Poem #27--A Limerick for the Poem-A-Day Writers

You've written a poem a day!

Every day you found something to say

in a poem or verse,

for better or worse.

To each of you: HIP HIP HOORAY!

by Mary Lee Hahn, copyright 2010

2 new Poetry Books

Like I've said many times, the kids in our library love any book about dogs. So, I had to get NAME THAT DOG: PUPPY POEMS FROM A-Z when I heard about it. This new poetry book starts out with a poem about naming dogs and how each is different. Then each page focuses on a different dog. From Aspen to Frank to Zipper, there are 26 different fictional dogs celebrated through poem. The poems vary in length and type but all have an element of fun. Each dog is labeled so readers know the breed of the dog highlighted. The book ends with a poem about finding the perfect name for a dog.


And, I was thrilled to see ANOTHER JAR OF TINY STARS is now available. Every other year, NCTE gives an Award for Excellence in Poetry. This award honors a living children's poet for his/her work. Several years ago, NCTE published A JAR OF TINY STARS, highlighting the work of the award winners' poetry. This year, NCTE has released this additional version which highlights the work of poets up through the last poetry award winner, Lee Bennett Hopkins. To choose which poems to include, students ranked the poets' work. Their votes helped to make the decisions for what to include in this book. It is a great collection with 15 amazing children's poets.

Poem #26--A Fib For Gregory K.

You

are

the King

Ingumpa*

of the Fib Poem

Form: Royal Ingumpa, indeed!

by Mary Lee Hahn, copyright 2010

*A word verification nonsense "word" that here means one who is exalted, high-ranking, elevated, superior, lofty, eminent, prestigious, illustrious, distinguished, and/or esteemed. It is often used to describe a person whose invention (in this case, the Fib) has its own Wikipedia page. For the origin of Ingumpa, please see the first comment of this post.

Poem #25--A One-Word Poem

Dedicated to Franki

(and with apologies to David R. Slavitt)

by Mary Lee Hahn, copyright 2010

Balance.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is this poem about?

2. Do I need to read it again?

3. Who is speaking? What is the evidence in the poem for your answer?

4. What is being compared or described? Explain.

5. To what senses does the poem appeal? Elaborate.

6. Does this poem make you laugh, or does it make you cry?

7. What does this poem remind you of?

8. What characteristic of the genre of poetry alerts you as a reader that this is a poem?

9. If you were to put this poem to music, what would it sound like? If you were to illustrate it, what colors would you use?

10.What questions do you have for the author?

* * * * * * *

The back story: Franki and I were discussing what we had ready for the blog this week. I confessed to have hit a wall with the poem-a-day challenge. She suggested I write a one-word poem. We Googled it. We found Slavitt's poem. There is such a thing. (Who knew?) I was amused and inspired.

The discussion questions are the ones I use with my fourth graders as they get ready to answer questions on the state tests about poetry. I thought they worked quite well with this poem.

Garage Band--Some Possibilities

I introduced GarageBand this week. It is mostly music creation software but has so many possibilities for elementary school. I started out by just teaching kids how to record their voices and to add some background music. We used poetry and kids had a ball reading the poems in different ways, trying new voices, adding a bit of music or a sound effect her or there. It is not a tool I know well, but I can't wait until I know it well to introduce it. My goal in teaching media literacy is for kids to see what is possible, to read with a critical eye and to create with tools available. I don't need to know everything about GarageBand in order to introduce it to kids. I taught myself the basics and we are jumping in together.

One of the challenges, from a writing/creation perspective, is that students don't have a lot of models for what they are creating. Or, they have a lot of models but haven't yet made the connection to the tools that will help them create the things they see. So, as I move forward with GarageBand over the next few weeks, I wanted to throw some possibilities out to kids. I want them to see many options for their work with GarageBand and the other tools we've used this year. I have learned, in my 23 years of teaching, that if I give kids some possibilities and some open ended play time with a tool, they come up with many, many ideas that I would never have imagined.

When I think about creation, I want the students to eventually have a menu of possibilities to show their learning, to create new understandings, etc. One of the things that has struck me in the library, seeing so many different classes each week, is the way the students approach new ideas. When I introduce a new piece of software or a new web tool, they definitely need some play time. They have a ball just trying things out. Then they need to pull back and seem ready to see what they can actually make or do with the software. So, now that kids have done a bit of playing with GarageBand, I want to show them these samples--different pieces where music plays a part. Not that I want them to replicate any of this--that is the reason I wouldn't show them one at a time. Instead, I want it to be a way to begin thinking of the possibilities for this software and the way it might work with other tools they have.

Having a toolbox of possibilities for creation is key for moving ahead with creation and communication.

Pete the Cat is one of my new favorite books/songs thanks to Katie at Creative Literacy. In order to show how music enhances a story and how songs can be created from text, this is a fun example for kids to begin thinking about music.


Sharing several examples of a familiar story like "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" will show kids how different each story can be if you change the way you read/sing it and if you change the music and/or sound effects. For one lesson, I might show several different versions of one book to open up the possibilities and to show kids how sound can impact presentation. Two samples are below. One uses student art which is another thing I want kids to start thinking about.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt


We're Going on a Bear Hunt


After I fell in love with Pete the Cat, I found more songs by this artist. One that I think has huge possibilities with older kids is The Three Pigs song by Eric Litwin. I think taking favorite tales and creating story/songs might be fun for some kids. This is a great example.

