Think scavenger hunt.
Found poems are snips of non-poetic language gathered from unexpected places collaged into verse.
Think scraps of newspaper, snippets of conversation.
Think clipped magazine phrases woven to phrases you've invented.
Think scramble, unscramble.
Keep your eyes open, you never know where a sliver of poem might be lurking.
Television from WaterhouseGuild on Vimeo.
Each poem is a one-of-a-kind collage of sounds that tickle the tip-of-the-tongue and a rhythmic hammering that sparks a tap-of-the-toe.
Poetry is a larger part of our world than we often admit. It’s the songs we sing, commercial jingles, rap, billboards, and YouTube. Poetry is headlines, Facebook, and blogs. Poetry is in great books and essays. Poetry is everywhere!
And so poetry is worth our while—worth reading, worth writing, worth speaking out loud, worth memorizing.
“Memorizing?”
This past winter, when I challenged my writing apprentices to memorize a poem, I had to endure another collective groan, “Noooo…!” And when I showed them the poem they would have two weeks to memorize, they went pale and were silenced.
The poem “Television” by Roald Dahl was the perfect poem for this project not only because we were exploring the theme “Unplug” in our writing workshop, but because if was long enough to prove the vast potential of their ability to memorize.
The lesson began, “Memorized poems fill the pantry of our imagination with food that is sure to sustain us in lean times. If you don’t believe, read Frederick, by Leo Lionni.”
I went on, “I know, these days we’re not used to memorizing long passages of traditional poetry. But, wait think about all the memorizing we do on a daily basis!”
We generated a list and I saw color return to their cheeks.
Row, row, row your boat…
The wheels on the bus go round and round…
Peter Piper picked a peck…
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there…
I shared a story about my oldest Hannah being able to recite all of Beatrice Potter’s Peter Rabbit when she was three simply because I read it to her so often, “Memorizing is something you are equipped to accomplish!”
Still, I was struck by downcast attitude of my writing apprentices, as if this was the most arduous task on the planet. Can you say “Mountain from a molehill?” It was actually painful to watch them shilly-shally.
I’m happy to report that by the end of week one most of them found their footing. By the beginning of week two, they were having so much FUN that I announced we would be making a film of the project. We would turn Dahl’s poem into a documentary.
Here’s how I helped them break the memorization into manageable bits:
1. Begin with a close reading. This poem is a very long single stanza. Count the sentences in the poem. Translate each sentence into your own words. Write out each translation on a piece of paper.
2. Copy the poem, one sentence at a time and say the sentence slowly as you write.
3. Break the poem into small, manageable sections. Read and repeat one line at a time from a section without looking. Listen to the rhythm. Read the next line from this section, then repeat (without looking) the two lines. Continue on in this manner.
4. Once the entire poem is memorized, breathe life into your reading by going back to your close reading notes. Use your voice to add inflection.
At the end of the list I promised, “Soon you will not only have the poem memorized, but you carry the poem in your heart.”
And they did.
And they do.
So before summer slips too far away, plan an UNPLUG activity or two… and please, please, please, memorize a poem!
In our world where
fast paced technological communicating is the norm, our lexicon is shrinking
hand over fist. But the potential of words is a great wonder. Words are salty goodness that pepper writing with flavor.
So this month at the Guild we are, once again, making words.
Last spring I
introduced my writers to the idea of “neologisms” coined by Lewis Carroll. I
began by asking the writers to remind me of the details from last spring’s
lesson. I was surprised that they remembered with great detail the suffixes we
explored so long ago:
» cosm
[From Greek kosmos, order,
universe.]
Universe; world
microcosm, macrocosm
» esque
[F., fr. It. -isco. Cf. –ish.]
