Poetry Break with Non-Rhyming Poem

Poetry Break with “Sleeping Outside” by Kristine O’Connell George

George, Kristine O’Connell. 2001. Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems. Ill. by Kate Kiesler. New York: Clarion Books.

Age Group: Elementary

Introduction: Before the students come in for the day, or while they are out of the room, erect a small tent in the classroom. If you do not have a tent, pull together some desks and throw a large sheet over them. Write two phrases on the board: “I like camping because. . .”, and “I don’t like camping because. . . .” As the students come into the class, encourage them to think about how it feels to go camping (some students may never have been camping, but can think of what it might be like). Sit in the tent with the students on the floor in front of you just outside the doorway. Read “Sleeping Outside”.

Sleeping Outside

Small me,
in a small tent
staked to a huge planet,
rolling slowly through open space –
alone.

Small me,
still wide awake
under a wide starred sky,
almost – almost – feeling the earth
turning.

Extension: Ask the students to close their eyes while you reread the poem. They are to imagine that they are under the starry sky, and how it would be to actually feel the earth spinning slightly. Have the students return to their desks and write a free verse poem beginning with either of the two phrases that have been written on the board. Invite each student to share his/her poem while sitting in the doorway of the tent while the other students sit around on the floor to visualize the poem being read.

Book Review - Verse Novel

The Taking of Room 114: A Hostage Drama in Poems by Mel Glenn

Glenn, Mel. 1997. The Taking of Room 114: A Hostage Drama in Poems. New York: Lodestar Books

The verse novel is a type of poetry book with which I was not familiar. After reading Mel Glenn’s The Taking of Room 114: A Hostage Drama in Poems, I have great admiration for this type of writing. Being poetry, the story must be presented in compact sentences that carry great meaning, and this is exactly what Mr. Glenn accomplishes. The setting is the last day of school at a high school, and the book begins with the students standing in line for the yearbook. Through thoughts and dialogue (mostly one-sided, as almost each person is represented in his/her own poem), the reader is allowed to “see” the students instead of being told about them.

After the introductory section, the actual hostage story begins with a note being given to the assistant principal from Mr. Wiedermeyer, the senior history teacher. Mr. Wiedermeyer is a veteran teacher, but for some reason he will not open his door. The book consists of the remembrances of every hostage student, one poem each for the four years in high school plus that last day, with five poems total per person. Woven throughout the story are reactions from the local police, television crews, parents, and bystanders. Interestingly, there are no direct thoughts from Mr. Wiedermeyer himself, only reactions from the students as they enter his class and find him waving a gun.

Mr. Glenn’s portrayal of each student is satisfactory. The reader is allowed to view the maturation of the students as they progress from ninth grade (some are very nervous and still child-like) through their senior year. The emotions encountered as each student enters the history class range from complete fear to bravery to swaggering nonchalance. The situation is finally resolved, and Mr. Glenn wraps up the ending nicely.

The entire book is a study of human emotions that will resonate with those in high school and late middle school, and with the teachers who encounter unknown situations each day. I found The Taking of Room 114: A Hostage Drama in Poems to be a quick read, but with much substance. According to Lesesne and Beers “The suspense of the situation will attract the reader; the power of the poetry will enthrall them.” (Lesesne & Beers, 1997)

Lesesne, T., & Beers, K. (1997, September). Review. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 41(1), 82. Retrieved February 23, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Book Review - Naomi Shihab Nye

A Maze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye

Nye, Naomi S. 2005. A Maze Me: Poems for Girls. Ill. by Terre Maher. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books.

My initial attraction for this book began with the two parts of the title - Poems for Girls, and the play on words of A Maze Me. As I was reading the poems, I could easily imagine the events described, whether they took place in a specific setting or simply in the mind. Although some of the poems could be for either girls or boys, the overriding pronoun is “she”, allowing the feminine reader to slip into the context of the poems. Ms. Nye includes a seven page introduction that gives the premise for writing the book; I found the writing to be beautiful and eloquent, evoking images of a memory of Ms. Nye’s fast-approaching thirteenth birthday as she struggled with the desire to mature and the desire to stay a child. Because of this, the poems may be more appropriate for late elementary or middle school readers.

The cover of the book features an eye-catching turquoise background with colored circles super-imposed over a round window of white. Physically, the book is small enough to fit comfortably in one’s hand, the poems are spaced in a very reader-friendly way on the pages, and the inside jacket cover presents a poem instead of the usual prose teaser.

Divided into five sections, poems of similar themes are collected within individual headings, and the illustrator, Terre Maher, pictured several of the images from the poems of each section on the heading page. An interesting feature was that Ms. Nye has written the title of some of her poems to lead into the body – as if the title is the first line of the poem. I chose to highlight “Little Chair” from Section One: Big Head. It embodies the need for children to feel that there is a secure area for them in every place and in every circumstance, and how that secure feeling can manifest itself even into adulthood.

