Portrait Poems Lesson with Shonto Begay

Happy Poetry Friday!

Elizabeth Taylor
Munsch's "Scream"
Barack Obama
Renoir's "A Girl with a Watering Can"

No, it's not a poem. The items on this list have something in common. All were images my fourth grade students wrote about for our Portrait Poems workshop.

I just finished up a three week residency with students at Harford Hills E.S. (they're awesome, enthusiastic writers!)

They loved our session on portraits -- air crackling with excitement kind of "loved." It helped to have a wonderful model image and poem from Shonto Begay's book, Navajo.

Mr. Begay was kind enough to answer questions the kids had about his poem, and his life as an artist and author. I'll share those later today.

For younger kids, I split the portrait poems into two parts. First, the poets observe and record the details of an image featuring a person or face. Second, they imagine a story about the person. Concrete. Creative.

Here is the lesson:

1.  Look at the model image together. Discuss what we see (observe). Then, make guesses about the person. (Shonto Begay's "Down Highway 163" posted with permission of the artist.)

2.  Read and discuss the model poem.

DOWN HIGHWAY 163

by Shonto Begay

The old lady in the back of the truck
Has seen days much colder
Someone's grandmother
On the highway towards Kayenta
Only her face shows from a faded blanket
Her features are strong
Maybe she is related to the people in the front
Laughing and warm
Or maybe she is catching a ride to the trading post
She may even be returning
From the health clinic in Monument Valley
The back of the truck is cold
Among old spare tires and chains
Shovels and bare metal box
She is no stranger to Old Man Winter
She has seen many winters
It has been colder

Posted with permission of the author.

This poem prompted the richest discussion we had during the residency. Many children were offended on the grandmother's behalf. We talked about the weather, and how being cold can describe a person's behavior -- not just the season.

3. Bring out the portraits! We had newspaper and magazine clippings, but the school art teacher also provided some famous faces. Each student chose a portrait.

4.  Writing time.

First, write down what you see. The details you observe.

Second, imagine something about this person like Shonto Begay did in his poem.

It's as if the image you are holding is on the television, and you've pressed pause. When you imagine, it's as if you are hitting "play." What does the person do next?

There were some wonderful poems! Liz Taylor dressing up crazy for a party, where she wants to win a prize for being the wildest dresser. "The Scream" is now set on an opening drawbridge, with a stunning rescue about to take place. Barack Obama has just won the election, and he's realizing the weight of being president.

I'll post the kids' questions for Shonto Begay later. I hope you'll stop back for that discuss -- it was a wonderful sharing and I'm very grateful to Mr. Begay for taking the time to connect with my students.

They were surprised to learn that Mr. Begay was sent away to Indian School at age five, rarely permitted to see his parents, punished if he was caught speaking his native Navajo.

If you'd like to see more of Shonto Begay's work, check out his website, or this article.

My friend Toby Speed is hosting Poetry Friday today -- get cozy with more poems at The Writer's Armchair!

Poetry Friday: Don't Be Listless, Part 2

For this middle school (and up) lesson in list poems, we've looked at a "found" model and a list-poem by master poet Laura Boss. See the previous post for these models and instructions.

Now it's time to write!

Here are the steps for your students:

1. Prewrite. Choose a topic and brainstorm loosely.
2. Find a rhythm and/or poetic order to your ideas.
3. Build to a surprise ending, or leave your reader with something to think about.
4. If you're stuck, go back to the first line. Use it as a refrain and begin a new idea or stanza from there.

Starter ideas:

• Things I want
• I remember
• I'm not/I have never
• I used to be, but now I am

I am partial to "not-poems." Teens get the idea that telling others what or who we are not is as revealing (sometimes more so) as stating who we are.

If you try the lesson, let me know how it goes. Hope your students enjoy it as much as mine did.

Thanks again to the wonderful Laura Boss for agreeing to share her poem. I hope you'll check out more of Laura's work.

Our host for Poetry Friday is Amy at Art of Irreverence.

Poetry Friday: Don't Be Listless, Part 1

List poems seem easy to throw together. Pick a topic. Make a list -- one item per line -- voila! Poetry.

That's like saying a haiku is as simple as 5-7-5.

Similar to haiku, the more thought a poet puts into a list poem, the richer the rewards. Reading and writing list poems can be an exercise in critical thinking, well-suited for middle school and older writers.

I created this lesson for a local middle school Writer's Guild. It was a huge hit! Non-teachers, feel free to skip the lesson-plan lingo and head straight for the model poem. Teachers -- Laura Evans will make the full lesson available at Teach Poetry K-12. Thanks, Laura.

