Poetry Friday: Skinny Poems Based on Poems from Pet crazy

Thanks to Kat at Kathryn Apel for hosting  all the goodness of Poetry Friday today.

This week I was in first grade for two days.  I was given time to share and teach poetry.  I used Pet Crazy by Sylvia Vardell  and Janet Wong to prime the pump.  Who doesn’t want a pet or have a pet?

I specially used the Anchor Poem, Response Poem, and Mentor Poem written by Kristy Dempsey and Janet Wong

[Anchor Poem]:

ALL WORN OUT
by Kristy Dempsey

Tippy-toe, Kitty Cat
is sneaking through the house,
pushing on a puff of yarn,
wishing for a mouse.
Kitty loves to play all day,
jumping, pouncing, leaping.
Where is kitty hiding now?
Shh! Kitty’s sleeping.

*

[Response Poem]:

THE GREATEST PETS EVER (Kristy)
by Janet Wong

Cats are
     the greatest pets ever!

They are
     so clean and clever.

Would I like
     a dog? No, never!

Cats are
     my favorites -- FOREVER!

[Mentor Poem]:

THE PERFECT PETS FOR ME (Ben)
by Janet Wong

Kristy likes neat pets.
Cats don’t drool.

She should meet my uncle’s dogs.
They’re super-cool.

My uncle’s dogs will sit and stay —
and stay and s-t-a-y.

Their house is kind of far,
but we could go there someday.

When we play together,
Kristy will see:

dogs are pretty much
the perfect pets for me!

Plus I found this great quick video of Janet reading to Tony Tiger: 
 
The class and I made a list of pets and a list of juicy words. We talked about the format of a skinny poem and with a template, off they went to create. Then as students finished we uploaded to Padlet. This give an opportunity to confer and revise with students. 

Made with Padlet
Next week, I will be hosting Poetry Friday at DEOWRITER.
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Poetry Friday: Long Lost Treasures

Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading has all the poetry goodness of the world. This week many in the Poetry Friday Literasphere are celebrating our new Young People’s Poet Laureate, Naomi Shihab Nye.

Today you can read about Naomi Shihab Nye at Deowriter.

I’ve been organizing my writing room and that means finding some long lost treasures from former students.


Well, you can see how long ago this poem is, look at that printing! Lauren was either in 5th or 6th grade.

Ocean

People fly kites across
the sand
Kids play,
Shells wash up on the beach,
the blue and green water makes
crashing waves!
Sometimes things
get eaten and are never found,
fish jump with the whales
Under
The
Summer
Sun.

Lauren M, 5th or 6th grade

Land of the Elephants

Upon my bed, I dream of 8,000 pound elephants looking at me,
motioning me to follow them.
We walk for hours.
I rest curled up beside them all
under the starry night.
Wakening from deep sleep, I find myself on an elephant’s back.
We get to the edge of Africa.
everyone is as still as night,
The elephants blow their outstanding trunks;
I listen to its sweetness.
Magically a cloud falls from the heavenly sky.
My elephant puts me on this fluffy cloud
the cloud whips me through the air with ease
I find myself at a golden gate with elephants this land full of animals
they changed my clothes into a white gown
I lay on a bed of clouds looking Dow to my city.
Then I found myself on my bed surrounded by elephants.

Tanisha M, 5th grade

Back during this time, when testing wasn’t a priority and there weren’t blogs for posting student work, I coordinated a monthly First Friday for students to read a page from their stories or poems. We had such great fun.

I am lucky to have had these two wonderful girls who have grown into fabulous adults with careers and families.

WINNER, WINNER…

Dani at Doing the Work That Matters won a copy of A SUITCASE OF SEAWEED AND MORE. Email me at macrush53 at yahoo dot com so I can get your address.

More Food Poems

Have you read this book?

If not, you need to buy it now or find it at your local library. It’s a great mentor text for getting students to think about their cultural background. Janet Wong published this book twenty-three years ago and just recently added back stories to the poems. Tomorrow I will have her interview.

