Sally Murphy's Blog, page 13

Poetry Friday: Small Things

Last  Friday I wrote about the big thing I was getting ready to do – swim the 3.6 km around the Busselton Jetty, in an annual race.

On Sunday I did that big thing – and came out of the water feeling accomplished and pleased that, in spite of having an

After the race.

interrupted preparation/training this year, I still did a time I was really happy with.

But, that big thing, while it was lovely, was topped off by a seemingly small thing.  After the swim, I ran into a friend (hello Julie!)  I hadn’t seen for at least two years, who had also swum in the event. That was lovely in itself – but she told me that she had read my poem last Friday, and that while she was swimming it was in her head.  Isn’t that just a lovely thing – to think of my swimming poem being in another swimmer’s head as she swam?

Later that day I had a text message from my mum (hi Mum!), who lives two hours away – and she wanted to tell me that she’d dropped in on my Poetry Friday post too, and that she’d been thinking about the poem – and me – while I was swimming. So there was my poem swimming around in Mum’s head too!

On Tuesday I posted my weekly Teacher Tuesday post, which was, perhaps unusually, not about poetry this week.  But on Wednesday, at a work meeting, a colleague (and friend – Hi Jane!) told me how much she loved that post – and wished she’d had such a practical strategy when she was a classroom teacher. What a generous piece of feedback.

And later on Wednesday, a swimming friend (who probably isn’t reading this) stopped me after another meeting to make sure I was going to come swimming this morning – which I will be doing just as soon as I get this post up.

Four small moments – small things – that each, for me, meant a lot.  People taking the time to say ‘I see you ‘ or ‘I see your work’.  Maybe those small things meant so much because in the midst of all that loveliness I was  swimming through a super busy week, with some tricky things to navigate. Or maybe those small things meant so much because, actually, small things are really big things in disguise.

I don’t know. But when I sat down to think about what to post today, I decided that small things could be encapsulated in small poems.   And I remembered hay(na)ku – which I also call six word poems, and which I have shared before. So here are two hay(na)ku  dedicated to those people who brightened my week with their small gestures:

A

poem swims

across lyrical seas.

2.

Your

unexpected  compliment

made my day.

 

And then, because I had written two, I was on a roll and couldn’t help but write two more, about other small things that made me smile this week.

3.

A

stranger smiles.

My heart fills.

4.

Butterfly

flutters by:

a living flower.

If you haven’t guessed it , a hay(na)ku is a poem with really only one rule – it has six words (1 word, then two then 3). Small poems, butt hey can say an awful lot.

Now I’m off for that first-thing-Friday swim. How lucky am I? And later I’ll be swimming across the Poetry Friday waves, checking out what my poetic friends have to offer this week. The round up is hosted by  Molly – swim on over and ride those waves.

 

 

Teacher Tuesday: Using A Picture Prompt to Write a Story

It’s Teacher Tuesday – the third one for 2023. After I shared a poem last week, I realised I tend to do lots of sharing of poetry, and poetry writing ideas, but less often other forms and genres.

So, today, I’m sharing a strategy for using a photo as a writing prompt for a story. Note that I prefer the word story over narrative – but given the use of ‘narrative’ in curriculum and in testing, I strongly encourage that you make sure every writer knows that a story IS a narrative.  This helps to connect the classroom/curriculum term to what they might experience outside of school.

Using photos and other images is a wonderful way to inspire writing – and also can help prepare your students for tasks such as those in the annual NAPLAN assessments. However, not every writer can look at an image, have a eureka moment and start writing. In fact, I’d argue most of us can’t.

What goes wrong? I’m going to use the above  duck image for  an example. Often, young minds can be very literal. You are showing me a picture of a duck. Therefore, I must describe the duck. There was once a brown duck and it had a beak. It said quack a lot. The end.

Other times, overthinking happens. I have to write a good story. I need an amazing beginning, lots of action and dialogue. But gosh, I know nothing about ducks, or what can happen to them. I’ve never even met a duck….

A third thing that happens is an attempt to write the same story over and over. I only like stories with goodies and baddies. But you’re asking me to write about a duck? Hmmm. There was once a robber duck. It wanted to steal all the duck food from the other ducks. But the sheriff duck stopped it. The end. No one will notice that this is just like the story I wrote the other day, but this time with ducks instead of people.