List Poem Lesson
Skills:

• use a refrain to create rhythm
• build to a lift or surprise at poem's end
• pay attention to word/image choice to create tone

Materials:

• List (see below) from Found Magazine (copy for each student, or on projector)
• "At the Nuclear Rally" by Laura Boss (copy for each student)

1. Warm up discussion

• Who uses lists and why?
• If someone found a list you wrote, what would they know about you?

2. Read a "found poem" list from Found Magazine. Note -- screen the Found website before sharing items with kids.

• What do we know about the list-maker?
• How is the last item on the  list important?
• How is a list like a poem?

My writers loved working with this model. They got it! List items can show character. A surprising item at the end of a list adds depth for the reader.

3. Read "At the Nuclear Rally" by Laura Boss.

Laura Boss is a longtime Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Program poet, editor of LIPS magazine and was one of my first mentors. She is a master of the list-poem form.

This poem is available in many anthologies and Boss's books. I have it from her book, Reports from the Front (Cross-Cultural Communications, 1995).

At the Nuclear Rally

by Laura Boss

thinking of my father
who died of cancer of the pancreas
now linked to radiation

thinking of my father
who worked for the Atomic Energy Commission
that ran security check on him
questioning our neighbors in Woodbridge

thinking of my father
with a pen in his pocket
who could add four columns of figures
in his head but stayed poor
working for the OPA
while colleagues took
expensive presents

thinking of my father
who embarrassed me, singing in the car
with the radio on as I now do
who returned from government trips
with marzipan strawberries, bananas, grapes
who cooked Sunday breakfasts of chocolate
French toast (his special recipe)
and let my mother sleep late

thinking of my father
who was born Jewish
but never went to temple
never was Bar Mitzvahed

thinking of my father
who smelled of Chesterfields
who never hit, never spanked me
told me he was glad I walked home
with the only black woman
in my high school class

thinking of my father
who would have been at this rally
next to me tonight

Posted with permission of the author. Thanks, Laura!

4. Discussion of "At the Nuclear Rally"

• What items on the list stand out for you?
• What do we know about her father?
• How does the refrain add to the poem?
• Discuss the last stanza -- why is this last?

Boy, were the middle schoolers I visited ready to sink their teeth into this poem!

I'll post the related writing prompt and poetry starters later today. For now, head over to Amy at the Art of Irreverence for more Poetry Friday.

Powerful Tanka

My third grade students at Northfield are finished with tanka.

Here's a last one, by Ethan H. I like the way we don't know the shark is speaking until the fourth line of the poem.

Shark, by Ethan H.

King of the ocean.
Very strong and painful.
Hammerheads, too.
I feel nothing can stop me.
Prey is terrified of me.

Children love writing about animals. Using the animal, they can describe their own feelings from a little bit of a distance. It's a great way to get kids to open up about emotions that might otherwise feel scary.

You can find a full lesson on comparing emotions to animals here.

Next, Northfield students share opposites poems. But we'll take a break for Poetry Friday and a recommended picture book by poet Carole Boston Weatherford.

Keeping It Real -- a lesson in imagery

My annual poetry residency at Northfield Elementary began before the big snow hit. We only had time for our first session, on imagery.

Tapping into the five senses keeps it real for the reader, but kids are so accustomed to school-writing and BCRs (shudder), that it can be a challenge.

We warm up with a literary experiment using baby powder. (See the full lesson here.) Everyone in class gets a little bit of baby powder and creates a simile for each of the five senses. I'm always amazed, in a group of 25 people, how many different ways we can describe the same object.

Here are two imagery-of-the-five-senses poems by Northfield third graders.

Ryan H. is thinking about summer. With the weather we've had, I don't blame him.

"It's as hot as the sun out here," I say.
I want to go to the pool.
I meet my friends outside. They want to go too.
When I walk in the door
it sounds like a zoo full of elephants
and tigers. All I can hear are kids screaming,
trying not to get hit by water guns. Then
I jump in and it smells like the ocean.
I come up for a breath and it
looks like a big cup full of water. I go under
again but this time my mouth was open.
I come up and it tastes like shampoo
mixed with water. My mom gives me a towel
and says, "Time to go." The towel feels like
a pillow on my head. We get in the car
and drive away.

The shampoo simile is so evocative. Can't you smell and taste it?

The writing prompt is to describe an activity using all five senses. Often, the children's poems are about the things they do outside of school. It's a nice way for their peers to get to know them better.

Lucy F. chose her dance class.

When I walk into the room it is
as cool as September. Then I go to the
barre. It's so quiet I feel like I'm in an
empty house. I sniff the air and its a
rubber tennis shoe. Eww! I turn for
an exercise. WOW looks like a
row of buns. The air has a stale
cracker taste. Once I'm done, I talk while
putting on jazz shoes.

