Nature Brilliance & How-To Poems

Wine Caps and Spore Print
Foraging by Henry V
Photo by Amy LV

Students - Our son Henry is interested in mycology (the study of fungi) and foraging, and this week he found a treasure trove of wine cap mushrooms. Above, you can see the spore print he took of one of them. Its purple hue helped him finalize the identification of this mushroom.

Today's poem grew from a scientific fact (mushrooms make spore prints), an object lying around our house (this print on the table and the mushrooms in the fridge), and a comment made by my husband (when Mark left this morning, he asked, "Are you going to write a blog post about this spore print?")  Poems and writing ideas really are all over the place.

This poem is also a bit of a how-to poem, explaining how to make a spore print.  You can best collect spore prints from mushrooms gathered in the wild. And too, you might choose to write a how-to poem about anything you wish to teach.

If you wish to learn more about mushroom hunting, you can do so at Wonderopolis, and you can learn more about spore prints and everything-mushroom from the North American Mycological Association.

Remember: do not eat mushrooms you find unless you are a mushroom expert or under the guidance of a mushroom expert.  Some mushrooms are poisonous and can make you sick.

Laura is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at Laura Shovan with a celebration of the third grade poets of Northfield Elementary as well as this week's poetry offerings from all around the Kidlitosphere. We gather together each Friday, and all are always welcome.  

Please share a comment below if you wish.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

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.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

Hi! - A Greeting from a Wolf Spiderling

One Little Voice

by Amy LV

Students - Earlier one evening this week, my husband called me outside to see a mother wolf spider covered in babies.  I had never seen this before, and I find myself thinking about it over and over.  When I saw her, I half wanted to run away and half wanted to pick her up.  So I compromised,  bent down, and looked closely.  I was unable to get a photograph in time, but I have one in my head that I can go back and revisit when I'm feeling wolf spidery.

Of course this led me to want to read more about wolf spiders, and I found myself amazed by their eight eyes and by the mothers' devotion to their babies.  When I sat to write, it makes complete sense that this is what I wrote.  I can't stop thinking about it?

It is important to look at fascinating things when people invite you to do so. Even if you're not in the mood.  Get up.  Go look.  Store away what you see in your mind.  You might write about it someday.

If you would like read a little bit more about wolf spiders and see a photograph of a wolf spider mom with her babies, visit KidZone, and if you'd like to see even more photographs, there are many at Google Images.

Diane is hosting today's Poetry Friday party of summer here at Random Noodling. All are always welcome to this weekly celebration of poems and poets and words and friendship!

Please share a comment below if you wish.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

Wallow in Wonder Day 9 - What is a Sun Dog?

Welcome to Day 9 of Wallow in Wonder!  For my 2016 National Poetry Month project, I will celebrate learning and writing from learning, writing poems from each daily Wonder at Wonderopolis.  As I did with my Dictionary Hike in 2012, I am looking to surprise myself with new inspiration daily.  This year, such inspiration will show up in my inbox each morning.  I will print it and carry each Wonderopolis Wonder around all day...and in the afternoon or evening, I will write and post the poem for the next day.  

I invite anyone who wishes to take this challenge too.  Just read today's wonder over at Wonderopolis, and write a poem inspired by it for tomorrow.  Share it tomorrow at your own site, and if you wish to link in my comments for others to find (or share your poem there), please feel free to do so tomorrow, the day after the Wonder is published at Wonderopolis.  If you would like to share any ways you have used Wallow in Wonder or your own site (safe for children only please), please link to the #WallowInWonder padlet.

My April Poems Thus Far

April 1 - So Suddenly - a poem inspired by Wonder #1659 

April 2 - Thankful Journal - a poem inspired by Wonder #1660

April 3 - The Storm Chaser - a poem inspired by Wonder #779

April 4 - A Jar of Glitter - a poem inspired by Wonder #641

April 5 - To Make Compost - a poem inspired by Wonder #1661

April 6 - Deciding Now - a poem inspired by Wonder #1662

April 7 - Hummingbird's Secret - a poem inspired by Wonder #1663

April 8 - Limits - a poem inspired by Wonder #1664

And now for Day 9!

