In Residence: Imagine That

Today, I meet with the Northfield third grade team to evaluate our residency. We ask ourselves:

• How did it go?
• Did we meet the goals of the grant?
• Did the students enjoy the workshops?
• What could we do better or try out next year?

My favorite part of the evaluation meeting is sharing anecdotes about what the teachers observed. I love hearing about students who aren't seen as strong writers, but who have a chance to shine during our poetry workshops.

I get to share my favorite moments of the residency also. I'll never forget how excited Chris became when I showed his class the non-fiction picture book GREECE! ROME! MONSTERS! illustrated by Calef Brown. 

Mr. Poe and Mr. Shakespeare are fans of
Greece! Rome! Monsters! -- a picture book
encyclopedia of creatures from classical mythology.

Chris could not wait to get his hands on this book and was thrilled when I loaned it to his classroom for a few days.

I brought the book to third grade for three reasons:

1) Our model poem for the day was by author/illustrator Calef Brown.

2) Our workshop prompt was to focus on the imagination. GREECE! ROME! MONSTERS! allowed us to talk about how creative the human imagination is, and has been for thousands of years, to think up all of these cool creatures.

3) Mythology is enjoying huge popularity with elementary and middle schoolers, in large part due to two series of books: Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.

The imagination lesson has four basic parts:

1. Read and discuss "Eliza's Jacket" by Calef Brown (from POLKA BATS AND OCTOPUS SLACKS). You can read the poem at this post.

2. Imagine -- if you could put anything in your jacket pocket, what would it be? A super power? A magical object? A sunny day? (Two rules on this step. No money. No wishes. Anything students want to buy or wish for goes directly in that pocket.)

3. Write the pocket poem.

4.  When students have finished drafting their poems, there is one more step. Make pockets!

The pockets are designed to look like the back pocket of your jeans, with the poem on white paper to look like a hankie. The teachers put up a display of the pockets.

Our students *love* interacting with poetry in this way. They get to look at the decorations on a pocket, pull out the poem, and what they read is a surprise -- almost like cracking open a fortune cookie to read the message.

Here are some of the Northfield third grade poets' pocket poems, with a few highlights of Friday's open house celebration. Each of today's pocket poems contains an imaginary creature.

Pocket Poem
by Chris W.

I have a jacket,
a jacket made of pockets.
In pocket #565
I have a mini to giant mammoth to
help me survive in the northern
part of Canada and Alaska.
I would take it out when I reach north Canada
and Alaska in winter by
magic passageway from U.S.A. to
Canada and Alaska,
so I could explore northern
Canada and Alaska during
the cold, frigid winter and
use it [mammoth] to carry my survival
kit and to ride on and to
snuggle with to keep me warm.

Pocket Poem
by Ellie R.

I have a jacket,
a jacket made of pockets.
In pocket number 2
I have something blue.
It has glowing red eyes.
It likes to eat pies.
It looks kind of weird.
It has a long beard.
But he's my best friend
and that won't end
because he's very kind.
Sometimes I'm not, but he doesn't mind.
He comes out of my pocket when
I'm feeling sad
and if I start to get mean
he won't get mad.
I have a monster in pocket
number two
and he likes to eat
lollipops -- ones that are blue.

Reading pocket poems.

Pocket Poem
by Julia L.

I have a jacket,
a jacket made of pockets.
In pocket #29
I have a robot that can do anything!
He's made of metal, square head.
He looks well fed.
He only listens to me,
and I bet he can even sing!
He doesn't smell, so my mom won't care.
He can eat too, he also shares!
He smells danger,
has X-ray vision.
Getting a robot, it's a good decision.

I ask him to come out when my homework is hard.
He even gave me a birthday card!
He can sew, clean, and even book.
He reads me my favorite book!
He cheers me up when I'm feeling sad,
and he calms me down when I get mad.

He makes my life better.
He's my best friend.
He's the awesomest robot in the world,
I'm pretty sure.

These poems were posted with permission. Look for the final three Northfield poems -- we have a few more pockets to share -- on Poetry Friday.

Bunny Hopping: Children's Poetry Blog Hop

It's Rabbit Season.



There's a whole lot of bunny hopping around the kids' lit poetry community. Carmela Martino of the blog Teaching Authors invited me to join in the bunny dance party AKA Children's Poetry Blog Hop. 

Poet and blogger April Halprin Wayland started the hoppy conga line earlier this month, with this post. Now put on your dancing shoes. Let's meet our emcee...

Choose your bunny. In your face poet Mortimer or...

thoughtfully romantic poet Mortimer.

