Category: Student Work

Poetry Friday, Week 24: "I Am" Poems, Part II

6/15/2023

Thank you Michelle at Michelle Kogan for the hosting duties this week. Her watercolors are full of summer juiciness as she illustrates a Spotted Sandpiper.

It's Thursday morning and I am prepping this post because this evening oldest grand girl GRADUATES from high school. It's hard to fathom that she's old enough.

On Monday, I had the opportunity to teach the "I AM" poetry lesson to the class I had originally prepared the lesson for and ended up sick. It gave me an opportunity to try the process by writing the poem first and creating the hand collage second. I feel like it made a difference. PLUS my former assistant gifted me with animal magazines so students had better access to animal pictures (still missing some but definitely a key for better collages).
Where I had two days with the other class, I only had the morning with this class as the afternoon was filled with Field Day (and it was almost 90 degrees!).
I started with a slide show. I was able to pull some student work from the previous class that I share as mentor poems. Don't you love the bearded dragon? I didn't really see it when I glued that hand and poem originally. I had to share as an option of what to do if your animal wasn't available.

It's the end of year and I wish I had all the poems from the second class but I was able to get a few. The following three spoke to me. Because I didn't have the time to mount the poems like the previous class, I had them transfer their poem and then glue their hand one. So it's another option for older grades.

Mark your calendars for June 30.
Irene Latham will be hosting Roundup. She’s doing a “Moon in June” theme. So find your favorite moon poem (yours or someone else’s) or maybe a memory or photo to share.

Poetry Friday, Week 23: First Grade Poems Inspired by the Mentor Text, Boom! Bellow! Bleat!: Animal Poems for Two or More Voices

6/8/2023

Buffy at Buffy Silverman is rounding up the Poetry Friday community. She has some amazing photos of insects that serve as great poetry prompts. Thank you, Buffy.

Mark your calendars for June 30.
Irene Latham will be hosting Roundup. She’s doing a “Moon in June” theme. So find your favorite moon poem (yours or someone else’s) or maybe a memory or photo to share.

I love when I can guest teach in a class and teach poetry. Last week, I was able to share Georgia Heard's fabulous book, Boom! Bellow! Bleat!: Animal Poems for Two or More Voices. Mr. Canning's class then selected their favorite animals and wrote animal sound poems and illustrate them. I am really excited as I am guest teaching in their room tomorrow and will share this blog post with them.

Poetry Friday, Week 21: Preparing a Poetry Lesson

5/25/2023

Patricia at Reverie is hosting Poetry Friday this week. Patricia is sharing a beautiful cento in honor of her fortieth wedding anniversary. Congratulations, Patricia.

Maybe I put the cart before the horse by posting the student poetry project last week. So this week, I'm sharing my process.

I Am

I am a blue dragonfly flitting
from word to word
I wake to the joy of sunrise
I dream of the ocean and the full moon
I am a blue dragonfly flitting
from word to word
I understand my fingers are typesetters, typing words into poems
I worry about those I love
in the middle of the night
I believe the world needs more kindness
I am a blue dragonfly flitting
from word to word

© Jone Rush MacCulloch

I started with writing in my note book figuring out what I might say. I wrote a list: fruit or vegetable, animal, verb, color, machine and location.
Thinking about students, decided to provide a few more options as shown below.

Because I was in the class for two days. students were able to create the hands on one day and write the poems the next day. I wanted the students to think a little about the collage so they had this planning sheet. Not that they had to stick with it when creating the collage.
I find it helps a little.

I brought in a container of papers and items for collage (benefits of creating mixed media). I gave them a half sheet of 8 X 10 to collage on. Collage first. Trace hand. Cut out It is so interesting that some students were challenged to trace their hand and then cut it out.

I offered papers with words that might have some connection with students. At least one student wrote and cut out his own words. I wished that I had more photos in my paper stash of a variety of animals. Students are resourceful because some of the kids drew their animals.

Mrs. Fisher's Fifth Graders Poetry Art

Poetry Friday, Week 20: Fifth Grade "I Am" Poems

5/18/2023

Janice at Salt City Verse is hosting us today. She is sharing some pretty wonderful new releases.

This week, I finally was able to teach the poetry lesson I planned for the end of March and ended up having to cancel my sub job due to an illness. It was a combination of creating a collage of the student's hand and then writing "I Am" poems. FYI, this is a class with 16 boys and 7 girls.