SNAP!
My eyes
flew open
like a windowshade
pulled up too quickly
But outside my two windows
nothing could be seen
in the heavy
darkness
"Did you hear that?"
a whisper
from my husband
slides towards me
As I gave
an invisible nod
the sound repeated
ghosting through the night
A moose call
echoing deeply
up and down
the riverbank
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
WRITING PROMPT: What We Learn From
Richard Peck said (Saturday in his keynote address to the Workshop Reunion Folks from Teacher's College, Columbia Univ.) that "we learn the most from the experiences we would have avoided if we could have."
Well said. What a great writing prompt THAT statement is! Make a list of all the experiences you've had that you wish you could have avoided... then make another list of what you've learned from these experiences. If you haven't learned anything yet, then maybe it's time to take stock.
Let me know if you try this prompt & how it works for you by leaving a comment!
Well said. What a great writing prompt THAT statement is! Make a list of all the experiences you've had that you wish you could have avoided... then make another list of what you've learned from these experiences. If you haven't learned anything yet, then maybe it's time to take stock.
Let me know if you try this prompt & how it works for you by leaving a comment!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
WonderWriter: In Color!
I'm still laughing about this picture a student drew... and THANKFULLY I found out that she put the grammar error in on PURPOSE to be funny! Phew! Just when I was thinking, "What AM I teaching these kids!?"
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Irony of Being A SuperHero
Sometimes superheroes aren't all that super... heck, in my superhero persona, apparently I can't even speak proper English!!!!
It all started when~~~~~ the kids in my 7th grade classes made a nickname for one of the science teachers - to protect the innocent, let's just call her, Mrs. Smith. So the kids decided she'd be SUPER-SMITH! They made her a poster and a t-shirt cape with a Superman like logo on it... I thought this was tremendously funny. I was talking with the students about how my husband and I are fans of comic book superheros and story lines, shows, etc. (not like Trekkie fans or anything, just we enjoy the ideas and characters). So one girl was like, "I'm going to make you a superhero name, too!
We bantered back and forth for a few days about what my superhero teacher name might be... but in the end, WriterWoman won. During a free time today, the student made and subsequently (one of our transition vocab words!) presented me with an oversized construction paper poster of me as a superhero action figure. There I was, the English teacher, weapon of destruction (a red pen) in hand with my fluttering cape trailing behind me: Writer Woman!
The irony: I'm chasing after a student with my pen and a speech bubble coming out of my mouth saying:
Now... while it's true there's a certain amount of "bringing kids to justice" with regards to assigning detentions fo no homework, I certainly hope that in my quest for justice, my superhero alter ego would have a handle on being grammatically correct!
So, kids, next time you see a caped crusader charging down the halls of your school with a pen dripping red, I hope the catch phase you remember is:
It all started when~~~~~ the kids in my 7th grade classes made a nickname for one of the science teachers - to protect the innocent, let's just call her, Mrs. Smith. So the kids decided she'd be SUPER-SMITH! They made her a poster and a t-shirt cape with a Superman like logo on it... I thought this was tremendously funny. I was talking with the students about how my husband and I are fans of comic book superheros and story lines, shows, etc. (not like Trekkie fans or anything, just we enjoy the ideas and characters). So one girl was like, "I'm going to make you a superhero name, too!
We bantered back and forth for a few days about what my superhero teacher name might be... but in the end, WriterWoman won. During a free time today, the student made and subsequently (one of our transition vocab words!) presented me with an oversized construction paper poster of me as a superhero action figure. There I was, the English teacher, weapon of destruction (a red pen) in hand with my fluttering cape trailing behind me: Writer Woman!
The irony: I'm chasing after a student with my pen and a speech bubble coming out of my mouth saying:
"You should of did your homework!"
Now... while it's true there's a certain amount of "bringing kids to justice" with regards to assigning detentions fo no homework, I certainly hope that in my quest for justice, my superhero alter ego would have a handle on being grammatically correct!
So, kids, next time you see a caped crusader charging down the halls of your school with a pen dripping red, I hope the catch phase you remember is:
"You should have DONE your homework!"
Oh the irony of it all, that an English teacher superhero would have a grammatical error on her debut comic strip!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
InspireMeThursday Prompt: Bamboo
Bamboo
Roots gripping the earth close,
Tracing a fine, black artwork
Bamboo shoots skyward.
This past week's prompt, "Bamboo," led me to think of the oldest, and perhaps most "organic" (choosing the definition of "fundamental" here) forms of poetry - the haiku.
Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry based not on rhyme, but on syllable count. In Japan, the three line poem has a syllable count of 5-7-5. However, English translations from the Japanese don't have the exact same number of syllables, so it has been argued that haiku written in English can have a few extra syllables to make up for the fact that Japanese language is concise. I personally agree with this, however, I find it challenging to TRY to make my English haiku fit the original Japanese rules.
Haiku are usually written on a subject that has to do with the natural world. Hence, I chose the haiku to write about bamboo.
Roots gripping the earth close,
Tracing a fine, black artwork
Bamboo shoots skyward.
This past week's prompt, "Bamboo," led me to think of the oldest, and perhaps most "organic" (choosing the definition of "fundamental" here) forms of poetry - the haiku.
Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry based not on rhyme, but on syllable count. In Japan, the three line poem has a syllable count of 5-7-5. However, English translations from the Japanese don't have the exact same number of syllables, so it has been argued that haiku written in English can have a few extra syllables to make up for the fact that Japanese language is concise. I personally agree with this, however, I find it challenging to TRY to make my English haiku fit the original Japanese rules.
Haiku are usually written on a subject that has to do with the natural world. Hence, I chose the haiku to write about bamboo.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Rediscovering Magnetic Poetry
I knew this site was there, but I'd forgotten how much fun it can be.
Here's the random poem I created using online magnetic poetry - I could spent HOURS doing this!
smile
..............young wild yesterday
you vast web of sacred secrets
words would perhaps prisoner time
but we are born breathless
our questions
..........................perfume
...........................................this
...................................................universe
Here's the random poem I created using online magnetic poetry - I could spent HOURS doing this!
smile
..............young wild yesterday
you vast web of sacred secrets
words would perhaps prisoner time
but we are born breathless
our questions
..........................perfume
...........................................this
...................................................universe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