Today, please enjoy the fourth grade food poems. For details on the HOW-TO of this lesson, visit this POST. I love how students made the assignment their own.

Made with Padlet

Have you read this book?

If not, you need to buy it now or find it at your local library. It’s a great mentor text for getting students to think about their cultural background. Janet Wong published this book twenty-three years ago and just recently added back stories to the poems. More about that next week when Janet shares the answers to some questions I recently asked her.

Yesterday I was in third grade. Two teachers share their students so I was able to do two poetry lessons. And I figured out how to use PADLET. Woohoo! I put the poems up on Padlet as they finished and the students LOVED seeing their work displayed.

Made with Padlet

For details on the HOW-TO of this lesson, visit this POST.

Food Poems based on A SUITCASE OF SEAWEED AND MORE

Have you read this book?

If not, you need to buy it now or find it at your local library. It’s a great mentor text for getting students to think about their cultural background. Janet Wong published this book twenty-three years ago and just recently added back stories to the poems. More about that next week when Janet shares the answers to some questions I recently asked her.

I was back in the library this week. I had the opportunity to work with fourth and fifth graders. This book provided excellent food poems as mentors. I decided given the time allotment of thirty minutes over class, the SKINNY poem would be a good form for students to use to write a poem about a food for which they had strong emotions (good or bad). And while the directions for the SKINNY poem are specific, I love how some students make it their own and use the template as a guide.

When I take poetry workshops from Paulann Petersen, she often has words lists available for participants. I decided that given the 30 minute time limit, having a word list for describing food would be helpful. I provided this for students:

Adobo

By Kai

A traditional Filipino dish

Adobo

Wet

Dry

Flavorful

Adobo

Soupy

Chewy

Mouthwatering

Adobo

A traditional Filipino dish

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mushrooms

By Avery

Time for soup I guess. So much like snakes

Mushrooms

Slimy

Gray

Bitter

Mushrooms

Yuck

Like a slug

They make you throw up

Mushrooms

They stink! So much like snakes

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Rice

By Sadie

Time for rice

Rice

Sticky

Tempting

Wet

Rice

Flavorful

Heavenly

Mouthwatering

Rice

Time for rice

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Noodles

By Miciah

Time for

Noodles

Buttery

Slimy

Slippery

Noodles

Crumbly

Yummy

Hot

Noodles

Time for noodles

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Pizza

By Connor

Hot, hot, hot

Pizza

Burning

Sizzling

Yummy

Pizza

Tasty

Savory

Mouthwatering

Pizza

Hot, hot, hot

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tamales

By Hughito

Time for my tamales

Tamales

Delicious

Yummy

Delightful

Tamales

Delectable

Chewy

Delicacy

Tamales

Time for my tamales

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Orange Chicken

By Jordan

Ow, ya!

Orange chicken

Delicious

Mouth

Watering

Orange chicken

Sauce

All

Over

Orange chicken

Ow, ya!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Strawberries

By Spencer

Yum strawberries

Strawberries

Liquidity

Chewy

Red

Strawberries

Green

Food

Yummy

Strawberries

Yum Strawberries

More Poems Inspired from A SUITCASE OF SEAWEED AND MORE by Janet Wong

Have you read this book?

If not, you need to buy it now or find it at your local library. It’s a great mentor text for getting students to think about their cultural background. Janet Wong published this book twenty-three years ago and just recently added back stories to the poems. More about that next week when Janet shares the answers to some questions I recently asked her.

I was back in the library this week. I had the opportunity to work with fourth and fifth graders. This book provided excellent food poems as mentors. I decided given the time allotment of thirty minutes over class, the SKINNY poem would be a good form for students to use to write a poem about a food for which they had strong emotions (good or bad). And while the directions for the SKINNY poem are specific, I love how some students make it their own and use the template as a guide.

