Kirby Larson's Blog, page 42
November 22, 2012
Thursday's Thought
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
Cynthia Ozick
This quote is especially poignant on this day of Thanksgiving. My heart is so touched by a small but loving gesture. When our daughter was growing up, she and her dad were season's subscribers to the Pacific Northwest Ballet. They got to know the usher in their section (in the cheap seats!), a very sweet man named Charles.
Last week, Neil happened to be at another downtown Seattle event and Charles was ushering. He inquired about Quinn (the dad/daughter dates had gone by the wayside during high school) and Neil bragged about our new granddaughter, Esme.
Charles gave Neil a crisp dollar bill and told him to use it to open a college account for Esme.
There is so much good, and so much kindness in the world, as exhibited by Charles' gesture. I am thankful. I am thankful.
Cynthia Ozick
This quote is especially poignant on this day of Thanksgiving. My heart is so touched by a small but loving gesture. When our daughter was growing up, she and her dad were season's subscribers to the Pacific Northwest Ballet. They got to know the usher in their section (in the cheap seats!), a very sweet man named Charles.
Last week, Neil happened to be at another downtown Seattle event and Charles was ushering. He inquired about Quinn (the dad/daughter dates had gone by the wayside during high school) and Neil bragged about our new granddaughter, Esme.
Charles gave Neil a crisp dollar bill and told him to use it to open a college account for Esme.
There is so much good, and so much kindness in the world, as exhibited by Charles' gesture. I am thankful. I am thankful.
November 21, 2012
Teacher Tuesday. . .on Wednesday
(Here is the conclusion of the Teacher Tuesday interview with Andrea Patterson and Nicki Blake about poetry breaks!)
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why do you think an appreciation of/exposure to poetry is important for students?</span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is important because as students get older they will recall how much fun they had interacting with poetry and will be interested in taking it to the next level in middle school and high school. Additionally, we incorporate many content-rich poetry books so students can learn about science topics, math equations, history, and different cultures through poems. </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What impacts has this practice of poetry breaks had on your students?</span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Their confidence when reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It is not long in the year before the students begin to ask if they can write their own poems to share in front of the class. With so many opportunities to stand up and present their interpretation of their poems, they become confident speakers. Of course, they learn to listen and support each other as they use the language of the 6-traits of writing when describing their choice for the poem. In the real world, there are many adults who still fear public speaking. Even our most unconfident students end up performing and loving poetry breaks. Usually we try to buddy them up or offer to read the poem with them in the beginning to support them, but they always end up as confident as the other students.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is a note from one of our parents (Andrea had Maeghan as a second grader, and Nicki had her as a third grader), who also teaches preschool: "I will forever be grateful to you two for helping Maeghan develop a love of poetry. The poetry journal from your class quickly became a family treasure. To this day, it still resides on the nightstand next to Maeghan's bed and she often chooses it for "bedtime" reading. She also enjoys reciting poems from her journal for extended family -- especially at holiday gatherings. This new tradition began on Thanksgiving 2010 with a whimsical reading of Albuquerque Turkey. Maeghan and I have enjoyed spending time together at local bookstores and libraries discovering new poems and poets. It is delightful watching her explore this genre. Thank you!"</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What impacts has this practice had on you and your teaching? </span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When Andrea taught first grade, a para-educator who was testing all the first graders on their sight words asked what she was doing different than the other 4 teachers because her students' fluency rate grew at such an accelerated pace from September to November. I told her, “It has to be the poetry.”</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Talk about some of the other ways you’ve incorporated poetry into the curriculum, please.</span></i><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jrPc7DsP3UI..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jrPc7DsP3UI..." width="149" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poem of the week binder</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Along with poetry breaks, we do a poem of the week. This is a poem that is usually tied into our curriculum. We might pick a poem that incorporates phonics, rhyming, homophones, contractions, onomatopoeia, inferring, science concepts or math concepts. The poem is charted and available for all to see. </span></div><div class="" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On Monday the teacher introduces the poem by reading it out loud, then the students echo read it, and then we read it all together. On Tuesday, we read the poem together again, we ask if there is any vocabulary that they don’t know and write the word on a post-it note and then have 2 or 3 kids predict the meaning of the word. Wednesday we read it again and have a student arrange it into a choral reading (girls read two lines; boys read two lines, etc.) We do this twice. Then on Thursday we ask the kids to find interesting things about the poem like small words in big words, rhyming words, words with a long vowel sound, etc. and we record their findings on a post-it note and put the post-it note around the poem. On Friday we illustrate our mental image of what the poem means to us (we created a quality work rubric- the poem must be drawn in pencil first then crayon, no white space, do not write on the words, use at least 5 colors) </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1JeVKmKNChY..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1JeVKmKNChY..." width="148" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Binder of classroom poems<i><br /></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Js6sIbV8K3A... style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><br /></td> </tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These poems are kept in a small binder. Then the child takes the binder home and shares this week’s poem with their parents and the parent writes him/her a compliment. By the end of the year the students have their own anthology that they have illustrated.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kids learn different poetry formats, and enjoy writing their own poems.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jd0_bGXOUOk..." width="200" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zYsxnFK_RGI..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zYsxnFK_RGI..." width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why would you encourage other teachers to adapt poetry breaks for their classrooms?</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Poetry breaks really help build a community of learners. It helps build student’s confidence and most important their fluency. We do book buddies with a fifth grade class and he stated that my second graders read more fluently than his fifth graders! And it’s a lot of fun. </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why would you encourage other teachers to adapt poetry breaks for their classrooms?</span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Poetry breaks really help build a community of learners. It helps build student’s confidence and most important their fluency. We do book buddies with a fifth grade class and he stated that my second graders read more fluently than his fifth graders! And it’s a lot of fun. </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are there some favorite poetry resources you can share? </span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qRAt6Ca2UeU..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qRAt6Ca2UeU..." /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RGtD-OAHDys..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RGtD-OAHDys..." /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-thcPQoO_J3k..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-thcPQoO_J3k..." /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xgYYCdkfQGw..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xgYYCdkfQGw..." /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v8p9SiO1LnM..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v8p9SiO1LnM..." /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0wsXlL-RQqs..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0wsXlL-RQqs..." /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nmvX0mRo9LE... style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dJgnouj0FZ0... style="color: blue;"><br /></span></a></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pKxMQDkHbuM... style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YOjhTFQ_qkE... style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It took us a while to build our poetry library. At first we only owned 2 or 3 books of our own and then checked out several from our local libraries until we had a good selection. We purchased many of them from Scholastic book orders or our school book fairs. There are so many fun poetry books but a must have for teachers are the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You</i>by Mary Ann Hoberman. These poems are arranged to have 2 readers and the kids love them! We also have poem books from classic poets like Robert Frost and Lewis Carroll. But kids will usually choose the funny poems over the deep serious ones. To keep the books sturdier we tape the binding and edges of the soft cover books and then run the book jacket through the laminator on the hard cover books.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why do you think an appreciation of/exposure to poetry is important for students?</span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is important because as students get older they will recall how much fun they had interacting with poetry and will be interested in taking it to the next level in middle school and high school. Additionally, we incorporate many content-rich poetry books so students can learn about science topics, math equations, history, and different cultures through poems. </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What impacts has this practice of poetry breaks had on your students?</span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Their confidence when reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It is not long in the year before the students begin to ask if they can write their own poems to share in front of the class. With so many opportunities to stand up and present their interpretation of their poems, they become confident speakers. Of course, they learn to listen and support each other as they use the language of the 6-traits of writing when describing their choice for the poem. In the real world, there are many adults who still fear public speaking. Even our most unconfident students end up performing and loving poetry breaks. Usually we try to buddy them up or offer to read the poem with them in the beginning to support them, but they always end up as confident as the other students.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is a note from one of our parents (Andrea had Maeghan as a second grader, and Nicki had her as a third grader), who also teaches preschool: "I will forever be grateful to you two for helping Maeghan develop a love of poetry. The poetry journal from your class quickly became a family treasure. To this day, it still resides on the nightstand next to Maeghan's bed and she often chooses it for "bedtime" reading. She also enjoys reciting poems from her journal for extended family -- especially at holiday gatherings. This new tradition began on Thanksgiving 2010 with a whimsical reading of Albuquerque Turkey. Maeghan and I have enjoyed spending time together at local bookstores and libraries discovering new poems and poets. It is delightful watching her explore this genre. Thank you!"</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What impacts has this practice had on you and your teaching? </span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When Andrea taught first grade, a para-educator who was testing all the first graders on their sight words asked what she was doing different than the other 4 teachers because her students' fluency rate grew at such an accelerated pace from September to November. I told her, “It has to be the poetry.”</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Talk about some of the other ways you’ve incorporated poetry into the curriculum, please.</span></i><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jrPc7DsP3UI..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jrPc7DsP3UI..." width="149" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poem of the week binder</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in; text-align: left;"><div class="" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Along with poetry breaks, we do a poem of the week. This is a poem that is usually tied into our curriculum. We might pick a poem that incorporates phonics, rhyming, homophones, contractions, onomatopoeia, inferring, science concepts or math concepts. The poem is charted and available for all to see. </span></div><div class="" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On Monday the teacher introduces the poem by reading it out loud, then the students echo read it, and then we read it all together. On Tuesday, we read the poem together again, we ask if there is any vocabulary that they don’t know and write the word on a post-it note and then have 2 or 3 kids predict the meaning of the word. Wednesday we read it again and have a student arrange it into a choral reading (girls read two lines; boys read two lines, etc.) We do this twice. Then on Thursday we ask the kids to find interesting things about the poem like small words in big words, rhyming words, words with a long vowel sound, etc. and we record their findings on a post-it note and put the post-it note around the poem. On Friday we illustrate our mental image of what the poem means to us (we created a quality work rubric- the poem must be drawn in pencil first then crayon, no white space, do not write on the words, use at least 5 colors) </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1JeVKmKNChY..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1JeVKmKNChY..." width="148" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Binder of classroom poems<i><br /></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"> <tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Js6sIbV8K3A... style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><br /></td> </tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These poems are kept in a small binder. Then the child takes the binder home and shares this week’s poem with their parents and the parent writes him/her a compliment. By the end of the year the students have their own anthology that they have illustrated.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kids learn different poetry formats, and enjoy writing their own poems.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jd0_bGXOUOk..." width="200" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zYsxnFK_RGI..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zYsxnFK_RGI..." width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why would you encourage other teachers to adapt poetry breaks for their classrooms?</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Poetry breaks really help build a community of learners. It helps build student’s confidence and most important their fluency. We do book buddies with a fifth grade class and he stated that my second graders read more fluently than his fifth graders! And it’s a lot of fun. </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why would you encourage other teachers to adapt poetry breaks for their classrooms?</span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Poetry breaks really help build a community of learners. It helps build student’s confidence and most important their fluency. We do book buddies with a fifth grade class and he stated that my second graders read more fluently than his fifth graders! And it’s a lot of fun. </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are there some favorite poetry resources you can share? </span></i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qRAt6Ca2UeU..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qRAt6Ca2UeU..." /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RGtD-OAHDys..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RGtD-OAHDys..." /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-thcPQoO_J3k..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-thcPQoO_J3k..." /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xgYYCdkfQGw..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xgYYCdkfQGw..." /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v8p9SiO1LnM..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v8p9SiO1LnM..." /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blog..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0wsXlL-RQqs..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0wsXlL-RQqs..." /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nmvX0mRo9LE... style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dJgnouj0FZ0... style="color: blue;"><br /></span></a></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pKxMQDkHbuM... style="color: blue; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YOjhTFQ_qkE... style="color: blue; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It took us a while to build our poetry library. At first we only owned 2 or 3 books of our own and then checked out several from our local libraries until we had a good selection. We purchased many of them from Scholastic book orders or our school book fairs. There are so many fun poetry books but a must have for teachers are the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You</i>by Mary Ann Hoberman. These poems are arranged to have 2 readers and the kids love them! We also have poem books from classic poets like Robert Frost and Lewis Carroll. But kids will usually choose the funny poems over the deep serious ones. To keep the books sturdier we tape the binding and edges of the soft cover books and then run the book jacket through the laminator on the hard cover books.</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>
November 20, 2012
Teacher Tuesday
(Editor's note: because of glitches with posting longer interviews, I've divided this lively "chat" into two parts; don't miss the conclusion tomorrow!)
