National Poetry Month: #haikudiary.21

when will justice be

expected immutable

like rock not spring snow

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

 

National Poetry Month: #haikudiary.20

How do you pack a

decades-long friendship into

a three-line haiku?

Committees, roadtrips,

Twitter, blog, NCTE,

breakfast at NorthStar.

Happy Birthday, Friend!

You continue to inspire

and to make us laugh.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

 

National Poetry Month: #haikudiary.19

 

quanto basta

as much as you need

spring garden

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

National Poetry Month: #haikudiary.18

suddenly there's shade

branches with buds subitize

shadows gain substance

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

 

National Poetry Month: #haikudiary.17

old trees make new leaves

bark is rough but roots are strong

spring becomes summer

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

 

Text Set: Short Texts for Grades 3-8

 Texts for this Text Set have been posted daily on Instagram. 

Follow @TextSets there to get daily updates!

As teachers, we are always looking for quality short texts. Short texts are great for mini lessons, read aloud, book clubs and more.  I've been finding so many great new publications with short pieces that I wanted to share them. The books I'll share this week are best for grades 3-8. I haven't necessarily read these books cover to cover and that is part of the beauty of these books--they offer short, stand alone pieces. When I get books like this, I usually do a pretty intense preview to get a sense of features and format. Then I read a few to get a sense of what is in the pages. I then dip in and out of them when I am looking for something specific.

I love Wonder Women of Science, a new book filled with women in science. The subtitle, "Twelve Geniuses Who Are Currently Rocking Science, Technology, and the World" says it all. This book shares the stories of incredible women and their journeys to the work they do now. Each 10-20 page piece has facts, photos from childhood, and more.  Readers learn about the people behind the science as well as a bit of science.  There is so much to each one of these mini-biographies.

These two books focus on stories of people taking action.  In Our Future, the author gives us a two-page spread about each activist, telling us a bit about their work and their motivation for the work.  Illustrations, photos and quotes are part of this book. In Muslim Girls Rise, each two page spread tells the story of one Muslim woman and the change she is creating in the world.  Both books focus on current issues. being addressed. These books show how much you can learn from short texts.

The short pieces in Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Human Migration start with a drawing.  Artist and author George Butler observed people migrating and captured many in drawings. From Syria to Kenya, Butler records human stories through art and writing. Each story is unique and the visuals can also be studied independent of the text.  An incredible book.

Poetry is always a great choice when looking for short texts. The poetry by poet Naomi Shihab Nye gives readers so much to think about. Everything Comes Next is a newer anthology that included past and current poems by the author. Honeybee includes poetry as well as short paragraphs/pieces that can be used independently.

There is nothing like a great short story and these two books are filled with incredible short stories. Both edited anthologies, Ancestor Approved and Once Upon an Eid include the voices of many authors. The stories have depth and most can be read in one sitting.  Not only do these books provide fabulous short texts but they may also introduce readers to Indigenous and Muslim authors who may be new to them.  Short texts are a great way to discover and fall in Leo with new-to-you authors

This week's books were linked at Cover to Cover Children's Bookstore. If you are looking for a fabulous independent children's bookstore to support, this is an amazing one. We are lucky to have them in Central Ohio!

Poetry Friday -- Three for Earth Day

 

When will we decide

to stop squandering our home?
We act like there's time.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

Nowhere Else to Go

by Linda Sue Park

via Poetry Foundation

Go read Linda Sue Park's poem. I'll wait.             There. You understand now why I couldn't excerpt it, right? You need to read all the way to that powerful last line, which sends you back to the title, and then down through the poem again. 

This was our Weekly Poem for this past week. Our routine goes like this: on the first day, I just read the poem.  My students follow along on the share screen, but we don't talk about the poem. Just read it and let it start soaking in. Then, each day after that, we dig deeper into what we notice about the words, the shape, the craft. Finally, towards the end of the week, we get to possible meanings.  It took most of the week, but they totally got this one. Got what Linda Sue Park was doing with the clues at the beginning and that last line that sends you back to the title.

The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics

by Susan Hood

Illustrated by Christiane Engel

HarperCollins, 2021

An introduction by Milo Cress, founder of BeStrawFree.org

17 poems

Facts on every page

Fabulous illustrations and quotes

Scientists and children from around the world working on the problem of plastic

AND

An author's note

A timeline

"Sources and More" to go with every poem/topic (great websites!!)

AND

Poetry notes about the forms used in each of the poems

PLUS

"For Further Reading"

Jama has this week's Poetry Friday Roundup at Jama's Alphabet Soup. 

National Poetry Month: #haikudiary.15

ask those hard questions

spotlight inequalities

then make good trouble

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

 

National Poetry Month: #haikudiary.14

 

white privilege abounds

black lives matter on yard signs

and I write haiku

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

National Poetry Month: #haikudiary.13

 

we teach the wrong things:

task completion, not passion

test taking, not joy

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2021

We've got seven weeks left, and I'm focusing as much as possible on passion and joy. Our newest fun: about 1/4 of the class is learning a new language using the DuoLingo app.