When I take poetry workshops from Paulann Petersen, she often has words lists available for participants. I decided that given the 30 minute time limit, having a word list for describing food would be helpful. I provided this for students:

Chicken Noodle Soup

By Ileni, 5th grade

My stomach waits for this dish

Chicken Noodle Soup

Salty

Hot

Delicious

Chicken Noodle Soup

Mouth-watering

Tempting

Sizzling

Chicken Noodle Soup

My stomach waits for this dish

+++++++++++++++++++++

Burgers

By Amiyah, 5th grade

We wait for them

Burgers

Savory

Delicious

Meal

Burgers

Bite

Chew

Gulp

Burgers

We wait for them

++++++++++++++++++++++

Pizza

By Brandon, 5th grade

Waiting for it to be done

Pizza

Doughy

Tasty

Crusty

Pizza

Crunch

Bite

Soft

Pizza

Waiting for it to be done

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sushi

By Vitali, 5th grade

Time for some more- sushi

Sushi

Yummy

Fresh

Juicy

Sushi

Delicious

Delightful

Heavy

Sushi

Time for some more-sushi

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Fries

By Gage, 4th grade

I like fries they are so good

Fries are so soft

Soft

Good

Hot

Fries are so soft

Smushy

Goodness

Awesome

Fries are so soft

I like fries they are so good

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sausage

By Elizabeth, 4th grade

The smell of smoke

Sausage

Tangy

Crispy

Spicy

Sausage

Flaming

Juicy

Burning

Sausage

The smell of smoke

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mashed Potatoes

By Josh, 4th grade

Mashed potatoes, the fur of food

Mashed potatoes

Creamy

Fluttery

Fluff

Mashed potatoes

Clouds of food

Pillows

The edible foam pit

Mashed potatoes

The fur of food

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kiwis

By Katherine, 4th grade

Oh, delicious

Kiwis

Don’t you love them too?

So fresh

So good

Kiwis

Semi-sweet

Mostly green

All the time

Kiwis

Oh, delicious

Poetry Friday: Showing the Poetry Postcard Love

IMG_1077Thank you Karen for hosting Poetry Friday.

Congratulations to Bridget Magee, Gail Aldous, Brenda Davis Harsham, Molly Hogan, and our Poetry Friday Host, Karen Edmisten. Please email me with your addresses so I can mail you a copy of HERE WE GO by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell.

Aren’t these awesome?  These are the post cards I received in January.  They really made my month brighter.

poetrypostcard.jpg

And it’s that time again…get ready for the NINTH Annual Student Poetry Postcard Event coming in April.
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Would you like to receive one?  Sign up HERE:

Poetry Friday: The Poetry Love Edition

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Welcome to Poetry Friday.  I am so glad you’re here.  This week was Valentine’s Day and there was so much love, poetry love in the air.

First off, Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell sent copies of HERE WE GO, the latest  Poetry Friday Power Pack.

here-we-go-front-cover-121116-jpeg

Just this week, our Family Engagement Committee discussed how we can best help our students during the world today.  How can we raise the level of social justice and make them feel safe?  This is the perfect book to help students make some sense of the world.

There are many ways to approach this book; read the thirty-six poems like a story or use the poems as a springboard for writing.  The end of the book is chock full of resources for both students and adult. One the resources, Poetry Performance Tips, will be used with my Poetry Rocks group, grades 1 through 3.

Poetry Rocks worked on some “What If” poems after school today in groups.  We wrote as a quick write after reading Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Blue Bucket and Janet Wong’s response poems by Jenna and Ameera.

What if our teachers were gingerbread
instead of people
What if blueberries could talk
instead  of regular blueberries
What if our bodies could talk
instead  of our mouths talking
What if trees were sweet tarts
instead  of regular trees
What if our homes were gingerbread
instead  of normal homes
Then everything would be weird.

By Nevaeh, Amiah, Lauren
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What if we were ghosts
instead of people
What if we could join our friends on their journey
instead just reading them
What if we could go to a land of magic
instead of going to school
What if school was fun and exciting
instead of being boring
What if our homes were made of gingerbread
instead of wood
Then life would be cooler.