A first for this feature: a joint interview with two education professionals! I am so grateful to Dr. Terrell Young (now at BYU) for introducing me to Andrea Patterson and Nicki Blake, a dynamic duo from eastern Washington.
Nicki (l), Andrea (r)
Nicki is District Coordinator of Early Childhood, ACES, Parent Involvement, and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). Andrea is currently teaching second grade at White Bluffs Elementary in Richland WA. Like our featured guest from last week, these two women are passionate about poetry, especially something called "poetry breaks." I think a cafe au lait would be the perfect drink to sip while reading this interview. Enjoy!
Our custom here is to peek into the past.
Favorite school lunch as a kid: Nicki: Definitely the cheese zombie and tomato soup. Cheese zombies were a little like toasted cheese sandwiches, but they were baked and dripping with melted cheese. I liked to dip my cheese zombie into the tomato soup! Andrea: Boy, that’s a tough one. I really liked the “pup in a blanket”, the mashed potatoes and gravy but I think I would have to go with the chili and cinnamon rolls! I can remember pouring a little milk in my chili and devouring my cinnamon roll. In fact it still is my favorite school lunch.Best friend in grade school: Nicki: I spent my grade school years on a competitive gymnastics team that did a lot of traveling. My two best friends were on the gymnastics team with me. Their names were Nancy Pence and Jennifer Carstens.Andrea: I had a lot of grade school friends and we played house with our dolls. However, my friends, Becky Woodford and Jennifer Pope, from middle school are still my friends today.Times you were the new kid in school: Nicki: I was lucky because I lived in the same house my whole life. I went to only one elementary school, one Junior High School, and one High School. When I was entering school as the new kid, I had lots of other kids who were also new. That doesn’t mean I didn’t worry A LOT about the first day of school, having a new teacher, and fitting into a new class each year. Andrea: I too was lucky because I only had to be the “new kid” once in my life, and it was in kindergarten. The hardest part of that was I loved my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Barton. But when I moved in the middle of the year my new teacher wasn’t as nurturing and I was sure she didn’t like me.Teacher who inspired you to stretch: Nicki: I was really shy when I was younger. So shy, that I would hardly speak. I have a twin brother who was very outgoing. During my primary years, my brother would do a lot of the talking for me. In third grade, I had a teacher named, Mrs. Peterson. She was the first teacher I really felt built an extra kind and caring classroom environment that allowed me to come out of my shell and take some risks as a learner. In third grade, I took off as a reader, learned cursive, and gained some confidence in math.Andrea: I loved school! Reading was hard for me and I can remember being in the low group. I was a super speller and math was definitely my strength. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Hester, really stretched my mathematical thinking and she made me believe that I could solve any problem. Another teacher that inspired me was Mrs. Peters, my sixth grade teacher. She was the best. It was her first year as a teacher and she took us on two or three field trips. One of them was to Cannon Beach, Oregon. I would have done anything she asked because of the relationships that she built with her students.The one thing you always wished you could do in grade school but never achieved: Nicki: I devoted many hours a week to gymnastics with the hope of competing on the United States Gymnastics Team. That never happened! I worked hard, met a lot of wonderful people, and was able to do quite a bit of traveling. All of the hard work and practice was worth it.Andrea: I never got to play sports or be on any kind of team. Something I would still like to do and will do someday is learn how to play the piano.
Thank you for telling us a bit about your younger selves. Now I'm eager to have you share with us about poetry breaks. <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:.5in .5in .5in .5in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style>I know that you share a passion for poetry. Can each of you describe where that passion came from? <b> </b></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Growing up, we both enjoyed songs and rhymes, neither of us really developed a passion for poetry until we went to college. We met and became best friends in our undergraduate college cohort. We had an amazing professor of literacy named, Dr. Terrell Young. He exposed us to many possibilities for integrating poetry into our classrooms and we really took what we learned from him to heart! We give students as many opportunities as we can to expose them to poetry and integrate it into the learning across the curriculum. We made a vow to make it fun for kids.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Last year, during April/National Poetry Month, I signed up at Poets.org to receive a poem in my in-box each day. I’ve loved this way of starting my day! It sounds to me as if you two have done something similar in your classrooms, with “poetry breaks.” Can you describe what a poetry break is? </span></span></i> </div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Being moms ourselves, we remember how hectic and rushed our mornings were and wanted to be able to ensure every student had a positive, relaxing, literacy rich start to their day. So the first 15-20 minutes of the morning, students do their morning routine, math entry task, and then enjoy reading poetry around the room either alone or with a partner. This allows stressed-out students to restart their day on a c<span style="font-size: large;">almer note</span>. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Another good time to do poetry breaks is after lunch. I’ve tried three times a day but I found that it works best to do poetry breaks twice a day. </span></span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In the beginning of the year, we model what a poetry break looks like. We introduce the book, read the poem fluently, and then tell why we picked it, using one or more of the six-traits of writing (word choice, sentence fluency, idea, organization and voice). Using the 6-traits of writing supports the use of academic language in the classroom. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We make a poetry sign-up chart (see below) and kids put a post-it note with their name to reserve their day to share their poem aloud. </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MRuHYCRjZoI..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MRuHYCRjZoI..." width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrea's poetry break chart</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Usually within the first two days of school, we ask for volunteers after they have observed the modeling. It doesn’t take long for the shyness to wear off and for students to have the confidence they need to jump in and go for it. After a few weeks of allowing students to sign up on their own, we have had to resort to assigning students a weekly poetry break spot because poetry breaks become so popular. It took us several years to figure out that if we just assign a day and not use a post-it note system, it can help prevent us becoming the “poetry police.” We try to schedule our struggling readers on Friday so we can practice reading their poems with them or make sure they have the practice/support that they need. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Poetry breaks can be done alone or together. It’s funny because even when students are absent on their day they will ask if they can please perform their poetry break. And of course, elementary students always enjoy finding the silliest poems that describe things like picking your nose, using the bathroom, kissing, and anything else that will cause their classroom family to giggle about. Our rule for deciding if a poem is too silly for school or not is: If the principal or your parents were to walk in the room would you STILL feel comfortable reading your poetry choice aloud?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:.5in .5in .5in .5in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style></div><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What prompted you to incorporate poetry breaks in your classrooms?<b> </b></span></span></i><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is something we both loved learning about from Dr. Young so we gave it a try our first year of teaching when we taught in a job sharing situation. We each taught half time in a third grade classroom. Poetry breaks quickly became the favorite time of the day and our students' fluency rates sky-rocketed by spring. Each time a student signs up for a poetry break, they read and practice many different poems before they choose the one they want to perform. It makes practicing fluency lots of fun and also increases comprehension. We also learned quickly how poetry breaks contribute to building a kind, caring, and supportive classroom community as students work together practicing poems, creating a literacy rich environment, providing a literacy opportunity for students who finish work early, and allowing students to be exposed to many authors and hear hundreds of poems over the course of the year. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>What has surprised you most about including poetry in this way?</i><b><i> </i> </b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The feedback we get every single year from parents is always a nice surprise. They are constantly telling us that they grew up disliking poetry or never being exposed to it. The parents are thrilled that their kids are asking for poetry books for Christmas and performing poetry breaks in the evenings at home! Many parents tell us they have learned to love poetry because of their children. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(check in tomorrow for more from Nicki and Andrea!)</span></span> </i><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>
A first for this feature: a joint interview with two education professionals! I am so grateful to Dr. Terrell Young (now at BYU) for introducing me to Andrea Patterson and Nicki Blake, a dynamic duo from eastern Washington.
Nicki (l), Andrea (r)Nicki is District Coordinator of Early Childhood, ACES, Parent Involvement, and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). Andrea is currently teaching second grade at White Bluffs Elementary in Richland WA. Like our featured guest from last week, these two women are passionate about poetry, especially something called "poetry breaks." I think a cafe au lait would be the perfect drink to sip while reading this interview. Enjoy!
Our custom here is to peek into the past.
Favorite school lunch as a kid: Nicki: Definitely the cheese zombie and tomato soup. Cheese zombies were a little like toasted cheese sandwiches, but they were baked and dripping with melted cheese. I liked to dip my cheese zombie into the tomato soup! Andrea: Boy, that’s a tough one. I really liked the “pup in a blanket”, the mashed potatoes and gravy but I think I would have to go with the chili and cinnamon rolls! I can remember pouring a little milk in my chili and devouring my cinnamon roll. In fact it still is my favorite school lunch.Best friend in grade school: Nicki: I spent my grade school years on a competitive gymnastics team that did a lot of traveling. My two best friends were on the gymnastics team with me. Their names were Nancy Pence and Jennifer Carstens.Andrea: I had a lot of grade school friends and we played house with our dolls. However, my friends, Becky Woodford and Jennifer Pope, from middle school are still my friends today.Times you were the new kid in school: Nicki: I was lucky because I lived in the same house my whole life. I went to only one elementary school, one Junior High School, and one High School. When I was entering school as the new kid, I had lots of other kids who were also new. That doesn’t mean I didn’t worry A LOT about the first day of school, having a new teacher, and fitting into a new class each year. Andrea: I too was lucky because I only had to be the “new kid” once in my life, and it was in kindergarten. The hardest part of that was I loved my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Barton. But when I moved in the middle of the year my new teacher wasn’t as nurturing and I was sure she didn’t like me.Teacher who inspired you to stretch: Nicki: I was really shy when I was younger. So shy, that I would hardly speak. I have a twin brother who was very outgoing. During my primary years, my brother would do a lot of the talking for me. In third grade, I had a teacher named, Mrs. Peterson. She was the first teacher I really felt built an extra kind and caring classroom environment that allowed me to come out of my shell and take some risks as a learner. In third grade, I took off as a reader, learned cursive, and gained some confidence in math.Andrea: I loved school! Reading was hard for me and I can remember being in the low group. I was a super speller and math was definitely my strength. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Hester, really stretched my mathematical thinking and she made me believe that I could solve any problem. Another teacher that inspired me was Mrs. Peters, my sixth grade teacher. She was the best. It was her first year as a teacher and she took us on two or three field trips. One of them was to Cannon Beach, Oregon. I would have done anything she asked because of the relationships that she built with her students.The one thing you always wished you could do in grade school but never achieved: Nicki: I devoted many hours a week to gymnastics with the hope of competing on the United States Gymnastics Team. That never happened! I worked hard, met a lot of wonderful people, and was able to do quite a bit of traveling. All of the hard work and practice was worth it.Andrea: I never got to play sports or be on any kind of team. Something I would still like to do and will do someday is learn how to play the piano.
