Austin ISD Poetry Appreciation
Enjoy the moment, the sound, the feeling poetry can envoke.
April National Poety Month
We hope you will join us each day to share your love of poetry. Look for us on social media- Twitter-@AustinISDLibs and FB- Austin ISD School Libraries
2021-2022 School Year
Week #5- Poem in Your Pocket and Final Poetry Month Newsletter- April 25th-29th
Elementary Short Poems
- Alexander, Kwame. Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures. National Geographic Society, 2017. National Geographic Kids, tinyurl.gale.com/tinyurl/EG47s4. Accessed 22 Apr. 2022.- Preschool-3rd
- Cleary, Brian P. Bow-Tie Pasta: Acrostic Poems. Millbrook Press ™, 2016. EBSCOhost- K-8, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=1051569&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- Grades 2-5
- Hoberman, Mary Ann, and Michael Emberley. Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart. 5.8.2012, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2012.- PRL- Print Book- Preschool-3rd
Keane, Sarah. Around the World in Twenty-Eight Pages Ebsco K-8 Ebook. Huntington Beach, CA: Teacher Created Materials, 2014. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=666550&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- 3rd+
Rovetch, Lissa, and Shannon McNeill. Ook the Book. Chronicle Books, 2001. Tumble Book Library, www.tumblebooklibrary.com/Directlink.aspx?U=austinisd&P=books&bookid=4777.- K-2
Secondary Short Poems
- Ayoob, Hana and Kyle D. Evans. Poems and Paradoxes. Tarquin Group, 2021. EBSCOhost- K-8, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=2891577&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Middle School
- Lewis, J. Patrick, editor. Book of Animal Poetry with Favorites from Robert Frost, Jack Prelutsky, Emily Dickinson and More: 200 Poems with Photographs That Squeak, Soar, and Roar! National Geographic Society, 2012. National Geographic Kids, tinyurl.gale.com/tinyurl/EG4Bh5. Accessed 22 Apr. 2022. All Ages
“LitFinder- Results Page for ‘Short Poems.’” Gale LitFinder, go.gale.com/ps/i.do?st=PrimarySources&lm=AC~y~~TY~%22Poem%22&searchResultsType=SingleTab&qt=OQE~short+poems&sw=w&ty=as&it=search&sid=bookmark-LITF&p=LITF&s=Relevance&u=j227901&v=2.1&asid=3d26fa53. Accessed 22 Apr. 2022.- High School
- Macken, JoAnn Early. Read, Recite, and Write Concrete Poems. Crabtree Publishing Company, 2015. EBSCOhost K-8, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=1796662&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Middle School
Schulten, Katherine. “Ways to Read, Write, Teach and Learn Poetry With.” The New York Times, 3 Apr. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/learning/lesson-plans/ways-to-read-write-teach-and-learn-poetry-with-the-new-york-times.html?smid=url-share.- High School
Keep a Poem in Your Pocket Day- Friday, April 29th
- Reyes, Dimitri. “30 Poets Answer " "What is Poetry? | National Poetry Month | #NaPoWriMo2022.” YouTube, Dimitri Reyes Poet, 31 Mar. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQAnrx22-i8&feature=youtu.be.- Secondary
Keep a Poem in Your Pocket: Tiny Poets Time with Charles Waters at Poets House. Sweet video of Charles Waters reciting the Keep a Poem in Your Pocket. And an interactive video with Emily Arrow.
- “Keep a Poem in Your Pocket: Tiny Poets Time with Charles Waters at Poets House.” YouTube, Poets House, 8 Apr. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJIeF9mZk7w&feature=youtu.be.- Early Education-Elementary
Arrow, Emily. “Poem In Your Pocket - Emily Arrow.” YouTube, uploaded by Emily Arrow, 12 Apr. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxF0nB8ZzXQ&feature=youtu.be. - Early Education-Elementary
Resources are available with ideas on how to celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day from Poets.org.
- Poets.org - Academy of American Poets. “Poem in Your Pocket Day.” Academy of American Poets, poets.org/national-poetry-month/poem-your-pocket-day. Accessed 21 Apr. 2022. - Professional
Thank you for taking this poetic journey with me!
Below you will find one of my favorite poems. I hope you enjoy it!
Stella Bromley- Professional Resource Librarian
Week #4- Giving Thanks and Gratitude to the Earth- April 18st-22nd
I Don't Know Why
the sky is blue
or why the raindrops
splatter through
or why the grass
is wet with dew... do you?
I don't know why
the sun is round
or why a see grows
in the ground
or why the thunder
makes a sound... do you?
I don't know why
the clouds are white
or why the moon
shines very bright
or why the air
turns black at night... do you?
Myra Cohn Livingston
Brenner, Barbara, and S. Schindler. The Earth Is Painted Green: A Garden of Poems About Our Planet. Scholastic, 2000.- ALL AGES
Thanksgiving Address
Below is the English version, watch the video for more information and to hear the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen (in Mohawk)
Each day, when there is an important matter at hand, we must give thanks. We will give thanks for all he has created and prepared for us here on the earth and in the sky. This is called the matter before all else. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the people on the Earth, that they are still tending to their responsibilities so that peace can be possible on earth. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the earth, that in her kindness she still continues to provide us with her strength, for this is what we need to continue to live peacefully upon her body. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the water, that we still have waters to cool our bodies, quench our thirst, and wash away pollutants in the earth. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of fish that live in the water, that they still clean the waters, and that we are able to use their meat to sustain us. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of plants growing on the planet: the grasses, roots, and shrubbery, that we depend on when we are in hunger, and that heal us when we are ill. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of insects. He has created many different types of insects on the earth. They are connected to the beautification of the earth, so that things may come along peacefully. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of sustainers, to the many kinds of fresh foods that grow in the gardens we plant. We also give thanks to the three sisters: corn, beans, and squash. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of berries (hanging fruits) of the earth in which we eat, that we use to make juice, and that we use to sustain ourselves. We also give thanks to the strawberry, who was chosen by the creator to be the leader of the berries/fruit. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many forests, and the leader of the trees, the maple. That we are still able to use it to make our homes, to keep us warm when it is cold, and that we are still able to use it to sustain ourselves. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of birds on the earth, and the leader, the eagle. That we are still provided with their strength. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the many kinds of animals that wander the forests. That we still see them running about the forests, that they are still us with their skin, and their meat to sustain ourselves. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the four winds: north, south, east and west. That they are still working together so that we can breathe. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to our grandmother the moon, that her face still illuminates the night, making sure that it will be peaceful here on earth. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to our elder brother sun, that he is still providing us with his strength. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the stars that shine in the sky, that they still show us the way we should go when we are lost. So let it be in our minds.
We bring our minds together as one and give thanks to the creator. We remember that he is the one that created and prepared everything we depend on to live. This is why we bring our minds together to thank him. So let it be in our minds.
Now I have put the words of thanksgiving through.
If I have forgotten anything, it falls to each of you here to continue to complete it. Now it is time for us to open up the matter, and start the matter at hand.
“The Thanksgiving Address.” Earth to Tables Legacies, 8 July 2021, earthtotables.org/essays/the-thanksgiving-address.- ALL AGES
Austin ISD Earth Week
Make sure to take a look at Austin ISD's Earth Week page!
ENVIRONMENTAllen, John. Careers in Environmental and Energy Technology (High-Tech Careers). Referencepoint Press, 2017. Ebsco eBooks- High School, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=1718789&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- HIGH SCHOOL
Blohm, Craig E. "What Is the Impact of Climate Change?" ReferencePoint Press, Inc 2021. SIRS Discoverer, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsdiscoverer/document/2518816254?accountid=169785.-MIDDLE SCHOOL
Bullard,Lisa. Go Green for Earth Day. Lerner Publications ™, 2019. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=1651276&site=ehost-live&scope=site.-ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
“Climate Change.” Issues & Controverseries, InfoBase, icof.infobase.com/topics/VG9waWM6Mzk0?aid=11379. Accessed 18 Apr. 2022.- HIGH SCHOOL
"Earth Day- Unit Plan"- https://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/Directlink.aspx?U=austinisd&P=books&bookid=7446 . TumbleBooks- ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Prince-Ruiz, Rebecca, and Joanna Atherfold Finn. Plastic Free: The Inspiring Story of a Global Environmental Movement and Why It Matters. Columbia University Press, 2020. Ebsco eBooks- High School, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=2458717&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- HIGH SCHOOL
ECONOMY
Angelina, K. "How Can We Reduce Waste?" Youngzine, 02 Dec 2021. SIRS Discoverer, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsdiscoverer/document/2635300808?accountid=169785.-MIDDLE SCHOOL
"Ecotourism." Gale Global Issues Online Collection, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context: Global Issues, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CP3208520265/GIC?u=j227901009&sid=bookmark-GIC&xid=67d8f5fe. Accessed 18 Apr. 2022.- HIGH SCHOOL
Eise, Jessica, and Ken Foster. How to Feed the World. 3rd None ed., Island Press, 2018. Ebsco eBooks- High School, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=2013728&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- HIGH SCHOOL
Paisley, Erinne. Can Your Outfit Change the World? (PopActivism, 2). Orca Book Publishers, 2018. Ebsco eBooks- High School, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=1587373&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- HIGH SCHOOL
EQUITY
Blackwell, Amy Hackney. "Climate Activism." Gale Environmental Studies Online Collection, Gale, 2021. Gale In Context: Environmental Studies, link.gale.com/apps/doc/UXYOUM015894694/GRNR?u=j227901&sid=bookmark-GRNR&xid=aa1ba543. Accessed 18 Apr. 2022.- HIGH SCHOOL
Braun, Eric. Taking Action to Help the Environment. Lerner Publications ™, 2017. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=1283592&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- MIDDLE SCHOOL
Knutson, Julie, and Van Traci Wagoner. Global Citizenship: Engage in the Politics of a Changing World (Inquire and Investigate). Illustrated, Nomad Press, 2020. Ebsco eBooks- High School, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=2562541&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- HIGH SCHOOL
Peterson, Christy. Earth Day and the Environmental Movement: Standing Up for Earth. Twenty-First Century Books TM, 2020. Ebsco eBooks- High School, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=2319233&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- HIGH SCHOOL
Schwab, Christine. Kids Speak Out About the Environment. Discovery Library, 2021. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=2457292&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Thompson,Veronica. Earth-Friendly Earth Day Crafts. Lerner Publications ™, 2019. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=1651324&site=ehost-live&scope=site.- ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Week #3- Spring and the Beauty of Change- April 11th-15th
Short Spring Poems by Douglas Wright
Ya llegó la primavera
y hoy me vino a saludar;
yo le respondo el saludo
¡dele y dele estornudar!
Spring is Here
Spring is here
and today he came to greet me;
I answer the greeting
give him a sneeze and a sneeze!
¿Mariposas en un árbol
o flores de primavera?;
no sé si son mariposas
o son flores que aletean.
Butterflies in a tree?
Butterflies in a tree
or spring flowers?
I don't know if they are butterflies
or are they fluttering flowers.
Hoy, el día dice “viento”,
viento fuerte y sonoro,
y las hojas de los árboles
responden “viento”, a coro.
Hoy, el día dice “viento”,
viento de acá para allá,
y nubes que piensan “viento”
pasan sobre la ciudad.
Hoy, el día dice “viento”,
viento loco, en remolinos,
que viene no sé de dónde
y se va por donde vino.
Hoy, el día dice “viento”,
“viento” dice la mañana,
viento que agita y golpea
los paños de mi ventana.
Hoy, el día dice “viento”,
y hasta los rayos del sol
se sacuden con el viento:
¡todo es viento el día de hoy!
Today, the Day Says "Wind"
Today, the day says "wind",
strong and loud wind,
and the leaves of the trees
they respond “wind” in the chorus.
Today, the day says "wind",
wind from here to there,
and clouds that think “wind”
They pass over the city.
Today, the day says "wind",
crazy wind, in eddies,
it comes from I don't know where
and it goes where it came from.
Today, the day says "wind",
"wind" says the morning,
wind that shakes and beats
the clothes of my window.
Today, the day says "wind",
and even the rays of the sun
shake in the wind:
everything is windy today!
By Douglas Wright
Jenny. “Spanish Poems: Spring.” Spanish Playground, 12 Dec. 2018, www.spanishplayground.net/spanish-poems-spring.
Primavera amarilla/ Yellow Spring by Juan Ramón Jiménez
Primavera Amarilla
Abril venía, lleno
todo de flores amarillas:
amarillo el arroyo,
amarillo el vallado, la colina,
el cementerio de los niños,
el huerto aquel donde el amor vivía.
El sol ungía de amarillo el mundo,
con sus luces caídas;
¡ay, por los lirios áureos,
el agua de oro, tibia;
las amarillas mariposas
sobre las rosas amarillas!
Guirnaldas amarillas escalaban
los árboles; el día
era una gracia perfumada de oro,
en un dorado despertar de vida.
Entre los huesos de los muertos,
abría Dios sus manos amarillas.
Yellow Spring
April came, all
filled with yellow flowers.
Yellow the stream,
yellow the fence, the hill,
the children’s cemetery
the orchard where once love bloomed.
The sun anointed the world yellow
in its fallen light;
Oh! for the haloed irises,
the gold-lit water, warm;
the yellow butterflies
over the yellow roses!
Yellow garlands scale
the trees; the day
is a grace perfumed with gold,
in a golden awakening of life.
Between the bones of the dead,
God opens his hands of yellow.
“Juan Ramón Jiménez - Primavera Amarilla Lyrics + English Translation.” Lyrics Translate, lyricstranslate.com/en/primavera-amarilla-yellow-spring.html Accessed 13 Apr. 2022.
Spanish Lanuage Poets
Books:
Campoy, Isabel, and Marcela Calderón. Poesia Eres Tu (Spanish Edition). Santillana USA, 2016.- Elementary
Lewis, Richard. Still Waters of the Air;: Poems by Three Modern Spanish Poets. Dial Press, 1970.- Middle and High School
Digital Resources:
LitFinder- Gale- using the advanced search, this results lists ws created by choosing the language and then filtering by document type. The list includes 826 poems in Spanish.- Middle and High School
Learn360-Infobase- has a series called "Passport to Language" where the host shares poems in each of the series. Search results for "poems" are then filtered by "language".- Grades 3-5
Enjoy poems and biographies of famous poems written in Spanish at Poetry Soup.
