Friday, May 3, 2019

A Pinecone - Poems Can Describe


In My Yard Today
Photo by Amy LV




Students - This short little poem is simply a poem of description and a poem of comparison.  I wrote it while working with some wonderful second graders at Northwood Elementary in Hilton, NY.  We were looking closely at natural objects, sketching them, and writing about them while using jewelers loupes.  I learned this process from the wonderful site, The Private Eye and every once in a while, I love reminding you about their work.

Here you can see my poem without line breaks and then again with line breaks.

No Line Breaks - Line Breaks
Photo by Amy LV

If you ever write something that sounds like a poem but does not look like a poem, remember that you can add or change line breaks during or after writing.  I like to use slashes to help me imagine line break possibilities, slashing and then copying the poem with new line breaks.  Sometimes I rewrite the same words many different ways, considering which way looks best and sounds best on the page.

Line breaks matter in poetry.  Read poems out loud to get the feel of others' line breaks, and enjoy playing with your own.

Did you know that pinecones open up when it is warm and dry and close up when it is wet?  They are good seed savers.  Interesting nonfiction facts always make for interesting poem topics.

Thank you to the sweet schools I visited in the past week: Schlegel Road in Webster, NY, Greenacres in Scarsdale, NY, and Lenape Meadows, Betsy Ross, and George Washington in Mahwah, NJ.  It was a pleasure to join your writing communities, each for a day!

Jama offers us a sweet and delicious entry into May this Poetry Friday where she is hosting this week's roundup at Jama's Alphabet Soup.  Visit her place to explore all poetry happenings around the Kidlitosphere.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

10 comments:

  1. Delightful poem -- and I didn't know about pinecones opening and closing!

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  2. Love 'they come out to play' & the fact about wet & dry is one that always fascinated my students, & now the grand-girls. Thanks, Amy.

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  3. This has given me an idea for a minilesson for teaching line breaks. I find them hard to teach because they are all about feeling right. Hmm... thanks, Amy!

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  4. Thanks for this mini lesson. I love the idea of a pin one being a house.

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  5. I am so excited... when I came home from a mini-vacation at the coast, your book was waiting for me! I can't wait! THANK YOU! I love "Private Eye." I made a gigantic outdoor wreath from pine cones, dropped by our tree. I put them in a warm oven to make them open before I created the wreath. Its been hanging on my back porch for a long time and every spring a few little brown birds come looking for some seeds. I don't think there are any left. I wonder if I could add some seeds? I wonder if the birds would be disappointed if the seeds were not from the pine cones?

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  6. My kinders certainly love to look closely at things. I love your poem, and can't wait to share it with them. I also did not know about The Private Eye! I am going to do their "1 inch pond" lesson with some vernal pool water this week. Thanks, friend! -- Christie xx @https://wonderingandwondering.wordpress.com/

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  7. I need to get a set of jewelers' loupes...Until then, I'll train myself to look more closely!

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  8. I love the lesson in looking closely--both at the topic and the form. thank you!

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  9. I love how your poem puts us and the seeds on an equal footing in so many ways.

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  10. "A little house of seeds" -- so sweet! Thanks for the peek at your no-line-breaks and line breaks drafts. My third grade students are going to work on that tomorrow.

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