Little Chair

1
I didn’t mind so much
growing out of little girl clothes
the blue striped shirt
the corduroy jumper
giving up Candy Land
and my doctor’s kit
but never again to fit
the turquoise Mexican chair
with flowers painted on it
hurt

I keep it in my room till now
a throne for the stuffed camel
Little kids sit on it when they visit
The straw in the seat is still strong
The flowers are always blooming

2
Miss Ruth Livingston
who taught first grade for forty-three years
in Marfa, Texas
kept a little reading chair
in front of the windows in her classroom
Whenever her students finished their work
they knew they could go over to the little chair
and read
It was a safe place
Their minds could wander anywhere
I wish everyone in the world had a little chair

3
Recently a big cowboy wearing sunglasses
came to Miss Livingston’s house and asked where
“that old furniture from our classroom went”
She’s ninety-seven now
She still has her china-faced dolls
from when she was small
She pointed at the wooden reading chair
sitting in front of the windows
in her beautiful living room
He walked over to the little chair
with his hands folded
and silently stood there, stood there

Ms. Nye’s poems evoke a wide range of emotions from nostalgia, understanding, distaste, joy, and memories of everyday happenings. School Library Journal states “This thoughtful collection encourages readers to observe the world around them, look inward and savor their experiences, and appreciate the comfort and clarity that words provide. Covering many different subjects, the free-verse poems are playful yet perceptive and combine a childlike viewpoint with startling bits of wisdom.” A wonderfully written book, A Maze Me: Poems for Girls provides the reader a chance to ponder such things as sibling love, favorite teachers, hopes and dreams, and the written word.

A Maze Me: Poems for Girls. (2005, October 2). School Library Journal, Retrieved February 19, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Poetry Break with Douglas Florian

Poetry Break with “The Monster Motel” by Douglas Florian

Florian, Douglas. 1993. Monster Motel. Ill. by Douglas Florian. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Publishers.

Age Group: Early Elementary

Introduction: Write the ending words of each line on the board in two columns of five words each, making sure that the corresponding rhymes are on opposite sides (but not across from each other). Have the students find which words rhyme, and allow students to come to the board and draw a line between them. After discussing the rhyming words, tell the students to listen for them in the poem.

The Monster Motel

Welcome to the Monster Motel,
Where mostly monstrous monsters dwell,
They crawl the walls and gore the floors,
They shred the beds then saw the doors.
They box the clocks while chewing chairs
And throw each other down the stairs.
They beat the sheets then tear the towels,
They fill the night with hoots and howls.
They screech and scream and yip and yell
At the horribly horrid Monster Motel.

Extension: Show the illustration of the poem to the class. Provide large paper plates for the students to make their own monster masks. Cut out eyeholes; glue on a popsicle stick for the handle; and let the students decorate with crayons, markers, felt, streamers, and any other material that will make a monster mask. Finally, let the new monsters act out the poem (carefully) while you read it again.

Poetry Break with Mary Ann Hoberman

Poetry Break with “Raccoon” by Mary Ann Hoberman

Hoberman, Mary Ann. 1998. The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems. Ill. by Betty Fraser. San Diego, CA: Browndeer Press.

Age Group: Late Elementary

Introduction: Bring enough colored plastic eggs for each student in the class, small dried peas/beans, and electrical tape (or any other strong flexible tape). Give an egg to each student and have him/her put a small amount of peas/beans inside to make a shaker egg rhythm instrument. Seal with electrical tape. Pass out a copy of “Raccoon” to each student and read it to them in an upbeat rhythmic fashion.

Raccoon

Crash goes the trash can! Clatter and clacket!
What in the world can be making that racket?
I hurry to look by the light of the moon,
And what do I find? Why, a fine fat raccoon!
All through the garden the garbage he’s strewn,
And he’s eating his supper, that robber raccoon,
Eating so nicely without fork or spoon,
Why, his manners are perfect, that thieving raccoon!
And wasn’t he smart to discover that pail?
And wasn’t he smart to uncover that pail?
And isn’t he lucky he won’t go to jail
For stealing his dinner and making a mess
For me to clean up in the morning, I guess,
While he, the old pirate, abundantly fed,
Curls up in a ball fast asleep in his bed?

Extension: Have the students read the poem with you, shaking the eggs on the beat. Then, after the class is comfortable with the words and rhythm, divide into two groups and have each group read alternating lines. Encourage the children to slap their legs, a desk, etc., in addition to shaking the eggs to feel the rhythm of the poem.

