Friday, March 13, 2015

Teaching Poems - What Do I Know?


New Friends
by Amy LV




Students - I am a dog lover!  Our family has two dogs, Cali and Sage, and we love them and they love each other. Sometimes when I walk down the street and see a new dog, I just want to get to know it.  But it's not so safe to pet strange dogs, so I always ask the owner and follow the steps in this poem when meeting a new dog.  When our chidren were small, I taught them to ask the owner for permission before petting any dogs as well.

This is a poem that teaches HOW to do something.  And writing a procedural poem is almost like writing a how-to book, only in a poem, the writer writes from line to line and the reader reads from line to line instead of from page to page.  You may notice that today's poem rhymes, but it rhymes in a conversational way.

What do you know how to do?  Funny things? Serious things? Crafts? Cooking? Games? Friendship tips? Building? Anything in the world...what could you teach? Might you write a poem about it?

Here is a dog I met last month in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Just looking at his picture makes me smile.

Happy week ahead!  I wish you dogs!


Please share a comment below if you wish.

7 comments:

  1. Hi, Amy. I love how-to poems -- it's an underused form. Sam the Schnauzer will appreciate this poem.

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  2. Amy,

    I'm sharing your poem. It's a great way to teach how to make dog friends.

    This poem form would be a fun way to write out a recipe for kids.

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  3. That dog makes me smile, too :-) You're so right about asking permission to pet strange dogs! A small child asked my permission yesterday and I had to say no -- my pup is afraid of small children! In fact, the smaller, the scarier. She thinks babies are the scariest of all. (We're working on it...)

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  4. This fools us nicely in the way it actually looks like and starts as a list of steps--but reads like a rhyming, metered verse. Good one, Amy.

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  5. Oh how I love dog poems.

    "Whisper secrets in its ear/Kiss its furry face"
    These are two of my favorite things to do ...

    Thanks for sharing this.



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