Poetry Writing In Your Classroom : Some Helpful Resources

Poetry works so well for me because it fits so easily into the daily teaching day. Whether there is an indepth lesson or just ten minutes to share and discuss pretty words, it always works. Here are some resources to guide you as you carve out time for poetry.

Opening a Door: Reading Poetry in the Middle School Classroom by Paul Janecko.  One reason I love this book is because each poetry lesson is set up ready to go. He gives background for the teacher in topics that include form, structure, image, and figurative language. There are As You Read and After You Read activities for students, a copy of the poem, and then a follow-up response page. Some may think it a bit canned, but for teachers not really comfortable teaching poetry, or teachers with five preps in a day, the format is user friendly. Tomorrow I have a sub and it will work well introducing a poem for the class.  Some poems in the book are “Famous’ by Naomi Shihab Nye, “A Room in the Past” by Ted Kooser, and “The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe. The collection of poems he chose is another part of the book I enjoy.

Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School by Georgia Heard. I love in her introduction when she says “poetry, like bread, is for everyone.” She spends time in this book explaining poetry environments, reading and writing poetry, toolboxes for crafting poetry, and revision of poetry. When I use this book I always turn to the activity shown on the cover. It is called heart mapping, and is a prewriting activity that gives students many ideas for their own poems. She has students make a map of all the important things in their heart such as people, places, memories, and moments. From there she begins poetry writing. It works!

A Crow Doesn’t Need A Shadow: A Guide to Writing Poetry from Nature by Lorraine Ferra. This book helps us take our students to the world of nature to write poems. She has a section called Poetry Field Trips which includes wildflowers, weather, and birds and other animals. The chapter I always return to is Growing a Poem Naturally. It begins with a word list and moves into creative experiences. This volume also includes beautiful pencil sketches of ways to publish the poems.

Getting the Knack: Twenty Poetry Writing Exercises by Stephen Dunning and William Stafford.  The twenty practical poetry exercises are laid out in steps making it simple for the writer or teacher to move through the writing with ease. Some exercise topics are List Poems, Memory Maps, Found Poems, and Confession Poems. I return often to the Headline Poem activity where students begin with words and phrases found from a newspaper’s headlines. Then the task is to discover and present- in an artistic and attractive way- connections in the language.

This is my collection I always keep front and center. I always believe resource books can be adapted for many grade levels. Other titles I would recommend are: Poetry Matters by Ralph Fletcher, Writing Across Cultures by Edna Kovacs, Starting With Little Things by Ingrid Wendt, and Naming the World: A Year of Poems and Lessons by Nancy Atwell.

Pretty Words

Poets make pets of pretty, docile words:
I love smooth words, like gold-enameled fish
Which circle slowly with a silken swish,
And tender ones, like downy-feathered birds:
Words shy and dappled, deep-eyed deer in herds,
Come to my hand, and playful if I wish,
Or purring softly at a silver dish,
Blue Persian kittens fed on cream and curds.

I love bright words, words up and singing early;
Words that are luminous in the dark, and sing;
Warm lazy words, white cattle under trees;
I love words opalescent, cool, and pearly,
Like midsummer moths, and honied words like bees,
Gilded and sticky, with a little sting.

Elinor Wylie

The Winter Collection: Some Writing Books for Inspiration

   Frosty windows and snow drifts indicate the winter season is near. It is an ideal time for wrapping up in a quilt, grabbing a cup of hot chocolate, and settling in a soft chair with a favorite pen, journal, and some writing books for inspiration.

   After being motivated by visiting writers and having time to write each day during the Summer Institute, Writing Project fellows have good intentions of revising that creative nonfiction piece, polishing another favorite poem, or modeling their own revision process for students. Other stuff gets in the way. Personal writing moves down the list of priorities. For the winter collection I have compiled a short list of useful books on writing. This group may help you keep going when you have run out of inspiration, energy, or creativity. Hopefully this collection may also provide fresh ideas to use with your own student writers.

    Steering the Craft, Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew by Ursula K. Le Guin. I am drawn in already by the great title! This Portland, Oregon writer has organized her book by topics surrounding the craft of writing, and then includes writing exercises, examples from known literature, and further reading. She begins the book with a chapter entitled “The Sound of Your Writing” using a little poem by Gertrude Stein called “Susie Asado” as a model for sound.  Other chapters include “Repetition”, “Point of View and Voice”, and “Indirect Narration”.  This book is helpful particularly if there is one specific area of writing you want to focus on without reading a whole volume.