Wonder #1665 - from April 8, 2016

Sun and His Dogs

by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem is an English - or Shakespearean - sonnet.  You will notice four stanzas, really, all smushed together.  The first three groupings of lines each have four lines, and the last grouping has two.  I could separate them, but a sonnet is all together, and I want to keep to that look.

Can you find the rhyming words here?  What do you see?  Do you see how the rhyme scheme changes at the end?  

When writing simple sonnets like this one, I very much enjoy patting out the rhythms in the ten-beat lines.  If you haven't yet, you may also read my other sonnet from April 1 of Wallow in Wonder - So Suddenly.  Reading both of them together will perhaps get that sound, that rhythm into your mind.  Maybe you'll even try to write a sonnet line or two?

I had to do some learning to write this poem.  I did not know what a sundog (or sun dog) was.  But now, thanks to writing, I do. In reading a few articles about sundogs, I was especially interested in the fact that people are not sure why these patches of light are called sundogs, but they think that perhaps it is because they appear so near and so loyal to the sun, just as real furry dogs are near and loyal to their masters.

If you have not yet done so, do read the Wonderopolis post from yesterday, and you will know too.  And don't miss these sundog and moondog pictures at Atmospheric Optics.  It is a beautiful gallery.

You can read another poem inspired by Wonder #1665 if you visit Wonder Lead Ambassador, literacy advocate, teacher, and writer Paul Hankins at his Wonder Ground blog where he, too, is writing daily poems from Wonderopolis wonders.  He and I are in this together daily and some other writers are joining in on the fun sometimes too. 

Yesterday's post had a giveaway!  Should you leave a comment on yesterday's post, you will be entered into a giveaway generously offered by Barry Lane - 3 Barry CDs to one winner, and I will draw the name on Sunday (tomorrow) evening. Please be sure to leave a way to contact you.  Thank you, Barry!

I am thrilled to host middle school teacher and librarian Stefanie Cole and her students from Ontario, Canada to Sharing Our Notebooks this month.  Do not miss this post; it is full of notebook inspiration, a video clip, and a great book giveaway from Stefanie.

Happy Day 9 of National Poetry Month 2016!  

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Petrified Forest - Researching and Writing

from THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BOOK OF NATURE POETRY

Edited by J. Patrick Lewis, former U.S. Children's Poet Laureate

Students - I am very pleased to share today's poem, which you will soon be able to find on page 169 of the National Geographic BOOK OF NATURE POETRY, the latest book edited by our former U.S. Children's Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis.

This book will be released next Tuesday, October 13, 2015, and I feel lucky to have my poem nestled alongside poems of so many poets I admire.  It is a deliciously beautiful book in both word and image, and it is a sibling to the equally wonderful National Geographic BOOK OF ANIMAL POETRY (2012).

Available at Your Local Bookstore

When J. Patrick Lewis put this book together, he shared a long list of the many topics he wished for different people to write about.  We were able to choose from this long list of topics, and as I have always been fascinated by petrified wood, I was happy to find it wasn't chosen before I had a chance to take it.  Topic in hand, I was off to research so as to know more when I sat to write.

You might try this too.  Consider beginning your writing today with a subject from science or social studies.  You might even brainstorm a list of subjects with friends and then each of you choose one (or pick from a hat!)  Do a little bit of research first so that you have some solid information and hard facts when you sit to write your poem.

Then, when you write your poem...open your mind, asking yourself, "What most intrigues me about this?  Where is the mystery?  What can I not forget?"  These questions will help you.

If you're interested in petrified wood, by the way, you can learn more at the National Park Service website.

Nominations for the 10th annual CYBILS awards are open!  Check out the the poetry judges for this year here, see which poetry books have been nominated here, and if you would like to nominate a book by October 15, 2015, please do so here.

You will not want to miss Cynthia Grady's graet post at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks.  Author of I LAY MY STITCHES DOWN: POEMS OF AMERICAN SLAVERY, Cynthia shares some of her favorite notebooks, behind the scenes of this beautiful book, and she offers a book giveaway too.  I will draw the name of the winner this Sunday, October 11!