By Haylie, Macy, Ricky, Taylor
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What if I could change the laws
instead of going to school
What if I could eat cookies all day
instead of celery
What if chocolate
instead of tomatoes being food
What if everything was made of chocolate
instead of trees
What if there was no play
instead of school
Then I would be very sad.

By Bentley, Jazzlynn, Taryn, Charlie
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What if I could play on my PS 4
instead of dad saying no
What if school was one hundred miles away
instead of a shortcut to home
What if there dragons
instead of moose
What if you could just float in the world
instead of outer space
What if I lived in Texas without electricity
instead of Washington

By William
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What if I could teleport
instead of walk
What if there was no school
instead of school
What if school had only recess
instead of learning
What if the sea was filled with hot chocolate
instead  of salt water
What if there was no light
instead of light
That would be bad.

By Marcella, Ella, Gabe, Italy
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What if we had no homework
instead of homework
What if babies ruled the world
instead of crawling
What if humans were dogs
instead of humans
What if the world was made out of candy
instead of not being candy
Then that would be weird.

By Angel, Jazlyn, Eliza, Dakota

Next week due to the holiday and conference, we won’t have Poetry Rocks but I have challenged them to write their own “What If”poems. We’ll see what they write.  I wrote my own “What If” poem which is posted at Deowriter.

I am going purchase some copies for our library I have a fourth grade class fired up about social justice. Can’t wait to share. Do you want your own copy? I have five copies to give away.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MORE POETRY LOVE!!

Congratulations to Laura Shovan for winning the CYBILS Poetry Award.

Happy Friday.

Happy Poetry.

Poetry Friday: Super Bowl Sunday

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Thank you Penny for hosting today at her blog.

Are you ready for Super Bowl Sunday?  Are you a Patriots or a Falcons fan or maybe a kitty bowl or puppy bowl fan?

In THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY for CELEBRATIONS, by the fantastic duo, Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell, I have just the poem to celebrate this unofficial holiday.image

These girls, now fifth graders, recorded this for me two years ago.

TOUCHDOWN!

Happy Friday!

Happy Poetry.

Poetry Friday: Poetry Camp and Cynthia Grady

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Thank you Catherine at Reading to the Core for hosting Poetry Friday.

One week (or six sleeps as I tell my kinders) until I go to Poetry Camp!  I can hardly wait.  This is the brain child of Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell.  It’s happening at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA.

There are so many people I have connected with online, through the Progressive Poem, poetry prompts, inclusion of my poem in a Poetry Friday Anthology, and poetry swaps and next Friday, I get to meet them.  This is better than Christmas.

So in honor of the upcoming camp, I am featuring a poem from Cynthia Grady’s book, I Lay My Stitches Down; Poems of American Slavery.  It’s illustrated by Michele Wood.  The poems and illustrations compliment each other well.  It’s a must see book.

Cynthia explains that the poems are “unrhymed verse, ten lines of ten syllables to mimic the square shape of the quilt block.”  Shes included three references in the poems: a biblical or spiritual reference, a musical reference, and a sewing or fiber reference.

Each poem is named for a traditional quilt block. It was difficult to select which poem to share.

20160922_195736

Kaleidoscope

The little time we have to call our own
be filled with gardening, feeding chickens
mending clothes, and music making: shaking
stones in the basket, clapping hands, stomping
feet. Sometimes a banjo and fiddle be
played, or hollowed-out tree drum and washboard.
But lo, the singing! Piecing shouts here to
Bible stories there, interweaving  tunes
and hollers, singing up a frenzy of
song!  Be a kaleidoscope of sound: Joy.

(use with permission by Cynthia Grady)

With author’s and illustrator’s notes at the end and a list of resources, this is a poetry books that you can lose yourself in for hours.

I am thrilled to be meeting Cynthia next week at Poetry Camp.

Happy Friday.

Happy Poetry.