I’ve never thought about using I Poems in my classroom. I think this would be a great way to give children a format for writing poetry. They sometimes need that little push to get them started writing. I also think this would be an amazing way to incorporate nonfiction into writing. Students are too often stuck with a certain type of writing format such as narrative, imaginative, and expository. Many teachers don’t open up poetic opportunities for children. I poems can not only be fun but also spark poetic interests. Many students, often think poetry is strictly analysis and a huge burden. They are not always given the proper opportunities to write poems in the classroom. I feel that students should be introduced to poetry in the elementary grades so that they will be prepared when they reach middle school, high school, and college. I feel as though I wasn’t prepared enough as a child. I can’t even remember how many poems I’ve written throughout the years. I think if students know how to write the poem and are given examples with plenty of modeling they will fall in love with poetry.
I Am a Red-eyed Tree Frog September 30, 2008
I Am
I wonder if I will catch many flies tonight.
I hear crickets chirping in the night.
I see best after dark.
I want to rest my sticky feet upon a broken branch.
I am bright green with blue and yellow stripped sides.
I feel best in a warm climate.
I touch the rough branch of a torn tree limb.
I worry that something will wake me during my day sleep.
I am bright green with blue and yellow stripped sides.
I say you must be very delicate with me.
I dream about a tasty meal of bugs.
I try to capture grasshoppers for food.
I hope I don’t frighten you with my glowing eyes at night.
I am bright green with blue and yellow stripped sides.
Z-Max Racing September 22, 2008
Z-Max Racing
A Saturday morning at the
Z-Max dragstrip
First drag race at the track
Dreary, blistering sun soaking
through my skin
Piercing sounds through ear plugs
Meeting the drivers
of the funny cars
Great times with loved ones
The Leopard Clock September 22, 2008
The Leopard Clock
So much depends
upon
A leopard print
clock
With tiny black
hands
Ticking and tocking as each minute
elapses
Leaving us with one less minute of
observation.
Written by Candace Hensley
September 16, 2008
The Wedding Planner September 22, 2008
The Wedding Planner
So much depends
upon
A little cream
organizer
That will determine the
outcome
Of a snow white bond of
eternity.
~Candace Hensley~
September 16, 2008
My Feelings on Poetry September 15, 2008
I think I was like many other people in thinking that poetry had to be analyzed. I guess it was from the horrible class I had in undergrad when I was attending App. I think I was going on my second year of college when I took a class in which we had to analyze poems. That was by far one of the most painful classes that I have taken. I never wanted to read another poem again until I realized that poetry can be fun.
After the readings for the week I realized that poetry can be fun. Maybe I just need to steer clear from certain levels of poetry that don’t resignate with me. I have always had a fondness for children’s literature. I feel that it has so much meaning. After reading the poetry books assigned I feel as though poetry can be a great thing. Concrete poetry is a very interesting, creative way of writing poems. I think my students would LOVE writing concrete poems. I think it would take a few trial and errors but it would be all worth it in the end.
I hope I will grow to love more and more types of poetry. I’m sure that I will with Dr. Frye as my professor. I love how much she motivates me. 
BY THE WAY…I’M NOT REALLY WRITING AT 2:30 AM. FOR SOME REASON MY TIME AND DATE IS WRONG ON MY BLOGS.
Concrete Poetry September 15, 2008
Technically It’s Not My Fault by John Grandits
If you read this book I’m sure you had very similar thoughts. I absolutely loved this book. I felt that students could relate to these poems. It leans more toward older students, like middle school aged students. I don’t think my fourth graders could understand all of the poems. They may even freak out when they hear certain words in the poems. They may be able to understand some of the poems.
When I read The Thank You Letter I laughed aloud. For some reason this reminded me of The Christmas Story (movie) when the little boy gets the horrible bunny suit from his relative just like the boy, in the book, getting the sweater with Barney on it. I think lots of kids get disappointed with presents. Who hasn’t received a present and thought, what were they thinking?
I think my favorite poem was the TyrannosaursBus Rex. I would have never thought to give life to a bus. If a bus did have life I’m sure it would think the same things as this bus thought. The students are jumping off the bus giggling, laughing, arguing, and running. It seems as though a teacher wrote some of these poems. It was amazing how much I related to this poetry. I think this might be one of my new favorites.
I loved all of the poems. Some poems made me a little bit dizzy. I don’t think I’d read those poems again but I think students would enjoy reading these poems. This would be a great book to introduce concrete poetry into the classroom.
Best Practices in Writing Instruction–Chapter 10 September 9, 2008
What does the phrase “motivating students to write” mean to you?
I feel that if you are motivating a student to write they gain that willingness to write. They don’t necessarily have to be engaged the whole time. They could be motivated intrinsically or extrinsically. If they are motivated intrinsically they writing for reasons like wanting to write/loving to write. If they are motivated extrinsically they are writing because they have to or they will get in trouble or get a bad grade. They may also be swayed by awards such as prizes or whoever gets finished can work with a puzzle. Students may even get to help out other students when they finish early. This would motivate them extrinsically.
I hope that I motivate my students to write through modeling. We like to write silly/frightening stories together. I think it motivates them whenever I gather their ideas into a bubble map, write a catchy beginning, and let them finish the story. It’s amazing how different their stories turn out. It seems as though my students would rather work collaboratively on writing than independently.
If you are interested in something and care deeply about it, does that mean that it will also be interesting to write about?
I do not think it would necessarily be interesting to write about because students may love playing basketball but have a hard time putting into words how they feel, play, or just love to watch basketball. It’s great to pick an interesting topic for the students to write about but they will always come up with the famous quote, “I don’t know what to write about.” I get that all of the time when we do free writing in our journals. It’s like they are trained to gather ideas from a grown up. It’s hard for young children to think up ideas on their own.
When you think of helping students experience writing as a tool of communication, do you also help them experience writing as a social activity-the notion that we share ideas, discuss them and even provide feedback about the ideas? How can this happen in your classroom?
I feel that we write socially. The students will write about their weekends on Mondays. Then they get to share their writings with one another, if time permits. As I stated above we do a lot of brainstorming together to get some ideas flowing into their heads. I now teach fourth grade but last year my first graders loved sharing ideas. They would come up with some wonderful ideas for certain themes in which we were carrying out that particular month/week. We once wrote a story together about a creepy house with a big monster living in the house. I would discuss what an adjective was and have the students to come up with some great adjectives to describe in detail. I let each student give me one sentence which stemmed from the previous child’s sentence. They came up with an awesome story.
Do you strive to make student writing tasks worthwhile, useful, collaborative, authentic, and interesting? If so, how might this happen in your classroom?
I feel as though, like anyone else, I could always do a better job teaching writing. That is something that gets touched on in first grade because of the incredible amounts of reading time throughout the day. Since I am in fourth grade this year I am striving to take ideas and feedback from my team teachers since they’re more experienced. I am totally baffled with knowing what I’m doing in fourth grade. However, I’m trying my best to be the best teacher possible. I think I could use my planning time wisely with other teachers to make sure I was following my students’ writing skills and going over any problems along the way.
Are there any discrepancies between the Graves’ article and Chapter 10?
I feel as though Chapter 10 said that students could be interested in a subject and still not be motivated to write about that subject whereas in Graves’ article the children were most always motivated to write about things they were interested in.
One of my favorite poem/books September 8, 2008
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike
and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
Dr. Seuss