Thank you for telling us a bit about your younger selves. Now I'm eager to have you share with us about poetry breaks. <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:.5in .5in .5in .5in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style>I know that you share a passion for poetry. Can each of you describe where that passion came from? <b> </b></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Growing up, we both enjoyed songs and rhymes, neither of us really developed a passion for poetry until we went to college. We met and became best friends in our undergraduate college cohort. We had an amazing professor of literacy named, Dr. Terrell Young. He exposed us to many possibilities for integrating poetry into our classrooms and we really took what we learned from him to heart! We give students as many opportunities as we can to expose them to poetry and integrate it into the learning across the curriculum. We made a vow to make it fun for kids.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Last year, during April/National Poetry Month, I signed up at Poets.org to receive a poem in my in-box each day. I’ve loved this way of starting my day! It sounds to me as if you two have done something similar in your classrooms, with “poetry breaks.” Can you describe what a poetry break is? </span></span></i> </div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Being moms ourselves, we remember how hectic and rushed our mornings were and wanted to be able to ensure every student had a positive, relaxing, literacy rich start to their day. So the first 15-20 minutes of the morning, students do their morning routine, math entry task, and then enjoy reading poetry around the room either alone or with a partner. This allows stressed-out students to restart their day on a c<span style="font-size: large;">almer note</span>. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Another good time to do poetry breaks is after lunch. I’ve tried three times a day but I found that it works best to do poetry breaks twice a day. </span></span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In the beginning of the year, we model what a poetry break looks like. We introduce the book, read the poem fluently, and then tell why we picked it, using one or more of the six-traits of writing (word choice, sentence fluency, idea, organization and voice). Using the 6-traits of writing supports the use of academic language in the classroom. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We make a poetry sign-up chart (see below) and kids put a post-it note with their name to reserve their day to share their poem aloud. </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MRuHYCRjZoI..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MRuHYCRjZoI..." width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrea's poetry break chart</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Usually within the first two days of school, we ask for volunteers after they have observed the modeling. It doesn’t take long for the shyness to wear off and for students to have the confidence they need to jump in and go for it. After a few weeks of allowing students to sign up on their own, we have had to resort to assigning students a weekly poetry break spot because poetry breaks become so popular. It took us several years to figure out that if we just assign a day and not use a post-it note system, it can help prevent us becoming the “poetry police.” We try to schedule our struggling readers on Friday so we can practice reading their poems with them or make sure they have the practice/support that they need. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Poetry breaks can be done alone or together. It’s funny because even when students are absent on their day they will ask if they can please perform their poetry break. And of course, elementary students always enjoy finding the silliest poems that describe things like picking your nose, using the bathroom, kissing, and anything else that will cause their classroom family to giggle about. Our rule for deciding if a poem is too silly for school or not is: If the principal or your parents were to walk in the room would you STILL feel comfortable reading your poetry choice aloud?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:.5in .5in .5in .5in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style></div><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What prompted you to incorporate poetry breaks in your classrooms?<b> </b></span></span></i><br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is something we both loved learning about from Dr. Young so we gave it a try our first year of teaching when we taught in a job sharing situation. We each taught half time in a third grade classroom. Poetry breaks quickly became the favorite time of the day and our students' fluency rates sky-rocketed by spring. Each time a student signs up for a poetry break, they read and practice many different poems before they choose the one they want to perform. It makes practicing fluency lots of fun and also increases comprehension. We also learned quickly how poetry breaks contribute to building a kind, caring, and supportive classroom community as students work together practicing poems, creating a literacy rich environment, providing a literacy opportunity for students who finish work early, and allowing students to be exposed to many authors and hear hundreds of poems over the course of the year. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>What has surprised you most about including poetry in this way?</i><b><i> </i> </b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The feedback we get every single year from parents is always a nice surprise. They are constantly telling us that they grew up disliking poetry or never being exposed to it. The parents are thrilled that their kids are asking for poetry books for Christmas and performing poetry breaks in the evenings at home! Many parents tell us they have learned to love poetry because of their children. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(check in tomorrow for more from Nicki and Andrea!)</span></span> </i><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>
November 18, 2012
Sunday Surprise
(The poems sent by Dr. Vida Zuljevic, written by her students, were so wonderful but I had a heck of a time getting them all posted. If you're just checking in for the first time today, be sure to read the poems posted yesterday, too!)
Real RichnessBy Fernando, 5th
Rich is not about the moneyRich is about the friends you have and the family that loves you for who you are and how you are
RosesBy Montserrat, 4th
RosesColorful, beautiful,Blooming, growing, pokingThey make people happy.Flowers
HalloweenBy Lucendy, 3rd
HalloweenFrightening, wonderfulRunning, knocking, eating,Going to trick or treatScary holiday
DogDeJour,1st
Chubby, softJumping, running, chewing,Likes to swimChiko
SnowBy Sergio, 1st
SnowCold, whiteMaking snow angels, throwing snowballs, meltingI like to make a snowmanSnowflakes
Mi mejor AmigaPor Joy, 4th
Fuiste la sombra de mi infancia,la mariposa mas Hermosa de mi jardin.Tus caricias y tus besos me hacen sentir la felicidad!Adivina quien es!Mi Mama!MariposaPor Andrea, KinderMariposaBonitaAlasVolandoColoresVolando bonita como una bailarina
Dia de las FrutasPor Yobani, 5th
Que bonito dia el sol sale profundamente
las plantas crecen frutas como elote, sandia,
pepino, manzana y mas fruta y las personas
van a trabajar en la pisca de las frutas
tan grandes y delisiosas
que a trabez del sol crecen
mas bonitas y se miran
los colores del arcoirs.
Thank you to all of Dr. Zuljevic's students whose poems appeared yesterday and today. Along with your amazing librarian, you have inspired me to read and create more poetry!
Real RichnessBy Fernando, 5th
Rich is not about the moneyRich is about the friends you have and the family that loves you for who you are and how you are
RosesBy Montserrat, 4th
RosesColorful, beautiful,Blooming, growing, pokingThey make people happy.Flowers
HalloweenBy Lucendy, 3rd
HalloweenFrightening, wonderfulRunning, knocking, eating,Going to trick or treatScary holiday
DogDeJour,1st
Chubby, softJumping, running, chewing,Likes to swimChiko
SnowBy Sergio, 1st
SnowCold, whiteMaking snow angels, throwing snowballs, meltingI like to make a snowmanSnowflakes
Mi mejor AmigaPor Joy, 4th
Fuiste la sombra de mi infancia,la mariposa mas Hermosa de mi jardin.Tus caricias y tus besos me hacen sentir la felicidad!Adivina quien es!Mi Mama!MariposaPor Andrea, KinderMariposaBonitaAlasVolandoColoresVolando bonita como una bailarina
Dia de las FrutasPor Yobani, 5th
Que bonito dia el sol sale profundamente
las plantas crecen frutas como elote, sandia,
pepino, manzana y mas fruta y las personas
van a trabajar en la pisca de las frutas
tan grandes y delisiosas
que a trabez del sol crecen
mas bonitas y se miran
los colores del arcoirs.
Thank you to all of Dr. Zuljevic's students whose poems appeared yesterday and today. Along with your amazing librarian, you have inspired me to read and create more poetry!
November 17, 2012
A Poetry Party
(more technical glitches with these poetry posts -- the cyber gremlins must have a thing against poetry! Please check in tomorrow for the last of the student poems.)
We had way too much fun with Vida Zuljevic this past week, didn't we? She had a hard time selecting just a few student poems to include in the interview so I thought today's post should be completely devoted to more student work.
Enjoy!
I Love MusicBy Leilani, 5th
Music is loud and sometimes it’s softBut I still love itAnd the way it sounds.
I use my voice, I sing, and sing, and sing…I love the melodyThat every song makes and I play my rhythmI start to shake, and move, and dance...Oh, I love music….
PoetryBy Felichiya5thPoetry is a hobbyFor everybodyIt expresses your feelingsWhen you are lonely, happy, excited.It tells what you like or you don’t.Or your poem can be a gift!So you see,Everybody can take pleasure in it.
FallBy Marisol, 3rd
windy, darkfalling, raking, helpingJackets, sweaters, swimsuits, sandalsplaying, swimming, laughingHot, sunnySummer
When Life Is BadRaheem, 5thWhy do bad things happen to good people?We should know how to be equal, so We all could do stuff together. Take my hand!Together we can take a standWhy get mad when you can be glad for what you have Everybody should know that nobody is perfectDoing bad things is not worth itYou shouldn’t even be mad when life is badKeep what you have and be glad for what you have.They’re finally showing me respect But I had to earn every bit Everything I did that got me in troubleWasn’t really worth it.
I'm Not MovingBy Alexia, 5th
I’m not moving! I have my friendsI have my familyI'm not movingWhy? I don’t want to leave them.That’s why!
MotherBy Liza, 5thMother is a wonderful personShe gives you a hugShe gives you a kissShe sings you a lovely song at night and tells you“I love you. Good night!”
School By Alondra, 5th
Smart kidsCaring teachersHot lunches, yum!Outstanding principalOpen books to enjoyLovable teachers listening to your problems
ThanksgivingBy Amanda, 4th
Together with myHappy and Adorable family, we admireNovember because it is aKind of month to celebrate.Since I have God and my family, I’m happy. I Go shopping for food for dinnerIlike turkey andVegetablesIlike to share the
Night with my family around the tableGod, thank you for everything you give me in my life.
Happy Thanksgiving!
ClownBy Sean, 5th
You said, you’d always be aroundNow, you are nowhere to be foundI know, you are just a clown
JackBy Ramon, 2nd
Poor, curiousClimbing, planting, runningWorking hard every dayGardener
Lady Bug SpotsRaquel, 5th (a poem for two voices)
Lady Bug
Red BlackEven pretty while flying Lovely Please, don’t say you don’t like them` AmazingCould even be prettier than a butterfly
Kind of small
Spots
So pretty Probably the prettiest insects everOh so wonderful Tiny andSpecial
A Poetry Party
(more technical glitches with these poetry posts -- the cyber gremlins must have a thing against poetry! Please check in tomorrow for the last of the student poems.)