How do we avoid these and other pitfalls? By using image prompts regularly, but also giving some structure to how we use them. Here’s one way of doing that.

Show the picture. If possible, have multiple copies so that, as well as being on a screen, writers can also hold the image in their hand. Turning it, pointing to it, manipulating it.Allow talk. Even though in those terrible testing conditions that isn’t possible, building a community of writers involves chances to talk.Guiding questions. These are not questions every child answers out loud, but are prompts to think about – and may be discussed with group members. Try to stress that there are no right answers – this is about possibilities.What can you see? If you were there in the image, what would you hear? Smell? Feel? Taste?What place do you think this is? Is it real, or imaginary? What exists outside the boundaries of the picture?Who is in the image? What might their name be, how old, what do they want? (If there is no character (person, animal or otherwise) – rephrase the question to ask who does this object/building etc belong to?)What might that character want? Need?What is stopping them from getting that? (These two questions are helping to think of a conflict, or complication)How might they overcome that obstacle/problem?

By answering these questions a writer can have all they need to develop a narrative – they have a setting, a character and a conflict with a possible resolution. But, along the way, they may have developed several possibilities.

Encourage writers to jot down a one sentence plan (character, conflict, resolution) for their story before they start writing – eg Florence the  duck  wants a worm for breakfast, and finds one under a rock.   Under that sentence, have them write the three things that happen before the  problem is resolved – Looks in the pond, looks up a tree, looks over the fence.Start writing. This is the time where the talk can be reduced. Try to build this as something ‘real’ writers do – they plan first, which can be noisy, then they write quietly so they can only read their own thoughts. A writer who is stuck can look back at their very simple plan.Stop and share. A big step that is often missed in writing is giving writers a chance to share their work with each other,. So at the end of the writing session – or at points during it, depending on how long you have – it is vital that young writers get to share their masterpieces with each other. This makes their work purposeful – and fun, too.  Structure this sharing has you see fit, but I really encourage it to be not about assessing or scoring.

This is a very basic set of steps. You can build them into a lesson, and you can adapt depending on the age group of your class. But you can also use and reuse these steps, so that your writers become really  comfortable with the concept of using an image (or some other prop or prompt) to  plan a and write.

Ready for another picture prompt?  Here’s one of my own photos which might inspire a story or three in your classroom. I’d love to hear if you use it, or the duck image, and how it goes.

 

See you next Teacher Tuesday.

 

 

Poetry Friday: Me and the Sea

It’s Poetry Friday and I am thinking – a lot – about swimming. This is, in part, because in two days I will be participating in the Busselton Jetty Swim, an annual swim around a mile-long jetty.  I’ve written about that swim before here. This year will be my seventh time.

I’ve always been a swimmer – I learnt to swim on family holidays by the beach, and in our local swimming pool which, conveniently, was in the street where I lived in a town called Collie.  As soon as I was old enough I joined the Collie Swimming Club – starting in Tadpoles and working my way through to being part of the  main group and even, at one stage, club captain.

I was a good swimmer – never the best in the club, nor in my age group, but good enough to compete. And I loved it. I loved the feeling of being in the water, and I loved belonging to a swimming club.

When I left school I thought I was too old to be in a club, so my swimming changed to being for leisure, but when I moved back to to the country, I went back to lap swimming whenever time allowed.  Then, six or seven years ago, I realised that if I was ever going to fulfil a goal I had of swimming in the annual jetty swim, I’d better get serious.

So I joined the local Masters Swimming Club, put an entry in for the race, and got training.  One of the best things I ever did! Since then I have swum each year in that race, but I’ve also  rediscovered the absolute joy of swimming. I train with the club when I can, at the pool or at the beach, and I swim by myself other times.

Do I break records? Nope. Do I come out of the water with a big smile on my face? Almost every time. Because for me swimming is not just exercise – it’s therapy. It doesn’t matter how busy I am in my work life, or how worried I am about my family, or how  many rejections I’ve had for my writing, or how many deadlines I have – when I am in the water, there is only me, and the water.  Of course, when I’m swimming with my clubmates and friends, I’m not truly alone – and when we stop I adore being with them, and laughing and talking about life or empathising about sore muscles – but when I’m actually swimming, it’s just me and the sea (or the pool, but that doesn’t rhyme so well).

I’ve been trying to capture that feeling in a poem.  Here’s it’s current form.

Me and the Sea

Splash!

