Students - I dedicate this poem to my new first grade friends from Ms. Rose's class and Ms. Ferrari's class at Furnace Woods Elementary School in Cortlandt, NY. We had a virtual visit yesterday (they at their school, me in my old camper), and one thing we talked about is the importance of making changes to our work. I loved meeting with these thoughtful students, and this is the poem I was drafting before and after our visits. You can see how many changes I made to it in my notebook!
Sometimes people think of cross outs and scratch outs as "mistakes." But I don't see them that way at all. They are really growing marks, showing the birth of new ideas and understandings.
So if you cross something out in your work to replace it with a new idea or to simply leave space where it needs to be...celebrate that and celebrate you!
Can you think of a time when you thought of something one way and then realized that it is not that way at all? This could be the good start to a poem. If you wish, you could even begin by writing:
They're not....
They're....
or
It's not....
It's....
It can be helpful to have a starter and then keep it or not once you get going.
Your writing is yours. I wish you scribbles!
Cathy is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup at Merely Day by Day with a gentle and generous poem that she wrote for the Poetry Friday community. It speaks of all teachers and all who give. Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.
Students - Today's poem is known as a poem of address or an apostrophe poem. In such a poem, the writer writes to a person, thing or idea not actually in the room. It is interesting to write this kind of poem because it allows us to talk to objects like the cookie we wish to compliment or the spelling word that keeps tripping us up. We can even write poems to the idea of Peace or Worry or if we wish, to a person who died long ago.
I have been a writing teacher for many years and since I am a writer too, I think a lot about the kind of response that helps me, the kind of listening and advice I wish for and hope to offer the writers I meet. So this poem is to all of the readers-of-writing, mine and others'.
Erin is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at The Water's Edge with a Where I'm From poem. Each week we gather together, sharing poems, books, and poetry ideas all at one blog. All are always welcome to visit, comment, and post.
Students - This week I filled up the last pages of my notebook and bought a new notebook, the one you see above. I am excited when I complete a notebook, but I also feel a little bit sad to say goodbye. (I feel this way about novels too!)
I wrote today's poem as a poem of address, or a poem written TO something else. Sometimes it is interesting to pretend that another person or animal or object is listening to you...and to write directly TO it. This poem sounds like I really do talk, except for the rhyme part, and it is something I often think about. Each time I begin a new notebook, it feels strange to enter this new paper room, to write on these new paper walls. I do get comfy in a new notebook after a while. It takes a few pages of writing in a notebook before I feel at home.
If you don't know what to write about, consider writing TO a person or animal or object. Or think about a feeling related to your own writing life. Or perhaps, make a list of many different events in life (riding your bike, having a haircut, playing with a dog) and the feelings that go with these events. Approach a topic from a feeling place...and off you go!
Today I could not be happier to welcome co-teachers Emily Callahan and Nicole Johnson and their 44 second grade poets from Crossroads Academy Quality Hill Academy in Kansas City, Missouri. Some of you might remember Emily Callahan from when she was a fourth grade teacher at a different school. Back in 2016, she and her students taught us all about Popcorn and Poetry, which has caught on in many new places.
How lucky we are to have these poet guests! Enjoy every moment.
If you wish to learn about this class's poetry journey through slides, do so here.
Or if you'd rather learn by watching a five minute movie, you may do so here.
Click the Box to Enlarge
Enjoy a peek at this thoughtful class poetry anthology...fingerprints on the cover!
Watch Ben's movie book to learn about cats and 20 ways to approach a topic.
(Thank you, Ben, for your generous dedication!)
Wow! I am very grateful to these students for their posts here today. Thank you, writers and teachers!
If you did not have a chance to read last week's beautiful fourth grade poems, shared by teachers Lauren Coffey and Patricia Nesbitt of McNeill Elementary in Bowling Green, Kentucky, please be sure to head on over and dive in. We are fortunate to have so many gorgeous words to wallow in...and teachers, I invite your class to share in this space too.
Deep gratitude to all of the generous sixth grade bloggers from Michelle Haseltine's class of Brambleton Middle School in Loundon County, Virginia. For the whole month of May, they took OVER my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, filling each day with pictures, ideas, and endless enthusiasm and fun.You can visit over there to find all kinds of ideas for your own summer notebooking. What a blast! I'm currently seeking blog takeover classes for the 2018-2019 school year. Teachers, if you're interested, please let me know.
Buffy is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Buffy's Blog where you will find a cool seed storm! Each week we gather together, sharing poems, books, and poetry ideas all at one blog. All are always welcome to visit, comment, and post.