Three Pigs audio
http://musicishere.com/artist/19819-Eric-Litwin/19795-Smile-at-Your-Neighbor


The kids have become very familiar with PIXIE and FRAMES this year. Drawing tools and some basic animations are making sense to many kids. I want them to take a look at creations like the following songs to see how music and drawing can go together in new ways.

The Elephant Song


5 Little Monkeys


Because so many of the tools are new for kids and because they are just beginning to see the possibilities, much of this spring is about planting seeds, knowing that kids are amazing and will come up with ideas that I cannot possibly imagine. I can't wait to see which of the things from these samples they pick up on to try and which other things they find on their own.

Poem #24--Coffee House Sonnet

When at the coffee shop we both do sit

and sip dark roast or other blended drink

we open books and read for just a bit

which turns into an hour in a blink.

Around us others read from their books or

they stare with blank looks at computer screens.

To study here is not so much a chore

and bonus points are scored for the caffeine.

But only so much there can we get done:

the groc'ries, laundry, cleaning still do wait.

We must make time on Saturday for fun

and yet not so much that we run too late.

All things in their own time and their own place.

Work hard, have fun, but keep a steady pace.

Poem #23--Where I'm From Poem (and Poetry Friday)

WHERE I'M FROM

I'm from the smell of chlorine

and the heat of sun-baked cement by the pool.

I'm from cherry tomatoes eaten warm off the plant

and zinnias, marigolds, and petunias.

I'm from goatheads and hailstones,

blizzards and dust storms.

I'm from "Punkin' " and "Sugar Plum"

and "You are my special angel."

I'm from Lawrence Welk and Glenn Miller,

Ed Sullivan and Johnny Cash.

I'm from Lubbers Lounge Lu Lu

and Thanksgiving ham and broiled spareribs.

I'm from wide horizons

and big skies,

and I'm from a small town

and narrow opportunities.

I've traveled far.

I've kept it all inside my heart.

by Mary Lee Hahn, copyright 2010

The Poetry Friday Roundup today is at Picture Book of the Day with Anastasia Suen.

Here's a reprint of a bunch of the Kidlitosphere (and other assorted) NaPoMo projects that I'm following (or at least trying valiantly to follow):

Gregory K. is once again hosting 30 Poets/30 Days with previously unpublished poems by favorite children's authors.

Tricia Stohr-Hunt is interviewing 30 children's poets, beginning with Mary Ann Hoberman, the US Children's Poet Laureate. The Poetry Makers list is stellar!

Jone MacCulloch shares Thirty Days, Thirty Students, Thirty Poems: original poems by students.

Jama Rattigan is posting original poems & favorite recipes by some of the Poetry Friday regulars.

At A Wrung Sponge, Andromeda is writing a "haiga" (photo and haiku) each day. Her photography is simply stunning. The haikus are amazing, too!

Kelly Fineman at Writing and Ruminating will continue the Building a Poetry Collection series she began last year -- selecting a poem a day in a kind of personal Poetry Tag (see Sylvia Vardell's version below) and providing analysis. I call this The University of Kelly Fineman because I learn so much in each post!

Sylvia Vardell is inviting poets to play Poetry Tag. She will invite poets to "play" along by offering a poem for readers to enjoy, then she will "tag" a poet who shares her/his own poem THAT IS CONNECTED to the previous poem in SOME way—by a theme, word, idea, tone-- and offers a sentence or two explaining that connection. What a creative idea!

Laura at Author Amok is highlighting the poets laureate of all 50 states this month...well, all the ones that have a poet laureate... Fun Fun!

Laura Salas is posting a children's poem per day from a poetry book she loves.

Lee Wind is publishing many new Teen voices during April for National Poetry Month. GLBTQ Teen Poetry.

Bud the Teacher gives a picture prompt every day during April and invites readers to post the poem it inspires in the comments of his blog.

ORIGINAL POEM-A-DAY CHALLENGE

Checks these blogs daily for new original poems by the following people:

Susan Taylor Brown

Jone MacCulloch

Elizabeth Moore

April Halprin Wayland

Liz Scanlon

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

If I missed your project, please let me know and I'll add it to my list!

Poem #22--Did Someone Say Only 30 More Days?

Overheard at Spinning Class

or

The Last Six Weeks of School

(or both)

Hold that load!

Don't touch that knob!

You've got one more chance

to push yourself to a nine!

Everything that's left in your tank?

Give it now!

Stay strong!

Go for it!

by Mary Lee Hahn, copyright 2010

FARM by Elisha Cooper

I so loved Elisha Cooper's book BEACH last year, that I was thrilled to see his new book FARM on the shelves. FARM is easily recognizable as Cooper's work if you have his book BEACH. In this new book, readers learn the workings of a farm. The cycle of the year and the way the farm works is all part of this book. There is a lot of information about farms in general and a short glossary at the front of the book adds to the learning. The information is told in a kind of story format in which we learn the names of the animals and about the children's chores.

The thing I love most about this book is the language and the humor spread throughout. Just as in his first book, this shows times on the farm in which several things happening at once. The layout helps readers understand that the farm is a busy place.

This book would be a great one for anyone who teaches about the farm. So much information packed into a gorgeously written picture book. It would fit nicely into many social studies units. But, even if you don't teach something related to this topic, this is a great mentor text for writing. Children can learn a lot from Cooper's writing.

Poem #21--Haiku Response to Literature

This week, I gave my students the option to write their responses to their nightly reading in haikus instead of sentences. I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm listening to Bill Bryson read his book, Shakespeare: The World As Stage:

So few facts are known;

what we "know," we speculate.

Still fascinating.

by Mary Lee Hahn, copyright 2010