Laura is hosting today's Poetry Friday party over at Writing the World for Kids. Visit her fabulous new site to enjoy the tasty menu of poetry goodness all around the Kidlitosphere.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Pluto! - Writing from Current Events

 

Portrait of Pluto

Taken July 13, 2015 by the New Horizons Spacecraft

Photo Permission

Students - This may be the first time I have posted a poem picture here that was not taken or drawn by someone in my family or by a good friend. But it's a clear and beautiful image of Pluto, and so I could not resist.  This past Tuesday, July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto, and it was the first spacecraft to do so.  It took nine and a half years to make the three billion mile trip, and they did it.  

When I listened to the news on Tuesday and Wednesday and saw the Pluto pictures, I knew that I would write about this exciting day and event.  Every single day, millions of interesting things happen in the world.  By reading or listening to the news, a writer can find many many ideas.  Try taking a peek at the newspaper or listening to radio news.  You might watch a bit of TV news or check out a news site here online, and let it inspire a new poem or piece of writing in you.

If you wish to read a bit more about the New Horizons fly-by, visit The New York Times. To see a timelapse video showing how our knowledge of Pluto has grown, visit NASA.  And this little NASA clip shows you Pluto's mountains:

This week I was over the moon excited to receive my contributor copies of the latest book by Lee Bennett Hopkins - JUMPING OFF LIBRARY SHELVES. Gorgeously illustrated by Jane Manning, this is a warm, wise, and whimsical celebration of poems celebrating the goodness of libraries.  My poem, "Book Pillows," could not be happier to be included, and I am looking forward to September when the book is available. Today, though, I am offering a giveaway to a commenter on this post. Simply comment with a way to reach you below, and I'll draw one name on Thursday evening and announce the winner next Friday.

Available through Your Local Bookstore

or Amazon

If you'd like to see how the Favorite Poem Padlet is growing, click here to check it out.  You can still add your favorite.  Just double click anywhere on the gray with your left mouse button, and begin typing!

This week's Poetry Friday party is with Kimberley over at Google +.  Visit there to read a beautiful poem and to learn about links to poetry goodness all around.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

Water - Writing about Mysteries

Pour It!

Photo by Amy LV

Click the arrow to hear me read this poem to you.

Students - Last week I received a comment from a teacher who told me her students particularly liked this poem about how I see science as like writing, breaking out the light inside of us.  Her words made me want to revisit some more old poems, ones that have never been on this site.  Rummaging around in my files, I found this one about water.  The poem had been getting dusty and lonely as I wrote it in 2002 and had never shared it with anyone.  I did make a change to it today, adding line breaks.  Before it was all in one stanza, but now it is has four stanzas.  Did you notice that the first and last stanzas are the same? Yes! It is a circular poem.

What is mysterious to you?  The things we find amazing and mysterious are often fantastic writing topics.  I  have always thought it's neat that a water can be solid, liquid, or gas...so I celebrate that idea here!

Here are a few more of my poems about water: Over Sixty Percent, The Water Tower, my boots love, Tide Pool.

And here is a great book of concrete poems about water by Joan Bransfield Graham - SPLISH SPLASH.

Shop Indie Bookstores

In happy news, my first copy of FOREST HAS A SONG arrived last week. Here I am, holding it.  (Can you tell that I am tickled?)

Please share a comment below if you wish.

To find a poem by topic, click here. To find a poem by technique, click here.

Like The Poem Farm on Facebook for more poems, articles, and poemquotes!

Does it Sink? Does it Float? Poem #351

Our Creek

Photo by Elizabeth Pellette

Students - one could call type kind of poem a teach-you-a-fact-poem.  Taking facts we know and recasting them as poems gives us a way to think through our passions and interests.  You might have noticed that in today's poem, I use the word 'you' over and over again.  When a writer does this, it invites the reader to jump in.  It helps the reader know that "I'm talking to you, friend!"

