Poetry Friday: Round Up

So, I've been away, but I have the round-up for this week.  Please add your links...I am on the West Coast, and I will be updating in the early afternoon...so please check back to see the list!

Little Willow has posted a great (and well-known) monologue from Hamlet at Bildungsroman.

Laura at all things poetry continues her series of religious poems with a lovely poem by Vittoria Colonna

At Wistful Wanderings, Allison has posted a poem about the rush of the roller coaster, and she wants to remind us all to take a look at the side bar on her blog to find out about and participate in the current Creativity Challenge.

Tabatha Yeats has a historical piece about an Acadian Girl titled, Evangline: A Tale of Acadie at Tabatha Yeats: The Opposite of Indifference.

At Author Amok, Laura continues her 50 state tour of the Poet Laureates.  She is in Washington this week, where the position of poet laureate is 'temporarily suspended.  She shares a poem by Sam Green about the act of writing poetry.

Laura Salas has two poems for us today.  She has a poem written by her daughter Rebecca Kai Dotlich here, and Poems in 15 words or less here.

Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town has a beautiful translation of Izumi Shikibu's Although the Wind...

Live. Love. Explore with Irene Latham has One Art for us...which happens to be about 'The art of losing things," an art I know I have perfected...

Jama at Alphabet Soup has Word Tasting for us today here.

What do we need?  Mary Lee has a poem for us about just that at A Year of Reading.


The Poem Farm has the 9th poem in a series of poems about poems.  How very appropriate is it that this weeks post is simply titled: Poem.

Linda at Write Time has another object poem titled 'Miss Myrtle's Table for us this week here.

The Stenhouse Blog has a powerful poem - Cincinnati by Mitsuye Yamada here.

Sally of Paper Tigers blog has a book review of Canadian Poems for Canadian Kids here.  Being that I am a Canadian Teacher, I am particularly intrigued by this book...Sometimes good Canadian content is hard to find!

The Goose has two poem postings this week - one about RAIN for kids at the FATHER GOOSE blog and one about TIME for grownups at the BALD EGO blog.  Take a moment to take a look at both of them!

Wild Rose Reader has an original poem for us this week. (I always admire bloggers who post their original poems... I am still much to self-conscious to put my poems out on the Internet).  Check out Elaine's Things to Do if You Are a Mountain.

Ben has an intriguing E.E. Cummings poem for us today: [as freedom is a breakfast food].  This one is great, but be sure to give it the time it deserves...

Heidi M of My Juicy Little Universe has a gut-wrenching piece called "Prayer for the Man Who Mugged My Father, 72," here.

Janet S. offers us a review of Absolutely Wild written by Dennis Webster and illustrated by his daughter, Kim Webster Cunningham - it is a collection of 16 poems celebrating a variety of wild animals complemented by hand-colored linoleum prints.  The link is here.

Liz in Ink has a poem by Carrie Fountain from her National Poetry Prize winning book here.

Gregory K. has some Fib news for us and is Fibbing on a Poetry Friday.


Did I skip you?  Did I copy the link wrong?  Please let me know!  Have a Great Weekend!

Poetry Friday: If I Were In Charge of the World

So, I know this is a popular poem, but it's one of my favourites, and it seems to always be one of the class favourites every year.  It is a fun one to copy and have students keep the format but change the ideas.  I've always thought that it would make a good beginning of the year bulletin board.

If I were in charge of the world...all work weeks would be four days long and McDonald's cheeseburgers would be a health food.

If I Were In Charge of the World

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel oatmeal,
Monday mornings,
Allergy shots, and also Sara Steinberg.

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be brighter nights lights,
Healthier hamsters, and
Basketball baskets forty eight inches lower.

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have lonely.
You wouldn't have clean.
You wouldn't have bedtimes.
Or "Don't punch your sister."
You wouldn't even have sisters.

If I were in charge of the world
A chocolate sundae with whipped cream and nuts would be a vegetable
All 007 movies would be G,
And a person who sometimes forgot to brush,
And sometimes forgot to flush,
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world.

by Judith Viorst 

This week's round up is hosted by Marjorie at Paper Tigers.

Poetry Friday - Discussing Poetry - The Whip Around

One thing I find difficult about conducting in-class discussions is ensuring that all my students are participating.  It is easy for the students who do not like sharing their ideas out loud to sit back and listen to their more outgoing peers share their ideas.  And sometimes, the students who like to talk the most, don't necessarily have the most insightful ideas.  One technique that I have been using this week to make sure that every student in the room contributes is called the 'Whip-Around,' or 'Say Something.'