   Writing Toward Home, Tales and Lessons to Find Your Way by Georgia Heard. In each chapter of this book the author gives a narration on a topic, following up with a writing prompt to inspire the writer. She takes experiences and lessons from her life and guides the writer to put those life experiences into their own words. “Let Writing Lead the Way” is a favorite chapter because she admits failures in her own writing and ends with questions we can ask ourselves as writers.  Home and autobiography are themes throughout the book helping the writer find an authentic voice and well-chosen words.

    The Writer’s Notebook, Unlocking the Writer Within You by Ralph Fletcher is a compact book that carries a big punch. He introduces the Writer’s Notebook idea then provides thoughts on notebooks from authors including Paul Fleischman and Naomi Shihab Nye. His chapter called “Lists” is full of practical writing ideas for any situation. His last chapter “Writing About Writing” is a perfect ending to this book. He answers questions and shares others’ thoughts on writing. “Your notebook should fit you the way a favorite pair of jeans fits your body. Let it reflect who you are.” If you are short on time and want some practical, yet inspiring ideas, this is the book for you.

   The Sound of Paper, Starting From Scratch by Julia Cameron.  Cameron is well known for her book The Artist’s Way, but when it comes to setting up rituals for the writing life, this book is a keeper. She introduces three writing tools to use in “your backpack” throughout the book. They are morning pages, artist dates, and walks. She then introduces us to a series of essays about the creative life, each coming to a close with an idea to explore. One favorite of mine is called “Keeping Our Footing” and the exercise has the writer focus on activities that bring relief and grounding. Yes, the list includes laundry, making fudge, and mending!

  

The NIWP Spring Confernce Is Coming March 8th and 9th 2011!

NIWP has  rolled back the spring conference rates to 2007 levels!  The total cost for a full two day conference, with Barry Hoonan as the keynote speaker will be only $80. One day fees have been reduced to a low $60.  The conference is the same format as before with a well-known, dynamic keynote speaker and the NWP standard of teachers teaching teachers in the afternoon. There will be 16 concurrent sessions including topics such as writing in the content area, grading, and vocabulary. Our workshops provide for thoughtful discussion of topics important to you and your students, as well as practical strategies that can be implemented in your classroom the next day.

Our other big news is the change of conference sites. In an attempt to make the conference more accessible and convenient for attendees, we have moved to the Spokane Convention Center. This move ensures ample parking in area lots—some as low as $5.00 per day, and access to area restaurants for lunch. We will be meeting in the conference auditorium for the morning sessions and move down the hall to the breakout rooms in the afternoon.  We hope this will allow you to arrive at the conference relaxed and ready to network with area teachers!

For more information contact Carol Nelson at carol@niwp.org or visit the NIWP website soon for registration information.

A Northwest Treasure

William Stafford is a northwest treasure. I can't think of a poem he has written that I haven't liked in some way. Here is one for today.

Remembering

When there was air, when you could

breathe any day if you liked, and if you

wanted to you could run, I used to

climb those hills back of town and

follow a gully so my eyes were at ground

level and could look out through grass as the

   stems

bent in their tensile way, and see snow

mountains follow along, the way distance goes.

Now I carry those days in a tiny box

wherever I go. I open the lid like this

and let the light glimpse and then glance away.

There is a sigh like my breath when I do this.

Some days I do this again and again.

-William Stafford

How Hard Do We Push?

Our students have learned the routines of writer's workshop. They know the steps of the process, they understand what a mini-lesson is, and they also have now seen a rubric. I always see the second quarter as the time to "dig in " and get serious about writing in my classroom. I now know my students better and can gauge what they need as we move through writing time in class. Now comes the tough question for the teacher. How hard do we push?
Some students are ready to take off and find a quiet corner and start a short story. Others are still needing support every step of the way. Then there are the students that don't think they have a story to tell. "Nothing happens in my life." "I can't write about that. I just stay in my room". "I don't have anybody important in my family". It is more important than ever that we know our students. That is how we know how hard to push. Writing makes students vulnerable. Writing involves taking risks. Writing is hard.
We continue in November to coach, support, nudge, nurture, and praise. Every day we take it one step at a time.

What is Orange?

  What Is Orange?