“Spanish Poets | Famous Spanish Poets.” PoetrySoup, www.poetrysoup.com/famous/poets/spanish_poets.aspx. Accessed 13 Apr. 2022.- All ages
Week #2- Poet Laureates- April 4th - 8th
Austin Youth Poet Laureate- Ireland Griffin
kiss the moon goodnight
you are sitting.
by the edge of the dock, soft waves of moonlight making
trails down your cheeks. a fishing rod is clutched, in
your gnarled hand. held the way one would hold a lover.
the salt from the air has seemingly made itself into a new man inside of the constraints of your skin.
for why else would your top lip catch the edge
of soft drops of water as it splatters down the dock.
the sallowed lines of your face illuminated by the sky,
your bones curving in. to fit the model of a man that you
had never intended to be. but often it is hard to turn your
head away, when someone is clutching your cheek and
whispering the wrong life into you.
you look up, and the figure in the sky above, who paints
you in yellow every night, who’s the subject of every
sad song you’ve ever tried to write.
you wish that you could be something bigger than this,
someone who is not rooted to the same dock, to the same
sky, to the same earth, staring up at the moon
that gets wider, and wider and wider every day.
but your dear, it is everything that you wish to be. and
your hollow body starts to feel warmth when it is near
and maybe it’s thoughtless to say but it cradles your
fragile disposition in between its teeth.
and so here you remain.
Listen to the KUT interview and the poem above here.
“Austin’s First Youth Poet Laureate to Young Writers: Your Work Has Value and Deserves to Be Heard.” KUT Radio, Austin’s NPR Station, 19 Nov. 2021, www.kut.org/austin/2021-11-19/austins-first-youth-poet-laureate-to-young-writers-your-work-has-value-and-deserves-to-be-heard .
Texas Poet Laureate- Lupe Mendez
How Candles Are Made
BY LUPE MENDEZ
It was hard for me but I still kept hope because I knew that my wife was by herself here.
—Jose Escobar, quoted in “Houston-Area Man Returns Home After Sudden Deportation in 2017,” Houston Public Media, July 2019
A candle is made of paraffin wax,
made of petrol, crude oil debajo
de la tierra,
donde viven los difuntos.
When I say difuntos,
I mean we come from seeds.
A candle is a spine that holds all
our bodies.
Our bodies
are pools of nothing crude.
When we pass on, we’re so full
on deseo, on wanting,
some kind person crosses
our arms for us to help carry
the things we hold on to.
We want dreams
to warm us in this deep sleep.
Our bones are the last
to melt away. A vela
is made of all of us, all of us
bones, a slick dream
in the shape of a cylinder—
a spine that gets lit. We glare,
become light, and sometimes
when you look at a vela’s tongue
on fire, you become lost
in the moment.
You place everything into a flicker.
Time is silent, that’s what a wish is.
A vela is a line lit on the nights when
you are in La Union and she, she is
here in Houston.
You are far from each other,
and your dreams fit into a wick.
It is a slow burn, and sometimes,
even when the body breaks,
the backbone doesn’t.
Light up again.
When rooms are full of shadows
there’s one candle standing,
until there are two.
And in your house, there are
finally four standing together
and that glow is up.
We watch this
in the slender wisp of smoke
building in your home.
We watch your fingers meet.
You are candle skins that spade
a yellow touch—you are
a burn of molten heart—
in a single llama
a candelabra that moves
across every line in the sand,
erasing every border
of a room, every baseboard.
Tonight,
I light a vela for you,
but you shine brighter.
Together you are always.
Stay together.
Poetry Foundation. “How Candles Are Made by Lupe Mendez.” Poetry Magazine, www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/153227/how-candles-are-made. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.
U.S. Poet Laureate- Joy Harjo
Without
The world will keep trudging through time without us
When we lift from the story contest to fly home
We will be as falling stars to those watching from the edge
Of grief and heartbreak
Maybe then we will see the design of the two-minded creature
And know why half the world fights righteously for greedy masters
And the other half is nailing it all back together
Through the smoke of cooking fires, lovers’ trysts, and endless
Human industry—
Maybe then, beloved rascal
We will find each other again in the timeless weave of breathing
We will sit under the trees in the shadow of earth sorrows
Watch hyenas drink rain, and laugh.
Poets.org - Academy of American Poets. “Without.” Academy of American Poets, poets.org/poem/without. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022.
Week #1 April 1st!
Friday, April 1st- The Future!
Dreaming Up the Future/Para Soñar el Futuro
veámonos a nosotros
twenty years from now--
mismos en veinte años--
who is now the nurse
quién es ahora la enfermera
the doctor who can heal
el doctor que pueden curar
who is now the teacher
quién es ahora la maestra
who can teach and learn
capaz de enseñar y a la vez
from students as well
apreder de sus alumnos
the actor making us laugh
el actor ques nos hace reír
the lawyer who defends
el abogado que defiende
the poor, the innocent
al pobre, al inocente
the activitist who strives
la activista que lucha
for a better world for all
por un mundo mejor
who is now the mother
quién es ahora la madre
the father who help
el padre que ayudan
a son or a daughter
a un hijo o a una hija
to stay on in school
a no dejar los estudios
the scientist, the artist
el científico, la artista
the poet, who dream up
el poeta que sueñan con dar
--in their own ways--
--cada quien a su manera--
solutions to old questions
a viejas preguntas solución
the best way for making
la mejor forma de hacer
our dreams come true
nuestros sueños realidad
is to dream on and on
es eiempre soñar y soñar
and never stop dreaming
y nunca dejar de soñar
Alarcon, Francisco, and Paula Barragan. “Poems to Dream Together/Poemas Para Sonar Juntos: Poemas Para Sonar Juntos.” Dreaming Up the Future/Para Soñar El Futuro, Bilingual, Lee and Low Books, 2005, pp. 27–28.
The Future -- Never Spoke
THE Future never spoke,
Nor will he, like the Dumb,
Reveal by sign or syllable
Of his profound To-come.
But when the news be ripe,
Presents it in the Act --
Forestalling preparation
Escape or substitute.
Indifferent to him
The Dower as the Doom,
His office but to execute
Fate's Telegram to him.
Dickinson, Emily. "The Future -- Never Spoke." The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson, by Emily Dickinson, Barnes & Noble, 1993, p. 267. Gale Literature: LitFinder, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/LTF0000172041WK/LITF?u=j227901&sid=bookmark-LITF&xid=3f8fdaaf . Accessed 25 Mar. 2022.
Poets.org
Other Resources include:
Poem in Your Pocket Day
Poetry Calendar
Dear Poet Letters Contest
Teach This Poem
(Online)Poetry & Creative Mind Event- April 28, 2022- 6:30 PM
and
Poem-a-Day
AISD Database Password List
2020-2021 School Year
Week #5 April 26th - 30th
Monday, April 26th
Primary - Catch a Little Rhyme by Eve Merriam
I caught a little rhyme
I set it on the floor
but it ran right out the door
I chased it on my bicycle
but it melted to an icicle
I scooped it up in my hat
but it turned into a cat
I caught it by the tail
but it stretched into a whale
I followed it in a boat
but it changed into a goat
When I fed it tin and paper
it became a tall skyscraper
Then it grew into a kite
and flew far out of sight...
Eve Merriam
Merriam, Eve. “Catch a Little Phyme.” The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children’s Poems, edited by Donald Hall, 1st ed., Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 64.
Secondary - A Vendor of Poems by Virginia O'Dare
A vendor of poems is a vendor of dreams,
He answers the call when the sunlight gleams;
He muses beneath the stars of the night;
Through rhythmical words he brings to light
A soul embedded in material clay,
Through which God speaks to man each day.
A vendor of poems is a vendor of gold,
He banishes care with the rhythm they hold;
He speaks with a tongue divinely inspired,
From his world of dreams he is never tired
Of bringing forth beauty in words sublime,
That never perish or change with time.
Virginia O'Dare
O'Dare, Virginia. "A Vendor of Poems." The North America Book of Verse, vol. 3, Henry Harrison, 1939, p. 24. Gale Literature: LitFinder, link.gale.com/apps/doc/LTF0000504383WK/LITF?u=j227901&sid=LITF&xid=c2b1f43e. Accessed 13 Apr. 2021.
Teacher Resources - Educator Resources
Search results in Gale's- Educator's Reference Complete will offer articles from the following educator titles: Instructor, NATE Classroom, Library Journal, and ESL Magazine. You can set up "alerts" to let you know when the latest editions become available.
Learn360 offers "The Mailbox" for PreK- 1st-grade teachers. You will find their great learning activities related to all content areas. When searched for "poetry" 6 issues came up with ideas such as Nursery Rhyme activities to poems about winter animals.
Tuesday, April 27th
Primary- Alone by Carol Diggory Shields
I'd like to find a place that's quiet.
A little space that's shaped like me.
A little space where I can be
alone.
Carol Diggory Shields
Secondary- Alone by Samantha Abeel
when we must sit alone:
A place where the birds are free to fly,
A place where the sun and its flowers bow in shadow,
A place where the fog is like a veil
and everything is protected,
A place where our souls are set free
and we are allowed to play our own song.
Samantha Abeel
Abeel, Samantha, and Charles Murphy. “Alone.” Reach for the Moon, Duluth, Minnesota, Pfeifer-Hamilton Pubs, 1994, pp. 12–13.
Teacher Resources- Austin ISD SEL Department
Available to staff only- "Self-Care Circles"- "Through a collaboration with Social Emotional Learning, the Office of Cultural Proficiency & Inclusiveness, and the Equity Office, self-care circles are a place to connect with colleagues and share our stories, so we can make meaning together during this challenging time." This Wednesday, 4/21 from 12-1 PM!
The schedule for May is Tuesday, May 4th from 4-5 PM and Wednesday, May 19th from 12-1 PM.
Register here!
Wednesday, April 28th
Primary- Deskercise by Juli Mayer
Twist your body in your chair.
Touch your nose and blink your eyes.
This is how we deskercise!
Move your feet and march in place.
Pose a sad, then happy face.
Flap your arms, it's time to fly.
This is how we deskercise!
Roll your head and finger snap.
Shrug your shoulders, clap, clap, clap.
Drum your fingers, look surprised.
This is how we deskercise!
Juli Mayer
Mayer, Juli. “Deskercise.” HOP TO IT: Poems to Get You Moving, edited by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, Pomelo Books, 2020, p. unknown.
Secondary- The Rhythm of a Workout by Derrick Jones
Roll up to the gym
I’m not here to swim
Pre-workout courses through my veins
I shout through forces and strain
I know pain equals gains
And I came to hurt
Give my muscles a good growth spurt
All the ladies are trying to flirt
But my answers remain curt
I am here to put in work
Headphones on and my focus is scary
I sift through my music library
So that I can lift legendary
I need the right kind of song
To make me feel kind of strong
To push me right along, never lead me wrong
It needs the right beats per minute
So I can fight and beat my limits
Go to greater lengths
Accomplish new feats of strength
Demolish two fleets of tanks
Rip my tank top in two
To work out harder than you
When I bench the earth starts quaking
Every muscle in my body shaking
And tomorrow there will be aching
But right now it’s exhilarating
I am manic and mindful
I am so focused it’s frightful
My methods are not intuitive
But they are ingenuitive
I gain weight
To become enlightened
I sit up just to lay back down
I slam a ball into the ground
It’s not insanity
Or disdainful vanity
It’s religiosity
It is reciprocity
I get out what I give in
This is the body I was given
The body that I must live in
That’s why I am fully driven
To maximize this perfect prison
Derrick Jones
Jones, Derrick. “The Rhythm of a Workout (Poem) - Words, Ideas, Thoughts.” Medium, 6 Nov. 2018, medium.com/words-ideas-thoughts/the-rhythm-of-a-workout-poem-2446d16cf8f4.
Teacher Resources- Health & PE
Look for "Recess/ WOW / Brain Breaks" Here you will find: examples of "Brain Breaks" and energizers to break up the time spent sitting or looking at a screen and information about "GoNoodle".
Take a look at the fun recess games- remember those games can be turned into study games for spelling, vocabulary, and more. For example- students must be able to answer a question before they can run to the next base or hit the ball. Or have them work as a team to spell the word. Lots of options.
Thursday, April 29th
Primary- Poem in Your Pocket with Emily Arrow
You can find the lyrics and sheet music here for Poem in Your Pocket.
Keep a poem in your pocket,
so when you need it,
I've got it.
I keep a poem in my pocket,
all the time.
When I need a rhyme with book,
look!
Okay, now it is your turn...
Secondary- Life's Like Poetry by singer/songwriter Merle Haggard
[Chorus]
Life's like poetry but in my poem bay
Until now there's always been a missing line
[Verse 1]
Life's too short to hide a good thing you feel
And I find the morning after the best time to determine if it's real
Baby, finding you gave my whole life reason and rhyme
[Chorus]
But life's like poetry and in my poem bay
Until now there's always been a missing line
[Verse 2]
Life's too short to think about right or wrong
And the only thing I wonder about is where you've been so long
Baby, finding you gave my whole life reason and rhyme
[Chorus]
But life's like poetry and in my poem bay
Until now there's always been a missing line
Life's like poetry but in my poem bay
Until now there's always been a missing line
Life's like poetry and in my poem bay
Until now there's always been a missing line
Merle Haggard
A little reminder that music and their lyrics are poetry too.
Menon, Marianne. “Merle Haggard ~Life’s Like Poetry~.” YouTube, uploaded by Marianne Menon, 22 Aug. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFfNYHEaWT4&feature=youtu.be.
Teacher Resources- Poem in Your Pocket
Poem in Your Pocket Day was initiated in April 2002 by the Office of the Mayor in New York City, in partnership with the city's Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education. In 2008, the Academy of American Poets took the initiative to all fifty United States, encouraging individuals around the country to participate.
Poets.org
Looking for ideas:
- Tweet your favorite poem
- Share on FB, Pinterest, Instagram
- Place a verse in your email signature
- Make business/postcards with your favorite poem and give them away to all you see
- Call a friend and share a poem
- Create a TikTok video
- #PocketPoem
Friday, April 30th
Last Poem by Steven McDaris
rejection slip as a poet to
an overnight success, he was
compared to Dylan Thomas
Bukowski, Pablo Neruda, Li
Po, Tu Fu, Ginsberg, and Corso*,
audiences and publishers asked
him how he memorized all of
His poems, he said he learned
them by heart, Quick knew he
was a fraud, a big phony, and
possibly a plagiarist*, he'd wake
Up and the poems would be in
his shoes, at first he thought he'd
written them in his sleep, so he
set up a camera to record his
Somnambulism*, he saw the cats
moving around, but he never rose
from his bed, he was baffled, Quick
only had to read the poems once
And they were recorded instantly,
he was mystified and perplexed
to the point of sheer madness, his
two cats were the only things that
Kept him sane, the nervous break-
down hit him with a full hurricane
force panic attack, he was over-
whelmed and plagued, as he was
Put struggling into a straitjacket*
and led to an ambulance, his cats
shoved one last poem in his shoe
and this is it.