I’m in

And

Stroking

Stroking

Stroking.

Turn head

Breath in

Turn back

Breathe out

And

Stroke

Stroke

Stroke

Breathe in

And out

And stroke

And kick.

There is no one else here

Just me

And the sea

Washing tension from my body

Washing turmoil

From my brain

Stroke

Stroke

Stroke

I am free.

I am me.

(Copyright Sally Murphy 2023)

And here’s a poem I wrote about the jetty (and shared here before) that I wrote before I ever swam around it. You can see just what a magnificent structure it is.

 

Not every one’s a swimmer – but I think most people have something they do that really gives them joy, even if it isn’t always easy. I’d love to hear about yours!

In the meantime I am off to find more joy by reading the poetry of my Poetry Friday friends. Carol has the roundup this week.

 

Teacher Tuesday: My Shadow

Welcome to the second edition of Teacher Tuesday for 2023.

Last week I shared a unit of work for teaching Worse Things in upper primary classrooms. This week  I wanted to share a favourite poem that you can share with classes of any age.

Choosing poetry for the classroom doesn’t have to be hard. There are lots and lots of wonderful collections and anthologies. But there are also a lot of poems in the public domain including one of my favourites: My Shadow, by Robert Louis Stevenson.

First, listen to it read, with pictures of my shadow enjoying my local beach.

Feel free to use this video in your classroom – I’d love to know what your students think of the poem, my reading – and my amazing beach.

If you’d like a copy of the words, here they are:

My Shadow

by Robert Louis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.

He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

What can you do with this poem? Lots of things! Read it aloud to your students – from the early years right through. It is a beautiful poem to read aloud, and fun to learn to recite, too.

But, after you’ve read it, why not link the poem to a science lesson – experimenting with the way that shadows are made by different light sources.  Find out why shadows are sometimes bigger or smaller than the person or object.  The Science Sparks website has some excellent ideas for classroom activities here.

Or, perhaps you want to use the poem as the inspiration for an art lesson. Have students draw around each other’s shadows, for a life size self-portrait.  Use a lamp to make shadows of different sized objects and draw around them. Or, go outside and search for shadows.

If you want more poems and poetry ideas, you might find these older posts of mine useful:How to Write a Metamorphosis PoemAn Easy Way to Write a PoemWriting a Definition Poem

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If you’ve used My Shadow, or have another wonderful poem or poetry idea, feel free to tell me about it in the comments.  Otherwise, I’ll see you next Tuesday.

What I Read in January 2023

I can’t believe we are already into the second month of this new year. Time flies!  It was a busy month – I holidayed, tried to write, swam a lot, walked George, who loves his beach walks especially, spent time with family – and went back to my dayjob too.  So I am a little surprised to realise I managed to read 12 books this month, though I did read my way through three flights. I think my favourite book was Reasons Not to Worry (see below), a book I am recommending widely – even though, if I am honest, at the end of this busy month I realised I had not retained anywhere near as many of the lessons it contains as I hoped. I may need to reread it

 

Anyway, here’s what I read.

 

Books for Children Trash(Random House, 2014), by Andy Mulligan. Set amongst the trash heaps and hidden world of Manila, where children subsist as best they can, by collecting trash. But Raphael, Gordo and Rat find something they shouldn’t – and it lands them in the midst of an adventure they are not sure they want to be on. The Bookshop at the Back of Beyond (Walker Books, 2023). This is the third in a series – a fact I missed when I bought it. So it took a little while to get into, but did mostly stand alone as a fantasy adventure involving a travelling house filled with magical (and, in Nine’s case, human) inhabitants. Ming and Flo Fight for the Future , by Jackie French (Harper Collins, 2022). The first title in the Girls Who Changed the World series, this one sees Ming, who bemoans the lack of girls in history lessons, taken back to the late 1800s where she lives the life of Flo Watson, a poor farm girl, but also witnesses the stirrings of change. The Raven’s Song, by Zana Fraillon & Bren MacDibble (Allen & Unwin, 2022). Two of my favourite authors coming together to write – how could I not adore this book! Set in a post-apocalyptic world, where people live low tech lives in the hopes of restoring the earth – and in the past, in the  beginnings of a terrible pandemic. Runt, by Craig Silvey, illustrated by Sara Acton (Allen & Unwin, 2022). This is delightful. A little reminiscent of  stories like Babe – a clever, but slightly damaged dog, and his person, Annie, who together have the ability to save the family farm.  Touchingly whimsical, and inspired me to write a blackout poem when I found a chapter about a dog named George.The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Anderson, narrated by Julia Whelan (Audible). This audio version of the classic was a Christmas bonus with membership – though not a Christmas story. It was interesting to rediscover this story, which I believe inspired the movie Frozen, though the two are very different – which is common with Disney and other modern retellings.

