Formats for 2011 Poetry Project

Pre-project lesson Heart Mapping	Week #1 Quiet/Noisy Poems	Week#2 Bio Poems
Week #3 Important Poems	Week #4 Letter Poems	Week #5 Earliest Memory Poems
Bonus Week . . . Is Coming Poems

This is the official start of our Poetry Project! Yay! I always start with a quotation, and this year, I'm using two that I really like, from authors children really love. that I thought were very appropriate.

"The sound of a word is at least as important as the meaning." Jack Prelutsky
"Love the writing, love the writing, love the writing . . . the rest will follow." Jane Yolen

Poetry is about emotion. It's what the writer felt when he wrote, and what the reader is feeling as he reads. They are not always the same, and that's alright, but a poem that doesn't evoke some response in the reader is not effective. We don't write to produce an effect. If we feel it, as the author, there will be an effect on the reader. We want to get deeper than the "I like my ______." feelings. See if this activity helps students do that.

This is a modification of Georgia Heard's notes in the .pdf file for which I sent the url. At some point between now and when you do the first format, it might be helpful to have your students make heart maps. The younger children will make less complete ones, and use pictures more than writing. Older students can be very detailed. I've attached a copy of the cover of her book, which I recommend. It gives an idea of one kind of heart map.

I suggest having a heart shape divided into 5 sections for the younger students. I think a graphic organizer might be more effective for older students, or let them draw it out in their own way. As always, model for them what you want by doing it yourself, in front of them. If we want children to share their hearts and innermost feelings, we must be willing to do the same.

If you provide an organizer, I suggest using heart shapes somehow in the map to remind students of the main idea of the activity. This NCREL site has some organizer examples. I could see using the Network Tree with a heart in the middle. A lot of our feelings do network from one area to another.

Jack Gantos did a similar thing in a workshop I attended. He called it a neighborhood map and used it to write Heads or Tails, and the following books about Jack, based on his childhood. Marissa Moss uses a diary, in fact tells the entire story through the diary with drawings, sayings, etc., in her Amelia books. This could be the bridge from the poetry unit into prose.

Here are some ideas from Georgia to get students going.

Heart Mapping

Purpose

… To discover what things are important to you
… To discover you inner poet's voice

Directions

Think about the things and people that are important to you. Use the following questions to help you uncover what is in your heart. Then begin your own heart map. Add your own important ideas and thoughts not covered by the questions.

Use the questions as a guide, not an absolute. This can be an ongoing process, added to whenever a new idea occurs to you. As we grow, we change, and so does the heart. (Remind them they aren't writing these stories right now, just making quick notes or pictures to help them remember later.)

… What has really affected your heart?
… What people have been important to you?
… What are some experiences or central events that you will never forget?
… What happy or sad memories do you have?
… What secrets have you kept in your heart?
… What small things or objects are important to you - a tree in your backyard, a trophy, a stuffed animal ?

Ask yourself:

… Should some things be outside of the heart and some inside of it?
… Do you want to draw more than one heart - good and bad; happy and sad; secret and open - and include different things inside each heart?
… What's at the center of your heart?
… What's outside around the edges?
… Do different colors represent different emotions, events, relationships?

I think these questions *might* come before the others, but this is the order in which Georgia put them - feel first then organize? Rough draft answers to the questions and add your own - then make the map?

Quiet/Noisy Poems

A lesson brainstorming words that describe noise or quiet is probably the best way to get student minds thinking about sound words.

Quiet/Noisy Poems
(look at Susan Marie Swanson's "Breathing", from Getting Used to the Dark)
From Joyce Sidman Poem Starters

Think of lots of quiet (or noisy) things--weather, food, animals, etc.
Write a quiet (or noisy) poem, taking three of these things and writing a whole phrase about them: "A cloud drifting across the sky. A cow, sleeping on its feet. Three green apples on a tree, waiting to be eaten."
Then add yourself in, describing what you do when you're quiet (or noisy). "And me, curled up reading a book."
You may write multiple verses, using the same 4th line about you or a different one.

Rain dripping off the eaves.
A tree branch rubbing against the window.
Birds complaining about the weather.
And me, lying on the bed, listening.

Horns honking right and left.
A policeman's whistle blowing.
The radio blasting out Beethoven.
And me, sitting behind the wheel, listening.

Stringy potatoes deep frying in the grease.
A metal spatula scraping against the grill.
Soda squirting into an icy cup.
And me, waiting for my lunch, listening.