Teachers - introducing and closing social studies and science units with content poems is one way to invite students to synthesize their learning and explore the arts too.  We might open a unit by reading poetry about the subject and close it by writing our own.

SPECTACULAR SCIENCE, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, explores all types of scientific subjects and would serve as a great model for such writing about facts.

Shop Indie Bookstores

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Eggs are Fragile-Magical! - Celebrate 211!

What About You?

by Amy LV

Yesterday morning, I let the chickens out and found three warm eggs left in a nest box.  Carrying my little fistful down to the house, I thought about their quiet beauty which will feed us sometime this week.  Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, Boy and Egg, speaks to my feeling, "riveted to the secret of birds".

Later, sitting down to write, those eggs would not leave my mind.  And I remembered last week when I forgot to boil our breakfast eggs.  Our morning sitter and friend, Amy, found the pot of eggs and water, assumed they were cooked, cracked one to peel, and....splat!  Oops!  Let's just say it wasn't the first time.  That gave me the idea for today's poem.

Egg leads to egg, and so I recalled Carl Sandburg's poem, "Arithmetic" in which he asks, "If you ask your mother for two fried eggs for breakfast and she/gives you two fried eggs and you eat both of them, who is/better in arithmetic, you or your mother?"  Here is a book I am ordering right away: an illustrated version of this playful poem!

Find a used copy on Amazon!

Students - our minds are funny places, leading us down surprise pathways each day.  Often a particular image, a question, or a memory will follow us around.  If this happens to you, listen and write.  Today I listened to eggs.

If you would like to read about why hard boiled eggs spin, you can do so at npr.  And for more fun eggsperiments, visit here.

I would like to thank Melissa Wiley for her generous post about The Poem Farm at her beautiful family, book, and homeschooling blog, Here in the Bonny Glen.  Melissa is the author of The Martha Years books about Laura Ingalls Wilder's great-grandmother, Martha Morse Tucker, and The Charlotte Years books, about Laura's grandmother, Charlotte Tucker Quiner.  She is also my new friend from Kidlit Con!

Welcome homeschooling families!  On Fridays, I often feature student poetry in this space.  If you have a special poetry ritual or lesson along with children's poetry that you would like to share, please drop me a note.

(Please click on COMMENTS below to share a thought.)

My Poem Writing Year #191 - This Windmill

On my way home from school in Hilton, NY last evening, I drove through the High Sheldon Wind Farm on Route 77.  Each time I drive this route, my eyes are drawn upward and around, marveling at these whirling dervishes so quietly making electricity.  I am awed by the humans who think of such things and curious about the inner workings of such machines.

Students - this poem is simply descriptive.  I have looked at these wind turbines many times, and I think of them as big metal flowers, as spinning wheels for air.  Last night I sought to paint a playful picture of this movement with words, to compare one windmill to a spinning wheel and to a large flower.  You might try this.  Look at something carefully, and through the words of your poem, describe what you see, compare what you see to something else.

I enjoyed writing this poem because it is a science-y topic, a fascinating world of alternative energy.  Poetry can happily grow from our nonfiction interests, so if you are a person who loves space or animals or learning about the Civil War, consider allowing these interests and fact-fascinations to inspire your poetry and writing.

You may have noticed that certain words in this poem begin with the same sounds - the 'm' sounds in 'massive metal flower' and the 'w' sounds in 'whisking winds' were not accidents.  Rather, I tried many different words until I found ones which began with the same sounds.  This is called alliteration, or repeating of initial sounds of words, and one way that I revise my poetry is by rereading to ask myself, "Might I change a word to strengthen the alliteration of this line?"

If you would like to learn more about how windmills work, you can see an animation showing how wind turbines spin air into power at The US Department of Energy or read even more at Horizon Wind Energy.

Tomorrow is Poetry Friday, and in celebration of this new school year off to a healthy start, I will be linking along the right-hand side to The Poem Farm's previous Poetry Peeks.  Next week, we welcome teacher and author Lynda Sentz from Cloverbank Elementary in Hamburg, NY and her fourth graders for yet another peek inside one classroom's celebration of poetry.

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