Orange is a tiger lily,
A carrot,
A feather from
A parrot,
A flame,
The wildest color you can name.
Saying good-bye
In a sunset that
Shocks the sky .
Orange is brave
Orange is bold
It's bittersweet
And marigold.
Orange is zip
Orange is dash
The brightest stripe
In a Roman sash.
Orange is an orange
Also a mango.
Orange is the music
Of the tango.
Orange is the fur
Of the fiery fox,
The brightest crayon
In the box.
And in the fall
When the leaves are tuming
Orange is the smell
Of a bonfire burning.
---Mary O'Neill

Books for Encouraging Poetry Writing

 Teachers are busy people. Teachers are "on" the whole day and when the day ends they want a bit of time to be "off", but they also love reading, writing, and words. Teachers often want to do personal writing if time can be found after a full day of teaching.
I am often asked to recommend books that are an inspiration for personal writing.With this post the focus is on poetry writing books. It is often more manageable to grab paper and write a few verses of poetry when only fifteen minutes is available here or thirty minutes there. These books have excellent suggestions that would work with writing poetry with students also.
Thirteen Ways of Looking for a Poem by Wendy Bishop
What I love about this book is how each section starts with invention poems by published poets, then Bishop provides invention exercises using that poem.  "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens is the poem she starts off with. Inventive exercises are also available using  "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams, " Why I Miss the Midwest" by Michelle Liles, and "Praise Made of Water" by Nancy Willard to name a few of my favorites.  Any writer could use this volume once a week for a year and never run out of ideas. It is that good.

I love Ted Kooser. I love his poetry, his website, and how he has made poetry accessible to the people with his "American LIfe in Poetry" syndicated column featuring a poem a week by a wide variety of poets. His book The Poetry Home Repair Manual, Practical Advice for Beginning Poets is another guide I turn to often. The chapters on writing from memory and working with detail have reminded me often of new tips to try myself. He ends the book with a chapter entitled " Relax and Wait" which we often forget to do as we finish a draft of writing.

I will do future posts on other books on writing. Check the local library for these titles, or if you are in Moscow, the Bishop book has multiple copies available in our NIWP library in the IMTC.

October by Robert Frost

  Here is a poem that might be used to create images, remember a small moment, or reflect on October.

October

O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
To-morrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
To-morrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow,
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know;
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away;
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes' sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost--
For the grapes' sake along the wall.

-Robert Frost

National Day of Writing

October 20th is the National Day of Writing! For more information on this event sponsored jointly by the National Writing Project and National Counsel of Teachers of English, go here. You can submit your own writing for the National Gallery of Writing.

The Meeting of the MInds in Moscow

The leadership team of the Northwest Inland Writing Project gathered in Moscow yesterday. When you have a group of teacher consultants with a passion for writing, literacy, and learning amazing things happen. Plans were made for events this school year, discussions were held on keeping the organization strong, and good food was had by all. Keep tuned in to this blog and FB to keep informed on the activities of NIWP.

Song for Autumn

Inspiration for writing surrounds us as we move from summer into autumn. Our student writers embrace autumn with stories about Halloween, football games, jumping in leaves, frosty evenings, the first hint of snow, and hunting camp. Here is a poem that works perfectly for imaging autumn. It may be a springboard for your students or you!

 

Song for Autumn

In the deep fall
    don't you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
    the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
    freshets of wind? And don't you think
the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,
    warm caves, begin to think
of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep
    inside their bodies? And don't you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
    the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
    vanishes, and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
    its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its
bellows. And at evening especially,
    the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.
-Mary Oliver

There Is A Place

 This poem works well  as we work at getting students to  write about places they have been and places they wish for.

There Is a Place

There is a place

where the museum houses thousands of paintings

seen nowhere else in the world,

the colors so bright they grab your eyes

and hold you there, looking,

where the library is filled with brand new books

waiting for you to open them first,

to tell stories only you could know,

where fresh cherries have no pits,

where puppies never grow old.

There is such a place,

hidden deep

in me.

- Janet Wong

Routines of Writing and Being Lenient

While settling into the routine of school have you set up routines for personal writing? Here are some suggestions:
1)Make time to write as often as you can. Make it part of your routine.
2)Surround yourself with beautiful writing. Models of good writing can only inspire!
3) Find an inspirational spot to write. I am blessed to have the pond above as a writing spot.
4)Share your writing and your writing process with students and fellow writers. You can learn from each other.
4) Be lenient with yourself. My brother Bill taught the participants in the NIWP writing retreat about leniency. Here is one of his gems of wisdom (and there were many gems):
"To "get lenient" first and foremost defines one's attitude toward oneself as a writer: to be lenient with oneself opens the way to being authentic, writing in one's own voice and style because one is accepting of one's own way of doing things when writing; leniency helps one be more awake, more conscious of the world and one's experience because leniency lightens the pressure to be critical, to judge the world."- Bill Woolum

Writing Before Writing?