Steven McDaris
*Vocabulary*
"Dylan Thomas
Bukowski, Pablo Neruda, Li
Po, Tu Fu, Ginsberg, and Corso"--- Famous Poets
plagiarist- a person who uses another person's ideas or work and pretends that it is his or her own
Somnambulism- a situation in which a person walks around while they are sleeping
straitjacket- a strong piece of special clothing that ties the arms to the body
McDaris, Steven. "The Last Poem." New Coin Poetry, vol. 51, no. 1, 2015, p. 55+. Gale Literature: LitFinder, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A429411352/LITF?u=j227901&sid=LITF&xid=0190f95e. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.
Thank you! We hope you have enjoyed the poetry this month.
Week #4 April 19th - 23rd
Monday, April 19th
Primary- A Loaf of Poetry by Naoshi Koriyama
- you mix
the dough
of experience
with
the yeast
of inspiration
and knead it well
with love
and pound it
with all your might
and then
leave it
until
it puffs out big
with its own inner force
and then
knead it again
and
shape it
into a round form
and bake it
in the oven
of your heart
Naoshi Koriyama
Learn more about the poet!
Koriyama, Naoshi. “A Loaf of Poetry by Koriyama.” Poems on Poems, www.tnellen.com/cybereng/poetry/loaf.html. Accessed 5 Apr. 2021.
“Throwback Thursday: Shyness to Eloquence - University at Albany-SUNY.” University of Albany- State University of New York, www.albany.edu/news/83396.php. Accessed 5 Apr. 2021.
Secondary- kidnap poem by Nikki Giovanni
- ever been kidnapped
by a poet
if i were a poet
i'd kidnap you
put you in my phrases and meter
you to jones beach
or maybe coney island
or maybe just to my house
lyric you in lilacs
dash you in the rain
blend into the beach
to complement my see
play the lyre for you
ode you with my love song
anything to win you
wrap you in the red Black green
show you off to mama
yeah if i were a poet i'd kid
nap you
Nikki Giovanni
Giovanni, Nikki. “Kidnap Poem by Giovanni.” Poems on Poems, www.tnellen.com/cybereng/poetry/kidnap.html. Accessed 5 Apr. 2021.
Mitchell, Mozella G. "Nikki Giovanni." Afro-American Poets Since 1955, edited by Trudier Harris-Lopez and Thadious M. Davis, Gale, 1985. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 41. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1200001236/LitRC?u=j227901&sid=LitRC&xid=8d21ef59. Accessed 5 Apr. 2021.
Teacher Resources- Language is a Virus
Haiku Madlibs
Poem Collage
Visual Poetry
Rhyming Dictionary
Text Manipulation
Text Generators
Poetry Guides
So many great tools for the poetry lover!
Tuesday, April 20th
Primary- Identity/Identidad by Julio Noboa Polanco
Let them be as flowers,
Always watered, fed, guarded, admired,
But harnessed to a pot of dirt.
I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed,
Clinging on cliffs, like an eagle
Wind-wavering above high, jagged rocks.
To have broken through the surface of stone,
To live, to feel exposed to the madness
Of the vast, eternal sky.
To be swayed by the breezes of an ancient sea,
Carrying my soul, my seed,
Beyond the mountains of time or into the abyss of the bizarre.
I'd rather be unseen, and if
Then shunned by everyone,
Than to be a pleasant-smelling flower,
Growing in clusters in the fertile valley,
Where they're praised, handled, and plucked
By greedy, human hands.
I'd rather smell of musty, green stench
Than of sweet, fragrant lilac.
If I could stand alone, strong and free,
I'd rather be a tall, ugly weed.
Identidad
Sean como flores,
siempre regado, alimentado, protegido, admirado
pero potenciado a una olla de tierra.
Yo prefiero ser un, feo malezas de altura,
aferrándose en los acantilados , como un águila
viento oscilando por encima de altas rocas dentadas.
Haber roto a través de la superficie de la piedra,
de vivir , de sentir expuesto a la locura del cielo inmenso , eterno.
Para dejarse llevar por la brisa del mar antiguo , que llevan mi alma , mi semilla , más allá de las montañas de
tiempo o en el abismo de lo extraño.
Prefiero ser invisible, y si a continuación, rechazado por todo el mundo
que ser una flor de olor agradable, que crece en racimos en el fértil valle,
donde son alabados, manejados y desplumados
por manos humanas , codiciosos.
Prefiero el olor del hedor a humedad, verde
que de dulce, lila fragante.
Si pudiera estar solo , fuerte y libre , yo prefiero ser un , feo malezas de altura.
Julio Noboa Polanco
Polanco, Julio Noboa. “Identity Packet- ‘Identity.’” San Juan Unified School District / Homepage, www.sanjuan.edu/cms/lib/CA01902727/Centricity/Domain/4026/Identity%20Packet.pdf. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.
Polanco, Julio Noboa. “Identidad.” McKinney ISD Staff Sites-, staff.mckinneyisd.net/EMS/rmay/Shared%20Documents/Identidad%20Spanish.pdf. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.
Secondary- Survival Guide by Joy Ladin
No matter how old you are,
it helps to be young
when you’re coming to life,
to be unfinished, a mysterious statement,
a journey from star to star.
So break out a box of Crayolas
and draw your family
looking uncomfortably away
from the you you’ve exchanged
for the mannequin
they named. You should
help clean up, but you’re so busy being afraid
to love or not
you're missing the fun of clothing yourself
in the embarrassment of life.
Frost your lids with midnight;
lid your heart with frost;
rub them all over, the hormones that regulate
the production of love
from karmic garbage dumps.
Turn yourself into
the real you
you can only discover
by being other.
Voila! You’re free.
Learn to love the awkward silence
you are going to be.
Joy Ladin
Biography can be found in the Gale Literature database in MackinVIA.
Poets.org - Academy of American Poets, and Joy Ladin. “Survival Guide.” Academy of American Poets, 2017, poets.org/poem/survival-guide.
"Joy Ladin." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2013. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000305443/GLS?u=j227901&sid=GLS&xid=60607df0. Accessed 7 Apr. 2021.
Teacher Resources- Austin ISD Pride Week (April 19-24)
The Week's Schedule
Monday
4/19
All Are Welcome/ Pride History
Tuesday
4/20
Local Pride & Spirit Day
Wednesday
4/21
Know Your Rights!
Thursday
4/22
Pride and You: Creative Expression
Friday
4/23
Reflection Day
Saturday
Connect and Celebrate!
Wednesday, April 21st
Primary- Paint Me by Marilyn Singer
paint me.
I have things to do
more than you.
Streets, countries, continents to see
outside of this atelier.
I cannot spare more hours.
I’m tired of this dress, these flowers.
I’m young, a girl, it’s true,
but I insist,
World, make way.
You’ve captured my expression
and the way I hold my hands.
So, dear old man, please end this
session.
Hurry up and
paint me.
Finish today!
Metropolitan The, and Lee Bennett Hopkins. World Make Way : New Poems Inspired by Art From The Metropolitan Museum. "Paint Me by Marilyn Singer". Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2018.
Metropolitan The, and Lee Bennett Hopkins. World Make Way : New Poems Inspired by Art From The Metropolitan Museum. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2018. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=1807419&site=ehost-live.
Secondary- "No Title" by Wu Ti
It takes fate for two to meet.
And partings are always heart-wrenching.
The east wind has weakened and a hundred flowers have wilted.
The silkworms of Spring will weave until the day they perish.
And every night, the candles will weep their wicks away.
And every night, the candles will weep their wicks away.
Wu Ti
Learn about the artist Chen Huan who "marries sand painting with the classical Chinese poem, Wu Ti, creating a lyrical translation from poetry to sand."
“Hooked on Huayu (Series 2): Episode 5.” Learn360, Films Media Group, 2011, learn360.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=11379&xtid=150183. Accessed 9 Apr. 2021.
**Videos from Learn360 can be embedded into BLEND; quizzes can be created, and segments snipped all within Learn360.
Teacher Resources- Ebsco eBooks
Explore the following ebooks in Ebsco.
K-8 Collection
Metropolitan The, and Lee Bennett Hopkins. World Make Way : New Poems Inspired by Art From The Metropolitan Museum. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2018. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=1807419&site=ehost-live.
Patricia Thomas. Nature’s Paintbox : A Seasonal Gallery of Art and Verse. Millbrook Press ™, 2007. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=205990&site=ehost-live.
Thursday, April 22nd
Primary- And My Heart Soars by Chief Dan George
The softness of the air,
The fragrance of the grass,
speaks to me.
The summit of the mountain,
The thunder of the sky,
The rhythm of the sea,
speaks to me.
The faintness of the stars,
The freshness of the morning,
The dew drop on the flower,
speaks to me.
The strength of fire,
The taste of salmon,
The trail of the sun,
And the life that never goes away,
They speak to me.
And my heart soars.
Chief Dan George
George, Chief Dan. “The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury.” And My Heart Soars, First Edition, 4th Printing, New York, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1999, p. 44.
Request the print title from the Professional Resource Library - Request Materials
Secondary- Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild by J.P. Grasser
Oh button, don’t go thinking we loved pianos
more than elephants, air conditioning more than air.
We loved honey, just loved it, and went into stores
to smell the sweet perfume of unworn leather shoes.
Did you know, on the coast of Africa, the Sea Rose
and Carpenter Bee used to depend on each other?
The petals only opened for the Middle C their wings
beat, so in the end, we protested with tuning forks.
You must think we hated the stars, the empty ladles,
because they conjured thirst. We didn’t. We thanked
them and called them lucky, we even bought the rights
to name them for our sweethearts. Believe it or not,
most people kept plants like pets and hired kids
like you to water them, whenever they went away.
And ice! Can you imagine? We put it in our coffee
and dumped it out at traffic lights, when it plugged up
our drinking straws. I had a dog once, a real dog,
who ate venison and golden yams from a plastic dish.
He was stubborn, but I taught him to dance and play
dead with a bucket full of chicken livers. And we danced
too, you know, at weddings and wakes, in basements
and churches, even when the war was on. Our cars
we mostly named for animals, and sometimes we drove
just to drive, to clear our heads of everything but wind.
Visit his website to read more of his poems.
Poets.org - Academy of American Poets. “Letter to My Great, Great Grandchild.” Academy of American Poets, 2020, poets.org/poem/letter-my-great-great-grandchild.
Teacher Resources- Earth Day
Looking for resources to share with your students.
EARTHDAY.ORG will have its second Earth Day Live digital event, right here. The global show begins at 12 PM Eastern Time.
"Workshops, panel discussions, and special performances will focus on Restore Our Earth™ — we’ll cover natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems." EARTHDAY.ORG
"Join us for Nat Geo’s Earth Day Eve 2021 on Wednesday, April 21, at 8:30pm EDT. Stream the virtual event here or on National Geographic’s YouTube Channel. The party continues afterwards LIVE on @NatGeo TikTok with Jayda G. #NatGeoEarthDay" NationalGeographic.com
Download a free poster from the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Italy.
EARTHDAY.ORG. “Earth Day 2021 | Restore Our EarthTM | EARTHDAY.ORG.” Earth Day, 8 Apr. 2021, www.earthday.org/earth-day-2021/?gclid=CjwKCAjwvMqDBhB8EiwA2iSmPLGlVFDRDvPLybgPc4Pl8PhYRdtgIVqru5-uXA8dnfrubdcsfI98fBoC4hMQAvD_BwE.
“Earth Day Eve 2021.” Pages, 9 Apr. 2021, www.nationalgeographic.com/pages/article/earthdayeve.
Italy, Mission. “For Earth Day 2021, Download This Free Poster.” U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Italy, 6 Apr. 2021, it.usembassy.gov/for-earth-day-2021-download-this-free-poster.
Friday, April 23rd
Primary- Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? by William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
William Shakespeare
Secondary- Not marble nor the gilded monuments (Sonnet 55) by William Shakespeare
Not marble nor the gilded monuments
Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone, besmear'd with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room,
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Arcturus, 2017. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=1699893&site=ehost-live.
Teacher Resources- National Talk Like Shakespeare Day
How will you and your students celebrate?
Join National Talk Like Shakespeare Day or have a Shakespeare Week! Check out the United Kingdom resources from the Wiliam Shakespeare Birthplace Trust for educators, families, and children.
Make sure to search for William Shakespeare in World Book, Britannica, Learn360, or in ProQuest SIRS Discoverer for more information.
“Shakespeare Week.” Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, 2021, www.shakespeare.org.uk/education/shakespeare-week.
Week #3 April 12th - 16th
Monday, April 12th
Primary- I’m Sorry That My Poem’s Late by Ted Scheu
I’m sorry that my poem’s late;
I didn’t quite anticipate
that when I went to write it down
I couldn’t find a single noun.
Then, even worse than I had feared,
I found my verbs had disappeared.
A writing nightmare coming true—
my adjectives were missing too.
I scoured the house for metaphors
and similes behind the doors.
By now, I’m sure that you have guessed
that they were missing like the rest.
And it was just a waste of time
to look for rhythms or a rhyme.
I couldn’t even find a feeling,
though I searched from floor to ceiling.
I didn’t try to understand,
but gripped my pencil in my hand,
then set aside my fear and rage
and pulled that pencil down the page.
Ted Scheu
Scheu, Ted. “Poetry Minute.” I’m Sorry That My Poem’s Late, 2021, poetryminute.org/im-sorry-that-my-poems-late-by-ted-scheu.
Secondary- UNCLAIMED TERRITORY by Louisa DeBoo
- The empty white blank page
Issuing a challenge to me
Four corners squaring off
Unknown regions to be explored...
My pen is primed and ready.
I watch endlessly, searchingly
the people, the events
passing by
Faces, quick frozen snapshots
Idle comments, left hanging
Nothing seems, nothing feels new
No whimsical rhymes, no flashes of wisdom
Reaching out to me...
nor I to them...
I retire my pen. Unused.
The empty white blank page
Shouts with shaming silence.
Four corners framing
Untouched, unclaimed territory.