We had way too much fun with Vida Zuljevic this past week, didn't we? She had a hard time selecting just a few student poems to include in the interview so I thought today's post should be completely devoted to more student work.
Enjoy!
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Mangal; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:32771 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-link:"Header Char"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none; tab-stops:center 3.25in right 6.5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-link:"Footer Char"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none; tab-stops:center 3.25in right 6.5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} span.HeaderChar {mso-style-name:"Header Char"; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:Header; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} span.FooterChar {mso-style-name:"Footer Char"; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:Footer; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.6in; mso-page-numbers:1; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I Love Music</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Leilani, 5<sup>th</sup> </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Music is loud </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and sometimes it’s soft</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But I still love it</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And the way it sounds.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I use my voice, </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I sing, and sing, and sing…</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I love the melody</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That every song makes </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and I play my rhythm</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I start to shake, </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and move, and dance...</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Oh, I love music….</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Poetry</b></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Felichiya</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">5<sup>th</sup> <br /><br /></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Poetry is a hobby</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For everybody</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It expresses your feelings</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When you are lonely, happy, excited.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It tells what you like or you don’t.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Or your poem can be a gift!</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So you see,</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Everybody can take pleasure in it.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Fall</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Marisol, 3<sup>rd</sup></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">windy, dark</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">falling, raking, helping</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jackets, sweaters, swimsuits, sandals</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">playing, swimming, laughing</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hot, sunny</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Summer</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">When Life Is Bad</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Raheem, 5th</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Why do bad things happen to good people?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">We should know how to be equal, so </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">We all could do stuff together. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Take my hand!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Together we can take a stand</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Why get mad when you can be glad for what you have </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Everybody should know that nobody is perfect</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Doing bad things is not worth it</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">You shouldn’t even be mad when life is bad</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Keep what you have and be glad for what you have.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">They’re finally showing me respect </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">But I had to earn every bit </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Everything I did that got me in trouble</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Wasn’t really worth it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm Not Moving</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Alexia, 5<sup>th</sup></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I’m not moving! </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I have my friends</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I have my family</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm not moving</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Why? I don’t want </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">to leave them.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That’s why!</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mother</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Liza, 5<sup>th</sup></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mother is a wonderful person</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She gives you a hug</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She gives you a kiss</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She sings you a lovely song at night </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and tells you</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I love you. Good night!”</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>School</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Alondra, 5th</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>S</b>mart kids</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>C</b>aring teachers</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>H</b>ot lunches, yum!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>O</b>utstanding principal</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>O</b>pen books to enjoy</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>L</b>ovable teachers listening to your problems</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 106.35pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Thanksgiving</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Amanda, 4th </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>T</b>ogether with my</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>H</b>appy and </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>A</b>dorable family, we admire</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>N</b>ovember because it is a</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>K</b>ind of month to celebrate.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>S</b>ince I have God and my family, I’m happy. I </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>G</b>o shopping for food for dinner</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I</b> like turkey and</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>V</b>egetables</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I</b> like to share the <br /><b>N</b>ight with my family around the table</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>G</b>od, thank you for everything you give me in my life.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy Thanksgiving!</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Clown</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">By Sean, 5<sup>th</sup> </span></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">You said, you’d always be around</span></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now, you are nowhere to be found</span></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I know, you are just a clown</span></span><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"> </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Jack</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Ramon, 2<sup>nd</sup> </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Poor, curious</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Climbing, planting, running</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Working hard every day</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Gardener</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 22.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Lady</span><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bug <span style="color: red;">S</span>p<span style="color: red;">o</span>t<span style="color: red;">s</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Raquel, 5<sup>th</sup> (a poem for two voices)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Lady<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.0in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Bug</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Red<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.0in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Black</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Even pretty while flying<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Lovely<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: red;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Please, don’t say you don’t like them`<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.0in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Amazing</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.0in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Could even be prettier than a butterfly</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: red;">Kind of small</span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>S</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">p<span style="color: red;">o</span>t<span style="color: red;">s</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">So pretty</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably the prettiest insects ever</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Oh so wonderful</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tiny and</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Special</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b></b></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>
We had way too much fun with Vida Zuljevic this past week, didn't we? She had a hard time selecting just a few student poems to include in the interview so I thought today's post should be completely devoted to more student work.
Enjoy!
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Mangal; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:32771 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-link:"Header Char"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none; tab-stops:center 3.25in right 6.5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-link:"Footer Char"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none; tab-stops:center 3.25in right 6.5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} span.HeaderChar {mso-style-name:"Header Char"; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:Header; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} span.FooterChar {mso-style-name:"Footer Char"; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:Footer; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning:14.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.6in; mso-page-numbers:1; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I Love Music</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Leilani, 5<sup>th</sup> </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Music is loud </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and sometimes it’s soft</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But I still love it</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And the way it sounds.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I use my voice, </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I sing, and sing, and sing…</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I love the melody</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That every song makes </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and I play my rhythm</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I start to shake, </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and move, and dance...</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Oh, I love music….</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Poetry</b></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Felichiya</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">5<sup>th</sup> <br /><br /></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Poetry is a hobby</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For everybody</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It expresses your feelings</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When you are lonely, happy, excited.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It tells what you like or you don’t.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Or your poem can be a gift!</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So you see,</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Everybody can take pleasure in it.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Fall</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Marisol, 3<sup>rd</sup></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">windy, dark</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">falling, raking, helping</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jackets, sweaters, swimsuits, sandals</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">playing, swimming, laughing</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hot, sunny</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 141.8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Summer</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">When Life Is Bad</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Raheem, 5th</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Why do bad things happen to good people?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">We should know how to be equal, so </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">We all could do stuff together. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Take my hand!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Together we can take a stand</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Why get mad when you can be glad for what you have </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Everybody should know that nobody is perfect</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Doing bad things is not worth it</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">You shouldn’t even be mad when life is bad</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Keep what you have and be glad for what you have.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">They’re finally showing me respect </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">But I had to earn every bit </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Everything I did that got me in trouble</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Wasn’t really worth it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm Not Moving</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Alexia, 5<sup>th</sup></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I’m not moving! </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I have my friends</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I have my family</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm not moving</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Why? I don’t want </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">to leave them.</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That’s why!</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mother</span></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Liza, 5<sup>th</sup></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mother is a wonderful person</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She gives you a hug</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She gives you a kiss</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She sings you a lovely song at night </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and tells you</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I love you. Good night!”</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>School</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: HI; mso-font-kerning: .5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Alondra, 5th</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -70.9pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>S</b>mart kids</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>C</b>aring teachers</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>H</b>ot lunches, yum!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>O</b>utstanding principal</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>O</b>pen books to enjoy</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 106.35pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>L</b>ovable teachers listening to your problems</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 106.35pt; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Thanksgiving</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Amanda, 4th </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>T</b>ogether with my</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>H</b>appy and </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>A</b>dorable family, we admire</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>N</b>ovember because it is a</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>K</b>ind of month to celebrate.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>S</b>ince I have God and my family, I’m happy. I </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>G</b>o shopping for food for dinner</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I</b> like turkey and</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>V</b>egetables</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I</b> like to share the <br /><b>N</b>ight with my family around the table</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>G</b>od, thank you for everything you give me in my life.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Happy Thanksgiving!</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: center; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Clown</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">By Sean, 5<sup>th</sup> </span></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">You said, you’d always be around</span></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now, you are nowhere to be found</span></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I know, you are just a clown</span></span><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"> </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Jack</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Ramon, 2<sup>nd</sup> </span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Poor, curious</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Climbing, planting, running</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Working hard every day</span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Gardener</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 22.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Lady</span><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bug <span style="color: red;">S</span>p<span style="color: red;">o</span>t<span style="color: red;">s</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Raquel, 5<sup>th</sup> (a poem for two voices)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Lady<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.0in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Bug</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Red<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.0in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Black</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Even pretty while flying<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Lovely<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: red;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Please, don’t say you don’t like them`<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.0in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Amazing</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.0in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Could even be prettier than a butterfly</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: red;">Kind of small</span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.0in; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>S</span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">p<span style="color: red;">o</span>t<span style="color: red;">s</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">So pretty</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably the prettiest insects ever</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Oh so wonderful</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tiny and</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Special</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b></b></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>
November 16, 2012
Friend Friday
When I heard about my dear friend Mary Nethery's new approach to writing, I thought it would be perfect timing to share it in November, during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Though I shake my head at Mary's sweet tooth, I am in awe of her tight, elegant and fresh writing. I am grateful to have her as a guest blogger today!
Don't even try to guess how much sugar is in this tall Americano!