An
adjective suffix indicating manner or style
Arabesque, Romanesque
» ism
[Greek -ismos, -isma noun suffix]
A
suffix used to form action nouns from verbs, distinctive doctrine, system, or
theory skepticism, truism
They even
remembered more than a handful of the words they crafted, words like: appleism,
s-e-e-ism, TVism, tablesque, pencilesque, windesque, bouncehousecosm,
balooncosm, and lollycosm
As I sat with the
group, I marveled at their retention, but more significantly at their
delight. can’t say the same
about any of the vocabulary development lessons that I’ve utilized through the
years from various curriculums that shall remain nameless!
The art of
crafting neologisms focuses the writer’s attention on the specificity of words
and their potential to enact ideas in a very meaningful way. And lessons that
are meaningful are lasting.
So we began our
exploration of suffixes, mining for meaning and application:
» able
[From Latin abilis, capable of, fit
for.]
washable, enjoyable, pitiable
ex.
Neologism – baloonable
» nomy
[From Greek nomos, system of rules
or knowledge.] astronomy, economy, autonomy
ex.
Neologism – iPodonomy
» ization
[From Greek izein, to become.]
popularization, organization, generalization
ex.
Neologism – basketballization
»
ology
[From Greek logia, to speak of, study or science of.]
biology, geology, anthropology
ex.
Neologism – pickleology
» phobia
[From
Latin phobia, abnormal fear] claustrophobia, arachnophobia, xenophobia
ex.
Neologism – flipflopphobia
» ward
[From
Middle English ward, specifics of direction] toward, homeward, backward
ex.
Neologism – chocolateward
Bonus Suffix:
» biotic
[From
Greek biotikis, of life, method of living] antibiotic, probiotic, microbiotic
ex.
Neologism – fauxbiotic
Ultimately, I challenged the
writers to create a list of neologisms for each suffix. Now I challenge you to do
the same. And as you do, keep in mind, words are a great wonder! Go and salt the earth.
-Kim
These curious little balls commonly known as water pearls (I prefer my name) are in a word…captivating.
Their usefulness in exploring science and math are obvious and you can find tons of great ideas all over the Internet for incoroprating these little gems into your learning adventures.
Or maybe simply playing with and marveling at them holds just as much educational value.
Sometimes poetry can be found in the most unexpected places.
Q: What is the purpose of poetry?
A: Why an Ars
Poetica of course.
Q: A what?
(Now the fun begins…)
A: Well, being a Latin phrase “ars poetica” is translated
“on the art of poetry” in English. And art by definition allows the imagination to speak. Art shows.
Q: So how does poetry show?
A: Let’s explore.
To begin, compare a
poem to the unexpected and you will begin to see the art of poetry:
A poem is an orange balloon against the blue sky.
A poem is a gift-wrapped pair of well-worn sneakers.
A poem is a baby crying at the end of a nap.
A poem is a collection of musical notes.
A poem is a silver spoon diving into vanilla ice cream.
A poem is honey on the tongue.
Keep going…
Think about how the
poem infuses the senses and you will begin to “show” the art of poetry. Generate
ideas by answering the following questions:
How does poem sound?
Example – A poem is river tumbling stones.
How does a poem look?
Example – A poem is a glass tower in gloaming.
How does a poem feel to the touch?
Example – A poem is nestled in velvet and fingertips stroking bark.
How does a poem taste?
Example – A poem is cayenne smothered in chocolate.
How does a poem smell?
Example – A poem is honeysuckle on a warm spring day.
Where does a poem take the reader?
Example -…to stars hanging in night sky.
Gather
more fodder by imagining a series of “what if” scenarios…
If your poem was on the moon, how would it
survive?
If your poem was on stage, what would it
wear and how would it act?
If your poem was a bird, what would it see?
What if your poem went exploring?
Keep imagining until you have a page of
ideas.
Now, began by
crafting your ideas to single sentences that describe the art of poetry and the
essence of a poem:
Example-
A poem is the clap of rain, the trumpet of thunder and
takes me to stars hanging in the night sky.
Next, break each sentence into poetic phrases. Feel free
to make little word adjustments as you craft your line breaks:
A poem is
clap of rain,
trumpet of thunder,
and painter of stars
clinging to the night sky.