DeBoo, Louisa. “Poems on Poems.” UNCLAIMED TERRITORY, 1999, www.tnellen.com/cybereng/poetry/unclaimed.html.
Teacher Resources- Writing Poetry Resources
A Special Vision from Weekly Reader is a great article that discusses the concept that writers of poetry are real observers.
ProQuest SIRS Discoverer-
- Editorial-vetted content for Grades 4-8 covering interdisciplinary curriculum areas
- Age-appropriate newspaper, magazine, book and website content
- Documents are full-text, standards-aligned, and Lexile measured
Another great article to encourage students to write poetry is from Gale Onefile Educator's Reference Complete- "Poetry inspired by poetry" from Reading Today suggests teachers use "celebrated examples" to motivate and inspire.
"This collection of more than 1,100 periodicals and 200 reports. Provides full text for titles in the ERIC database and covers multiple levels of education from preschool to college, and every educational specialty—such as technology, bilingual education, health education, and testing. It also provides insight on issues in administration, funding, and policy." Gale Onefile Educator's Reference Complete
Geller, Conrad. "A Special Vision." Writing!, Oct 2001. SIRS Discoverer, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsdiscoverer/document/2265540652?accountid=169785.
Ruurs, Margriet. "Poetry inspired by poetry." Reading Today, vol. 28, no. 1, Aug.-Sept. 2010, p. 46. Gale OneFile: Educator's Reference Complete, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A235406293/PROF?u=j227901&sid=PROF&xid=2972ef19. Accessed 31 Mar. 2021.
Tuesday, April 13th
Primary- My People by Langston Hughes
Dream-singers,
Story-tellers,
Dancers,
Loud laughers in the hands of Fate—
My People.
Dish-washers,
Elevator-boys,
Ladies’ maids,
Crap-shooters,
Cooks,
Waiters,
Jazzers,
Nurses of babies,
Loaders of ships,
Porters,
Hairdressers,
Comedians in vaudeville
And band-men in circuses—
Dream-singers all,
Story-tellers all.
Dancers—
God! What dancers!
Singers—
God! What singers!
Singers and dancers,
Dancers and laughers.
Laughers?
Yes, laughers….laughers…..laughers—
Loud-mouthed laughers in the hands of Fate.
Langston Hughes
For the text of the poem-
Poets.org - Academy of American Poets. “My People.” Academy of American Poets, 20 June 2020, poets.org/poem/my-people-0.
Request the print title from the Professional Resource Library - Request Materials
Secondary- On the Pulse of Morning by Maya Angelou
A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon,
The dinosaur, who left dried tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.
But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.
I will give you no hiding place down here.
You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.
Your mouths spilling words
Armed for slaughter.
The Rock cries out to us today, you may stand upon me,
But do not hide your face.
Across the wall of the world,
A River sings a beautiful song. It says,
Come, rest here by my side.
(Remainder of the poem can be found here and the video of the reading.)
“On the Pulse of Morning by Maya Angelou - Poems | .” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, poets.org/poem/pulse-morning.
“Raw: Maya Angelou's Poem from Clinton's 1993 Inauguration.” YouTube, CNN, 28 May 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ecWterxtq0.
Teacher Resources-
- Connect deeply with a book
- Gain new insights and understanding from the author
- Thoroughly experience the joy of reading."
Take a moment to watch and listen to the poet, Ashley Bryan read Langston Hughes' "My People".
Another great resource is the PBS.org teaching guides. Take a look at the collection of resources to share with students related to Maya Angelou's "On the Pulse of Morning".
Wednesday, April 14th
Primary- I had to slide into the plate by Jack Prelutsky
It was my only chance.
Though if I hadn't slid, then I
Would not have lost my pants.
The batter hits the ball my way,
I watch it sail aloft.
I miss the catch, it hits my head---
a softball isn't soft!
I didn't beat the throw to first,
And now my face is red.
Next time when I'm on second base,
I'll run to third instead.
Jack Prelutsky
Prelutsky, Jack, and Chris Raschka. “I Had to Slide into the Plate.” Good Sports: Rhymes about Running, Jumping, Throwing, and More, New York, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2007, pp. 19–20.
Request the print title from the Professional Resource Library - Request Materials
Secondary- IF GOD INVENTED BASEBALL by E. Ethelbert Miller
There would be no stealing
no balks, no wild pitches or intentional
walks. There would be no pitch-outs,
foul balls or errors. There would be
no one-hand catches or bean balls.
There would be no curves or sliders,
no rundowns, or warning tracks.
If God invented baseball there would
be no night games, no balls getting lost
in the sun. There would be no bunting
or swinging for the fences. There would
be no double plays or triple plays.
If God invented baseball
he would not rest on the seventh day.
Instead he would turn to us and say
“let’s play two.” He would let us bat
first while his angels danced
in the outfield.
E. Ethelbert Miller
Lyon, Karen. “The Poetic Hill- ‘IF GOD INVENTED BASEBALL.’” Hill Rag, 2 Mar. 2018, www.hillrag.com/2018/03/01/the-poetic-hill-3.
Teacher Resources- NPR.org
Listen to this interview with Kwame Alexander and Heidi Glenn and their reading of "IF GOD INVENTED BASEBALL" by E. Ethelbert Miller
Or complete a search of "poetry" for the website and you will find a treasure trove! Whether it is a week of poems being read by their poets, or learn about weekly poetry podcasts with readings of a variety of poems, or about the
"Poetry Challenge: Create A List Poem That Grapples With Rise Of Anti-Asian Racism"
Thursday, April 15th
Primary- First Days of School
Listen to a series of poems performed by students in an explanation of what Slam Poetry sounds and looks like. LeVar Burton from Reading Rainbow shares with students the basics of this performance style of poetry. Catch the performance of the following poem at 1:29 minute.
First days of school are like the beginnings of a painting, a fresh start, a new face, a blank canvas that no one's colors have touched yet.
There are new shades you've never seen before.
Brushes that look so much nicer than your own.
It may seem like you'll never fit into this class, like your colors will never mix here, but no matter what your fears are whispering in your ear, this is where you belong.
There will be spots in your painting that turn grey with age, some red with love.
Some are bright green after rolling in the grass for too long.
There is no limit to the colors you will find.
Most of them will find you, or you'll find them.
But you'll know that each of them are part of your masterpiece.
“Slam Poetry.” Learn360, Films Media Group, 2015, learn360.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=11379&xtid=150832. Accessed 2 Apr. 2021.
Secondary- Symbiosis by Douglas Ridloff
Then watch the beautiful poem, Symbiosis by Douglas Ridloff. You can learn more about ASL Slam Poetry and the poet here.
“Learn Deaf Culture, History & CODA.” Learn360, Films Media Group, 2018, learn360.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=11379&xtid=205488. Accessed 2 Apr. 2021.
“‘Symbiosis’ by Douglas Ridloff.” YouTube, uploaded by Sorenson, 4 Apr. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvgdn8WtOnM.
“Spoken Without Words: Poetry with ASL SLAM.” YouTube, uploaded by Great Big Story, 22 Mar. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmsqXwnqIw4&feature=youtu.be.
Teacher Resources- Poetry Slam Resources
From the Professional Resource Library, Catch your breath: writing poignant poetry- Author: Salas, Laura Purdie provides examples of poems and techniques.
Request the print title from the Professional Resource Library - Request Materials
Online Resources:
The Lindsay Ann Learning blog shares 12 tips for those interested in creating a Slam Poetry unite in their classroom. One such tip:
Tip #5: Analyze Slam Poetry where the blogger explains the importance of student-centered discussion around the poems. Leave the deep analysis to just a few hand-picked favorites.
The blog, Facing History and Ourselves, offers suggestions on how to explore the "Issues of Perception and Stereotyping" and "Bullying through Spoken Word Poetry."
Salas, Laura Purdie. Catch Your Breath: Writing Poignant Poetry. Capstone, 2016.
Ann, Lindsay. “12 Slam Poetry Ideas for Teachers.” Lindsay Ann Learning English Teacher Blog, 28 Oct. 2019, lindsayannlearning.com/teaching-slam-poetry.
“How to Bring Spoken Word Poetry into the Classroom.” Facing History and Ourselves, www.facinghistory.org/educator-resources/current-events/how-bring-spoken-word-poetry-classroom. Accessed 2 Apr. 2021.
Friday, April 16th
Primary- Cat Named Haiku by Mark Poulton
My favorite place to sleep
Underneath Mark's bed
Hmmm, look at this mess
Makes my litter box look clean
What's that over there?
A kingdom of dust!
I can't believe my eyes
It's magnificent
Whoops, I've been spotted.
Here comes the welcome wagon
Cute 'lil dust bunny
My nose starts twitching
Allergies start to kick up
Hold back sneeze...AH-
CHOO!
Ahhh, now that is better.
So long my fuzzy buddy
Hello, pleasant dreams
Who's waking me up?
EEK, an army of bunnies!
They sure multiply!
I have had enough
No more Mister Nice Kitty
CAT-ZILLA Attacks!
See what happens next in this animated picture book told completely with haikus.
“Cat Named Haiku.” TumbleBooks, by Mark Poulton, 2 Apr. 2021, www.tumblebooklibrary.com/404.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/Default.aspx.
Secondary- Favor of Crows by Gerald Vizenor
children under the lilacs
purple sway
garden mice
scurry over the petals
gentle rain
warm rains
way of concerts in the oaks
mockingbirds
In the introduction Favor of Crows, poet Gerald Vizenor 'The heart of haiku is a tease of nature, a concise, intuitive, and an original moment of perception,' he declares in the introduction to Favor of Crows. 'Haiku is visionary, a timely meditation and an ironic manner of creation. That sense of natural motion in a haiku scene is a wonder, the catch of impermanence in the seasons.'
Make sure to check out the companion website.
MLA 8th Edition (Modern Language Assoc.)
Gerald Vizenor. Favor of Crows : New and Collected Haiku. Wesleyan University Press, 2014.
Teacher Resources- National Haiku Day, April 17th, 2021
The mission is threefold:
1) to archive our first century of English-language haiku,
2) to expand possibilities for our second, and
3) to seek active exchange with other haiku languages and cultures around the world.
You will find lessons for each grade, testimony from teachers on how they approach teaching haikus, and access to several anthologies.
“Education Resources.” The Haiku Foundation, 1 Apr. 2021, thehaikufoundation.org/learn/the-haiku-foundation-education-wall.
Week #2 April 5th- 9th (National Library Week)
Monday, April 5th
Primary- Books by Eloise Greenfield
books on the bunk bed
books on the chair
books on the couch
And every old where
But I want more books
just can't get enough
want more books about
All kinds of stuff, like
Jackie's troubles, Raymond's joys
Rabbits, kangaroos, Girls and Boys
Mountains, valleys, Winter, spring
Campfires, vampires
Every old thing
I want to
Lie down on my bunk bed
Lean back in
my chair
Curl up on the
couch
And every old
where
And
read
more
books!
Eloise Greenfield
“Books by Eloise Greenfield.” Hip Hop Speaks to Children, Har/Com, Sourcebooks Explore, 2008, p. 28.
Request the print title from the Professional Resource Library - Request Materials
Secondary- There is No Frigate Like a Book by Emily Dickinson
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take.
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!
Emily Dickinson
Dickinson, Emily. "There is No Frigate Like a Book." Highdays and Holidays, edited by Florence Adams and Elizabeth McCarrick, E. P. Dutton, 1927, p. 257. Gale Literature: LitFinder, link.gale.com/apps/doc/LTF0000172277WK/LITF?u=j227901&sid=LITF&xid=97eb8d68. Accessed 25 Mar. 2021.
"Emily Dickinson." World Book Advanced, World Book, 2021. Online image,
www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/media?id=pc010307. Accessed 25 Mar. 2021.
Teacher Resources- National Library Week
American Library Association
Celebrations during National Library Week
- Monday, April 5: State of America's Libraries Report released, including Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books of 2020.
- Tuesday, April 6: National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.
- Wednesday, April 7: National Library Outreach Day, a day to celebrate library outreach and the dedicated library professionals who are meeting their patrons where they are.
- Thursday, April 8: Take Action for Libraries Day, a day to rally advocates to support libraries.
Tuesday, April 6th
Primary- Walter, Age Ten- Celebrating Walter Dean Myers by Kwame Alexander
I'd like to soar one day
-like Sweetwater Clifton high above the rim--
I wanna trot the globe
-grab the world in my hands and
and twirl a big ball of hope
-from corner to corner.
Yeah, Daddy-o, soon as I get me some wings
-I'm gonna name the stars
after my buddies
-put'em each in a story of their own
so we never forget
-the summers we spent
watching sweeties double Dutch
-stealing pop bottles from Mrs. Lomax
ballin' on the blacktop and
-fightin' our way home after we won.
Yeah, one day I'll stand on my stoop
-look out at all the nurses, the poets
the workers, the hustlers
-and color them my heroes
beautiful and brilliant heroes
-bouncing round here
in Harlem.
Kwame Alexander
Alexander, Kwame, et al. “Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets.” Walter, Age Ten, Illustrated, Candlewick, 2017, pp. 14–15.
Request the print title from the Professional Resource Library - Request Materials
Secondary- A Poet's Advice to Students e.e. cummings
Video of e.e. cummings reading the poem
A poet is somebody who feels, and who expresses his feeling through words.
This may sound easy. It isn’t.
A lot of people think or believe or know they feel-but that’s thinking or believing or knowing; not feeling. And poetry is feeling-not knowing or believing or thinking.
Almost anybody can learn to think or believe or know, but not a single human being can be taught to feel. Why? Because whenever you think or you believe or you know, you’re a lot of other people: but the moment you feel, you’re nobody-but-yourself.
To be nobody-but-yourself-in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else-means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
As for expressing nobody-but-yourself in words, that means working just a little harder than anybody who isn’t a poet can possibly imagine. Why? Because nothing is quite as easy as using words like somebody else. We all of us do exactly this nearly all of the time-and whenever we do it, we’re not poets.
If, at the end of your first ten or fifteen years of fighting and working and feeling, you find you’ve written one line of one poem, you’ll be very lucky indeed.
And so my advice to all young people who wish to become poets is: do something easy, like learning how to blow up the world-unless you’re not only willing, but glad, to feel and work and fight till you die.
Does this sound dismal? It isn’t.
It’s the most wonderful life on earth.
Or so I feel.
e.e. cummings
“Ee Cummings –.” The Teaching Factor, 31 Mar. 2019, theteachingfactor.wordpress.com/tag/ee-cummings.