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p.Body1, li.Body1, div.Body1 {mso-style-name:"Body 1"; mso-style-update:auto; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.6in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style> <br /><div align="center" class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's Word Packets, Sugar!</span></span></div><div align="center" class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">by Mary Nethery </span></span></div><div align="center" class="Body1" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A latte for Kirby, a double shot of espresso for me -- that's the only way to kick off a day of our high-spirited school presentations! However, before we exit Starbucks, I need to stop at the sugar counter for, let's see, about six packets of sugar, while Kirby watches and laughs.</span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Would you like some coffee with your sugar?" is the common response. Probably from my husband, not Kirby. She's way too darling to actually say it out loud. But I do love my sugar. And that got me thinking about how to keep myself motivated to produce 50,000 words for a novel I'm currently writing. 50,000 words is humongous. </span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some say, write 1000 words a day and you'll have a draft in like 50 days. Or, sit at your computer for three hours, writing all the while, and stop at a point where you can't wait to get back to work the next day. Either of these approaches works swell for about three days, and then it just becomes overwhelming. </span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As a writer, my style is to think, think, think, and write slowly. Part of the intrigue for me is the crafting of the story from the very beginning. I work off of Richard Peck's advice: "The first chapter is the last chapter in disguise." I like to consider planting props for use when solving plot issues that invariably emerge no matter how much pre-planning you do. And I like to be as aware as possible of the puzzle as it unfolds. I don't like extraneous material that doesn't support the story. It bothers me, I want it gone. </span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm not advocating my style as a powerful approach. In fact, it has its disadvantages. Laying down that first draft without assessment or much evaluation can provide you with material, straight out of the universe around you, that you might not have accessed when you write a bit more deliberately, as I do. But we write the way we write. And, dare I say, my approach usually requires fewer large scale revisions.</span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I embarked on my current YA, I stood in front of the Mount Everest of word count (because of course I would be thinking ahead!). How would I ever buck up to this aspect of reality, the need for at least 50,000 words? Oy vey! I opened a brand new doc, gave it a working title, and left for a double shot of espresso. </span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Carla, the barista at Ramone's, my favorite watering hole, pulled a great two shots before I ever reached the counter because she knows what I want. I've become too predictable. And, predictably, I headed for the sugar. As I counted out six packets as a starter--you always have to do a taste test to make sure you don't need more-- my mind continued to battle with those 50,000 words and it occurred to me that maybe I'd hit on a convergence here. Why not think of those 50,000 words as consisting of only 50 packets of 1000 words each. 50 pieces of something is a whole lot easier to wrap your mind around than 50,000 pieces! </span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I headed back to my computer. In a few days I'd finished 1000 words. And as I was writing, I wasn't thinking about word count. I was in the flow of creativity. Only forty-nine packets to go. I can handle a number like 49!</span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Ma<span style="font-size: large;">ry's knocked off a few more packets since she wrote this post. And, <span style="font-size: large;">a</span></span>s the lucky person who's been able to read those packets, let me say, there might <span style="font-size: large;">be something to this sugary solution<span style="font-size: large;"> of hers<span style="font-size: large;">! </span></span></span></i></span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ma<span style="font-size: large;">ry N<span style="font-size: large;">ethery's books include </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hannah and Jack, Mary Ver<span style="font-size: large;">onica's Egg </span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">and</span></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The Famous<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Nini: <span style="font-size: large;">A</span> Mostly True <span style="font-size: large;">Story of <span style="font-size: large;">How a P<span style="font-size: large;">lain White Cat <span style="font-size: large;">Became a Star. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">An adventure/mystery novel, <i>The </i><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Am</i><span style="font-size: large;"><i>azing Remy Hicks</i>, i<span style="font-size: large;">s out for submission.</span></span></span></span></span></span> </div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>
Don't even try to guess how much sugar is in this tall Americano!<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p.Body1, li.Body1, div.Body1 {mso-style-name:"Body 1"; mso-style-update:auto; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family:Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.6in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} </style> <br /><div align="center" class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's Word Packets, Sugar!</span></span></div><div align="center" class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">by Mary Nethery </span></span></div><div align="center" class="Body1" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A latte for Kirby, a double shot of espresso for me -- that's the only way to kick off a day of our high-spirited school presentations! However, before we exit Starbucks, I need to stop at the sugar counter for, let's see, about six packets of sugar, while Kirby watches and laughs.</span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Would you like some coffee with your sugar?" is the common response. Probably from my husband, not Kirby. She's way too darling to actually say it out loud. But I do love my sugar. And that got me thinking about how to keep myself motivated to produce 50,000 words for a novel I'm currently writing. 50,000 words is humongous. </span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some say, write 1000 words a day and you'll have a draft in like 50 days. Or, sit at your computer for three hours, writing all the while, and stop at a point where you can't wait to get back to work the next day. Either of these approaches works swell for about three days, and then it just becomes overwhelming. </span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As a writer, my style is to think, think, think, and write slowly. Part of the intrigue for me is the crafting of the story from the very beginning. I work off of Richard Peck's advice: "The first chapter is the last chapter in disguise." I like to consider planting props for use when solving plot issues that invariably emerge no matter how much pre-planning you do. And I like to be as aware as possible of the puzzle as it unfolds. I don't like extraneous material that doesn't support the story. It bothers me, I want it gone. </span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm not advocating my style as a powerful approach. In fact, it has its disadvantages. Laying down that first draft without assessment or much evaluation can provide you with material, straight out of the universe around you, that you might not have accessed when you write a bit more deliberately, as I do. But we write the way we write. And, dare I say, my approach usually requires fewer large scale revisions.</span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I embarked on my current YA, I stood in front of the Mount Everest of word count (because of course I would be thinking ahead!). How would I ever buck up to this aspect of reality, the need for at least 50,000 words? Oy vey! I opened a brand new doc, gave it a working title, and left for a double shot of espresso. </span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Carla, the barista at Ramone's, my favorite watering hole, pulled a great two shots before I ever reached the counter because she knows what I want. I've become too predictable. And, predictably, I headed for the sugar. As I counted out six packets as a starter--you always have to do a taste test to make sure you don't need more-- my mind continued to battle with those 50,000 words and it occurred to me that maybe I'd hit on a convergence here. Why not think of those 50,000 words as consisting of only 50 packets of 1000 words each. 50 pieces of something is a whole lot easier to wrap your mind around than 50,000 pieces! </span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I headed back to my computer. In a few days I'd finished 1000 words. And as I was writing, I wasn't thinking about word count. I was in the flow of creativity. Only forty-nine packets to go. I can handle a number like 49!</span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Ma<span style="font-size: large;">ry's knocked off a few more packets since she wrote this post. And, <span style="font-size: large;">a</span></span>s the lucky person who's been able to read those packets, let me say, there might <span style="font-size: large;">be something to this sugary solution<span style="font-size: large;"> of hers<span style="font-size: large;">! </span></span></span></i></span></span></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ma<span style="font-size: large;">ry N<span style="font-size: large;">ethery's books include </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hannah and Jack, Mary Ver<span style="font-size: large;">onica's Egg </span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">and</span></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The Famous<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Nini: <span style="font-size: large;">A</span> Mostly True <span style="font-size: large;">Story of <span style="font-size: large;">How a P<span style="font-size: large;">lain White Cat <span style="font-size: large;">Became a Star. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">An adventure/mystery novel, <i>The </i><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Am</i><span style="font-size: large;"><i>azing Remy Hicks</i>, i<span style="font-size: large;">s out for submission.</span></span></span></span></span></span> </div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="Body1" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com...' alt='' /></div>
November 15, 2012
Thursday's thoughts . . .about Poetry
(here is the final installment in Vida Zuljevic's interview about how she teaches poetry at her school. On Saturday, come back to have your spirits lifted with poems written by her students!)
Vida, what obstacles did you/do you have to overcome as you began to incorporate poetry teaching into your curriculum? For instance, I know that many adults say they are afraid of poetry; that they don’t understand it. I would imagine many students share those same feelings. If there is a student who’s hesitant, how do you make him/her comfortable?
I am happy to say that I had no obstacles incorporating poetry in my teaching. When I got my first job in the United States as a pre-school teacher in Addison, Texas, I knew, literally, a few words of English, but I had 18 years of teaching experience with young children. So, in my first few months, this multicultural group of 2-to-3-year-old children I worked with heard hundreds of poems and children’s songs in Serbo-Croatian (my native tongue), and I heard and learned from them the most popular nursery rhymes in English. Regardless of language in which it was shared, poetry had the ability to sneak in one's heart as both the children and I learned from each other. I also paired it up with puppetry and music that go very well with poetry reciting, singing, and performing, which adds excitement and motivates children to participate.
When I moved to Washington State and started my schooling here to get my U.S. A. teaching degree, I was introduced to great children's literature, including incredible poetry for children with which I absolutely fell in love. And who wouldn’t, after reading Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust, Janet Wong’s Jake and Min, Sharon Creech’s Love that Dog(all of which are outstanding novels in free verse format. These extraordinary books inspired me to try to write my own book in the same format. I Was Almost Five was published in 2010. Then, I cannot leave out other fantastic poetry books like The Rainbow Hands by Janet Wong, Ordinary Things, Moving Day, and A Writing Kind of Day by Ralph Fletcher, Thanks a Million by Nikki Grimes, Honey I Love by Eloise Greenfield, and many, many more.
At the first school, where I worked for eight years, only my first principal (who unfortunately left too soon) was very supportive of my puppetry and poetry activities with our students. After he left, I was faced with my administrators’ and most of my colleagues' unfamiliarity with what I was doing.
The success with students who were involved and their families’ support was never in question, but my work was perceived by my colleagues as “Vida’s thing,” whether I was teaching poetry, collecting students' poems to send them to a contest for book publishing or publishing in the local newspaper, organizing Family Poetry Nights, or taking puppeteers to perform poetry in the community, it was always perceived as “Vida’s thing,” but it did not stop me. I knew that “Vida’s thing” was the “right thing” for our students.
My student’s essay “How a Pasco Teacher Influenced My Life,” which won the Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce grant confirmed that. Felichiya, then a 5th grader, wrote:"…Mrs. Zuljevic, my writing teacher and librarian, inspired me in writing, reading and of course listening to poetry. And because of that it made my life more spirited and joyful….. …So, I am really grateful to my wonderful teacher who opened a whole new world of literature to me. Thank you so much! And I will hopefully write, read, and listen to poetry all my life. I am really thankful to you Mrs. Zuljevic for believing in me! And maybe, someday, my poems will inspire somebody!!!..."
The plaque with this essay hangs on the wall above my desk, and I look at it every day, and it energizes me and inspires me to continue doing what I am doing with the same love and passion.
At the school where I have been working for the fourth year now, I have full support of my colleagues and administrators. Many of them share their love of poetry with students, help me evaluate the Annual Poetry Contest entries, come to Poetry Nights, and provide any support I ask for. I feel truly blessed working with and being part of the greatest team of educators I’ve ever worked with.
What other resources might you recommend to other teachers and librarians who would like to follow your lead in poetry teaching? First, I’d truly recommend to all who are interested in teaching poetry to read the book Poetry Matters by Ralph Fletcher. Five years ago when I was teaching reading and writing to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade combo class of bilingual students, I read this book chapter by chapter and my students enjoyed it tremendously, and most importantly, they understood it and were willing to explore writing poetry and integrating important writing suggestions that Fletcher shared in each particular chapter.
Another book that I highly recommend is Poetry Friday Anthology by Dr. Sylvia Vardell, professor at Texas Women’s University, and Janet Wong, acclaimed poet. This recently published book is a compilation of poems never before published uniquely like this, aligned with common core standards, sorted by grade level and accompanied by five ready-to-use activities. The extraordinary effort of two poetry bards resulted in an extraordinary book that must find a place on every teacher's/librarian's desk.
Here are also couple of blogs that I visit on a regular basis: Poetry for Children Poetry Friday Anthology Writing Poetry with Writers Janet Wong Joyce Sidman for Teachers and Librarians
If you were the Queen of Education, what would be your first decree?
I’d immediately shift schools’ focus off of testing and test results and towards the true meaning of education—teaching and learning, and helping every child to love learning regardless of the difficulties they might have along the way.
What else would you like to say about poetry teaching in the classroom/library?
I’d like to share this fabulous poem with you and other educators. I think it says it all.
I Read It Because It’s Beautiful
by Karen Morrow Durica
Somehow a life without poetry seems…
Dismal
Empty
Flat—
Not much.
So each day in my classroom I read…
Sonnets
Haikus
Free verse—
And such.
An observer sat in my room one day…
Noted poem’s title
Evaluated delivery
Recorded “lesson” sequence—
Said dryly: “It seems
There’s no connection curricular-wise…
No anticipatory set
No vocabulary drill
No comprehension query—
Do they know what it means?”
I could have contrived a defense or two, but…
Spirits flowed with peaceful joy
Honesty prevailed
Simple truth explained—
“I read it because it’s beautiful,” I said.
She didn’t quite frown but recalled all the same, “We’ve…
Standards to meet
Timelines to keep
Pages to cover—
Important content to be read.”
I looked from her to my students’ gaze; they…
Had relished the words
Danced with the rhythm
Mused with the meaning—
Were richer in spirit than when we began.
