April 7 | Mysite

Wrapping it up

April 7th, 2021

Hi friends! This week I finished reading Textbook by Amy Rosenthal, Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, and the Mentor Text. Follow along while I introduce the poems I wrote, my inspiration, and mentor texts!

All things poetry

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude is by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Marlena Myles. This is a must read! I personally love to point out the things I'm thankful for daily because you don't know when it's going to end. It focuses on the word gratitude which I could see myself using in my future classroom. Gratitude is the quality of being thankful, showing appreciation for, and to return kindness. I would use this text in my classroom by exploring the word gratitude with my students. We could brainstorm what the definition could be after my book talk. We would then read the text and then revaluate our definition. Students will most likely want to add or change their definition. The students could then could list things of gratitude in their life. I would then invite them to write a rough draft of either one or more things on their list in their writer's notebook. After the draft, they would do peer editing and revise. Then the students will create their final poem of gratitude. I would hang these poems up on the classroom. If a student is having a bad day, sad, or in a funky mood, they could look at their poem and think about what they are thankful for.

My Own Thanku

I wanted to write my own poem of gratitude. First, I created a list of ideas that I could write about. Some of them include my mom, education, windshield wipers, mountains, braces, and many more.

Then it was time to narrow down my focus. I decided on the mountains. The place I have called home for 5 years, the place that has made me feel thankful, and the place that surrounds me. I then created a list of the things I love about the mountains and why I'm thankful for them.

As I looked back in Thanku the Dear Sky poem got my attention. Naomi Shihab Nye wrote to the sky as a person. I wanted to use her style and write to the mountains why I'm grateful for them. I had a lot of fun writing this poem! It made me reflect on the past 5 years of living in Boone.

Dear Mountains

Brainstorming

Textbook

I was sad to finish reading Textbook by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. This book was utterly amazing. It was interactive, informative, and humorous. Amy is very talented and I love how she tied in humor to her book. On pages 275-281, Amy wrote a poem defining the word "writer". She created a numbered list and wrote about her experience as a writer. I used her poem as inspiration for my own poem to define a word. I decided my word would be "flowers". Flowers are vital in my life. I love smelling them, looking at them, and their colors. I try to have a fresh bouquet of flowers on my desk each week. Take a look at my poem!

Forest Has a Song

This text is by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and illustrated by Robbin Gourley. VanDerwater allows you to follow along a walk in the forest. The forest invites you to come and visit. In 2016 it received the SCBWI Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award.

I was inspired by VanDerwater's Song sound poem. I decided to focus on the sounds of a classroom. Classroom's have a lot of noises and are rarely quiet. From humans to inanimate objects. I had plenty to write about!

Cinquain

In Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, I read "A College Degree" by Traci Sorell on page 32. I was inspired since I will be graduating in a few months (yikes!). Ever since I was 5 years old I wanted to be a teacher and the moment has finally come. It's frightening but SO exciting at the same time. This is what I have been working towards my whole life. A Cinquain is as described below.

Written by Billy Wall (2012)

Mentor Texts

This week I read chapter 7 in Mentor Texts. In the beginning of the chapter, it talks about building poetry only around special holidays, like creating cards. Then it gave an example: "Roses are red, Violets are blue, Chocolate is sweet, And so are you." I'm sure almost every person knows the famous first two lines. It got me thinking about the time my Dad wrote me a poem with those first two lines. I played the violin in middle school and I had a concert so my Dad wrote me a poem. This dates all the way back to 2012 and I'm so glad I still have a picture of it!

I like how chapter 7 talks about seeing poetry everywhere. You don't need any supplies or special lesson plans for students to write poetry! It's important to help students recognize that the best prose sounds like poetry. Such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and personification. One of my favorite lessons from this chapter is creating a color poem. Students brainstorm a list of colors and create a list of things that color. Encourage them to use senses and emotions. For example, purple - lavender, spring, plums, April, cupcakes, notebook. I love the scaffolding process and using previous students' work.