Susan Nixon
3-16-2011

Bio Poems

format model:

first name only
4 traits that describe you
son/daughter of ....
sibling of ....
lover of .... (3 people or ideas)
who feels .... (3 items)
who fears .... (3 items)
who would like to see .... (3 items)
resident of .... (city, state)
last name only

Substitute a nickname or last name initial for publication on the internet.

Example:

Susan
Happy, serious, funny, optimistic.
Daughter of God,
Sibling of brats.
Lover of quilting, reading and chocolate,
Who feels joy, sorrow and peace,
Who fears jumping bugs, running cockroaches,
And things that go bump in the night,
Who would like to see Babylon 5,
the Gamma quadrant, and the bridge of USS Enterprise.
Resident of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Nixon

March, 2006

Important Poems

Let's have a terrific author, Margaret Wise Brown, help us learn the craft for this poem. If you have The Important Book, you might read it before doing this assignment. If you do not have access to the book, students catch on quickly to this format.

I asked my younger students to write something about themselves, always a hot topic. One year we did these as Mother's Day poems, and it was about mothers. It can be about anything you, or they, choose. There can be one topic, or each child can choose his own topic. However you want to implement the format and style is fine.

The first and last lines are essentially the same - the most important thing about a person, place or thing. Ask them to list, after that, 3-5 other important things about the topic. This adapts itself well to being used as an evaluation of learning, too.

Example (going with a theme):

The most important thing about me is that I've learned how to love.

I love my family, my friends, and my students.
I love to read, to myself and others.
I love to quilt beautiful fabrics into beautiful, warm covers to cuddle in.
I love to investigate and discover what the world is.
I love to listen to beautiful music that is hundreds of years old.

But the most important thing about me is that I've learned how to love.

By Susan
March 29, 2002

2nd Example (going with extraneous bits of info):

Being willing to take a chance is my most important characteristic.

Visiting with my friends in person is the best fun anytime.
Eating dark chocolate Dove truffles - the most delicious experience.
Curling up with a good book is the world's greatest activity!
Warming cold toes in front of the fireplace - a terrific way to spend a winter evening.
Listening to a happy cat purring makes me happy, too.
But the most important thing about me is that I'm willing to take a chance.

Susan
March 29, 2002

Example 3:

The important thing about Blue Ridge is the huge rocks for sitting.

There are lots of animals who come for breakfast;
And the trees are taller than 3 stories and stand close together, like friends;
And the ground under the trees is covered with a green rug,
Dotted with orange and white and purple wildflowers;
And it's so quiet, one can hear the wind touching the bird nests;
But the important thing about Blue Ridge is the huge rocks for sitting.

Susan Nixon, April 12, 2003

Example:

The important thing about reading is understanding what the author is saying.

It's good to figure out what the characters are like;
And I like to make predictions about what will happen next.
Sometimes I learn new information about something I love;
And sometimes a book takes me to a place I've never been.
I like to make connections from the story to my life and my world;
And I like to visualize things the author describes.
I have to determine what's important from all the information;
But the important thing about reading is understanding what the author is saying.

Susan Nixon, April 3, 2011

You will notice that these poems are punctuated in different ways. The first two are sentences, and the last two are more like the book. More important than the format is the idea of letting others know what it is about yourself, or your topic, that you value.

Letter Poems

Letter Poem

(Look at the book Dear World by Takayo Noda.)
From Joyce Sidman's Poem Starters.

Choose some part of nature ( such as wind, sun, lake, tree).

Think: Why is it important? How is it beautiful? What have you always wanted to know about it?

Write a poem addressed to it, with a compliment, a description, a question, or a wish.

Use the letter salutation as the title of the poem; the closing contains the author's name.

Younger students may have only 3-4 lines in their poems. Older students should put more thought into it and write 9 or more lines. You may make it more formulaic by asking that students start with a compliment, then make a wish, ending by asking a question, if you think that would help them organize their thoughts more easily. This is a good format to use as part of a science lesson that includes a nature walk or an observation walk.

Examples:

Dear Green Grass,

I love the way you poke against my skin
And how you smell after you've been cut.
Does it hurt when you are trimmed,
Or is it like my haircut?

Yours truly,
Susan Nixon

April 5, 2011

Dear Milky Way

I see you in the dark hours of the early morning,
And I wonder if, buried in your depths somewhere,
There is someone who is looking back this way
And wondering if there is someone out here
On the edge of your spiraling arms.
Sometimes you look like millions of stars,
And sometimes it seems a giant
Has spilled his milk across the sky.
I wish I could hop aboard a starship
And wing my way to your neighborhood
To find the answer to my question.
Is there anyone out there?