Poetry Break - African American Poet

Poetry Break with “Isn’t My Name Magical?” by James Berry

Berry, James, and Shelly Hehenberger. (1999). Isn't My Name Magical? Sister and Brother Poems. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Age Group: Elementary

Introduction: Teacher: bring a book to class that tells the meaning of the name of each child in your class. If a name(s) is not in the book, take time to email the parents/guardian of the child beforehand to ask the meaning of the child’s name. Ask students if they know what their names mean, and then read/tell the meanings if they do not. Read “Isn’t My Name Magical?”

Isn’t My Name Magical?

Nobody can see my name on me.
My name is inside
and all over me, unseen
like other people also keep it.
Isn't my name magic?

My name is mine only.
It tells I am individual,
the one special person it shakes
when I’m wanted.

Even if someone else answers
for me, my message hangs in air,
haunting others, till it stops
with me, the right name.
Isn’t your name and my name magic?

If I’m with hundreds of people
and my name gets called,
my sound switches me on to answer
like it was my human electricity.
Isn’t that magical?

My name echoes across playground,
it comes, it demands my attention.
I have to find out who calls,
who wants me for what.
My name gets blurted out in class,
it is a terror, at a bad time,
because somebody is cross.

My name gets called in a whisper
I am happy, because
my name may have touched me
with a loving voice.
Isn’t your name and my name magic?

Extension: Ask each student to think about his/her name. Ask if they like their names, allowing any student that wishes to respond as to why or why not. Afterwards, have the children make an acrostic of their names using words or phrases that they think describes them (their appearance, character, etc.). Allow any to share their acrostics with the class that would like to. (Teacher: make sure and take up the acrostics to read personally to gain any insight into a student’s personality).

Poetry Book Review: Hopkins Anthology

Book Review: My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, and Stephen Alcorn. 2000. My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States. New York: Simon & Schuster.

As a geography enthusiast, I greatly enjoyed this book. It contains a collection of 50 poems, compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins, divided by states into eight geographical regions. Each section heading gives information on the states within that geographical area, such as the state bird/flower, the capital, when it became a state (and what number), and a fact about that state. The poetry within each section may be about a specific state, a land formation, or simply something that can be found within that region such as a landmark or a type of tree.

Coupled with the illustrations of Stephen Alcorn (also the illustrator of the anthology Hoofbeats, Claws and Rippled Fins: Creature Poems, compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins as well), the poems found in this book would appeal to all ages; the subjects of the poems range from lighthouses and seagulls to poems with subjects that will be recognized by older students, such as John F. Kennedy. Many of the poems also employ thought-provoking themes, such as in “Until We Built a Cabin” by Aileen Fisher. The main point of this poem is that the reader had no idea that there were so many stars that could not be seen until he/she traveled out of the city.

These poems employ both free verse and rhymes, and each evokes images of the different places that can be visited throughout the great and majestic land of the United States of America. According to J. Fleishhacker of School Library Journal, “This sweeping epic of 50 poems celebrates the diversity, beauty, and spirit of our nation.” (Fleishhacker, 2004)

One of my favorites from My America is “Grandpa’s Trees” by Barbara M. Hales (Plains States Section). This poem speaks to me because, like the grandfather in the poem, my father planted many trees when he built his house in the middle of open pastureland.

Grandpa’s Trees

My grandpa built a farmhouse
Half a century ago.
On Arbor Day he planted trees
In one long tidy row.

He says they looked like beanpoles,
So leafless, frail, and small.
He tended them those early years
Though they gave no shade at all.

Today I counted forty trees
Tall-grown and sturdy-stout.
Their branches hug each other
As the wind blows them about.

They’ve sheltered Grandpa’s farmhouse
In every sort of weather.
To me, they’re friendly giants
Holding earth and sky together.

Fleishhacker, J. (2004, January). My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States (Book). School Library Journal, 50(1), 80-80. Retrieved February 2, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Poetry Break - A Poem about School

Poetry Break with "The Best" by Kay Winters

Winters, Kay, and Martha Weston. 1996. Did You See What I Saw? Poems about School. New York: Penguin Books, USA, Inc.

Age Group: Elementary

Introduction: Call all of the children to a special story place in the room. Ask the children to think of a favorite book that they have read (or had read to them if they cannot yet read). Then, read the poem "The Best". Reread it so that the children can digest more of the poem and not just hear the words.

The Best

The best part
of the day
is when I hear
the teacher say,
"Sit by my chair
while I read."

We sprawl
on the rug.
It's like listening
to a hug,
while the story magic
pours over me.

Extension: ". . . it's like listening to a hug. . ." Talk about times when the students feel secure/safe (if there is a student(s) in the class from a dysfunctional home(s), this may be an eye-opener as to where the child feels safe). Then, ask children about their favorite books. They may not be able to remember the titles, but they should be able to describe at least one favorite scene from the book or remember a feeling that the book evokes. If the class is older, have the students write about the favorite book, such as a scene that stands out from the rest of the story.