“E.E. Cummings - A Poet’s Advice to Students (1955).” YouTube, uploaded by Frankline Alexander, 3 May 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYfhsFpMdg4&feature=youtu.be.
Teacher Resources- Dear Poet 2021
"Every National Poetry Month we present Dear Poet, a multimedia education project that invites young people in grades five through twelve to write letters in response to poems written and read by award-winning poets, including poets who serve on the Academy of American Poets Board of Chancellors and who have received our Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships.
Teachers can submit here, and students can submit here. Please submit your response(s) by April 30."
Poets.org
Wednesday, April 7th
Primary- The Arrow and the Song by Henry W. Longfellow
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air;
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long, long afterwards, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroken;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
Henry W. Longfellow
Magsamen, Susan H. The Classic Treasury of Childhood Wonders: Favorite Adventures, Stories, Poems, and Songs for Making Lasting Memories. National Geographic Society, 2010. National Geographic Kids, tinyurl.gale.com/tinyurl/DWpzA4. Accessed 25 Mar. 2021.
Secondary- Before I Leave the Stage by Alice Walker
I will sing the only song
I was meant to truly sing.
It is the song
of I AM.
Yes: I am Me
&
You.
WE ARE.
I love Us with every drop
of our blood
every atom of our cells
our waving particles
--undaunted flags of our Being--
neither here nor there.
Alice Walker
Alice Walker. The World Will Follow Joy : Turning Madness Into Flowers (New Poems). The New Press, 2013. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=563020&site=ehost-live.
Teacher Resources- Professional Development Articles and eBooks
"Poetry & Song Lyrics" article from Ebsco- explora-Educator Edition from shares ideas on how teachers can connect art, poetry, and lyrics to explore not only the words but the feelings and expressions of their imagination.
You will find professional eBooks in the Ebsco- Education eBook Collection like A Creative Approach to Teaching Rhythm and Rhyme by Andy Croft- "will provide teachers with ideas, games, examples and models that they can use in the classroom to encourage their children to become writers and readers through the practice of rhyme and rhythm." Ebsco eBooks-Education
Individual eBook titles will appear first, to find the additional digital eBooks and databases click on the gray Globe on the left-hand side titled "Databases.
West, Debi. “Poetry & Song Lyrics.” Arts & Activities, vol. 163, no. 4, May 2018, pp. 12–13. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=trh&AN=128947687&site=ehost-live.
Andy Croft. A Creative Approach to Teaching Rhythm and Rhyme. Featherstone, 2015. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=980903&site=ehost-live.
Thursday, April 8th
Primary- 1 H0P3 7H47 Y0U C4N R34D 7H15 by Kenn Nesbitt
1 H0P3 7H47 Y0U C4N R34D 7H15.
1’M PR377Y 5UR3 Y0U C4N.
17’5 7R1CKY, 4ND 1’M W0ND3R1NG
1F Y0U W1LL UND3R574ND.
1 KN0W 7H47 17’5 4 PUZZL3.
1 KN0W 17’5 K1ND 0F 70UGH.
1 H0P3 7H47 Y0U D0N’7 R1P 17 UP
4ND 5CR34M, “1’V3 H4D 3N0UGH!”
1’M 7YP1NG 7H15 7H3 0NLY W4Y
7H47 1 KN0W H0W 70D4Y.
1 H0P3 7H47 Y0U C4N F1GUR3 0U7
7H3 W0RD5 1’M 7RY1NG 70 54Y.
1F Y0U C4N R34D 7H15 M3554GE,
17 M34N5 Y0U’R3 R34LLY 5M4R7.
17 4L50 M34N5 7H47 MY
C0MPU73R’5 K3YB04RD F3LL 4P4RT.
Kenn Nesbitt
Nesbitt, Kenn. “1 H0P3 7H47 Y0U C4N R34D 7H15.” Poetry 4 Kids, 2021, www.poetry4kids.com/poems/1-h0p3-7h47-y0u-c4n-r34d-7h15.
Secondary- Long Division by Sarah Vresk
Vresk, Sarah. "Long Division." Kola, vol. 24, no. 1, 2012, p. 25+. Gale Literature: LitFinder, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A289433028/LITF?u=j227901&sid=LITF&xid=f82a5802. Accessed 25 Mar. 2021.
Teacher Resources- Gale Literature Databases (Secondary)
Gale Literature Resource Center is "is a master index to the major literature products. It combines and cross-references over 165,000 author names, including pseudonyms and variant names, and listings for over 215,000 titles into one source."
Gale LitFinder "provides access to literary works and authors throughout history and includes more than 130,000 full-text poems and 650,000+ poetry citations, as well as short stories, speeches, and plays. The database also includes secondary materials like biographies, images, and more."
Gale Literature "brings together Gale's premier literary databases in a new digital environment that allows researchers, faculty and students to search across these resources to discover and analyze content in entirely new ways."
You and your students can access these three databases through the MackinVIA tile on your portal. Choose the gray globe on the left for the databases.
Friday, April 9th
Primary- Quiet Place Tanka by Kate Coombs
I see myself
by the ocean, toes touching sand,
fingers finding a shell
at the edge of blue water.
What is your quiet place?
Kate Coombs
Tanka- a Japanese poem consisting of five lines, the first and third of which have five syllables and the other seven, making 31 syllables in all and giving a complete picture of an event or mood.
Make sure to visit the Story Hour Kit!
Latham, Irene. “Mindfulness for Kids with Kate Coombs.” Live Your Poem, 26 Mar. 2021, irenelatham.blogspot.com/2017/10/mindfulness-for-kids-with-kate-coombs.html.
Secondary- Pretty--Ugly by Abdullah Shoaib
So, don't try to convince me that
I am a very beautiful person
Because at the end of the day
I hate myself in every single way
And I'm not going to lie to myself by saying
There is beauty inside of me that matters
So, rest assured I will remind myself
That I am a worthless, terrible person
And nothing you say will make me believe
I still deserve love
Because no matter what
I am not good enough to be loved
And I am in no position to believe that
Beauty does exist within me
Because whenever I look in the mirror
I always think Am I as ugly as people say?
(Now, read bottom to top.)
Abdullah Shoaib
Dontgiveupworld, and Abdullah Shoaib. “INTROSPECTIVE POEM PRETTY UGLY - Dontgiveupworld.” Medium, 21 Nov. 2018, medium.com/@Dontgiveup/introspective-poem-pretty-ugly-74f905de0516.
Teacher Resources- Shelter in Poems
"During National Poetry Month in 2020, we asked our readers to share a poem from our Poets.org collection that helped them find courage, solace, and actionable energy, and a few words about how or why it does so. Responses arrived from across the globe, and we invite you to continue sharing poems on social media with the hashtag #ShelterInPoems or by on twitter, facebook, or instagram. The month culminated in a Shelter in Poems live event, which was free and open to the public."
Week #1- April 1st-2nd
April 1st, 2021
Primary Poem- What's A Poem by Charles Ghigna
a shout,
thoughts turned
inside out.
A laugh,
a sigh,
an echo
passing by.
A rhythm,
a rhyme,
a moment
caught in time.
A moon,
a star,
a glimpse
of who you are.
Ghigna, Charles. “‘What's A Poem.’” Poems on Poems
accessed, 24 Mar. 2021, www.tnellen.com/cybereng/poetry/whatsa.html.
Secondary Poem- What Poems Do by David Allen Radavich
Touch a nerve.
Dance the ghosts away.
Help the dam
overflow its walls.
Insult tyrants.
Pay off the dead.
Sing like the wind
after the tornado is gone.
Return the favor
of one's enemies.
Cry for the war dead.
Defy all clocks.
Take up space that's chic
and reclaim all sins.
Paint an unforgettable
common picture.
Bask in sun.
Come and live
in the bones
and walk
into the next century.
Radavich, David Allen. "What Poems Do." Review Americana: A Literary Journal, vol. 15, no. 1, Spring 2020, p. 1A. Gale Literature: LitFinder, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A633688749/LITF?u=j227901&sid=LITF&xid=c2d59629. Accessed 24 Mar. 2021.
Teacher Resources- 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month
"National Poetry Month in April is a special occasion to celebrate the importance of poets and poetry in our culture. This year, on the 25th anniversary of the celebration and in this time of uncertainty and great concern, we can rely on poems to offer wisdom, uplifting ideas, and language that prompts reflection that can help us slow down and center mentally, emotionally, spiritually. As so many are teaching and working from home, we’ve adapted these lists to help you celebrate National Poetry Month 2021 at home and in the virtual classroom." Poets.org
“30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 24 Mar. 2021, poets.org/national-poetry-month/30-ways-celebrate-national-poetry-month.
April 2nd, 2021
Primary Poem- Kindness by Amanda Burns
Kindness is a little thing that means a lot
It can easily be sought.
If only you would give it a try
To a friend passing by,
It would brighten your day
In a surprising way.
It will bring a smile to your face
In every bad case,
If you put a little kindness in its place.
A smile, a wink, or a cheerful hello
Are all ways to let your kindness show.
Kindness is a little thing that means a lot
It can easily be sought.
Burns, Amanda. "Kindness." Jack & Jill, vol. 60, no. 2, Mar. 1998, p. 22. Gale In Context: Elementary, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A20382398/ITKE?u=j227901&sid=ITKE&xid=808f2993. Accessed 24 Mar. 2021.
Secondary Poem- Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye
Watch Naomi Shihab Nye read Kindness
Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.
Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
It is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.
Poem:
Video: WisdomWaysCenter. Naomi Shihab Nye Reads "Kindness". YouTube, 18 Apr. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBYzMsUVvtQ.
Teacher Resources- How Poetry is Helping Me Through the Pandemic
She asks the following questions of you...
What poetry are you reading right now? "Do you want to instill a love of poetry into your kids and keep them entertained when Zoom class is over?" and "Are you a spoken word enthusiast?"
Read about her experience and the suggestions she provides for all poetry enthusiasts.
Peters, Brooke Bailey. “How Poetry Is Helping Me Through The Pandemic.” BOOK RIOT, 15 Feb. 2021, bookriot.com/poetry-is-helping-me-through-the-pandemic/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Riot+Rundown+021521&utm_term=Suppress_Disengage_BookRiot_TheRiotRundown.
2019-2020
WEEK #5
Thank you for a wonderful April of Poetry Appreciation!
Day #19
Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
Learn more about the two-term, (2001-2003) Poet Laureate, Billy Collins at World Book- Student.
"Collins, Billy." World Book Student, World Book, 2020,
www.worldbookonline.com/student-new/#/article/home/ar751078. Accessed 26 Apr. 2020.
Collins, Billy. “Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46712/introduction-to-poetry.
Photography of Billy Collins, By marcelo noah - https://www.flickr.com/photos/10381539@N03/3397761317/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9976555
Poetry by Pablo Neruda
in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.
I did not know what to say, my mouth
had no way
with names,
my eyes were blind,
and something started in my soul,
fever or forgotten wings,
and I made my own way,
deciphering
that fire,
and I wrote the first faint line,
faint, without substance, pure
nonsense,
pure wisdom
of someone who knows nothing,
and suddenly I saw
the heavens
unfastened
and open,
planets,
palpitating plantations,
shadow perforated,
riddled
with arrows, fire and flowers,
the winding night, the universe.
And I, infinitesimal being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke loose on the wind.
Y fue a esa edad ... llegó la poesía
en busca de mi. No sé, no sé dónde vino,
del invierno o de un río.
No se cómo ni cuando,
no eran voces, no eran
palabras, ni silencio,
pero desde una calle fui convocado
de las ramas de la noche
abruptamente de los demás,
entre fuegos violentos
o volviendo solo,
allí estaba sin rostro
y me tocó.
No sabia que decir mi boca
no tenía forma
con nombres,
mis ojos estaban ciegos
y algo comenzó en mi alma,
fiebre o alas olvidadas,
y me abrí mi propio camino
descifrando
ese fuego y escribí la primera línea débil
débil, sin sustancia, puro
disparates,
pura sabiduría
de alguien que no sabe nada
y de repente vi
los cielos
desabrochado
y abierto
planetas
plantaciónes palpitantes,
sombra perforada,
acribillado
con flechas, fuego y flores,
la noche sinuosa, el universo.
Y yo, sea infinitesimal,
borracho con el gran estrellado
vacío,
imagen, imagen de
misterio,
me sentí una parte pura
del abismo,
Me di la vuelta con las estrellas
mi corazón se desató por el viento.
Pablo Neruda, not only wrote passionate poetry, but he had a passion for life. His house. La Sebastiana, in Valparaiso, Chile sits on Hill of Happiness and is bright and open for entertaining with friends. Read the following travel article from Gale Academic One, that shares his appreciation of the city of Valparaiso.
Agosin, Marjorie, and Morales. Ruth. "A poet's house of happiness." Americas, vol. 50, no. 1, Jan.-Feb. 1998, p. 22+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A20123809/AONE?u=j227901&sid=AONE&xid=81e53071. Accessed 26 Apr. 2020.
Neruda, Pablo. Image. Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 8 Feb. 2020. school.eb.com/levels/high/assembly/view/13203. Accessed 26 Apr. 2020.
Teaching Resources
Find articles about poetry to share with students from the following student magazines: Time for Kids, Hopscotch, Junior Scholastic, Highlights for Children, and Weekly Reader with ProQuest SIRS Discoverer.
Teens will love the idea of a poetry slam or being able to read poetry out loud. Visit Poetry Out Loud for lessons in recitation, tone, and creative writing.
Day #20
The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science (Teacher's Edition): Poems for the School Year Integrating Science, Reading, and Language Arts
We have an engineer
visiting our classroom.
She shows us
how she uses her computer
to test designs:
Plan A,
Plan B,
Plan C.
She doesn't
have to build
a whole building
to see if it's better
to have six floors or seven or
eight.
She can calculate
how much steel and glass
each different plan
would need,
how much heat
it would use and lose,
how many hours
of construction time
and the cost.
She can tell us everything
about the plans, and--
click-click-click-click-click!--
with her camera
and five minutes
of cut and paste
and Photoshop,
she can put us
inside her buildings,
waving hello!
This poem may be found in the database Gale OneFile- Educator's Reference Center found on the Austin ISD Library Digital Resources on the Educator's tile.
Wong, Janet. "Computer Models." Science and Children, vol. 57, no. 7, Mar. 2020, p. 21. Gale OneFile: Educator's Reference Complete, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A618384948/PROF?u=j227901&sid=PROF&xid=ae40b4a3. Accessed 26 Apr. 2020.
