It’s April, and I’m writing a poem a day. Poems are hiding in my writing notebook. Tucked away. For me. It’s about volume. Not perfection.
Like me, the classroom writing turns towards poetry. The openness of poetry allows for lots of possible. And with that kids can feel uncertain. It’s scary. Not always pretty. Shaky ground.
I know what I want. I want to them to find meaning and soak up poems. To wordplay. To make color happen on the page and find white space. To not be afraid.
To do that, I start with a plan that grew out of TCRWP’s poetry unit of study and a bit of Ralph Fletcher. It will be an adventure!
Poetry Teaching Points
Poets notice
things
others
miss.
Poets walk, look, and realize.
Poets collect
ideas
that hide in notebooks
turn jots into drafts
Poets circle, a line, a paragraph, and mold it.
Poets reflect
I’m writing about this because . . .
This is important because . . .
I used to think . . .
But I learned . . .
So now I think . . .
I want my reader to feel or think . . .
One thing that may be missing here is . . . .
Poets find
an image
the setting
an object.
Poets choose words, a surprising detail
add emotion, create mood and evoke a reaction.
Poets say
things
others
can’t.
Poets close their eyes and picture.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers for Slice of Life Tuesdays. Love to all that slice and those who venture into poetry. Read more slice here.
To Read To Write To Be 