We are learning about poetry and the characteristics of breathtaking poetry. We've known since the beginning of the year that we can read like writers. Often times, the authors of the texts we read in class become mentor authors for us, teaching us new and exciting skills or inspiring us with ideas which we then try in our own writing.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Choose a poem to read.
2. Record 5 or more lines of this poem in your blog journal or in your online blog response. (If you can record the entire poem, that would be EXCELLENT!)
3. Identify one skill you want to try in your own writing after reading this poem OR one idea for a poem that you came up with after reading this poem.
Example:
Memory Loss
It's not like losing a wallet,
or even your best friend.
Losing your memory is
losing yourself.
Each sentence Grandma speaks
makes me think of crossing a river.
She steps from word to word
until suddenly
she stops in the middle, disoriented.
Should she go back or keep going?
Mom takes Grandma by the hand
and helps her safely to the other side.
-Ralph Fletcher
I read "Memory Loss" by Ralph Fletcher. I notice that the author uses a metaphor to compare the Grandma trying to speak and the act of crossing a river. I would like to try using a metaphor in a poem I'm writing about graduating elementary school. Graduating elementary school reminds me of taking those first few steps into the ocean. You fear what lies just below your range of vision, yet you feel comforted in the fact that everyone else is clamoring into the water or is already in the water having fun. Of course, graduating from the elementary means leaving close friends and teachers, who you've known for so long. Similarly, jumping into the water means leaving the warmth of the sand and sun behind for what might be a refreshing and exciting, albeit, new experience.
Orange Poem
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard the sound of orange?
If not can you hear the cougar pride?
Can you hear the football players bashing helmets?
Can you hear the fans cheering?
If you can you have you heard the sound of orange.
-Devan Sosnoski
The thing that I learned about this orange poem is that you can ask questions in your poem and state the answer after you asked the question.
What is red?
ReplyDeleteRed is a sunset
Blazing and bright.
Red is feeling brave
With all your might.
Red is a sunburn
A spot on your nose.
Sometimes red, is a red red rose.
Red squiggles out when you cut your hand.
Red is a brick
And the sounds of a band.
Red is hotness
You get inside
When you’re embarrassed
And want to hide.
Fire-cracker, fire-engine
Fire-flicker red –
And when you’re angry
Red runs through your head.
Red is an Indian
A Valentine heart,
The trimmings on
A circus cart.
Red is a lipstick
Red is a shout
Red is a signal
That says, “Watch out!”
Red is a great big
Rubber ball.
Red is the giant-est
Colour of all.
Red is a show-off,
No doubt about it –
But can you imagine
Living without it?
-Author Unknown
I read What is Red? and the author was unknown. I learned from this poem that repeating the beginning of each stanaza in a poem can make your poem sound better. I noticed this when the author repeated the introduction Red is. I think that this would benefit my poem about a peacock in a big way.
FALLING UP
ReplyDeleteI tripped on my shoelace
And I fell up—
Up to the roof tops,
Up over town,
Up past the tree tops,
Up over the mountains,
Up where the colors
Blend into the sounds.
But it got me so dizzy
When I looked around,
I got sick to my stomach
And I threw down.
By: Shel Silverstein.
I have always loved the works of Shel Silverstein. In this poem “Falling Up”, the author uses sensory details. As an example: “Up where the colors blend into the sounds.” His writing always goes right to your heart or your funny bone. One skill that I would like to develop in writing is humor as well as learning how to write using sensory details.
One of my favorite books, growing up, is “The Giving Tree.” Shel Silverstein can be funny, silly or very deep, like in The Giving Tree. In that book, there is a real lesson about taking things for granted and not realizing the meaning of sacrifice.
Sticks
ReplyDeleteLet's throw sticks in the creek all day
Let's not do the things we've planned
Let's watch the sticks float away
Everyone will understand
Let's watch whirling water flow.....
-Author Unknown
I would like to try using repetition at the beginning of every line!!!
Bye:)