The Secret of the Machines by Rudyard Kipling
(MODERN MACHINERY)
We were taken from the ore-bed and the mine,
We were melted in the furnace and the pit—
We were cast and wrought and hammered to design,
We were cut and filed and tooled and gauged to fit.
Some water, coal, and oil is all we ask,
And a thousandth of an inch to give us play:
And now, if you will set us to our task,
We will serve you four and twenty hours a day!
We can pull and haul and push and lift and drive,
We can print and plough and weave and heat and light,
We can run and race and swim and fly and dive,
We can see and hear and count and read and write!
Would you call a friend from half across the world?
If you’ll let us have his name and town and state,
You shall see and hear your crackling question hurled
Across the arch of heaven while you wait.
Has he answered? Does he need you at his side?
You can start this very evening if you choose,
And take the Western Ocean in the stride
Of seventy thousand horses and some screws!
The boat-express is waiting your command!
You will find the Mauretania at the quay,
Till her captain turns the lever ’neath his hand,
And the monstrous nine-decked city goes to sea.
Do you wish to make the mountains bare their head
And lay their new-cut forests at your feet?
Do you want to turn a river in its bed,
Or plant a barren wilderness with wheat?
Shall we pipe aloft and bring you water down
From the never-failing cisterns of the snows,
To work the mills and tramways in your town,
And irrigate your orchards as it flows?
It is easy! Give us dynamite and drills!
Watch the iron-shouldered rocks lie down and quake
As the thirsty desert-level floods and fills,
And the valley we have dammed becomes a lake.
But remember, please, the Law by which we live,
We are not built to comprehend a lie,
We can neither love nor pity nor forgive.
If you make a slip in handling us you die!
We are greater than the Peoples or the Kings—
Be humble, as you crawl beneath our rods!-
Our touch can alter all created things,
We are everything on earth—except The Gods!
Though our smoke may hide the Heavens from your eyes,
It will vanish and the stars will shine again,
Because, for all our power and weight and size,
We are nothing more than children of your brain!
You can read more about the writer, Rudyard Kipling in Gale's Literature; by reading the 1909 lecture from poet,
E. M. Forster. In this lecture, he praises and criticizes Kipling. You will also learn about how Forster views poetry.
Kipling, Rudyard. “The Secret of the Machines by Rudyard Kipling.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46786/the-secret-of-the-machines.
Lackey, Michael. "Kipling's poems." Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 30, no. 3, 2007, p. 12+. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A166241554/GLS?u=j227901&sid=GLS&xid=26fd3b8d. Accessed 26 Apr. 2020.
"British writer Rudyard Kipling." World Book Advanced, World Book, 2020. Online image,
www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/media?id=pc373424. Accessed 27 Apr. 2020.
Other Resources
ReadWriteThink from NCTE has a number of poetry lessons that incorporate Science: Earth Verse or Multipurpose Poetry: Introducing Science Concepts and Increasing Fluency.
NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at California Institute of Technology offer the classroom activity idea to create a poem from the amazing images of our solar system.
Day #21
Imagine by Juan Felipe Herrera
Transcript from video-
If I picked chamomile flowers as a child in the windy fields and whispered to their fuzzy
faces
" – if I let tadpoles swim across my hands in the wavy creek, if I jumped up high into
my papa's army truck and left our village of farm workers and waved adios to my amiguitos,
if I let the stars at night paint my blanket with milky light, with shapes of hungry birds
while I slept outside, if I helped mama feed the hopping chickens and catch the crazy turkey
in the front yard of our new village –
" – if I left and walked through the evening forest at the top of the mountain with a silvery
bucket to fetch water from the next town, if I moved to the winding city of tall bending
buildings and skipped to a new concrete school I had never seen, if I opened my classroom
wooden door not knowing how to read or speak in English, if I practiced spelling words
in English by saying them in Spanish, like, 'pen-seel,' for 'pencil' –
" – if I collected gooey and sticky ink pens because I loved how the ink flowed like
tiny rivers across soft paper, if I grabbed a handful of words I had never heard or sprinkled
them over a paragraph so I could write a magnificent story, if I stood up in a school far away
from where I lived and sang for the first time in front of class, if I started to write
a poem on a skinny paper pad after school as I walked on the white sidewalk and then
finished it when I got home –
" – if I picked up my honey-colored guitar and called out my poem day after day and turned
it into a song, if I gathered many words and many more songs with both of my hands and
let them fly over my mesa and turned them into a book of poems, if I stood up here in
front of my familia and all of you on the high steps of the Library of Congress in Washington,
D.C., and read out loud like this –
" – imagine what you could do."
Colorín Colorado. "TeachingBooks Book Reading | Imagine." <i>TeachingBooks.net,</i>:url_noproto::.
He Wanted to Live His Life Over by Robert Bly
What? You want to live your life over again?
"Well, I suppose yes, . . .That time in Great Rapids . . .
My life -- as I live it -- was a series of shynesses."
Being bolder -- what good would that do?
"I'd open my door again. I've felt abashed,
You see. Now I'd go out and say, 'All right,
I'll go with you to Alaska.' Just opening the door
from the inside would have altered me -- a little.
I'm too shy . . ." And so a bolder life
Is what you want? " We could begin now.
Just walk with me -- down to the river.
I'll pretend this boat is my life . . . I'll climb in."
Bly, Robert. “HE WANTED TO LIVE HIS LIFE OVER by Robert Bly.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=39864.
Bly, Robert, and Ray González. "Going to the Mailbox: An Interview with Robert Bly." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Jeffrey W. Hunter, vol. 325, Gale, 2012. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1100109233/LitRC?u=j227901&sid=LitRC&xid=244434c0. Accessed 27 Apr. 2020. Originally published in Bloomsbury Review, vol. 22, no. 5, Oct. 2002.
"Robert Bly." Literature Resource Center, Gale, 2020. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/RN1450000661/LitRC?u=j227901&sid=LitRC&xid=216e77b0. Accessed 27 Apr. 2020.
Other Resources
Autobiographical poem lesson with scaffolding and eight examples from T. Nellen.
Need help teaching how to write poetry? This site provides formula poems that will help point students in the right direction.
More poetic forms!
Day #22
Footfalls by Sharon Creech
Thump-thump, thump-thump
bare feet hitting the grass as I run run run in the air and like the air weaving through the trees skimming over the ground touching down thump-thump, thump-thump here and there there and here in the soft damp grass thump-thump, thump-thump knowing I could fly fly fly but letting my feet thump-thump, thump-thump touch the earth at least for now. . .
Find more of Sharon Creech's books in verse in Elementary and Middle School MackinVIA ebook collections.
“Footfalls by Sharon Creech - Poems | Academy of American Poets.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, poets.org/poem/footfalls.
Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
The first words, Pero, tú no eres fácil is a phrase I’ve heard my whole life.
When I come home with my knuckles scraped up.
Pero, tú no eres fácil, when I don't wash the dishes quickly enough or
when I forget to scrub the tub.
Pero, tú no eres fácil, sometimes it's a good thing.
When I do well on the exam or the rare time I get an award, pero,
tú no eres fácil.
When my mother's pregnancy was difficult, and it was all because of me.
Because I was turned around, and they thought that I would die, or worse,
that I would kill her.
So they held a prayer circle at church,
and even Father Sean showed up at the emergency room.
Father Sean, who held my mother's hand as she labored me into the world.
And Papi paced behind the doctor who said this was the most difficult birth she'd
been a part of.
But instead of dying, I came out wailing, wailing, waving my tiny fists.
And the first thing Papi said, the first words I ever heard, pero,
tú no eres fácil.
You sure ain't an easy one.
You will find more resources for the book, The Poet X, in the MackinVIA database- Teaching Books including lesson plans, book trailer, links to biographies of the author.
Other Novels in Verse
Keep the love of poetry all year long. Here are a few lists of novels in verse.
Preschool and Elementary books in Rhyme from PBS Kids is a wonderful collection of picture books such as: Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees, Hush! a Thai Lullaby by Minfong Ho, and Whose Toes Are Those by Jabrai Asim.
Elementary (3-5 grades)-We see Sharon Creech again with her trilogy-Love That Dog, Hate That Cat, and Moo. Other titles include: The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney, and Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie by Julie Sternberg.
Middle Grades (4-7 grades) This list includes authors such as Sharon Creech, Jacqueline Woodson, and Kwame Alexander.
Young Adult (7-12 grade) You will find a vast array of books that will evoke emotion through the short lines of poetry. The list includes: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, Saving Red by Sonya Sones, and Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Till next year!
WEEK #4
Day #14
The Classic Treasury of Childhood Wonders: Favorite Adventures, Stories, Poems, and Songs for Making Lasting Memories by Susan H. Magsamen
by Author Unknown
Animal crackers in my tea
My mother says are good for me
Father says will never do
To have a zoo inside of you.
Can be found in the Elementary and Middle School MackinVIA database- National Geographic Kids
Magsamen, Susan. "Animal Crackers in My Tea". The Classic Treasury of Childhood Wonders: Favorite Adventures, Stories, Poems, and Songs for Making Lasting Memories. National Geographic, 2010.
Dirty Beasts by Roald Dahl
"The Tummy Beast"
by Roald Dahl
One afternoon I said to mummy,
“Who is this person in my tummy?
“Who must be small and very thin
“Or how could he have gotten in?”
My mother said from where she sat,
“It isn’t nice to talk like that.”
“It’s true!” I cried. “I swear it, mummy!
“There is a person in my tummy!
“He talks to me at night in bed,
“He’s always asking to be fed,
“Throughout the day, he screams at me,
“Demanding sugar buns for tea.
“He tells me it is not a sin
“To go and raid the biscuit tin.
“I know quite well it’s awfully wrong
“To guzzle food the whole day long,
“But really I can’t help it, mummy,
“Not with this person in my tummy.”
“You horrid child!” my mother cried.
“Admit it right away, you’ve lied!”
“You’re simply trying to produce
“A silly asinine excuse!
“You are the greedy guzzling brat!
“And that is why you’re always fat!”
I tried once more, “Believe me, mummy,
“There is a person in my tummy.”
“I’ve had enough!” my mother said,
“You’d better go at once to bed!”
Just then, a nicely timed event
Delivered me from punishment.
Deep in my tummy something stirred,
And then an awful noise was heard,
A snorting grumbling grunting sound
That made my tummy jump around.
My darling mother nearly died,
“My goodness, what was that?” she cried.
At once the tummy voice came through,
It shouted, “Hey there! Listen you!
“I’m getting hungry! I want eats!
“I want lots of chocs and sweets!
“Get me half a pound of nuts!
“Look snappy or I’ll twist your guts!”
“That’s him!” I cried. “He’s in my tummy!
“So now do you believe me, mummy?”
But mummy answered nothing more,
For she had fainted on the floor.
Learn more about Roald Dahl in all levels of MackinVIA in the database- Teaching Books
Dahl, Roald. "The Tummy Beast". Dirty Beasts. Penguin Group, 1987.
Other Resources
Did you know that there are Roald Dahl's cookbooks titled, Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes and Even More Revolting Recipes or you may wish to visit this website of Brainpickings for a few of the recipes from Dahl's famous books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or James and the Giant Peach.
Or write a recipe poem with this form "Plan Your Recipe Poem" from Ebsco explora- Educator's Edition. Use the given words or create your own list for inspiration.
Day #15
Fog by Carl Sandburg
"Fog"
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Check out the picture book of the poem, "Fog" in the Elementary Collection in MackinVIA.
"THE SKETCH" HERE TITLED "FACADE" by Carl Sandburg
"Facade"
Carl SandburgTHIS FACE YOU GOT, THIS HERE FACADE YOU CARRY AROUND.
YOU NEVER PICKED IT OUT FOR YOURSELF AT ALL,
AT ALL, DID YOU?
THIS, YOUR FACADE, SOMEBODY HANDED IT TO YOU, AM I RIGHT?
SOMEBODY SAID "HERE'S YOURS, NOW GO SEE
WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH IT".
SOMEBODY SLIPPED IT TO YOU AND IT WAS LIKE A PACKAGE MARKED "NO GOODS EXCHANGED AFTER BEING TAKEN AWAY".
THIS FACE YOU GOT.
Listen to Carl Sandburg read his poetry in a 1958 interview with NBC in the Learn360 digital database in all levels MackinVIA.
“A Conversation with Carl Sandburg—From NBC's Wisdom Series.” Films Media Group, 1958, learn360.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=11470&xtid=43396. Accessed 18 Apr. 2020.
Other Resources
Day #16
America the Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates
America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet Whose stern impassion'd stress A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness
America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law.
O beautiful for heroes prov'd In liberating strife, Who more than self their country lov'd, And mercy more than life.
America! America! May God thy gold refine Till all success be nobleness, And ev'ry gain divine.
O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears.
America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea.
Read about the power of Katharine Lee Bates' words in the article,"Pilgrim Feet" in SIRS Discoverer located in all levels of MackinVIA databases.
Kowalski, Kathiann M. "Pilgrim Feet." Cobblestone, Jul 2014. sirsdiscoverer, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsdiscoverer/document/2265772682?accountid=169785.
"One Day: A Poem for Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration, January 21, 2013 by Richard Blanco
A Poem for Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration
January 21, 2013
One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores,
peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces
of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truth
across the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies.
One light, waking up rooftops, under each one, a story
told by our silent gestures moving behind windows.
My face, your face, millions of faces in morning’s mirrors,
each one yawning to life, crescendoing into our day:
pencil-yellow school buses, the rhythm of traffic lights,
fruit stands: apples, limes, and oranges arrayed like rainbows
begging our praise. Silver trucks heavy with oil or paper—
bricks or milk, teeming over highways alongside us,
on our way to clean tables, read ledgers, or save lives—
to teach geometry, or ring-up groceries as my mother did
for twenty years, so I could write this poem.
All of us as vital as the one light we move through,
the same light on blackboards with lessons for the day:
equations to solve, history to question, or atoms imagined,
the “I have a dream” we keep dreaming,
or the impossible vocabulary of sorrow that won’t explain
the empty desks of twenty children marked absent
today, and forever. Many prayers, but one light
breathing color into stained glass windows,
life into the faces of bronze statues, warmth
onto the steps of our museums and park benches
as mothers watch children slide into the day.
One ground. Our ground, rooting us to every stalk
of corn, every head of wheat sown by sweat
and hands, hands gleaning coal or planting windmills
in deserts and hilltops that keep us warm, hands
digging trenches, routing pipes and cables, hands
as worn as my father’s cutting sugarcane
so my brother and I could have books and shoes.