 As all of us begin our school years shortly we know we will be modeling writing with students  each day. Can we squeeze in any writing ourselves before our time is consumed with learning names, organizing a classroom, attending meetings, and preparing lesson plans? Make it a routine to carve out some time during these last days of August and bring out those writing prompts you wanted to finish, or that poem you started at the retreat, or a memoir piece you wanted to write about your grandmother. It will remind you of that process before you introduce it again to students. It will also create a writing routine which is always so important as we try to keep writing. Just ten minutes.... begin!

Slow Days of Summer

"This was one of those perfect New England days in late summer where the spirit of autumn takes a first stealing flight, like a spy, through the ripening country-side, and, with feigned sympathy for those who droop with August heat, puts her cool cloak of bracing air about leaf and flower and human shoulders." ~Sarah Orne Jewett
passed on by my sister Carol... thanks.

As the slow days of summer come to a close, it is time to gear up for another year of teaching and learning with our students. One purpose of this blog is to keep you abreast on the activities of NIWP. Another purpose is to provide a list of sites that may help you with your teaching and learning. In the summer institute one focus was on digital storytelling.If you are interested in trying this format, check the links on the sidebar.  Sign up and follow this blog so you can keep up with the posts. Also,please let me know if you would like to do a guest post on this blog.
Christy Woolum

Yard Sale by Robert Farnsworth

Yard Sale

Gold-plate goblets freckled

with tarnish, disconsolate

pajamas, infant shoes, curling

irons, somebody’s ancient

block flute, a candlestick grove,

bakelite coasters, egg poachers,

7 rubber sandals. Scruffy dolls

and accessories, board games

from whose battered boxes

children still look up with glee.

Two bald lamps, a basketball

and dumbbells, a toaster’s chrome

full of early leaves, and tilted

like a grimy satellite inside

a crate, a two-stroke engine.

Now at last admitted to my

neighbor’s back lawn, which

I’ve longed to cut across for years.

I see a tuft of grass and violets,

violets, growing, up in that

elm’s clavicle, a little island

world in the air, where the trunk

divides. I wouldn’t know how

to tell her of the delight I find

in this. But I think I’ll buy that

small stack of teaspoons, just

so I can linger, picking up this

language, whose every word has

finally toppled over in one case

or tense or mood.  Everything as is.

- Robert Farnsworth

I love once again the way the author takes simple things and weaves them into poetry.

Calling All Writers!

Here is a link to the Facebook page of a new online literary magazine in the Pacific Northwest. The site itself is still under construction.
Plasma: Pacific Northwest Journal of Art and Letters

Cheryl Kintner's Response to Our Awesome Workshops!

Lupe demonstrating how to use Writer's Notebooks.

 Beginning Writers need some extra help. I have a list of ideas that I can use. Spelling ideas for young writers is also helpful. Writing with music is possible. Responses written while listening to music would be a wonderful way to do a prompt. Handwriting in young children can be difficult to correct. Using strategies from Handwriting Without Tears, provides unique ways to help children. These were new to me. Picture books are wonderful ways to teach and provide writing examples for children. Writer's notebooks were introduced as ways to grow writing in students. I would like to use notebooks with my students. I think it would be really fun to personalize these notebooks in some way. I also appreciated the possible ways of grading a journal. My workshop was writing in the social studies area and I think I'll use the writing ideas and story ideas to expand the reading of Molly's Pilgrim.

Images of Week 3 NIWP

I Am From by Lupe into a Wordle

Rubrics by Virginia Elliot

 

Rubrics

rubrics do not replace good teaching
Students help design rubric.
Revise the rubric as the year goes by,
deleting, adding,
a rubric needs to be subject, development level appropriate


a rubric clarifies goals
a rubric designs instruction
a rubric communicates goals
a rubric guides feedback
a rubric guides the final product

a rubric can be used for
self evaluation
peer evaluation
teacher evaluation
ongoing evaluation
high lighted evaluation


Is the rubric valid?
Is the rubric reliable?
Is the rubric equal?

And yea for rubric web sites!!!!!!!

Did I hear behavior rubrics?


50 years ago my cousin said,
"All I learned to do in school today was stand in that stupid old line."

Hmm. Put that into a rubric?