The empty house captures the quiet dance studio before the dancers arrive. And look at the metaphor Lucy uses for the way the room smells. Do you think these poets were successful in keeping it real -- making you feel like you are there at the pool or the dance studio?

More poems tomorrow. These were posted with permission of the poets and their families. Thanks, Northfield!

Poetry Friday Portraits

Portrait and persona poems are endlessly fascinating -- just like the people who inspire them.

One of my favorite poetry exercises for middle school and up: clip photos of people out of newspapers or magazines. Have each student choose one that makes him/her ask, "What's the story here?" Then write an imagining of that person's story.

What if the "person" in your photo isn't really a person?

Maryland poet MiMi Zannino spotted this beauty at an antique market and had to give her voice (and take her picture). Here is MiMi's portrait poem, "Heavy Metal Mermaid."

Heavy Metal Mermaid

You must understand my position

casting me in this untenable pose

wrought into your mermaid fantasy.

Set the pros and cons on scales

and weigh the truth against fiction.

Make a decision before the rust

bleeds into my bronze

weakening my steely disposition.

MiMi is my fellow Maryland State Arts Council poet-in-the-schools. Here at the Maryland Poetry Out Loud finals. You can read her full bio below.

More recent posts on portrait poems:

my poem in the voice of conjoined twins, "Brother,"

Hal Sirowitz's "Crumbs" from Mother Said. (There is another classroom poetry lesson/writing exercise posted with "Crumbs.")

Have a happy Poetry Friday, everyone. More poetry at A Year of Reading. Stop by and visit our hosts Franki & Mary Lee.

Author, educator, and photographer MiMi Zannino has been a poet-in-residence with the Maryland State Arts Council since 1989. Her writing workshops include “Emily Dickinson: Mother of American Poetry” a dramatic portrayal of the 19th century poet. Her books include “Keeping Memories Alive,” an easy-to-use interactive resource for families, grief camp counselors, and school professionals who are helping a child through the emotions surrounding the death of a loved one. Information about her books and programs for adults and children can be found at http://www.memorylanepress.com/ or by emailing mimimsac@yahoo.com.

Shoe Odes

The model poem for this lesson in writing odes (which I usually use for middle school, but adapted for elementary with great results) is Gary Soto's wonderful "Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes."

Kids' lit agent Michael Stearns (Firebrand) told me it's Soto's most anthologized poem. No wonder. It's got some juicy similes, which I asked my third graders to aim for in their odes.

It's not often a teacher asks you to take off one shoe, put it on your desk, and examine it. We had a blast with this activity!

Ethan and I discovered the word "Raptor" -- a model name -- on his sneaker.

Poet: Ethan K. Dear E-Raptor, you taste like rubber bands. You feel like leather seats. You smell like fresh dirt. You sound like fireworks crackling. You look like neon green lasers. You’re my favorite shoes.

Juicy similes? Check!

In the poem below, I notice Mayur responding to the quiet emotions at the end of Soto's ode.

Poet: Mayur K. Ode to Mayur’s Shoes They are as fast as a cheetah, rain beaten. They are kicking a kickball, and they smell like the sewer. But I don’t care because they sound like rain drops when I walk. They remind me of a spider because they are all brown and dark colors. When I come back from school, I put them in the closet near the door. Now it’s night. I can hear my dad snoring and my mom laughing to the America’s Funniest Videos.

More shoe odes from the Northfield E.S. third graders tomorrow. Thanks again to Northfield's third grade team and our young poets' families for permission to post these poems.

Yahoo for onomatopoeia!

Onomatopoeia -- what a delicious word.

I love hearing a classroom full of elementary schoolers say it. They relish the sound, "Onomatopoeia!"

Today, I started my annual poetry residency at Northfield Elementary School near my home in Howard County, MD. The residency is courtesy of Northfield's PTA and a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.

You can read a previous post with detail on my onomatopoeia lesson. If you try it with your students, let me know how it goes.

The third grade teachers are almost as enthusiastic about poetry as I am. We have a great time together. Here is the group onomatopoeia poem, written by Ms. Hilliard's class today:

Cafeteria

I hear screaming.

Ms. Poe says, "Five inch voices."

My friend is crunching on Doritos.

Someone clattering their coins for snack.

People are whispering,

talking, laughing.

"First call for clean up."

"Final call!"

I hear footsteps tapping.

Time for recess!

Don't you just love "clattering their coins?"

More onomatopoeia poems to come...

