Passionately Curious

Winter Acrostics

  Steven Schnur has a series of acrostic poems for each of the  seasons.   I use a couple of poems from Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic during our study of snowflakes.  Since poems are organized alphabetically by title these books are also a wonderful addition to an ABC study or book collection.  Other books in the series include Spring , Summer and Autumn.  Happy Poetry Friday!

Flakes
Light they drift
Upward
Rise like smoke before coming to
Rest in the
Yard.

Just as the
Evening lights come on,
White flakes begin falling
Earthward, glittering
Like diamonds.

© 2002  Steven Schnur

photo credit:  It's Snowtime! by flickr member Iguana Jo

The Caterpillar

Right now, we have two mystery insects in our classroom that are changing quickly.  We had three,  but I let it slip that the third ones will become mosquitoes.  Oops! The kids won't let me forget that mistake!  Overnight, our caterpillars transformed into chrysalids.  The room was abuzz with excitement as children gathered around the table, forgetting to put away backpacks and jackets. 

I am drawn to the poetry of Douglas Florian, especially when teaching science.  His poems are so appealing to a second grade sense of humor and wit.  My kids love them!  Here's one called The Caterpillar from Florian's book, Insectlopedia. Happy Poetry Friday!

The Caterpillar

She eats eight leaves at least
To fill her,
Which leaves her like a
Fatterpillar,
Then rents a room inside
A pupa,
And checks out:  Madame Butterfly-
How super!

by Dougals Florian
©1998

photo credit:  Moronic Caterpillar (#83) by flickr member j/f/photos

Poetry is Waiting

There are moments in teaching, when a student surprises, amazes or inspires us.  These moments are much more than the routine joy, wit, humor, curiosity, and affection that children bring to the classroom each day.   I had such a moment this week after reading a poem written by one of my second grade girls and I just couldn't keep it to myself.  Happy Poetry Friday!

Poetry is Waiting

Poetry is waiting
In the air
For someone to pin it down
To the paper,
And make it tell the story of
Snow that flutters down on the ground,
Fireworks,
Mexico,
A puddle of melted snow.
Any poem Poetry thinks,
Is fit for you.
So go and catch a piece of poetry!

by Elena, age 8

Poetry Hides

Using a lesson from Climb Inside a Poem: Reading and Writing Poetry Across the Year (Heard and Laminack),  we encouraged students to look for poetry in the most simple and ordinary places, to use a "poet's eye."  Poetry is all around us and we need to only look and listen carefully to find it.  It always amazes what these eight-year olds come up with.  Even children who normally struggle with writing, seem so uninhibited.  They love the fact that poems can be about anything and that they don't need to follow the the conventional rules of grammar.  They love that they can skip lines, use all capitals, even write words upside down! Here are the places they found poetry hiding:

Poetry hides in...

• my comfortable bed that is soft and fluffy like snow.
• reading that shows you a picture in your heart. Reading is your imagination. Reading what you think about the most, it's what you do every day.
• water that is as blue as diamonds flowing in the sky.
• a flower that is pretty and pink and the leaf that’s green and the spine that you can feel.
• a snowman because it shines like the moon in the sky.
• skiing downhill in the snow and ice. Blinding white snow flies behind me and my brother.
• grapes with the seeds drinking the juice with very much glory.
• a spider web with rain like my mom’s pearl earrings.
• pizza’s cheese. It can be like a monkey’s vine.
• a tree, a tree full of branches like hands sticking out in the sun.
• a can of nuts because a can of nuts rattles like a maraca.
• a spider’s web covered with dew running down the silk strands of lace.
• swimming pools, in water-filled waterslides zooming down. All’s a blur, splash! Sploosh! Out I come.
• cake, cake tastes as soft as snow.

photo credit: String of Pearls by flickr member James Jordan

My Heart Beets for You

 
 
 

This is one of my favorite poems to share with my class on Valentine's Day. It's wonderful to see the kids' eyes get big, as smiles spread across their faces and they say, "Oh!  I get it!"  Cantaloupe always needs a little extra explanation. 

Do you carrot all for me?
My heart beets for you.
With you turnip nose
And your radish face,
You are a peach.
If we cantaloupe,
Lettuce marry.
Weed make a swell pear.                  

                                                                             -Anonymous

photo credit: Radish Heart   
Originally uploaded by lizgrandmaison on flickr

Climb Inside a Poem

I've long been inspired by the work of Georgia Heard.  Last year,  I used many of her ideas from Awakening the Heart during a poetry unit.  You can read more about what we did here, here, and here . Now, Georgia Heard has collaborated with Lester Laminak to create a wonderful curriculum that includes these ideas and more.  Climb Inside a Poem (Heinemann) helps teachers encourage and inspire all children to be poets.  The simple, well-organized lessons can be taught as a unit or throughout the year as short, daily poetry experiences. 

Children learn to notice poetry in ordinary things, to describe small, everyday moments in fresh new ways, to love the sound of words, to be curious and wonder, to feel and write from their hearts. Each lesson introduces a poem, offers ideas for exploring it in greater depth, and teaches important craft lessons.  We learn about the poets, their lives and work, and are offered some "poet-to-poet" advice to share with our young writers. 

We've just launched our study of poetry for this year and I love the lessons in these books!  It's hard to choose what to teach next or how to fit it all in.  I only wish I had this curriculum at the start of the year!

This is one of the poems by X.J. Kennedy.  In this lesson, children learn how to find poetry in an ordinary, routine event. 

Laundromat

When Mom goes to the laundromat
I come along. I’m old
Enough to carry stacks of stuff
And I know how to fold.
We shell out quarters. Underwear
Swirls in a soapy waltz,
Socks leapfrog over other socks,
Pop’s pants do somersaults.
We drag ’em out. The dryer drum
Starts overturning. See
My bathrobe rock-and-rolling round—
More action than TV!
And when at last we’re driving home
I dream beside a pile
Of fresh clean clothes and toast my face.
Hey, that’s my favorite mile.
– By X. J. Kennedy

You can see more samples of poems and lessons at the Heinemann site. 

Something Told the Wild Geese

Happy Poetry Friday! My class is studying the fall migration of the whooping cranes from Wisconsin to Florida.  It's an incredible story as scientists try to establish a new Eastern flock of these endangered birds.  To do so, they must teach the crane chicks the migration route by getting them to follow ultralight airplanes.  You can imagine how cool this is to second graders! Find out more at Journey North and Operation Migration. 

Many animals and insects are migrating now.  In honor of their amazing journeys, here's a poem by Rachel Field.

Something Told the Wild Geese

Something told the wild geese
    It was time to go.
Though the fields lay golden
    Something whispered - "Snow."
Leaves were green and stirring,
    Berries, luster-glossed,
But beneath warm feathers
    Something cautioned - "Frost."
All the sagging orchards
    Steamed with amber spice,
But each wild breast stiffened
    At remembered ice.
Something told the wild geese
    It was time to fly -
Summer sun was on their wings,
    Winter in their cry.

Rachel Field
©1957

 

Taken from The 20th Century Children's Poetry Treasury, selected by Jack Prelutsky
Photo credit:Off to Canada by charlietyack

King Monarch

Douglas Florian is one of my favorite children's poets.  This is another monarch poem that is just right for second grade sensibilities.  My students will especially love the last line!  Happy Poetry Friday.

The Monarch Butterfly

He is a monarch.
He is a king.
He flies great migrations.
Past nations he wings.
He is a monarch.
He is a prince.
When blackbirds attack him,
From poison they wince.
He is a monarch.
He is a duke.
Swallows that swallow him
Frequently puke.

By Douglas Florian
From Insectlopedia
©1998