I first came across this strategy courtesy of Faye Brownlie, but I think it is a fairly common teaching strategy.  I am getting ready to launch my literature circles next week, so the Whip Around is a good way to get students used to participating in discussions -especially those that usually sit back and daydream (I mean listen...) in more informal discussions.

Basically, after students have read the Poem of the Day once on their own and together as a class, everyone in the class has the opportunity to say one thing that they are thinking as a result of the reading.  It can be anything (as long as it's on topic).  I would start with a student at the front of the room, and 'whip around,' snaking up and down my rows, giving everyone a chance to contribute.  Students can see when their turn is coming up, and they can say what someone else said as long as they add on one little bit of their own thinking.  It is fairly informal, but everyone must contribute as oral language is a huge part of our new curriculum, but it is not as scary as a more formal discussion.

I have used this strategy three times this week and by the third time I had everyone but one student say something about the poem, and not "I don't know."

I like to get to hear the ideas of my quiet students...they are often worth sharing...

Stacy has the roundup today at Some Novel Ideas.

Poetry Friday: Poetry Circles

Have you ever thought about using poetry circles in your classroom instead of literature circles.  I came across this idea at a Faye Brownlie workshop I attended.  Faye's book, Grand Conversations, Thoughtful Responses: A Unique Approach to Literature Circles is a fantastic approach to literature circles in the classroom that focuses on getting students involved in authentic conversations about literature.  Poetry circles is an adaptation of the same idea.

Basically, you provide 6 copies of 4-5 different poems.  Students select which poem they want to read. Students read the poems individually three times.  The first time they draw a picture of any images they see while reading.  The second time they circle, mark any keywords that jump of the page. After the third time through, they free write a response on the page about what the poem makes them think about.  Altogether, a fairly simply process to get them to have some understanding of the key ideas in the poem.  After each student has had a chance to work with their poem, they meet in groups to discuss their images, words and responses.  In the next lesson students would select a different poem and end up in a different group.

Poetry circles could help introduce/teach a poem in 30-40 minutes, and covers oral language and reading learning outcomes.

It could be a variation to A Poem A Day...

Jone has the Poetry Friday roundup today at Check it Out.

Poetry Friday - A Tongue Twister of a Language...

I haven't used this poem in a couple years, but it is one of my favourites for teaching the importance of spelling and grammar and ensuring that your writing uses the correct words.  It's fun to get students to try and read it out loud as it takes some focused effort not to trip up on the words.  There are also a few words and spellings even I had to look up before I read it with my class the first time..

I don't know the author's name - but if anyone does I will edit the post to give them credit.

Hints on Pronunciation

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead -
For goodness' sake don't call it 'deed'!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).
A moth is not a moth in mother
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
Just look them up - and goose & choose,
And cork & work and card & ward,
And font & front and word & sword,
And do & go and thwart & cart -
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive,
I'd mastered it when I was five.

Maybe I will dig it out this week to use with my class... 

Irene has the roundup at Live. Love. Learn!

Poetry Friday: A Poem a Day

I was first introduced to the work and writing of Nancie Atwell this summer when I started my Master's Program.  After reading several of her books and applying her ideas to my classroom, I can't believe that I taught for four years without ever coming across her ideas.  I have completely changed my language arts program based on her books and I am thrilled with the results.  My students this year developing into fluent, passionate readers and are as excited about books as I am.

Which in a round about way brings me to this week's poetry Friday topic: 'A poem a day.'

My students all have a poetry duotang and most mornings when my students arrive I have a copy of a poem waiting for them on their desk.  While I am taking attendance in the morning they read over the poem and mark up what they notice, what they like, what they think it means, etc. on their copy.  Often we read it together and sometimes I read it with expression and have them listen and sometimes I let them read.  I have been astounded with the deep discussions that have arisen and they have constantly surprise me with their ability to understand the big ideas in the poems.

A lot of the poems I use come from Nancie Atwell's book Naming the World: A Year of Poems and Lessons.  Each poem has an explanation and discussion ideas, and they are poems that she has used with her middle school students.  We have laughed at some, and discussed global issues with others.  Teaching a poem a day takes about 15 minutes each morning, but I believe it builds reading comprehension, oral language and written response skills all at the same time.

My favourite poem so far has been Autobiography in Five Short Chapters by Portia Nelson.  I thought it would be too obsure for my students, but everyone of them could talk about how it personally applied to their own lives.  Here it is - a quick google search finds many many links, so maybe it is just new to me...

Autobiography In Five Short Chapters

by Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost ... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place
but, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... it's a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

On February 12th, the Poetry Friday roundup takes place at the blog I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?