to tap the rhythm of the poem as you share it again. Many poems have a beat and meter just like songs do.

5. Share another list poem by Lesléa Newman like “By the Sea” (1st Grade, Week 35) or poems from Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary by Julie Larios.


Join the Poetry Friday roundup hosted by Violet Nesdoly this week. See you there!

Week 19

It's Week 19 of our year of sharing poems every Friday and our theme this week offers a second focus on the Human Body. Here is an excerpt from one poem from one grade level-- third grade-- written by Carol-Ann Hoyte.


It's a Wrap
by Carol-Ann Hoyte

I’m the
three
   lay-
      ered
waterproof wrapping
which warms you up
and cools you down;

...

do not despair
‘cause I self repair.


Answer:  You'll have to get the book to find the answer!


[You'll find the whole poem and the answer to the riddle in The Poetry Friday Anthology, p. 165.]


Take 5
1. Read this poem aloud, and ask students to guess what this poem is about. If needed, point out clue words such as cut, scratch, bruise, bump.

2. For a follow up reading, invite students to finish the poem by reading the last two lines (do not despair / ‘cause I self repair) while you read the rest aloud. (You may need to explain the word despair.)

3. Use this teachable moment to talk about basic first aid and how to handle simple cuts, scratches, bruises, and bumps.

4. This poem is an example of a riddle poem. Guide students in identifying the clues that suggest the poem subject. Then talk about how the lines are arranged (with words even broken up like lay- / ered) to dole out the facts bit by bit--and how only the final two lines rhyme.

5. Link this poem with another riddle poem by Carol-Ann Hoyte, “From Root to Tip” (5th Grade, Week 19).


Join the whole crew celebrating Poetry Friday hosted by the wonderful Renee LaTulippe at No Water River here. 

Week 18

This week marks the halfway point in our year of weekly poem sharing. How wonderful to see the year roll along one poem at a time! Up-and-coming poet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater wrote today's poem and was kind enough to give permission to share the WHOLE poem here. Enjoy this gem for Week 18 on the theme, "The Human Body," for First Grade.


Baby Tooth
   by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

One wiggly week.
One apple bite.
One twist.
One pull.
I won the fight.

My face is full
of first grade style.

My tongue
peeks out
a window
in the middle
of my smile.


[This poem is found in The Poetry Friday Anthology on p. 84.]


Take 5 Activities
1. As you read this poem aloud, pretend you have a loose tooth and pantomime the actions suggested in the poem (bite apple, twist tooth, pull tooth, peek out tongue, smile).

2. The word one is repeated several times in this poem. That’s the perfect way to invite students to participate in another oral reading. Raise one finger to cue students to joining in on saying one each time it occurs in the first stanza.

3. For discussion: What is the best way to lose a loose tooth?

4. Repetition is a key ingredient in creating poems. Sometimes a poet uses repetition not just to enhance the sound of the poem, but to emphasize meaning. Lead the students in discussing how the poet repeats the word one in every line of the first stanza, including the homonym won.

5. Combine this poem with another “Tooth” poem also by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater (Kindergarten, Week 18).


The first Poetry Friday gathering of 2013 is being hosted by Matt Forrest at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme here. See you there!