The dust of farms and deserts, cities and plains
mingled by one wind—our breath. Breathe. Hear it
through the day’s gorgeous din of honking cabs,
buses launching down avenues, the symphony
of footsteps, guitars, and screeching subways,
the unexpected song bird on your clothes line.
Hear: squeaky playground swings, trains whistling,
or whispers across café tables, Hear: the doors we open
for each other all day, saying: hello / shalom,
buon giorno / howdy / namaste / or buenos días
in the language my mother taught me—in every language
spoken into one wind carrying our lives
without prejudice, as these words break from my lips.
One sky: since the Appalachians and Sierras claimed
their majesty, and the Mississippi and Colorado worked
their way to the sea. Thank the work of our hands:
weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report
for the boss on time, stitching another wound
or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait,
or the last floor on the Freedom Tower
jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience.
One sky, toward which we sometimes lift our eyes
tired from work: some days guessing at the weather
of our lives, some days giving thanks for a love
that loves you back, sometimes praising a mother
who knew how to give, or forgiving a father
who couldn’t give what you wanted.
We head home: through the gloss of rain or weight
of snow, or the plum blush of dusk, but always—home,
always under one sky, our sky. And always one moon
like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop
and every window, of one country—all of us—
facing the stars
hope—a new constellation
waiting for us to map it,
waiting for us to name it—together
View the reading of the poem at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2013. Find the video in
Opposing Viewpoints from the Middle and High School MackinVIA databases.
"'One Today'." NYTimes.com Video Collection, 21 Jan. 2013. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CT316990957/OVIC?u=j227901&sid=OVIC&xid=80b992b9. Accessed 20 Apr. 2020.
Other Resources
Day #17
Write Your Own Haiku for Kids : Write Poetry in the Japanese Tradition - Easy Step-by-Step Instructions to Compose Simple Poems by Patricia Donegan,
a firefly
in the mind's darkness
--Yosa Buson (1716-1783)
quiet evening
the long sound
of the freight train fades
--Anita Virgil (American poet, 1931- )
Read more of these haikus in the database Ebsco Ebooks-K-8 in the Elementary & Middle School MackinVIA collections.
Donegan, Patricia. Write Your Own Haiku for Kids : Write Poetry in the Japanese Tradition - Easy Step-by-Step Instructions to Compose Simple Poems. Tuttle Publishing, 2018. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e860xna&AN=1731035&site=ehost-live.
Favor of Crows : New and Collected Haiku by Gerald Robert Vizenor
overnight on the terrace
bloodline stories
wooden fence
secures a private garden
scent of jasmine
Read more of these haikus in the database Ebsco Ebooks- High School in the High School MackinVIA collections.
Vizenor, Gerald Robert. Favor of Crows : New and Collected Haiku. Wesleyan University Press, 2014. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e862xna&AN=698173&site=ehost-live.
Other Resources
Younger readers will enjoy reading haikus written by other children in the Asian Celebration Haiku Art 2017, 2018, or this year's 2020. (These articles were found in Ebsco-explora-Primary in MackinVIA databases for Elementary.) Make sure to click on the pdf version on the left of the article to the beautiful artwork.)
Day #18
Night by James Stevenson
“What a day! I’m glad that’s over.”
“My kids just wouldn’t sit still.”
“Mine were yelling the whole time.”
“Maybe tomorrow will be better.”
“Hope so.”
“Good night, 74.”
“Good night, 82.”
“Good night, 71.”
“¡Qué día! Me alegro de que haya terminado.”
"Mis niños simplemente no se sentaría quietos."
“Los míos estaban gritando todo el tiempo.”
"Tal vez mañana será mejor."
" Espero que sí. "
" Buenas noches, 74."
" Buenas Noches, 82."
" Buenas noches, 71."
Stevenson, James. "Night". Candy Corn, 1999.
"School Bus/Autobús escolar" by Molly Shane
There was a new kid at school the bus driver asked I tell him the
rules
We must be quiet, not shove or push. We must sit down upon our
toosh
I gave him a tour of the bus, and showed him the hole in the floor due
to rust
That’s where Katie spilled her treat, that seat smells like Lenora’s
feet,
Don’t sit there, Billy will stare,
Come sit here with me and my pet flea, so I, I mean you, won’t be lonely.
Hay un niño nuevo en la escuela, el chofer el autobús me pidió que le
dijera las reglas
Debemos permanecer callados, no jales o empujes. tenemos que per-
manecer sentados
Le di una demostración del autobús y le enseñe el hoyo en el suelo
debido a oxidarse
Ahí es donde Katie tiro su golosina, ese asiento huele a los pies de
Lenora,
No te sientes ahí, Billy te mirara
Ven y siéntate aquí con migo y mi pulga mascota, así yo, digo tu, no estarás solo.
Molly Shane. "School Bus". Butterfly Wishes and Popsicle Dreams, 2009.
Molly Shane. "Autobús escolar". Deseos de la mariposa y sueños de paletas, 2009
Other Resources
Looking for more great poems, Children's Poetry Archive and what's even better they are read by the poet. Enjoy!
Britannica- High School has a "Pathfinder" to Poetry includes articles on poets and types of poems with links to biographies, images, and audio excerpts of famous poems.
WEEK #3
Day #9
From the Bellybutton of the Moon: and Other Summer Poems by Alarcón, Francisco X.
From the Bellybutton of the Moon: and Other Summer Poems
by Alarcón, Francisco X.
"Rainbow"
with seven
ribbons
of color
the Earth
rewards
the Sky
"Arco Iris"
con siete
listones
de colores
la Tierra
premia
al Cielo
Read this poem on MackinVIA in the Elementary collections.
Alarcón Francisco X., and Maya Christina Gonzalez. From the Bellybutton of the Moon: and Other Summer Poems. Childrens Book Press / Libros Para niños., 1984.
Selected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes
"In Time of Silver Rain"
In time of silver rain
The earth puts forth new life again,
Green grasses grow
And flowers lift their heads,
And over all the plain
The wonder spreads
Of Life,
Of Life,
Of life!
In time of silver rain
The butterflies lift silken wings
To catch a rainbow cry,
And trees put forth new leaves to sing
In joy beneath the sky
As down the roadway
Passing boys and girls
Go singing, too,
In time of silver rain When spring
And life
Are new.
Read more of Langston Hughes' poem from this book in the High School Collection in MackinVIA.
Enjoy these interpretations of Langston Hughes' poem-
Reading of the poem from the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
The musical production of the poem by Sarah Quartel and performed by The Oxford Choir.
Hughes, Langston. Selected Poems of Langston Hughes. Vintage., 2014.
Other Resources
Daily Poetry provides modern poems and poetry books for its readers. Sign up for poetry in your inbox and receive the newest poetry being published in the United States. This is a nonprofit collaboration between the Daily Poetry Foundation and George Mason University.
Rattle, a print and online magazine whose "mission is to promote the practice of poetry." The daily blog highlights a wonderful poem with an audio of the poem. The daily poems are for adults, but they do have a page for young poets to submit their best to be included in the Rattle Young Poets Anthology.
Don't forget Poets.org and the Poetryfoundation.org.
Day #10
The Action of Subtraction by Brian P. Cleary
(First stanza)
Subtraction
is an action
that will make
your total less,
Whether ice-cream scoops
or hula hoops
or inches from a dress.
Whatever
you are counting,
it will take away a part,
and leave you then
with not as much
as you had at the start.
Check out this book in the Elementary School Collection in MackinVIA.
Cleary, Brian P., and Brian Gable. The Action of Subtraction. Millbrook Press, 2006.
Real Things: an Anthology of Popular Culture in American Poetry ed. by Jim Elledge and Susan Swartwout
Real Things: an Anthology of Popular Culture in American Poetry ed. by Jim Elledge and Susan Swartwout
by Kyoko Mori
As a boy, I'd still have asked
why Jack must spend exactly
two dollars at the corner store.
Give him a coin purse is as
good an answer as five apples
and two oranges. Also: would
he bake the apples into pies
or cobblers, save the orange peel
in glass jars to spice up his
tea or cake? If his father
paints their house with Mr. Jones,
which man will take the peaks and
why? Would the raspberry beetles
swarm over wet paint? Why is
Mr. Jones slower than his
neighbor? If x equals y,
is it like putting apples into
cole slaw, the way a tomato
is really a fruit? None of my
dolls talked or grew hair. In
third grade, Satsuki and I
traded our Barbies' limbs so
mine could flex her left biceps
while hers sat cross-legged
raising one stiff arm
like a weapon. If Satsuki has
daughters, she might remember
the grasshoppers we caught,
how we cupped two hands together
into crooked globes to
hear them rattling inside like
a small motor. She would tell
her daughters: Yes, math was hard,
but not because we were girls.
Read more about the poet in the Gale Literary Sources- Kyoko Mori (1957-)
Elledge, Jim, and Susan Swartwout. Real Things: an Anthology of Popular Culture in American Poetry. Indiana University Press, 1999.
Other Resources
In Gale's Educator's Reference Center, the Instructor magazine has an article entitled, "Using Poetry to Find Math All Around Us." This article offers a variety of ways to incorporate poetry into your math class. (A tip on using Gale- use the filters on the right to narrow your search to the actual type of document that you hope to find. You can eliminate book reviews, bibliographies, or essays by choosing articles, cover article or case studies.)
From the Smithsonian Magazine, "How Math and Poetry Intersect" by Evelyn Lamb gives the reader a few ideas on numeric language and rules.
Day #11
10 Perfect Poems & Ryhmes for 4-8 year olds by Arcturus Publishing
10 Perfect Poems & Ryhmes for 4-8 year olds by
Arcturus Publishing"The Camel Hump"
The Camel’s hump is an ugly lump
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get
From having too little to do.
Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,
If we haven’t enough to do-oo-oo,
We get the hump - Cameelious hump -
The hump that is black and blue!
We climb out of bed with a frouzly head,
And a snarly-yarly voice.
We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl
At our bath and our boots and our toys;
And there ought to be a corner for me
(And I know there is one for you)
When we get the hump - Cameelious hump -
The hump that is black and blue!
The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or frowst with a book by the fire;
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And dig till you gently perspire;
And then you will find that the sun and the wind,
And the Djinn* of the Garden too,
Have lifted the hump - the horrible hump -
The hump that is black and blue! I get it as well as you-oo-oo If I haven’t enough to do-oo-oo!
We all get the hump - Cameelious hump -
Kiddies and grown-ups too!
*Djinn are supernatural creatures from Islamic mythology.
Read more from this book at Ebsco K-8 Ebooks.
Arcturus Publishing. 10 Perfect Poems & Rhymes for 4-8 Year Olds (Perfect for Bedtime & Independent Reading) (Series: Read Together for 10 Minutes a Day) (Storytime). Arcturus, 2017.
"Leisure" by William H. Davies
"Leisure" by William H. Davies
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the
boughs
And stare as long as sheep or
cows.
No time to see, when woods we
pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in
grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at
night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can
dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor time this is, full of care,
We have not time to stand and stare.
This was found in Access World News & Historical Newspapers. This poem is in the Belleville News Democrat in Belleville, Illinois on December 27, 1935. Take a moment to read about the latest New Year's Eve refreshments, the new lady's neckline, or what to do about a noisy boyfriend!
Other Resources
Looking for uplifting messages try Academy of American Poets for their "Shelter Poems". "Readers (are asked) to share a poem that helps (them) to find courage, solace, and actionable energy, and a few words about how and why it does so" (poets.org).
Check out this lesson on how to teach your students how to create their own poetry memes in Google Docs. Get your template here. (Make sure the images you are giving or letting your students use are copyright free. Find great images at Pixabay).
Day #12
Book of Nature Poetry: More than 200 Poems with Photographs That Float, Zoom, and Bloom!
Book of Nature Poetry: More than 200 Poems with Photographs That Float, Zoom, and Bloom!
"Perseverance"
by Marin Sorescu
I shall look at the grass
Till I obtain the degree
Of Doctor of Grass.
I shall look at the clouds
Till I become a Master
Of Clouds
I shall walk beside the smoke
Till out of shame
The smoke returns to the flame
Of its beginning.
I shall walk beside all things
Till all things
Come to know me.
Find National Geographic books and magazines in the databases in MackinVIA Elementary and Middle School Collections.
Lewis, J. Patrick, editor. "Perseverance". Book of Nature Poetry: More than 200 Poems with Photographs That Float, Zoom, and Bloom! National Geographic Society, 2015. National Geographic Kids, http://tinyurl.gale.com/tinyurl/CosbY7. Accessed 12 Apr. 2020.
THE GLADNESS OF NATURE by William Cullen Bryant
"THE GLADNESS OF NATURE'
by William Cullen Bryant
Is this a time to be cloudy and sad,
When our mother Nature laughs around;
When even the deep blue heavens look glad,
And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground?
There are notes of joy from the hang-bird and wren,
And the gossip of swallows through all the sky;
The ground-squirrel gayly chirps by his den,
And the wilding bee hums merrily by.
The clouds are at play in the azure space,
And their shadows at play on the bright green vale,
And here they stretch to the frolic chase,
And there they roll on the easy gale.
There's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower,
There's a titter of winds in that beechen tree,
There's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower,
And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea.
And look at the broad-faced sun, how he smiles
On the dewy earth that smiles in his ray,
On the leaping waters and gay young isles;
Ay, look, and he'll smile thy gloom away.
Read more about the poet in Gale Ebooks which can be found in the MackinVIA databases in the High School Collection.
Other Resources
You can find a series of craft books, called "Super simple..." are available in the Ebsco K-8 ebooks. Projects work with twigs, flowers, leaves, and more.
Do you want to extend the Springtime feeling from the poems?
Try a few of these activities for some outdoor time in this beautiful weather this week. A fun nature hike, color match with nature, or make a waterproof house.
It may not be Autumn, but most of these activities can be done year-round. Instead of rosemary tea, see if you can find some spring lavender in the neighborhood, birds always need a little extra love with homemade birdseed feeders, or make some simple salt dough and do a few imprints of your garden.