Here's how the blog hop works:

1) Make up three questions you've always wanted to be asked in an interview about children's poetry and then answer them on your own blog (suggestion: use one question posted by the person who invited you to the Hop).

2) Invite one, two, or three other poetry bloggers to join the Hop. Children's poetry is preferred, but all poetry lovers are welcome.

3) In your post, list the names of the bloggers you invited and give the dates when they'll be posting for the Poetry Blog Hop.

4) Bunnies optional. Sorry, Mortimer and Bugs.

Enough rules. Let's get hopping! Carmela's first question was a good one, so let's start there.

1) Carmela's question: When was your first poem published? Can you share it with us?

In third grade, I wrote a poem comparing the sounds of a peaceful summer evening to an orchestra. It was published in the PTA newsletter. Unfortunately, I believe this poem is lost to the mists of time.

2) New question: What poetry are you reading now?

In children's poetry just finished Karen Hesse's wonderful verse novel Witness. It's a historical novel about how a turn of the century community in Vermont deals with KKK activity in their town. I liked this book because it told the story in multiple voices.

In adult poetry, I am reading submissions for Little Patuxent Review's Science issue. It's exciting to see the original poems that people are sending to our journal. (Deadline is November 1!)

3) New question: What's one of your favorite books of poetry to share with children and students?

I love, LOVE, anything by Calef Brown. I have fond memories of my daughter reciting "Olf" -- about a terrible pirate. Terrible, as in really, really bad at being a pirate. Not at all terrifying.

Another favorite Calef Brown poem is "Funky Snowman."

Okay, bunny peeps. So far, I have one taker to join the bunny hop. That's Janet Fagal. I'll post the date of  Janet's post -- which will be right here at AuthorAmok -- as soon as possible.

A HOPPY UPDATE: Hooray for Heidi Mordhorst! Heidi will join the Children's Poetry Blog Hop this Friday, with a Poetry Friday post at My Juicy Little Universe.

Here at AuthorAmok, we'll be talking drama geeks with a poem about THAT play. See you Friday, Peeps.

Leaping off the Cliff

As writers, sometimes we have to leap off the imaginative cliff and trust that something will be there to lift us. A magical cloud? A boy with wax wings? A talking bird that wants a strand of our hair for its nest?

My last workshop with the Northfield third graders was all about imaginative leaps.

We use the fabulous Calef Brown's poem, "Eliza's Jacket," as a model. (Go to youtube to find some of Brown's poems set to music. They're so much fun!)

Eliza’s Jacket 

 

Eliza has a jacket,

a jacket made of pockets.

The pockets all have numbers,

numbers on the jacket pockets.

Pocket three has bees inside,

sixteen contains their honey.

Number eight has cracker crumbs

and wads of Turkish money.

Twenty-three is filled with gum

(all unchewed I hope),

while right next door in twenty-four

is kept a one-inch piece of rope.

Thirteen is packed with useless facts,

and four has melted snow.

What’s in the rest you’ll have to guess.

It’s not for us to know.

 

Used with the author’s permission.

 

The poem is deceptively simple, but get kids talking about why Brown said Eliza has "melted snow" in her pocket instead of "water," and you'll be amazed at their insights.

For one day, I let students have a jacket like Eliza's. The pockets hold anything their imaginations can create. Two rules -- no money (just write what you want) and no wishes or creatures who grant them (again, just write what you want.)

Here is Michael D's cerebral response:

I have a jacket,
a jacket made of pockets.
In number 197,
I have a miniature brain.
It has 9,999 IQ,
and it goes into my head.
When it does,
I don't have to think.
So when I have a test,
I get an A plus.
And I won't have to do things like
take days to invent a time machine,
and my Reading homework too.
I'd get invited to somewhere
with people asking me how I'm so smart.
I'd live a great life,
with luxury at every place.

Quentin B's poem is tactile and powerful:

I have a jacket,
a jacket made of pockets.
In pocket 3,000 I have
a magic tornado that's the
size of a skyscraper.
It makes the sound
of an  airplane zooming
in the air. If someone
is being mean to you
the tornado will
suck them up and
trap them in my
pocket until I
want to take
them out.

I'm fond of magical clothing. Once a class and I invented a magic coat that changed with the weather. It grew fur in the winter, air conditioned in the heat, and at night it could glow in the dark.

If you try this prompt in the classroom, the Northfield teachers and I developed a fun craft to go with it. Write the poems on a square of white paper. Then give each child a blue "pocket" to decorate. Post the pockets with the poems loose inside. Kids and parents love lifting the poems out to read. Enjoy!

