Everywhere I look at present in Blog world or Twitter, I see and hear poetry! This always gets my creative juices flowing, so this post is in support of all those brave teacher poets out there. Hope you can use this idea to astound and amaze your students and colleagues. Today, it’s all about repeating ourselves… Repetition is an old and basic element in poetry. It goes back to poetry's origin in chants and spells. Something "magical" happens when you repeat a word, phrase or line. It gives the reader a chance to rest before setting forth again. It becomes the refrain that glues the words together. Words take on new dimensions, subtleties, and connotations. It creates patterns--and echoes. To create a poem using repetition, you could begin by making a list using one of the following starting points: Somewhere you went today Today's weather Description of your clothes An event you witnessed recently 10 randomly selected simp...

It is April and that means National Poetry Month in the USA ! I vividly recall during my six years living and working in the US how schools went into poetry mode each April. I found this focus on poetry left me in a quandary. I love poetry, so this national focus on poetry was something that greatly impressed me. It brought this ancient genre to centre stage and I considered that was something our Australian schools could learn from. Poetry in such a supportive environment began to shed its elitist cloak. It became accessible to the broader school population. However, something began to gnaw away at me as each successive April celebration unfolded. I became concerned that in the minds of many educators poetry was being constrained to a single month in the school calendar. I wanted to encounter poetry across the school year, but it seemed tightly confined to the month of April in the minds of many. I wanted poetry to pop up unexpectedly; at various times of the school day, and i...

This approach to poetry provides probationary poets with lots of support. Start with a setting. Pick a place- the city-street- backyard-beach- kitchen-  You get the idea! The use of the senses is apparent in the approach  but I suggest providing writers some choices regarding the order of the starting words, and do not make it compulsory to use all the suggested starting words. In fact, they should be encouraged to create their own opening words. It will make for greater variety and individuality. The structure is there as an initial support. I see….. I hear…. I watch…. I smell…. I enjoy….. I taste….. I want….. I wish….. I imagine……..

I recently read a newspaper account of an approach to poetry using Lego blocks used by Daniel Donahoo that was highlighted at the Emerging Writers Festival in Melbourne . Donahoo glued words to individual Lego pieces and then constructed shapes that served as 3D poetry. The poetry created is both a literate and visual art form. Donahoo photographs each word sculpture and then posts to various internet sites and venues around town. Donahoo’s first experiment with Lego poetry was to print out the words to Lewis Carroll’s ‘Jabberwocky’ and stick them on Lego blocks assembled into the shape of a large dragon like creature. As I read this I wondered where I could take the idea of three-dimensional poetry… I settled on using washed stones and combining them with the deconstruction of original poetry pieces. Because I chose to work with stones, I decided to choose short pieces of verse. Imagine working with John Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost,’ you would need a truck load of gravel! A sea...

Model the reading of poetry so your students can learn to read it for themselves. Here are some tips to assist you to present poetry reading successfully: • Read it to yourself first. Consider the meaning, language, rhythm and other features of the poem that you will highlight in your reading. • Convey the meaning of the poem with your voice. • Allow the students to hear the poem first before they see it. • Avoid long elaborate introductions. Give them the title and the name of the poet. • Let the tone of your voice convey the mood. • Let the language convey the rhythm. • Each word of the poem is important. Savor them. • Use your voice as a tool- whisper where appropriate, Shout if necessary, stretch words for effect! • Employ multiple readings of the poem. • Invite short discussion rather than long analysis. Don’t dissect each line, don’t be a lint picker! • Avoid follow up activities for every poem. It isn’t necessary! A brief discussion, or a partner share are acc...

 This idea came from Greg Pincus and I thought it was well worth sharing... 'Tag, You're It,' He Said Poetically (a dialogue tag poem) by Greg Pincus 'Cut them quickly,' she said speedily. 'I want them gone,' he said needily. 'Show don't tell,' he said directly. 'Use them well,' she said correctly. 'I hate adverbs,'he said whinily. 'We're all done,' she said finally. It's a little silliness, I hope you enjoy!

This post is for Ryan, whose words brought me back here, and not before time! The ideas for rant poems come from John Biando and I share with John's idea which has potential for use in the classroom regarding those things that genuinely cheese us off! Poets have long written about the things that vex them. The practice of ranting in poetic verse dates back to at least Ancient Greece. Though the rant poem is not granted the same canonic acceptance as the sonnet or sestina, rant poetry has flourished from Homer's time to our own. Rant poetry comes in all shapes and sizes, but it is most commonly defined as a free-verse prose poem written about an exasperating subject. Follow the steps below to wax poetic about any subject that aggravates, pesters, or otherwise drives you batty.  Step 1 Settle on a single subject that provokes, annoys, exasperates or infuriates you. This subject will be the topic of your rant poem. Step 2 Brainstorm a list of reasons why your subj...

Try this as a simple word generating idea for poetry that is achievable! It involves using rhyming couplets and the construct of 'synonyms' Weird Bizarre, strange, and spooky thing Any book by Stephen King! Green Meanies Spinach, beans and siverbeet Three green vegies kids won't eat! Wrathful Thoughts Anger, vengeance,violent rage Viper words scratched on a page

Lunes are poems in a package. They are not limited to specific subject which makes then different to haiku. They have no necessary association with nature or seasons. Their structure is : Three lines First line – 3 words Second line – 5 words Third line – 3 words Examples: Think of me  As a ballerina quietly twirling Through the mall From the clifftop I sang silly love songs To the moon When I laugh  No sound leaves my mouth Is that sad? Your Lunes become more interesting if you can provide a surprise   or twist ending in the final line. Children enjoy writing Lunes because the structure makes it easy for them to participate in writing poetry and there is a high degree of success.

Poetry is an extremely flexible writing form. It is easily weaved into our writing programs across the year as opposed to just being pigeon holed into a specific unit of work. Poetry offers a unique response to literature -fiction or non fiction. Such is the flexible nature of poetry. That our classrooms are filled with poetry that is enjoyable to listen to or fun to read is important, but it may not necessarily provide the best models for writing. From an early age children have much exposure to a significant amount of rhyming verse. However, when young writers attempt to create their own rhyming verses it often sounds forced or clunky to the ear. They begin to suffer ‘ the moon in June with a spoon ‘ syndrome! The writer becomes more focused on findings words that rhyme rather than attending to meaning. The end result often has little or nothing to say. It’s ho hum. We need to direct them towards an understanding that word choice is critical to being an effective writer. As an alt...