I read it because it was beautiful. And beauty is…
Never superfluous
Never irrelevant
Always needed—
Always in my “lesson” plan.
Vida, this time with you has been completely inspiring. You made me stop and renew my awareness of the richness of language, the beauty of words, the power of poetry. My heart is lighter knowing that you, and many many wonderful librarians just like you, are opening literature's doors to children of all ages. Thank you!
Vida, what obstacles did you/do you have to overcome as you began to incorporate poetry teaching into your curriculum? For instance, I know that many adults say they are afraid of poetry; that they don’t understand it. I would imagine many students share those same feelings. If there is a student who’s hesitant, how do you make him/her comfortable?
I am happy to say that I had no obstacles incorporating poetry in my teaching. When I got my first job in the United States as a pre-school teacher in Addison, Texas, I knew, literally, a few words of English, but I had 18 years of teaching experience with young children. So, in my first few months, this multicultural group of 2-to-3-year-old children I worked with heard hundreds of poems and children’s songs in Serbo-Croatian (my native tongue), and I heard and learned from them the most popular nursery rhymes in English. Regardless of language in which it was shared, poetry had the ability to sneak in one's heart as both the children and I learned from each other. I also paired it up with puppetry and music that go very well with poetry reciting, singing, and performing, which adds excitement and motivates children to participate.
When I moved to Washington State and started my schooling here to get my U.S. A. teaching degree, I was introduced to great children's literature, including incredible poetry for children with which I absolutely fell in love. And who wouldn’t, after reading Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust, Janet Wong’s Jake and Min, Sharon Creech’s Love that Dog(all of which are outstanding novels in free verse format. These extraordinary books inspired me to try to write my own book in the same format. I Was Almost Five was published in 2010. Then, I cannot leave out other fantastic poetry books like The Rainbow Hands by Janet Wong, Ordinary Things, Moving Day, and A Writing Kind of Day by Ralph Fletcher, Thanks a Million by Nikki Grimes, Honey I Love by Eloise Greenfield, and many, many more.
At the first school, where I worked for eight years, only my first principal (who unfortunately left too soon) was very supportive of my puppetry and poetry activities with our students. After he left, I was faced with my administrators’ and most of my colleagues' unfamiliarity with what I was doing.
The success with students who were involved and their families’ support was never in question, but my work was perceived by my colleagues as “Vida’s thing,” whether I was teaching poetry, collecting students' poems to send them to a contest for book publishing or publishing in the local newspaper, organizing Family Poetry Nights, or taking puppeteers to perform poetry in the community, it was always perceived as “Vida’s thing,” but it did not stop me. I knew that “Vida’s thing” was the “right thing” for our students.
My student’s essay “How a Pasco Teacher Influenced My Life,” which won the Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce grant confirmed that. Felichiya, then a 5th grader, wrote:"…Mrs. Zuljevic, my writing teacher and librarian, inspired me in writing, reading and of course listening to poetry. And because of that it made my life more spirited and joyful….. …So, I am really grateful to my wonderful teacher who opened a whole new world of literature to me. Thank you so much! And I will hopefully write, read, and listen to poetry all my life. I am really thankful to you Mrs. Zuljevic for believing in me! And maybe, someday, my poems will inspire somebody!!!..."
The plaque with this essay hangs on the wall above my desk, and I look at it every day, and it energizes me and inspires me to continue doing what I am doing with the same love and passion.
At the school where I have been working for the fourth year now, I have full support of my colleagues and administrators. Many of them share their love of poetry with students, help me evaluate the Annual Poetry Contest entries, come to Poetry Nights, and provide any support I ask for. I feel truly blessed working with and being part of the greatest team of educators I’ve ever worked with.
What other resources might you recommend to other teachers and librarians who would like to follow your lead in poetry teaching? First, I’d truly recommend to all who are interested in teaching poetry to read the book Poetry Matters by Ralph Fletcher. Five years ago when I was teaching reading and writing to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade combo class of bilingual students, I read this book chapter by chapter and my students enjoyed it tremendously, and most importantly, they understood it and were willing to explore writing poetry and integrating important writing suggestions that Fletcher shared in each particular chapter.
Another book that I highly recommend is Poetry Friday Anthology by Dr. Sylvia Vardell, professor at Texas Women’s University, and Janet Wong, acclaimed poet. This recently published book is a compilation of poems never before published uniquely like this, aligned with common core standards, sorted by grade level and accompanied by five ready-to-use activities. The extraordinary effort of two poetry bards resulted in an extraordinary book that must find a place on every teacher's/librarian's desk.
Here are also couple of blogs that I visit on a regular basis: Poetry for Children Poetry Friday Anthology Writing Poetry with Writers Janet Wong Joyce Sidman for Teachers and Librarians
If you were the Queen of Education, what would be your first decree?
I’d immediately shift schools’ focus off of testing and test results and towards the true meaning of education—teaching and learning, and helping every child to love learning regardless of the difficulties they might have along the way.
What else would you like to say about poetry teaching in the classroom/library?
I’d like to share this fabulous poem with you and other educators. I think it says it all.
I Read It Because It’s Beautiful
by Karen Morrow Durica
Somehow a life without poetry seems…
Dismal
Empty
Flat—
Not much.
So each day in my classroom I read…
Sonnets
Haikus
Free verse—
And such.
An observer sat in my room one day…
Noted poem’s title
Evaluated delivery
Recorded “lesson” sequence—
Said dryly: “It seems
There’s no connection curricular-wise…
No anticipatory set
No vocabulary drill
No comprehension query—
Do they know what it means?”
I could have contrived a defense or two, but…
Spirits flowed with peaceful joy
Honesty prevailed
Simple truth explained—
“I read it because it’s beautiful,” I said.
She didn’t quite frown but recalled all the same, “We’ve…
Standards to meet
Timelines to keep
Pages to cover—
Important content to be read.”
I looked from her to my students’ gaze; they…
Had relished the words
Danced with the rhythm
Mused with the meaning—
Were richer in spirit than when we began.
I read it because it was beautiful. And beauty is…
Never superfluous
Never irrelevant
Always needed—
Always in my “lesson” plan.
Vida, this time with you has been completely inspiring. You made me stop and renew my awareness of the richness of language, the beauty of words, the power of poetry. My heart is lighter knowing that you, and many many wonderful librarians just like you, are opening literature's doors to children of all ages. Thank you!
November 14, 2012
Teacher Tuesday. . .On Wednesday!
(I didn't want you to miss a word of librarian Vida Zuljevic's inspiring words about teaching poetry; the second portion of her interview is below. Come back tomorrow for the conclusion of the interview.)
Vida, what can students learn from reading/writing poetry that they might not be able to learn from other forms of writing, or for that matter, other forms of art?
Poetry is so attractive, lending itself for pure enjoyment of reading it and enjoying the poetic language, rhythm, and feelings conveyed. I am sure many teachers would agree that poetry is the most suitable form of writing to introduce figurative language, develop reading fluency including expressive reading, encourage imagination, and introduce new vocabulary from different content areas in an artistic way. Its variety allows students with a wide range of reading abilities and interests to enjoy reading in a non-threatening way. I want my students to learn that poetry can feed their souls with a special “food” it offers in abundance: imagery, rhythm, music, language, play, expressions, and that it can also be a seed from which their poetic souls can rise and grow to unimaginable heights.
What books do you particularly enjoy sharing with your students? Why do you particularly enjoy sharing these titles? Can you give a few specific examples from a book or two?
When I was taking classes toward my master's degree in literacy education, I was introduced to a variety of master poets and writers. Thanks to my professors Dr. Terrell Young (for all literature and all reading classes) and Dr. Sylvia Vardell (poetry class), I was totally immersed in an enormous number of fabulous books that just swelled my soul and mind with superior writing craft and beauty of language and form. Books by Ralph Fletcher, Janet Wong, Sharon Creech, Georgia Herd, Nikki Grimes, Langston Hughes, Paul Janaczko, Douglas Florian, Jack Prelutsky, to name just a few, became a regular part of the Poetry Bag that I carry with me to school, to conferences, meetings, and teacher trainings, sharing my excitement with my students, colleagues and other audiences.
It is difficult to pull out a couple of books that I prefer over others. I can only say that Ralph Fletcher’s superior, honest, clear writing craft and his way of sharing poetic imagery through simple and yet strong word choice is the most appealing to me. When I read poetry to my students, I read from his books first, so that they can experience my connectedness to this poet's work, and I usually explain this to my students.
For example, I tell my students how I felt the first time I read the poem "Wind" from Ralph Fletcher’s book Ordinary Things: Poems from a Walk in Early Spring: It was early spring, 2007. It was just about nine years since my family had arrived to the U.S.A. Nostalgia hits hardest in the spring because of familiar things and events related to spring in my country. Fragrances of blooming herbs on the hills around my city, the fragrance of early almond tree blossoms that filled my senses with everlasting memories, the wind that was cold and felt like it did not belong to that place at that time but still felt familiar and dear…and then I came across the poem "Wind." And I read it and reread it several times and stopped only in disbelief that there was someone living in New Hampshire who somehow felt “my” spring and wind from across the ocean the same exact way I did and was able to translate these feelings into such a beautiful and powerful poem.
After I talked about this poem and the connections I made reading it, I ask my fifth graders to talk to their peers at the table about similarly strong feelings they have about something important to them and then to write a poem about it. I had wonderful creative responses such as the following one:THE TWO SIDESBy Alejandro 5th grade When I was little, My mother would say,“I wish your uncle could come!”And she’d sigh.“Who is my uncle,” I’d ask.“He is a wonderful, delightful man,she would say,and her eyes would fill up with tears,and her face would frown.“Can I go to see him, I’d askAnd mom would look up and say,“It is so far.”“How far, “I wouldn’t give up.It is like two sides of the world,My brother is on one sideAnd we are far awayon the other side.You’ll see himSome other time,”She’d whisper.“No, I want to see him now,My sides are both sides,”I said, and mom looked at me.And she knew I was going to go…She let me go during winter breakTo see my uncle because she realized that I DO have two equally important sidesand that I don’t give up easily.
Please describe some of the poetry activities you do with your students. Can you speak to your students’ reactions/responses to these activities?
I incorporate poetry into my teaching every day. The Poem of the Day is read after the Pledge of Allegiance is recited. Sometimes it’s related to an approaching holiday, sometimes to a season, the weather, a unit I’m teaching, or it is just so beautiful that I simply must share it. The students are invited to share their poetry or poetry they find in books that they'd like to share, as well.
I established an Annual Poetry Contest in the two schools where I worked since starting to work as a teacher in the U.S. From Nov. 1 through Nov. 30 , students are asked to turn in up to three poems (topic, format, or language of their choosing). Then, a committee of 5-6 teachers evaluates the entries, and 12 poems are chosen for the school poetry calendar. The winning poets and their families are invited to a Family Poetry night organized in their honor. The winners read their poems and their families are invited are invited to read some of the poems. It always turns into poetry celebration. The students receive a free calendar and a free poetry book, bookmarks, poetry notebooks, pencils.