 

Books for Young AdultsThe Edge of Limits, by S. J. Gervay (Flying Elephant media, 2022).  I read this book under its previous title The Cave, when it was released quite a few years ago.  But it felt like I was reading it for the first time, as I journey along with Sam on a gruelling bush camp. The topics aren’t easy – including sexual assault, violence and grief – but there are light moments, too, and the story is both well told and important. Great to see it back in print.Books for Adults Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus (Penguin, 2022).  Recommended somewhere, but also read because  I liked the cover, and then the idea of  a scientist ending up on a so-called cooking show in the 60s. I enjoyed this, with a combination of issues including some quite heavy ones, and a touch if whimsy, including a very clever dog. Reasons Not to Worry: How to be Stoic in chaotic times, by Brigid Delaney (Allen & Unwin, 2022).  Oh wow! This book is amazing. Or maybe it came to me at the right time. Or both. A gift from my sister for Christmas, I was initially a little wary – the title and the subject matter (stoicism) made me think it might challenge me – and it did, but in a good way. It had me thinking, and contemplating what I could learn rom this very down to earth, relatable journey through what we can learn from the ancient stoics in modern times. Thoroughly recommend – and I’ll be rereading.

Different, Not Less: A neurodivergent’s guide to embracing your true self and finding your happily ever after, by Chloe Hayden (Audible, 2022). I have bene doing quite a bit of reading about neuodivergence in recent months, and I found this one an excellent insight. I read the Audible version, read by the author, which was an added bonus. Hayden gives an open insight into her life with autism and adhd, but also offers help to fellow sufferers, and a helpful insight for others.

4. A Philosophy of Walking, by Frederic Gros (Verso, 2015). I do love walking, so was quite excited to read this book. It was a little different than I expected, as I soon realised that my morning walks are not necessarily what Gros would call walking, given that I do them partly for exercising and walking my dog. He might call this strolling, perhaps. That aside, it was interesting to delve into why people walk, and how great philosophers of the past used walking to think, to breathe and to travel, too. 

Teacher Tuesday: Worse Things

Welcome to a new school year. If you are in Australia, and are a teacher, chances are you are busily greeting your new students this week. So it seems a good time for me to reintroduce something I used do regularly pre-covid, a weekly feature called Teacher Tuesday.

How it works is that each Tuesday I will endeavour to share something that will help teachers to use one or more of my books or poems, or perhaps books and poems more broadly, in the classroom.  Sometimes it will be brand new content. Other times it will be helping you to discover – or rediscover – content that has been shared elsewhere.

To kick things off, this week I want to share an excellent unit of work developed by PETAA for my verse novel Worse Things (published by Walker Books and illustrated by the amazing Sarah Davis).

You will find this unit of work, aimed at year 5 and 6 English curriculum outcomes, here.  What does it offer? Lots of big picture ideas, close reading, word knowledge, ideas for writing and creating, and more. While you are there, I encourage you to browse the rest of the PETAA site and, if you aren’t already a member, to consider joining.

Not familiar with Worse Things? Here’s a taste – me reading chapter one during the first Covid lockdown back in 2020.

As well as the above unit of work, Worse Things is suitable for reading aloud to classes from about year 4 through to junior high, as well as for individual reading. You’ll find more ideas here, at the Walker Books website.

Have you read or taught http://sallymurphy.com.au/worse-things/? I’d love to know how you went, and if you have any ideas for sharing. Leave a comment.

A Cover Reveal: Queen Narelle is coming

Can you hear the trumpets sounding?

Da da da daaaaaaa.

Can you hear the drums drumming?

Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom bom

Can you hear the people cheering?

Hurrah hurrah hurrah hurrah hurrah

(You can’t? Well you’ll just have to imagine then!)

Please rise and welcome…

Queen Narelle!

Who is Queen Narelle? Well, as well as being the title of my upcoming verse novel, she is also a rather delightful, clever, and very regal cat. And today she is here because it is cover reveal day!