Day #13
"If I Had a Hammer" by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays
If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning I'd hammer in the evening All over this land I'd hammer out danger I'd hammer out a warning I'd hammer out love between My brothers and my sisters All over this land, uh If I had a bell I'd ring it in the morning I'd ring it in the evening All over this land I'd ring out danger I'd ring out a warning I'd ring out love between My brothers and my sisters All over this land, oh If I had a song I'd sing it in the morning I'd sing it in the evening All over this land I'd sing out danger I'd song of out a warning I'd sing out love between My brothers and my sisters All over this land, oh Well, I've got a hammer And I've got a bell And I've got a song to sing All over this land It's the hammer of justice It's the bell of freedom It's a song about love between My brothers and my sisters All over this land It's a hammer of justice It's a bell of freedom It's a song about love between my brothers and my sisters All over this land.
Listen to this poem in TumbleBooks in MackinVIA databases in the Elementary Collection.
Make sure to search for the title or scroll to the TumbleTunes section. Here is the song sung by the song writer, Pete Seeger from the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Yip Harburg
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
by Yip Harburg
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dream of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dream of
Dreams really do come true
Someday, I wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney top
That’s where you’ll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dare to
Oh why, oh why can’t I?
Well, I see trees of green and red roses too
I’ll watch them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Well, I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white
And the brightness of day
I like the dark
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
And also on the faces of people passing by
I see friends shaking hands saying
How do you do?
They’re really saying I, I love you
I hear babies cry and I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more then we’ll know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
World
Someday I wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney top
That’s where you’ll find me
Oh, somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dare to
Why oh, why can’t I?
The song was written by Yip Harburg for the movie, The Wizard of OZ, sung by Judy Garland. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole is probably one of the most famous artist to record this song. Read more about the author, the book, and the movie in ProQuest-SIRS Discoverer
Other Resources
The Literary Maven has a wonderful collection of poems and songs either related by the style of poetry or in the subject content. The site also gives ideas on how to implement these in your poetry unit or with other literary units.
WEEK #2
Day #4
Mother Goose Rhymes = Las rimas de Mamá Oca By: Mother Goose
Mother Goose Rhymes = Las rimas de Mamá Oca
By: Mother Goose
Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again!
Jumpeti Dumpeti
Jumpeti Dumpeti sentado en el muro
Jumpeti Dumpeti cae y se da duro
Los cabelleros y sus corceles
pegarlo no pudieron ¡ni con cordeles!
Read the entire book on MackinVia (Elementary Collections)
Hullinger, C. D. Mother Goose Rhymes = Las Rimas De Mamá Oca. Rourke Publishing, 2019. pg.2
Who really was Mother Goose?
Gale Literary Resource Center discusses the origin of the Mother Goose poems, stories, and songs. Were they written by Elizabeth Foster Goose in Boston, or???
How about trying this tongue twister from Mother Goose!?
Untwirling the twine that untwisteth between,
He twirls, with his twister, the two in a twine;
Then twice having twisted the twines of the twine,
He twitcheth, the twice he had twined, in twain.
More tongue twisters and Mother Goose poems can be found in the Gale Literature- Lit Finder.
In honor of Tomie dePaola (1934-2020), the image is from his 1985 book of Mother Goose poems.
Saltzman, Alice Benthall. "A Mother Goose Genealogy." Children's Literature Review, edited by Tom Burns, vol. 117, Gale, 2006. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420072928/LitRC?u=j227901&sid=LitRC&xid=a2ce7899. Accessed 3 Apr. 2020. Originally published in Bookbird, vol. 40, no. 2, Apr. 2002, pp. 42-46.
"Tongue Tripper." Mother Goose, Heritage Press, 1943, p. 41. Gale Literature: LitFinder, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/LTF0000484381WK/LITF?u=j227901&sid=LITF&xid=f5e97689. Accessed 3 Apr. 2020.
Mother Goose Resources
The Official Home of Mother Goose Society, the society offers suggestions on how to honor the traditions of Mother Goose.
Visit Mother Goose Club Playhouse for videos for our "littles" including "Humpty, Dumpty," "Curly Locks," or "Old King Cole."
Day #5
Because I Could Not Stop My Bike and Other Poems by Karen Jo Shapiro
"How Do I Love Ketchup? Let Me Count the Ways"
(with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning (How Do I Love Thee?")
How do I love ketchup? Let me count the ways...
I tried it first on burgers and fries,
that's all I did for many days,
until I bought more, in a larger size.
I tried it on my eggs and toast;
spaghetti, too, sure tasted nice!
I like the ketchup part the most.
I love it on my beans and rice.
I add it to all my soups and stews;
On vegetables a little spurt;
a dash on fruit, and if I choose--
I'll even have it on dessert.
Enjoy the entire book in the Elementary Collection of MackinVia.
Shapiro, Karen Jo, and Matt Faulkner. "How Do I Love Ketchup? Let Me Count the Ways". Because I Could Not Stop My Bike: and Other Poems. Charlesbridge, 2011.
Sonnets From the Portueguse by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways"
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use,
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints-- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!-- and, if God choose,
I shall love thee better after death.
An article comparing a poem written in a text or in slang with the original love poem from Elizabeth Barrett Browning to Robert Browning can be found in Ebsco's explore for High School.
“How Do I Message Thee? Lemme 123 the Wayz.” Read, vol. 54, no. 12, Feb. 2005, p. 18. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=15873188.
Love Poem Resources
Word Mover contains 5-word banks where users can move around the words to create poems, quotes, or riddles. CommonSense Media gives the app an A+ for educational value.
Poet Assistant with 4 1/2 stars from Android users, this app works offline, provides a rhyming dictionary, thesaurus, a regular dictionary, and an area to create your own love poem (all with no ads).
Your Quote helps users become better writers, provides a place to find fellow writers, and teaches writing techniques for a variety of genres. The app does contain ads and is for older users.
Day #6
Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
"Music Lesson"
I really should have studied flute,
Harmonica, or chimes.
A clarinet is nice and light,
A fiddle would be fine.
But my teacher is a brute.
He lives up seven flights of stairs.
(I wish I played the flute.)
Read about the poet in the biography, Shel Silverstein by Molly Kolpin. The biography is available in the Elementary School Collection in MackinVia.
Silverstein, Shel. "Music Lesson". Falling Up. HarperCollins, 1996.
The Magic of Mariachi by Steven P. Schneider
The Magic of Mariachi/ La Magia del Mariachi by Steven P. Schneider
"Ballet Folklórico"
She floats across the stage in love
With her partner whose sombrero
Is verde. This caballero
Huddles beside her like a dove—
Their dance my décima speaks of.
Flota a través del escenario enamorada
De su pareja cuyo sombrero
Es verde. Este caballero
Se acurruca a su lado como una paloma —
Mi décima habla de su baile.
This Jarabe of their courtship—
Light as a butterfly, she skips
With dark red ribbons in her hair
Enticing him into her lair—
Dulce miel: her soft sweet lips.
Este jarabe de su cortejo—
Ligera como una mariposa, ella salta
Con cintas rojas oscuras en su cabello
Atrayéndolo hacia su guarida—
Dulce miel: sus labios dulces y suaves.
The book is available in MackinVia's High School Collection.
Schneider, Steven P., et al. The Magic of Mariachi = La Magia Del Mariachi. Wings Press, 2016.
Shel Silverstein Resource
Day #7
Chicken Scratches: Grade a Poultry Poetry and Rooster Rhymes by Lynne Brunelle
"Watch What You Eat"
A chicken ate a packet of seeds
before she read the label.
Next day she laid a cantaloupe
upon the breakfast table.
Read the entire book in TumbleBooks located in the "Databases" section of the MackinVia Elementary Collection. (see passwords in WEEK #1)
Shannon, George, and Lynn Brunelle. "Watch What You Eat". Chicken Scratches: Grade A Poultry Poetry and Rooster Rhymes. Chronicle Books, 2010.
My Own True Name: New and Selected Poems for young adults, 1984-1999 By Pat Mora
My Own True Name: New and Selected Poems for young adults, 1984-1999 by Pat Mora
"Ode to Pizza"
Yeast pillow
sailing
through the green
oregano air, floats
down into the bubbling
rumors of tomatoes,
the gossip
of basil and bay leaves,
stretches at the red
aromatic massage,
dreams in layers
of mozzarella, the black
oval dozings of olives
humming in the sun,
dough that naps
in the glow
of laughter,
round appetite,
circular carpet
shrugging
at knives and forks,
tattles
in many tongues,
international traveler
riding red pepper cloud-currents,
cruising the seas,
rising
to grins
that pull the melted
cheese, queso, fromage, kaas, ser, keshi, ocha,
queijo, käse, panir, nailao, queixo,
formatge, brinzeu, cascaval, bú, formagio
from country
to country,
wrapping around us and
our gold floating globe.
Read the entire book in the High School Collection of MackinVia.
Mora, Pat, and Anthony Accardo. "Ode to Pizza". My Own True Name New and Selected Poems for Young Adults, 1984-1999. Pinata Books, 2013.
Resources
Teacher & Writer's Magazine- "The Taste of Home: Food-Themed Poetry with Refugee and Immigrant Students," read about a poetry writing lesson whose purpose was "to demonstrate the remarkable power of food and of poetry to reach across borders and boundaries." An inspiring article on the importance of the building of community through writing and food.
Day #8
Laughing Tomatoes and other Spring Poems/Jitomates Risuenos y Otros Poemas de Primavera by Francisco X. Alarcón
Laughing Tomatoes and other Spring Poems/Jitomates Risuenos y Otros Poemas de Primavera by Francisco X. Alarcón
"Spring"
the hills
are starting
to crack
a green smile
once again
"Primavera"
las colinas
comienzan
a sonreír
muy verdes
otra vez
Read the entire book in the Elementary Collection of MackinVIA.
Alarcón Francisco X., and Maya Christina Gonzalez. "Spring/ Primavera". Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems: Poems/Jitomates Risuenos y Otros Poemas de Primavera. Childrens Book Press/Libros Para Niños, 1997.
"Mending Wall"
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!'
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors.'
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, 'Good fences make good neighbors.'
The poem may be read in TeenBookCloud in MackinVia "Databases" section for Middle and High School Collections.
Frost, Robert. "Mending Wall". Mending Wall. TR Classics, TeenBookCloud. 2020.
Resources
Gale's Power Search provides Academic articles for teachers such as, "Nourishing the Mind All Day Long: Using Quick Poetry Bites for Integrated Teaching of All Content Areas" suggests that the love of the topic of Science will lend itself to poetry to motivate students or why not end your geography lesson with a poem about a country far, far away? Poems are bite size "appetizers."
WEEK #1
To access links, use the MackinVIA tile in the portal then choose "Databases" in the left-hand menu options.
If you have trouble logging in reference to our Database handout.
Day #1
PRIMARY- "Famous" by Naomi Shihab Nye
Here is how Naomi’s poem first appeared in her book, Words Under the Words: Selected Poems (published by Far Corner Books in 1995) or check out the ebook version in our Ebsco Ebook Collection K-8.
"Famous"
The river is famous to the fish.
The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.
The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.
I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.
Nye, Naomi Shihab, and Lisa Desimini. Famous. Wings Press, 2015.
SECONDARY- "Valentine for Ernest Mann" By Naomi Shihab Nye
Valentine for Ernest Mann
You can’t order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, “I’ll take two”
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.
Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, “Here’s my address,
write me a poem,” deserves something in reply.
So I’ll tell a secret instead:
poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.
Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn’t understand why she was crying.
“I thought they had such beautiful eyes.”
And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he re-invented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding
in the eyes of skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.
Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give us
we find poems. Check your garage, the odd sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite.
And let me know.
The poem can be found in Explora-Secondary
Nye, Naomi Shihab. "Valentine for Ernest Mann." Scholastic Scope, vol. 67, no. 4, Dec 2018, p.32. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=132996960.
RESOURCE- Young People's Laureate- Naomi Shihab Nye
Naomi Shihab Nye was chosen in July 2019 for the Young People's Poet Laureate. This two-year appointment "...to raise awareness that young people have a natural receptivity to poetry and are its most appreciative audience, especially when poems are written specifically for them." (Poetry Foundation)
Naomi Shihab Nye's work carries the voices of her cultures and those around her. Award-winning author and poet who brings real-world experiences to readers in a poetic and heartfelt style.
To read more about the Young People's Poet Laureate or to watch a video of her poem, "Famous", or to read more of her poetry visit the Poetry Foundation.
Note: Every Monday Poetry Foundation will be publishing a poetry packet for teachers and parents.
Day #2
PRIMARY- "A Blank White Page/ Una hoja en blanco" by Francisco X. Alarcón
is a meadow
after a snowfall
that a poem
hopes to cross
Una hoja en blanco
es un campo recién
cubierto de nieve
que una poema
espera cruzar
This book is available in the Elementary Campus MackinVIA accounts. (You can find a tile for MackinVIA in the AISD portal.)
Alarcón Francisco X., and Maya Christina Gonzalez. Iguanas in the Snow and Other Winter Poems = Iguanas En La Nieve y Otros Poemas De Invierno. Childrens Book Press, 2001. (pg. 27)
SECONDARY- "I Want to Write Something So Simply" by Mary Oliver
I want to write something
so simply
about love
or about pain
that even
as you are reading
you feel it
and as you read
you keep feeling it
and though it be my story
it will be common,
though it be singular
it will be known to you
so that by the end
you will think-
no, you will realize-
that it was all the while
yourself arranging the words,
that it was all the time
words that you yourself,
out of your own heart
had been saying.
Read more of Mary Oliver's poem in Gale's Literature- LitFinder
Oliver, Mary. Evidence: Poems. Beacon Press, 2009.
RESOURCE- Poetry Around the World with Access World News
Day #3
PRIMARY- "The Learning Poem" by Guy Belleranti
Brushing my teeth
And tying my shoes
Are early skills
That I learned to use.
Then came swimming
And riding a bike,
And reading books--
Yes, these I like!
I guess it is true
I'll learn as I grow.
I can't wait to learn
What I still don't know.
This poem may be found in Kids InfoBits along with articles about poets and current events.
Belleranti, Guy. "The Learning Poem." Hopscotch, vol. 19, no. 1, June-July 2007, p. 9. Kids InfoBits, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A176203482/ITKE?u=j227901&sid=ITKE&xid=86e30f39. Accessed 31 Mar. 2020.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
SECONDARY- "Words for a Better World" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters
Find recordings of each of the poems and other writings from the book, teacher's guides, and more at Teaching Books.
RESOURCE- poets.org
During the following weeks, the Professional Resource Library will provide a weekly for Elementary and Secondary with suggested teacher resources.
We hope you find a small way to take part in appreciating poetry this month! Enjoy the poets and their powerful words!