Two years ago, I sent 30 poems written and illustrated by my students to the publishing company and our first poetry book named We Are Comets, We Are Poets! (Our school’s mascot is a shooting comet!) was published in spring of 2010.Last year, out of 372 entries for the contest, in addition to the 12 poems chosen for the Poetry Calendar, 64 poems were chosen for the Poetry Quilt that is permanently displayed in our library. The winning students received their free copy of a book, a reception, and a pizza party in the library.
Also last year, during the month of April (Poetry Month), I ran a variation of Poetry Slam in our library. The students were to find and practice their favorite poem and come to the library after they eat lunch to compete in performing poetry. The activity was well attended every time and the students asked if we can continue with it after the poetry month is over.
Several colleagues at my school are poetry lovers too who incorporate poetry in their teaching on a regular basis. They and many others are supportive of what I am doing in the library and willing to help, which is very significant in showing students that we all value poetry as an important part of reading, learning, and enjoying language. Others are appreciative and willing to try when I approach them with ideas or ask them to encourage their students to read and write poetry. The students are receptive and willing to try writing or sharing poems.
Recently, my colleague and I started a Reading Blog with her second-grade class. I post a question to the second graders, and they come together as a class to answer my question. Their excitement and learning motivation are enormous. At this time, they are gathering powerful words from their reading material so that they are ready to write poetry. The students make a list of quality adjectives and strong verbs they find in the books they are reading, and then they write their poems in writing journals. Then, the students turn their poems in to the teacher, and she posts them on our blog. My colleague reports that this activity has incredibly stirred up enthusiasm for both reading and writing in all her students. And I noticed the same in the library. They dash to the shelves with poetry books; they are leaders in discussing poetic language and poets' craft; and they write fantastic poems. In all, there are endless possibilities. It only takes an enthusiastic, knowledgeable teacher who is willing to explore. And I truly believe that most of us are just that.The activities/events above are just some of the many I incorporate into my library's everyday life.
What has been most surprising to you about incorporating poetry teaching into your curriculum?
I know that if we look through history of great poetry, male poets considerably outnumber females. Even if we add in great female poets who may have been ignored because of society's perception of "woman's place" of the time, we are still left with the fact that men showed their ability to be great poets. Despite this, it was to my surprise that boys would take on the invitation to perform poetry in front of an audience and to write poetry as easily and willingly as they did (because of the stereotype that perceives poetry as a “girly” thing). Generally, the boys start shyly, but when encouraged and given a lot of examples of wonderful poems by great poets, they loosen up and become leaders in poetry writing and performing.
(check back tomorrow when Vida shares some favorite resources, including poetry blogs!)
Vida, what can students learn from reading/writing poetry that they might not be able to learn from other forms of writing, or for that matter, other forms of art?
Poetry is so attractive, lending itself for pure enjoyment of reading it and enjoying the poetic language, rhythm, and feelings conveyed. I am sure many teachers would agree that poetry is the most suitable form of writing to introduce figurative language, develop reading fluency including expressive reading, encourage imagination, and introduce new vocabulary from different content areas in an artistic way. Its variety allows students with a wide range of reading abilities and interests to enjoy reading in a non-threatening way. I want my students to learn that poetry can feed their souls with a special “food” it offers in abundance: imagery, rhythm, music, language, play, expressions, and that it can also be a seed from which their poetic souls can rise and grow to unimaginable heights.
What books do you particularly enjoy sharing with your students? Why do you particularly enjoy sharing these titles? Can you give a few specific examples from a book or two?
When I was taking classes toward my master's degree in literacy education, I was introduced to a variety of master poets and writers. Thanks to my professors Dr. Terrell Young (for all literature and all reading classes) and Dr. Sylvia Vardell (poetry class), I was totally immersed in an enormous number of fabulous books that just swelled my soul and mind with superior writing craft and beauty of language and form. Books by Ralph Fletcher, Janet Wong, Sharon Creech, Georgia Herd, Nikki Grimes, Langston Hughes, Paul Janaczko, Douglas Florian, Jack Prelutsky, to name just a few, became a regular part of the Poetry Bag that I carry with me to school, to conferences, meetings, and teacher trainings, sharing my excitement with my students, colleagues and other audiences.
It is difficult to pull out a couple of books that I prefer over others. I can only say that Ralph Fletcher’s superior, honest, clear writing craft and his way of sharing poetic imagery through simple and yet strong word choice is the most appealing to me. When I read poetry to my students, I read from his books first, so that they can experience my connectedness to this poet's work, and I usually explain this to my students.
For example, I tell my students how I felt the first time I read the poem "Wind" from Ralph Fletcher’s book Ordinary Things: Poems from a Walk in Early Spring: It was early spring, 2007. It was just about nine years since my family had arrived to the U.S.A. Nostalgia hits hardest in the spring because of familiar things and events related to spring in my country. Fragrances of blooming herbs on the hills around my city, the fragrance of early almond tree blossoms that filled my senses with everlasting memories, the wind that was cold and felt like it did not belong to that place at that time but still felt familiar and dear…and then I came across the poem "Wind." And I read it and reread it several times and stopped only in disbelief that there was someone living in New Hampshire who somehow felt “my” spring and wind from across the ocean the same exact way I did and was able to translate these feelings into such a beautiful and powerful poem.
After I talked about this poem and the connections I made reading it, I ask my fifth graders to talk to their peers at the table about similarly strong feelings they have about something important to them and then to write a poem about it. I had wonderful creative responses such as the following one:THE TWO SIDESBy Alejandro 5th grade When I was little, My mother would say,“I wish your uncle could come!”And she’d sigh.“Who is my uncle,” I’d ask.“He is a wonderful, delightful man,she would say,and her eyes would fill up with tears,and her face would frown.“Can I go to see him, I’d askAnd mom would look up and say,“It is so far.”“How far, “I wouldn’t give up.It is like two sides of the world,My brother is on one sideAnd we are far awayon the other side.You’ll see himSome other time,”She’d whisper.“No, I want to see him now,My sides are both sides,”I said, and mom looked at me.And she knew I was going to go…She let me go during winter breakTo see my uncle because she realized that I DO have two equally important sidesand that I don’t give up easily.
Please describe some of the poetry activities you do with your students. Can you speak to your students’ reactions/responses to these activities?
I incorporate poetry into my teaching every day. The Poem of the Day is read after the Pledge of Allegiance is recited. Sometimes it’s related to an approaching holiday, sometimes to a season, the weather, a unit I’m teaching, or it is just so beautiful that I simply must share it. The students are invited to share their poetry or poetry they find in books that they'd like to share, as well.
I established an Annual Poetry Contest in the two schools where I worked since starting to work as a teacher in the U.S. From Nov. 1 through Nov. 30 , students are asked to turn in up to three poems (topic, format, or language of their choosing). Then, a committee of 5-6 teachers evaluates the entries, and 12 poems are chosen for the school poetry calendar. The winning poets and their families are invited to a Family Poetry night organized in their honor. The winners read their poems and their families are invited are invited to read some of the poems. It always turns into poetry celebration. The students receive a free calendar and a free poetry book, bookmarks, poetry notebooks, pencils.
Two years ago, I sent 30 poems written and illustrated by my students to the publishing company and our first poetry book named We Are Comets, We Are Poets! (Our school’s mascot is a shooting comet!) was published in spring of 2010.Last year, out of 372 entries for the contest, in addition to the 12 poems chosen for the Poetry Calendar, 64 poems were chosen for the Poetry Quilt that is permanently displayed in our library. The winning students received their free copy of a book, a reception, and a pizza party in the library.
Also last year, during the month of April (Poetry Month), I ran a variation of Poetry Slam in our library. The students were to find and practice their favorite poem and come to the library after they eat lunch to compete in performing poetry. The activity was well attended every time and the students asked if we can continue with it after the poetry month is over.
Several colleagues at my school are poetry lovers too who incorporate poetry in their teaching on a regular basis. They and many others are supportive of what I am doing in the library and willing to help, which is very significant in showing students that we all value poetry as an important part of reading, learning, and enjoying language. Others are appreciative and willing to try when I approach them with ideas or ask them to encourage their students to read and write poetry. The students are receptive and willing to try writing or sharing poems.
Recently, my colleague and I started a Reading Blog with her second-grade class. I post a question to the second graders, and they come together as a class to answer my question. Their excitement and learning motivation are enormous. At this time, they are gathering powerful words from their reading material so that they are ready to write poetry. The students make a list of quality adjectives and strong verbs they find in the books they are reading, and then they write their poems in writing journals. Then, the students turn their poems in to the teacher, and she posts them on our blog. My colleague reports that this activity has incredibly stirred up enthusiasm for both reading and writing in all her students. And I noticed the same in the library. They dash to the shelves with poetry books; they are leaders in discussing poetic language and poets' craft; and they write fantastic poems. In all, there are endless possibilities. It only takes an enthusiastic, knowledgeable teacher who is willing to explore. And I truly believe that most of us are just that.The activities/events above are just some of the many I incorporate into my library's everyday life.
What has been most surprising to you about incorporating poetry teaching into your curriculum?
I know that if we look through history of great poetry, male poets considerably outnumber females. Even if we add in great female poets who may have been ignored because of society's perception of "woman's place" of the time, we are still left with the fact that men showed their ability to be great poets. Despite this, it was to my surprise that boys would take on the invitation to perform poetry in front of an audience and to write poetry as easily and willingly as they did (because of the stereotype that perceives poetry as a “girly” thing). Generally, the boys start shyly, but when encouraged and given a lot of examples of wonderful poems by great poets, they loosen up and become leaders in poetry writing and performing.
(check back tomorrow when Vida shares some favorite resources, including poetry blogs!)
November 13, 2012
Teacher Tuesday
I must apologize for the technical glitches with getting today's Teacher Tuesday post up and running. The only thing I can figure out is that the post was too long. So, with Vida's okay, I will be dividing her wonderful interview into three parts, to run today, tomorrow and Thursday. Check back in on Saturday for a celebration of her students' poetry!
Though we've never met, I feel a connection with Vida Zuljevic, a librarian in Pasco, Washington, who serves Pre-K through fifth grade at Virgie Robinson Elementary. The town that Hattie Brooks homesteaded near, in real life and in my novel Hattie Big Sky, was named also named Vida (for the postmaster's daughter). Vida explained that, in her language, Vida is the female form of the word vid, meaning vision, sight. Catholics in Slavic countries in Europe celebrate St. Vid, believing that he sees everything, and he is worshiped (among other reasons) as the protector of people’s vision.I think her parents must have known what they were doing in giving this future librarian that beautiful and meaningful name! I think mint tea might be a lovely accompaniment while you read today's interview.
