In Amy Ludwig VanDerWater’s Poems are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres, the section which suggests that Writers Play with Language is a poem by Deborah Chandra. Chandra’s piece invites the would-be poet to “Personify Animals and Objects.” The idea and poem here led me to think about J. Ruth Gendler’s […]
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National Poetry Month: 11/30: “Purse! Discusses”: A Haiku
Taking a short break this morning to celebrate one of the short forms of poetry that often finds students rapping a pencil on the desk for its syllabic counts: haiku. Over the weekend, I got to read Sydell Rosenberg’s H is for Haiku (with illustrations by Sawsan Chalabi) from Penny Candy Books. It just celebrated […]
National Poetry Month: 10/30: “Yes, Dummies Can Do”
Remix of The Knowing Book by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Illustrated by Matthew Cordell For today’s poem, I am drawing inspiration from our Young People’s Poet Laureate and poetry community friend, Margarita Engle and her piece, “Yes, Boys Can Dance!” from the Writers Craft Beginnings and Endings section of Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s Poems […]
National Poetry Month: 9/30: “The Sound of a Word Unheard”
Paul B. J Paul B. Janeczko’s poem, “Mary Todd Lincoln Speaks of Her Son’s Death, 1862,” appears within the Writers Play with Language section of Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres. Janeczko’s poem is a model piece demonstrating how poets Repeat for Effect. In this piece […]
National Poetry Month: 8/30: “The Night Lightning Struck (the Old Snag Tree)”
I get a daily poem from Jane Yolen every morning in the email. This is a great way to start conversations with those who know the “Hans Christian Andersen of America” and know that Jane has just released her 365th book making it possible that a reader could read a different Jane Yolen title each […]
National Poetry Month: 7/30: “Under the Door/In the Box”
For our multigenre project, T.H.I.S. in Room 407, students who are on the poetry track commit to writing two Spoken Word style pieces, one about the subject and other about a contemporary issue related to their subject. The often narrative approach, feel, and sound of the Spoken Word poem are also found in the Story […]
National Poetry Month: 6/30: “Soot to Spit”
“Spit to Soot” is inspired by Charles Ghigna’s (“Father Goose”) poem found in Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s Poems are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres. Ghigna’s poem is an mentor/model text that demonstrates how a writer might “Mirror a Cycle of Time.” Caterpillar Dreams In the emerald dew of morning, […]
National Poetry Month: 5/30: “If You Were to Bring Me a Box”
Lee Wardlaw’s Mask Poem, “History Lesson,” is one of the model/mentor poems within Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres. The Mask Poem is an opportunity not only to walk in the shoes of another person, we can write while standing in those shoes. We get to […]
National Poetry Month: 4/30: “Soot.Spit.”
This piece is inspired by Heidi Mordhorst, “See Saw” from page 97 Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s Poems are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres. Heidi’s poem is an invitation to Weave Back and Forth to Compare and Contrast. The poem has notable features to include a two-column structure; alliteration; the use […]
National Poetry Month: 3/30: “Solosounding”
This piece is informed and inspired by Kentucky poet, George Ella Lyon. Many know George Ella’s work from the “I Am From” poem template that many teachers use in the classroom and that we had written earlier in the year. Her poem, “Solitary,” is found within the “Writers Choose Perspective and Point of View” section […]