Poetry Friday Out Loud

Thank you, Governor Martin O'Malley!

Got word this week...the Maryland State Arts Council received full funding. Seems ages since I went with a delegation of local artists to the State House in Annapolis. You can read about my day as a lobbyist here.

Hopefully, this means all my poetry residency grants will be approved and my students will soon be writing up a juicy batch of poems.

One of the programs MSAC funds is our statewide Poetry Out Loud competition. Never heard of it? Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation contest. High schoolers are not writing and reading their own poems. They choose from a "book" and perform one poem for each round of oral competition. It's a mix of poetry slam, literary interpretation, and acting monologue.

MSAC sends poet-in-the-schools MiMi Zannino to train kids at their schools. The result?

Fab-u-lous! Took my 9 y.o. to the Maryland finals last spring. Her attention was glued to the high schoolers on stage. ("Do you think someone will do Edgar Allan Poe?" Yes -- we heard a few Annabel Lees. "I bet someone picked Shakespeare." Bingo.)

Teachers -- visit national Poetry Out Loud http://www.poetryoutloud.org/ for some great poetry to share in the classroom. Video clips of kids their age competing will inspire your students!

One poem on the list is Gertrude Stein's "Susie Asado." If you've never heard this one out loud, get someone to read it to you today. It will light your toes on fire.

Susie Asado

By Gertrude Stein

Sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet tea. Susie Asado. Sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet tea. Susie Asado. Susie Asado which is a told tray sure. A lean on the shoe this means slips slips hers. When the ancient light grey is clean it is yellow, it is a silver seller. This is a please this is a please there are the saids to jelly. These

are the wets these say the sets to leave a crown to Incy. Incy is short for incubus. A pot. A pot is a beginning of a rare bit of trees. Trees tremble,

the old vats are in bobbles, bobbles which shade and shove

and render clean, render clean must. Drink pups. Drink pups drink pups lease a sash hold, see it shine and a bobolink

has pins. It shows a nail. What is a nail. A nail is unison. Sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet tea.

Poetry Friday Bonus! Have you seen Jonah Winter and Calef Brown's Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude? It's a sweet picture book bio that captures Stein's wordplay. I can't wait to use it in the classroom.

So, thanks Guv. Thanks Gertrude. There's more poetry to light up your toes at Wild Rose Reader. Enjoy!

Poetry Friday Takeover

Kids Rule!

The literature entries for PTA Reflections arrived yesterday. I’m judging the arts competition (literary portion only) at the state level this year, 128 entries K-12 in Maryland. One winner at each level goes on to compete nationally.

Looking at the stack of papers takes me back to my days teaching high school English.

Since I’ll be working on the entries, my kids are taking over today’s Poetry Friday post. Both have an original poem to share. One is a personification poem. The other is a metaphor poem. Enjoy!

The Runaway Cupcake By NinjaGirl, Grade 3 (Inspired by Calef Brown’s poem, “The Runaway Waffle”) Victaria bites Cupcake. Cupcake dashes out the door. Victaria jumps out of the seat, and runs right after her. Victaria runs and runs and runs. Cupcake never stops. Victaria starts to slow on down and goes to a coffee shop. So if you see a cupcake running down the street, you’ll know that it’s Victaria’s deliciously sweet treat.

My Family is a Snare Drum By DJRobMan, Grade 6 (English Assignment: Family Metaphor Poem) My family is a snare drum, Playing its own beat. All the parts work together To make loud, exciting music. My father is heads of the drum. There can’t be any music without the heads. Without the heads, The drum would just be metal, Incomplete. My mother is the stand Holding the snare drum up. The stand always supports the drum. It allows the sound to be clear. My sister is the rim of the snare drum, Strong, supportive, and confident, Keeping the drum together. If there was no rim, The drum would fall apart. My dog is the snares of the drum, Loud when it is on, Keeping the drum lively, Connected to the switcher and the rim. And I, I am the switcher, Switching tones By taking the snares on or off. Taking the drum from deep tom-tom To an active snare. These parts of a snare drum All work together To make loud, exciting music That makes my heart pound. "Pound?" My heart's about to burst, I'm so proud. While I get out my tissues, visit Suzanne at Adventures in Daily Living for more Poetry Friday offerings.

More Poetry Pockets

My third graders at Norwood Elementary had a great time creating their poetry pockets yesterday and today.

Our model poem is "Eliza's Jacket" by Calef Brown. We borrow the first two lines of Brown's poem, then let our imaginations take flight.