And, rather than keeping you (and Queen Narelle) waiting, here it is:

Isn’t it lovely? Simon O’Carrigan has done a beautiful job of bringing my little cat to life. And the design team at Walker Books have then worked some extra magic to make the cover simply scrumptious.

You do have to wait a little longer to find out what’s inside that cover – release date is June 3 – but I look forward to sharing Narelle’s story, as well as that of her human, Maddie, with readers of all ages.

It’s extra fitting that I am revealing the cover today, because Queen Narelle is a verse novel, and, of course,  today is Poetry Friday.  So, to top off the celebration, I thought I’d share a couple of cat poems. One of my own –  Marmalade and Marmaduke – published in the School Magazine and then brought to life with a reading by Geoffrey McSkimming, and artwork by Matt Ottley.

 

and another, a favourite from my childhood, by Eleanor Farjeon

Cats Sleep Anywhere

Cats sleep anywhere,
Any table, any chair
Top of piano, window-ledge,
In the middle, on the edge,
Open drawer, empty shoe,
Anybody’s lap will do!
Fitted in a cardboard box,
In the cupboard, with your frocks-
Anywhere! They don’t care!
Cats sleep anywhere.

by Eleanor Farjeon

I do love cat poems – and, while my dog George is less impressed, I cannot wait to share Queen Narelle with you, in paperback and in ebook format   in June.

Want more poems? Come with me – I am off to pounce on the delights of Poetry Friday, with the Roundup hosted by Jan at Bookseed Studio.

Something Cool is Coming

I’m excited! I am something very cool to show you. Something that has my heart aflutter! You can read about it in this very low-tech low-everything  Instagram post:

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sally Murphy (@sallymurphyauthor)

All will be revealed her on my website and on Instagram and Facebook too, this Friday. See you then!

Out and About in January

One of the absolute joys of being an author is the chance to meet and engage with young people.

In January I have two such chances and am still smiling when I think of them.

First, I went up to Perth and, for the first time ever, presented in the Hay Street Mall, a part of Perth I have always loved, as it holds many memories, usually around shopping with first my mum, then my friends and, as an adult, with my husband, children, or by myself. But this visit was special – because in a previously vacant shop space, the Centre for Stories has set up a Story Lounge – and I was invited in, courtesy of the Literature Centre.

I ran a writing workshop for upper primary aged writers, and we had a lot of fun exploring the contents of a Writer’s Toolbox.  I didn’t get any photos, but the Lit Centre posted this lovely story about it, also showcasing the two other writers who were part of the line-up.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Literature Centre (@theliteraturecentre)

Then, just yesterday, I was lucky enough to be invited to a Teddy Bears’ Picnic, hosted by the City of Bunbury Libraries, and held at Maidens Park, not too far from where I live.

 

With Jono and Penny from the Bunbury Library

What fun! I took my trusty old teddy bear, Pandy, who I have had for as long as I can remember, and we read, sang, spoke and laughed to and with lots of children, parents and teddy bears.  The library staff had asked me to read  my first two picture books –  Floatingest Frog (which is still in print) and Pemberthy Bear (which, sadly, isn’t), and it was a real joy to bring these books out for a new audience.

You can see here just how much fun I have reading – I am reading the line “aaaaaaalll the way over here” while Penny and Tanya look on:

 

A park is always a lovely place to share – but this park was extra lovely, with towering gum trees, plenty of shade and – a bonus – a kookaburra laughing along to some of the lines. Pandy had a lovely outing too, and I have promised him he’ll be taken along again one day.

Now I’m back at my desk writing more, reading more, but looking forward to more lovely outings in 2023.

A Dog, a Book and a Dog in a Book

If you follow this blog, or my social media accounts, you might have noticed that I love beaches and dogs almost as much as I love poetry. A couple of years ago I was walking on the beach when I snapped a photo of one of my favourite beach dogs, Flo. Soon afterwards, I posted that photo and a poem here on my blog in a Poetry Friday post.   Then, last year, I included both the photo and the poem in my poetry book, Teaching Poetry for Pleasure and Purpose.

Although I told Flo’s owners of this, and have seen them lots of times since, it has always been on the beach and, of course, I didn’t have a copy with me. But this week, finally, I was able to present Flo and her lovely people with their very own copy. And here is Flo, admiring herself and her poem.  Isn’t she lovely?