Writing Exercise: A Tasty Treat

Recommended for: All ages, all genres

On Poetry Friday, I shared Laura Purdie's Salas' poem "Come in, Come in!" about a snake enjoying its dinner.

Food is evocative. Eating involves all five senses (taste, smell, touch, hearing, seeing). But food also connects us to memory. That's what makes food such a good writing prompt.

Writing Exercise: Food Glorious Food!

Step 1: Wake up your senses.

Take an object. "Experience" it with all five senses. I use baby powder with students (more on that later). Yes, we taste a tiny bit. If it wasn't safe, we wouldn't use it on babies.

Step 2: Write about it.

For each of your five senses, write a simile. Example..."The baby powder tastes like Violet Gum." The kind my English grandmother chewed. I'm suddenly awash in her smell, how her hugs felt, the soft curls of her hair.

Now, we're getting somewhere.

Step 3: Read a model poem.

You can find wonderful food poems for kids in, "Food Fight" (ed. Rosen, sadly out of print but you can still find it). However -- we're going a little deeper in this prompt.

Just as the taste of baby powder grabbed my hand and took me for a jog down memory lane, we're trying to connect a food to something more. A memorable incident. A person.

My favorite model poem for this exercise is by Sandra Cisneros:

Good Hotdogs

for Kiki

Fifty cents apiece To eat our lunch We'd run Straight from school Instead of home Two blocks Then the store That smelled like steam You ordered Because you had the money Two hotdogs and two pops for here Everything on the hotdogs Except pickle lily Dash those hotdogs Into buns and splash on All that good stuff Yellow mustard and onions And french fries piled on top all Rolled up in a piece of wax Paper for us to hold hot In our hands

Read the rest of the model poem here.

Kids as young as third grade love hunting through the poem for clues about who Cisneros means by "us." The last lines of the poem "you humming and me swinging my legs" sends the reader off with a tactile image of contentedness.

Step 4: Write!

Write about a favorite (or hated) food. Use all five senses. Include who you were with, where you were and what was going on around you.

A memorable moment for me: at a third grade Poets' Tea, one student read a poem about his grandmother making oatmeal for his breakfast. Grandma, Mom, teachers -- we all started tearing up. Turns out, Grandma wasn't much into cooking. Our young poet captured making oatmeal as an act of love.

Another student (different school) wrote about eating cake at her birthday party and learning for the first time that a favorite friend was her cousin.

And one I've saved for years: a boy writing about rough-housing with his cousins at a family reunion, only to be drawn to the kitchen by a delicious smell. When they opened the pot on the stove, the family was cooking a goat's head. (He said the meat was as good as it smelled.)

Have fun playing with your food!

Amok in Odes, Part 1

Ode to a Wrestler’s Parents' Nerves

DJRobMan is at the Cougar wrestling tournament in Thurmont, MD tonight. He made it all the way to the final round! I’m waiting for a phone call to hear how he did. He was pretty pumped about one of his matches – he won by tech fall.

To help me bide the time, here is an ode by Gary Soto that I’ve been using with middle schoolers.

Ode to Pablo’s Tennis Shoes They wait under Pablo’s bed, Rain-beaten, sun-beaten, A scuff of green At their tips From when he fell In the school yard. He fell leaping for a football That sailed his way. But Pablo fell and got up, Green on his shoes, With the football Out of reach. Now it’s night. Pablo is in bed listening To his mother laughing To the Mexican novelas on TV. His shoes, twin pets That snuggle his toes, Are under the bed. He should have bathed, But he didn’t (Dirt rolls from his palm, Blades of grass Tumble from his hair.) He wants to be Like his shoes, A little dirty From the road…

You can find the poem in Soto’s collection, “Neighborhood Odes.” I got it from my favorite kids’ book on poetic form, "A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms," edited by Paul B. Janeczko.

Do a search on the title of the poem and you’ll find lesson ideas for “Ode to Pablo’s Tennis Shoes,” including classroom reproducibles from Scholastic.

Last week, I took this lesson to Bonnie Branch Middle’s GT Writers’ Guild.

(There's a description of Howard County, MD's G/T Writers' Guild program at this school website. It's not Bonnie Branch, but you'll get an idea of what the program is about. Full disclosure -- I co-chair the county's G/T Advisory Committee.)

Janene Sharbaugh is the G/T Resource Teacher at Bonnie Branch, which is in Ellicott City. We chose a lesson on odes because she wanted students to work on word choice.

In this lesson, we use the celebratory wording and grand metaphors of an ode to describe common objects. The exercise shows students that the words we select can shift the readers’ point of view.

Our discussion of “Ode to Pablo’s Tennis Shoes” and a writing exercise for middle schoolers tomorrow.

P.S. He won first place!