First, Vida, we'd like to take a peek at your past. The photos she has shared are especially poignant as they are the only ones her family saved, as they escaped the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Favorite school lunch as a kid: It’s believed that memories supported by our sense of smell last longest in humans. My memory of sandwiches made by my beloved grandma and the smell of her freshly baked bread are still very much alive and always bring warm feelings to my heart. Best friend in grade school: Edina Vejzovic-Puzic (she also lives in the United States now). I found her after about forty years of no contact via some common friends and thanks to the Internet. Times you were the new kid in school: I went to three different elementary schools (in my country, elementary school includes grades 1-8). I remember moving in third grade from an old school, in which I started my education, to a new, experimental school where everything was modern and felt “cold” with so much glass and iron and no friend. There was a boy who’d pick on me, teasing me because I was the tiniest girl in class, kind of shy and quiet. One day at recess, he and another boy approached me, gave me a tiny box, and said, “gift for you” with a mischievous smile on his face. I don’t know why, but I took it. And when he said, "Open it,” I did. Sure enough, a little lizard popped out, and the boys screeched trying to scare me. To their surprise I got down on my knees and managed to catch the little lizard, and then held it, I petted its back. The lizard calmed down, feeling my gentle touch. The boys were in awe. They said that they'd never seen a girl so brave to even hold a lizard, let alone pet it. From then on, they never teased me again, and what's more, we became very good friends.Teacher who inspired you to stretch: My first grade teacher, Mr. Alikalfich. In those days, coal for heating would be delivered to the school and teachers would be asked to help unload the trucks and store the coal in the school storage. It was on a November day that the truck came, and Mr. Alikalfich called my name and said to me in front of the whole class: "Vida, you’ll be the teacher until I come back. I need to help unload the coal from the coal truck. Come sit at my desk and read this part to the class (he showed me a paragraph from the text book), and then let them talk about it to each other until I come back." He did not ask me if I could read it; he did not show even a sliver of doubt about it or about my “teaching abilities.” It really gave me confidence, and I remember truly wanting to read that passage perfectly without mistakes and with lots of expression, which I of course did not have mastered by then, but my teacher’s trust in my abilities made me stretch to my highest potential, and I made it sound really good and my classmates respected that… This incident also ignited a spark of wanting to be a teacher, a plan I realized by going to a high school for teachers first and then to teachers' college and then university. One day, as I was walking down the hall at the teachers' college I was attending at the time, I spotted a tiny figure waking toward me, and I recognized my first grade teacher. I approached him with “Hello, do you recognize me Mr. Alikalfich?" He squinted at first, then smiled: "I knew it…I knew it from the first day of first grade that you were born to be a teacher, Vida." My heart jumped for joy. He remembered not only my name but also his faith in me. He went on to share that he too was there to take classes because new regulations for elementary teachers required upgrading their degrees with endorsements in specific areas of teaching. The one thing you always wished you could do in grade school but never achieved: I really wanted to be on the school's Math Team and participate in math competitions. I liked math very much, especially in seventh and eighth grade. I was among the best mathematicians in my class, but the only girl. My math teacher was a pretty biased man who believed that girls are simply not born to be good at math--period. He would even say it out loud in front of the class. He would never call on me to answer his questions (ignoring my raised hand signaling my readiness) until one or some of the boys figured out the problem and raised their hands. Each year that the team was formed for the annual math competition, my teacher would not even consider me as an alternative team member because “girls are not smart enough to understand math.” Back then, students and parents were not supposed to or even allowed to argue with or complain to the teachers. So although I was good at math throughout my schooling, my love for it remained only on a personal level. I did not excel in math the way I wanted and had abilities to because of the bias my teacher had about girls and math.
Vida, a mutual friend suggested I contact you because of your passion for teaching and writing poetry. Talk about the seed that planted such a passion. Have you always loved poetry?
Poetry was an essential part of the elementary school curriculum in former Yugoslavia. I liked to read, and I liked to play with words. My first poem was published in a children's magazine when I was in third grade. As a teen, I was in the school's poetry club. I published poems regularly in magazines for children throughout my schooling. The roots don't come only from my education, but also the fact that I am from a city where poetry is part of the city's culture, cherishing a tradition of great poets from this region such as Aleksa Santic, Osman Dikic, Branko Simic, Mak Dizdar, Pero Zubac and others. I lived my teenage years developing a love for reading and reciting poems by these and other great poets such as Yesenin, Prevert, Lorca, Neruda, and Lord Byron.
When I became a kindergarten teacher, I used poetry on an daily basis, whether chanting nursery rhymes, reading poems of popular children's poets, writing poems with the students in my class, or singing children’s songs. Poetry was a part of me from my early childhood; I feel it was born with me in my heart and mind, and it waited for a couple of years to let me grow and learn to talk, read and write in order to start flowing out of there and let wonderful poetry in as well.
Why do you feel it’s so important for students to read poetry? To write poetry?
Because it’s beautiful! Yes, in my opinion this is the most important role of poetry in students’ and adults' lives alike--to bring beauty of language to their attention. The other forms of writing can have such an impact too, but because of its format and language richness, poetry seems to be the most accessible well from which we can take quick or longer sips of beauty and keep coming back to it for additional sips of beauty over and over.
(I think this is the perfect place to take a break -- check in tomorrow for additional sips of Vida's thinking about poetry!)
Though we've never met, I feel a connection with Vida Zuljevic, a librarian in Pasco, Washington, who serves Pre-K through fifth grade at Virgie Robinson Elementary. The town that Hattie Brooks homesteaded near, in real life and in my novel Hattie Big Sky, was named also named Vida (for the postmaster's daughter). Vida explained that, in her language, Vida is the female form of the word vid, meaning vision, sight. Catholics in Slavic countries in Europe celebrate St. Vid, believing that he sees everything, and he is worshiped (among other reasons) as the protector of people’s vision.I think her parents must have known what they were doing in giving this future librarian that beautiful and meaningful name! I think mint tea might be a lovely accompaniment while you read today's interview.
First, Vida, we'd like to take a peek at your past. The photos she has shared are especially poignant as they are the only ones her family saved, as they escaped the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Favorite school lunch as a kid: It’s believed that memories supported by our sense of smell last longest in humans. My memory of sandwiches made by my beloved grandma and the smell of her freshly baked bread are still very much alive and always bring warm feelings to my heart. Best friend in grade school: Edina Vejzovic-Puzic (she also lives in the United States now). I found her after about forty years of no contact via some common friends and thanks to the Internet. Times you were the new kid in school: I went to three different elementary schools (in my country, elementary school includes grades 1-8). I remember moving in third grade from an old school, in which I started my education, to a new, experimental school where everything was modern and felt “cold” with so much glass and iron and no friend. There was a boy who’d pick on me, teasing me because I was the tiniest girl in class, kind of shy and quiet. One day at recess, he and another boy approached me, gave me a tiny box, and said, “gift for you” with a mischievous smile on his face. I don’t know why, but I took it. And when he said, "Open it,” I did. Sure enough, a little lizard popped out, and the boys screeched trying to scare me. To their surprise I got down on my knees and managed to catch the little lizard, and then held it, I petted its back. The lizard calmed down, feeling my gentle touch. The boys were in awe. They said that they'd never seen a girl so brave to even hold a lizard, let alone pet it. From then on, they never teased me again, and what's more, we became very good friends.Teacher who inspired you to stretch: My first grade teacher, Mr. Alikalfich. In those days, coal for heating would be delivered to the school and teachers would be asked to help unload the trucks and store the coal in the school storage. It was on a November day that the truck came, and Mr. Alikalfich called my name and said to me in front of the whole class: "Vida, you’ll be the teacher until I come back. I need to help unload the coal from the coal truck. Come sit at my desk and read this part to the class (he showed me a paragraph from the text book), and then let them talk about it to each other until I come back." He did not ask me if I could read it; he did not show even a sliver of doubt about it or about my “teaching abilities.” It really gave me confidence, and I remember truly wanting to read that passage perfectly without mistakes and with lots of expression, which I of course did not have mastered by then, but my teacher’s trust in my abilities made me stretch to my highest potential, and I made it sound really good and my classmates respected that… This incident also ignited a spark of wanting to be a teacher, a plan I realized by going to a high school for teachers first and then to teachers' college and then university. One day, as I was walking down the hall at the teachers' college I was attending at the time, I spotted a tiny figure waking toward me, and I recognized my first grade teacher. I approached him with “Hello, do you recognize me Mr. Alikalfich?" He squinted at first, then smiled: "I knew it…I knew it from the first day of first grade that you were born to be a teacher, Vida." My heart jumped for joy. He remembered not only my name but also his faith in me. He went on to share that he too was there to take classes because new regulations for elementary teachers required upgrading their degrees with endorsements in specific areas of teaching. The one thing you always wished you could do in grade school but never achieved: I really wanted to be on the school's Math Team and participate in math competitions. I liked math very much, especially in seventh and eighth grade. I was among the best mathematicians in my class, but the only girl. My math teacher was a pretty biased man who believed that girls are simply not born to be good at math--period. He would even say it out loud in front of the class. He would never call on me to answer his questions (ignoring my raised hand signaling my readiness) until one or some of the boys figured out the problem and raised their hands. Each year that the team was formed for the annual math competition, my teacher would not even consider me as an alternative team member because “girls are not smart enough to understand math.” Back then, students and parents were not supposed to or even allowed to argue with or complain to the teachers. So although I was good at math throughout my schooling, my love for it remained only on a personal level. I did not excel in math the way I wanted and had abilities to because of the bias my teacher had about girls and math.
Vida, a mutual friend suggested I contact you because of your passion for teaching and writing poetry. Talk about the seed that planted such a passion. Have you always loved poetry?
Poetry was an essential part of the elementary school curriculum in former Yugoslavia. I liked to read, and I liked to play with words. My first poem was published in a children's magazine when I was in third grade. As a teen, I was in the school's poetry club. I published poems regularly in magazines for children throughout my schooling. The roots don't come only from my education, but also the fact that I am from a city where poetry is part of the city's culture, cherishing a tradition of great poets from this region such as Aleksa Santic, Osman Dikic, Branko Simic, Mak Dizdar, Pero Zubac and others. I lived my teenage years developing a love for reading and reciting poems by these and other great poets such as Yesenin, Prevert, Lorca, Neruda, and Lord Byron.
When I became a kindergarten teacher, I used poetry on an daily basis, whether chanting nursery rhymes, reading poems of popular children's poets, writing poems with the students in my class, or singing children’s songs. Poetry was a part of me from my early childhood; I feel it was born with me in my heart and mind, and it waited for a couple of years to let me grow and learn to talk, read and write in order to start flowing out of there and let wonderful poetry in as well.
Why do you feel it’s so important for students to read poetry? To write poetry?
Because it’s beautiful! Yes, in my opinion this is the most important role of poetry in students’ and adults' lives alike--to bring beauty of language to their attention. The other forms of writing can have such an impact too, but because of its format and language richness, poetry seems to be the most accessible well from which we can take quick or longer sips of beauty and keep coming back to it for additional sips of beauty over and over.
(I think this is the perfect place to take a break -- check in tomorrow for additional sips of Vida's thinking about poetry!)