As you see, each sentence will be crafted to a single
stanza. Try another and another. Soon you will have your Ars Poetica.
Archibald MacLeish "Ars
Poetica" (1926)
A poem should be palpable and mute
As a globed fruit,
Dumb
As old medallions to the thumb,
Silent as the sleeve-worn stone
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown
–
A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds.
A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs,
Leaving, as the moon releases
Twig by twig the night-entangled trees,
Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
Memory by memory the mind –
A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs.
A poem should be equal to
Not true.
For all the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf.
For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea
–
A poem should not mean
But be.
Last week we made an Ars Poetica banner to celebrate the year of poetry gone by and to usher in yet another Da Vinci Summer.
We began by crafting a single sentence that described the very essence of a poem. Next, we broke the sentence into poetic phrases, little articles and conjunctions excluded. All the poems were, at last, perfumed with rich images and a splash of device—metaphor smilie, personification.
Poetry is not extracurricular. So as you wade into the slower paces of summer why not begin to develop a habit of being, the habit of poetry?
– Kim
I shrink in the company of Sarcasm. I’m admittedly deficient, two steps behind when it comes to her volley of shrill phrases. When she enters the building, I chuckle a bit but rarely participate. I acknowledge that, on edge of her spectrum, chatter is light-hearted, friendly. Still, try as I might, I can’t quite squeak a giggle in the midst of her raucous presence.
Recently two students in my guild moved on to explore new education paths. Both students had been part of the guild for many years. My idea was to provide an opportunity for closure by challenging writers to craft a farewell phrase. I decided to incorporate this exercise into our regular writing workshop. What better way to put my “writing is a gift” motto into action?
So we began, “Let’s craft kind words to encourage our friends as they set out on a new adventure.” Sounds simple, right?
As I watched the card I provided move from writer to writer, I anticipated reading the messages before posting them the old fashioned way. But later that day, when I sat down with a cup of tea excited to read the phrases inscribed on the card, my heart sank. There she was, Sarcasm, smirking in all her glory, “Have fun wandering the halls,” and “Happy Easter (jk),” and “Yeah, whatever, thanks for leaving me behind,” and “Life is good (not),” …not a single kind word. There were careless spelling, capitalization, and punctuation errors.
Decibels peaking, Sarcasm crossing over to the caustic zone, I wanted to shrink. At one point in the reading, I wanted to cry. Our guild is not a typical classroom where children come and go annually, most of these children have been learning together for many years. These children are respectful of and grateful for friendship. Still, not a single phrase in the card was crafted vulnerably. What in the world? I knew that this group would really miss their friends who had moved on. I knew this must be something else. Maybe they did not know how to craft vulnerable words.
Haiku are the little powerhouses of the poetry world! They are a fun challenge involving the best of word play, mixed with a little finger counting to get the syllables just right! Here's a brief "Haiku 101" to help you and your kids get started.
1. Haiku poems consist of a three-line stanza that has a total of 17 syllables written in the following pattern:
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables
*Slight variations in syllabication is appropriate as this helps the poet maintain "one thought in three lines"
2. Haiku poems are observations of nature, often making reference to the seasons.
3. Haiku poems are like photographs, which capture moments in time. A "haiku moment" describes a scene that leads the reader to a feeling.
4. Haiku poems were originally written as introductions to longer works of poetry and should be written as one thought in three lines.
Consider these haiku written by the Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho:
Yellow rose petals
Drop one-by-one in silence:
Roar of waterfall.
Within plum orchard,
Sturdy oak takes no notice
Of flowering blooms.
Ready to write? Try crafting three original haiku inspired by any of these photographs. Share them with us in the comments section, we'd love to read them!
Douglas Florian is a poet and artist extraordinaire!
Winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award and recipient of an ALA Notable Children’s Book Award, he is the author and illustrator of many delightful children’s books.
Douglas Florian believes there is only one rule when it comes to poetry, that there are no rules.