Sincerely,
Susan Nixon

April 5, 2011

There are any number of books that may be a good lead-in to this format. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is the best one that comes to mind for memories, but there are others that would do. Get students talking about their memories after sharing a book, because that will bring to mind things they might otherwise not think about. Here's an opportunity to talk about adverbs and prepositions, too!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Title: Earliest Memory
#1: Adverbs or prepositions (where)
#2: Doing what
#3: Two or three words showing emotion
#4: Detail from the setting
#5: Skip a line
#6: Tell how you feel

Example:

Earliest Memory
At the easel
Painting a sailboat
Intense, quiet, relaxed
Too much water on the brush

Frustrated!

Earliest Memory
Down the street,
Toddling beside my mother,
Happy, curious, excited
Tall trees and my mom's legs.

Secure.

Susan Nixon, 4-2011

. . . Is Coming

This is a bonus format which can be done instead of, or in addition to, the other formats. It's based on the book Night Is Coming by W. Nikola-Lisa. My students loved the book and, encouraged by the students' involvement in poetry with Ted Scheu, and their interest in the book, I made a template for them to write their own poems.

I asked students to revise a lot, check word choice, make sure they had presented the kind of text that would give readers excellent mental images. Even the SpEd. children were able to do the poem successfully, although most modified the template a little. Over half my class was ELL, and they were successful with this format. It does depend on a lot of preparation and insistence on colorful language to present images. I even put them in small groups for conferencing with their peers.

Summer Is Coming

You can hear birds chirping in the tree,
You can see the sun shining in the sky.
Summer is coming.

You can see lightening flashing.
You can hear rain tapping on the window.
Summer is coming.

You can hear dogs running after cats,
And feel very happy.
You can see sunflowers growing in the garden
And feel very sweaty because it is so hot.
Summer is coming.

And if you follow the sun,
You can see lots of rain.
Summer is coming.

Shining sun,
Sprinkling rain,
Growing flowers.
Summer is coming.

By: Logan (Mrs. McCoy's Class, 2005)

Lil' Tony Is Coming

You can hear talking, stomping, yelling,
You can see mommy, daddy, brother, sister, and brother.
Lil' Tony is coming.

You can see TV, chair, door, teddy bear.
You can hear snapping and playing.
Lil' Tony is coming.

You can hear talking, snapping,
And feel cozy hot.
You can see family, food, pillow
And feel hungry and tired.
Lil' Tony is coming.

And if you follow policemen,
You can see daddy working.
Lil' Tony is coming.

Moving, stomping, crying,
Yelling, playing, writing,
Eating, driving, touching.
Lil' Tony is coming.

By: Tony (Mrs. McCoy's Class, 2005)

A Dog is Coming
By: Angelica (Mrs. Hig's Class, 2005)

A dog is coming
You can hear barking like the waves crashing into the sand
You can see wagging tails like a hurricane

A dog is coming
You can see flopping ears like flipping pancakes
You can hear paws thumping like a monster's foot

A dog is coming
You can hear the munching of food when he leans over to take a bite
and feel soft, furry, fuzzy fur like a pillow
You can see the black, cozy kennel
and feel wet noses like a swimming pool

A dog is coming
And if you follow the dog
You can see a fire hydrant
A dog is coming

Running
Jumping
Wetting
A dog is coming

A Butterfly is Coming
By: Bailey (Mrs. Hig's Class, 2005)

A butterfly is coming
You can hear the chrysalis rattling hard
You can see it climbing out

A butterfly is coming
You can see it's antennae waving
You can hear it pushing out

A butterfly is coming
You can hear the wings flapping calmly
and feel it fly by me happily
You can see sucking nectar fast
and feel it land on my finger gracefully

A butterfly is coming
And if you follow the way it goes in the winter
you can see where it migrates

A butterfly is coming
Fluttering happily in the air
Sucking nectar
Landing n the petal of a flower
A butterfly is coming.

Template:

______________ Is Coming

____________ is coming.
You can hear ___________,
(description)
You can see _______________
(description).

____________ is coming.
You can see ______________.
You can hear _______________________.

____________ is coming.
You can hear _______________________,
and feel _________________________.
You can see _________________________
and feel _____________________.

___________ is coming.
And if you follow ____________________,
you can see ____________________.

__________ is coming.

(an action verb is needed in the next three phrases)
_____________________,
_____________________,
_____________________.
_____________ is coming.

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