Cherie Lurz's morning class came up with this group poem:

I have a jacket,

a jacket made of pockets.

In pocket #29, I have snowy days.

I take one out

when I'm getting hot,

so I can get cold

and play in the snow.

I take one out

whenever I'm bored,

so I can have a snowball fight

or make a snowman,

or sled down a hill.

I take one out

whenever I want a day off

from school,

to curl up by the fire

with hot cocoa

and read a book.

(The last stanza suggested by an under-the-weather Ms. Lurz!)

Julia Kerner's class has had dinosaurs on the brain since I gave them a dino "Grow-Creature" to be their poetry mascot. (It is pink. Its name is Waffles the Dinosaur.)

Here is their group effort:

I have a jacket,

a jacket made of pockets.

In pocket 26 I have a dinosaur egg.

It cracks open

and a triceratops comes out.

I collect fruit for it to eat,

so when it grows it can give me

rides around town.

The neighbors would pass out!

Miss Flanigan's class was hungry:

In pocket 32,

I have my own McDonald's.

I'd get chocolate milk shakes

and salty fries and a Big Mac

whenever I wanted.

I would smell delicious.

And a handful of Ms. Lurz's students sat down with me today to compose this wildly imaginative poem:

I have a jacket,

a jacket made of pockets.

In pocket 5,000,003

I have an elephant,

so I can take showers

instead of baths.

In pocket 100,

I have a monster

with a green face,

purple hair and black teeth,

and a furry body,

to help me

scare away bullies.

The monster and the elephant fight

because the elephant tries

to spray the monster's teeth

to clean them,

so in pocket #506

I have a brick wall

to separate them all.

I love how this last poem begins to veer into narrative.

Hope your students had fun with their pocket poems, too. Again, if you'd like full instructions on the lesson and craft, visit http://www.mrspoems.com/.

Tomorrow, I'll be in a celebratory mood -- working on Odes with students at Ellicott City, MD's Bonnie Branch Middle.

It's Poetry Pocket Friday

Monday and Tuesday are my last workshops at Norwood Elementary School in Dundalk.

It’s been a great residency. Because it’s my second year at the school, the teachers and I are comfortable working together. I walked in to the school earlier this month with a good sense of what to expect from the students.

Lately, I’ve been saving a fun lesson for the last day of elementary school residencies. The focus of this session is writing with imagination. The model poem is “Eliza’s Jacket,” by Calef Brown. It’s from one of the Shovan family’s favorite books, “Polka Bats and Octopus Slacks.” (Listen to an amazing review of this book by Daniel Pinkwater on NPR.)

Eliza’s Jacket Eliza has a jacket, a jacket made of pockets. The pockets all have numbers, numbers on the jacket pockets. Pocket three has bees inside, sixteen contains their honey. Number eight has cracker crumbs and wads of Turkish money. Twenty-three is filled with gum (all unchewed I hope), while right next door in twenty-four is kept a one-inch piece of rope. Thirteen is packed with useless facts, and four has melted snow. What’s in the rest you’ll have to guess. It’s not for us to know. By Calef Brown Used with the author’s permission.

After reading the poem, we talk about all the cool lines.

Some kids like the idea of having bees in one pocket and honey in another. We talk about the melted snow (why doesn't he just say "water"?) The line "all unchewed, I hope" plants the yucky image of chewed up gum in our minds, even if that's not what Eliza has in her pocket.

Our writing exercise is to guess what's in Eliza's other pockets -- or what would be in them if the jacket belonged to us. The prompt: If you could have anything in your pocket, what would it be?

Kids come up with amazing ideas for these poems. Super powers, magical maps, a favorite teacher who will spend the summer with you – going to movies, reading together and hanging out.

If you’re interested in doing the poetry pocket craft pictured here, please visit my poetry website for kids. You’ll find detailed instructions and a sample response poem from a third grader at Northfield Elementary in Ellicott City, MD.

My kids love Brown’s wacky humor (which also shows in his artwork) and his off-beat rhymes.

The 8-year-old has several of Brown’s poems by heart, like “Olf” the terrible pirate. Olf isn’t awe-striking terrible, more like really pathetic terrible. He has a carrot instead of a parrot – you get the idea.

My favorite Brown poem is “Kansas City Octopus.” Who can resist a disco-loving octopus in tight, red bell-bottoms? Not me.

Brown has a new blog intended for children. Check it out at http://polkabats.blogspot.com/

Enjoy some poetry with your Thanksgiving leftovers. Poetry Friday is brought to you by Under the Covers this week.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend. I’ll be spending it with family and friends…at a wrestling tournament.