Your youngest students can explore scientific and silly facts about creatures of all kinds with our Douglas Florian Earlybird Guide, and even try their hand at writing their own animal poetry. The results are fantastic!
Shark
Ate a thousand fish
In the white bathtub
In the night when the people were sleeping
To grow as big as the house
– Jedd, age 5
Whale
Jumped and did a back flip
Under blue and white water
At snack time
To have fun
– Cameron, age 6
Seahorse
Met a friend
At the light blue drop off
Early in dark morning
To not have to wait as long
– Maddie, age 6
California history projects
Our Waterhouse cooperative school began in Kim’s 900 square-foot, flat roof house. We hosted a diversity of characters during those early years. There was Mikalya, the darling recumbent student who taught us about her individuality as she practiced handwriting. Here was a six-year-old who could have been employed developing elaborate fonts. When it was time to journal she spent hours and hours crafting her name in script, but this was no ordinary script, this was script straight from her imagination. The term “fanciful letters” embodied the personality of the child.
Then there was Evelyn, my daughter the Kindergarten student who contentedly spent hours tracing illustrations from an entire book. Stopping to consider the academic standards involved in this task, Kim and I realized that in this single activity Evelyn not only met, but transcended certain state standards. Tracing complex illustrations, Evelyn developed her fine motor skills, strengthened hand-eye coordination, became aware of the connection between images and words, thought deeply about character and plot development and, perhaps most importantly, completed a complex task that was personally meaningful. Fast forward to high school, Evelyn would capture that certain something that made Mikayla Mikayla in the lines of a poem, “Dreamer Girl dangles / Her feet through downy clouds / Wiggles her toes over the earth / Beaming.” I have no doubt that her ability to make this profound observation about Mikayla’s individuality is in part due to the observation skills she learned to attend to as a child.
Reminiscing on our accomplishments during those first three years in San Luis Obispo borders on poetic:
• Pumpkin quilt
• Pysanky eggs
• Embroidery and soap making
• Rug hooking, and yes, basket weaving
• Ceramic snowmen
• That cool woven stool that took so much time
• Yarn dying and hand crafted knitting needles
• Pinwheels and the tee pee
• Lewis and Clark and US history quilt
• Little stone houses
• California quilt
• Woodshop class and glass mosaics
• Cooking cakes, breads and pies
• Taffy, cookies and Parker house rolls
• Crater experiment with marbles and flour
• Volcanoes and mapping the systems of the human body
• Bean sprouting and butterfly hatching
• Monarch field trips
• The rat maze and the rabbit’s chariot
• NASA launch and the Smithsonian
• The Saint Louis Arch
• Tide pools and deserts
• Piano keys plunking at all hours and the rat a tat tat on drums
• Pumpkin patch about a thousand times
• Elephant seals and beach clean-up on Earth Day
• Rug hooking
• Mark Twain’s childhood home
• Wilder girls in the hand sewn prairie dresses
• Visiting the pizza kitchen
• Over and over to the LA Science Center and the Natural History Museum
• Faith Ringgold slide show and giving her gifts
• Zoo trips and the whale watching boat
• Del Monte Café and the Santa Barbara Mission
• Teddy Roosevelt and the 13-year-old expert in NYC
• Civil War Sites, amestown and Williamsburg
• Clipper ships and Carnegie Hall
• D-Day and the beaches at Normandy
• Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Pigs, horses, goats, bats, iguanas, elephants
• THE GETTY!
• Misty of Chincoteague
• Mount Saint Helen’s National Park
• Timelines and maps
• Medieval history, War, and the ancient world
• Chinese history and the history of Israel
• Chumash Indians and the California Gold Rush extravaganza
I will never forget that first year we reserved the Community Room at our public library for a little open house, a time to help our students celebrate their accomplishments. My brother-in-law, Mark had one comment, ”Evelyn did more work in Kindergarten than I did in all of elementary school.”
– Sara
