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In
Esther’s last post, she pointed out a series of “re-” words related to
Kate Messner’s
Real Revision. I’ll add another: Repetition. Along with rhythm and rhyme, it’s one of the three important patterns in poetry that I discuss in
Write a Poem Step by Step. (By the way, we’re giving away an autographed copy! See below to enter for your chance to win!)
Here’s an excerpt from the book:
What do you do when you want to remember something? Do you say it to yourself again and again until you learn it? That’s using repetition. Repetition is an effective technique in poetry. It helps create a pattern in a poem. It can help us remember. It can add emphasis to a certain word or phrase. It can connect the parts of a poem to each other.
(Rahel Spilka wrote the following poem in one of my workshops many years ago. It's still one of my favorites.) Repetition ties Rahel’s poem together.
Blowing in the Wind
The tree’s branches are
blowing in the wind.
Like a cradle rocking
blowing in the wind.
It sounds like a baby crying
blowing in the wind.
The branches are swiveling
blowing in the wind.
Seems like a Mom saying,
“Shhhh!”
blowing in the wind.
Rahel Spilka, Grade 2
If your poem includes a word, a phrase, a line, or even a stanza that you want to use more than once, go ahead. Just make sure that what you repeat is important to the poem, or it can feel or sound overdone.
Have fun! Have fun! Have fun!
JoAnn Early Macken
Just in time for our back-to-school TeachingAuthors posts, which JoAnn kicked off Friday with a Book Giveaway of her WRITE A POEM STEP BY STEP, I share my THUMBS UP review of Kate Messner’s REAL REVISION (Stenhouse, 2011) – a must-read for anyone any time of the year (really!) who wants to get his or her writing right.
Personally, I’m a Big Fan of the prefix “re” – as in, back to, return to, again and again. According to my trusty online dictionary, verbs affixed with re connote restoration and repetition, a backwards motion, a withdrawal.
Think Second Chances.
Think Do-overs.
REAL REVISION makes all of the above possible, breaking down the revision process into doable, fun-even tasks, by sharing the revision strategies of a bounty of award-winning children’s book writers – Mentor Authors who truly show readers that all writing is revising.
Kirby Larson, Nora Raleigh Baskin, Jane Yolen, Kathi Appelt, Mitali Perkins, Donna Gephart, Tom Angleberger, Tanya Lee Stone, G. Neri, Rebecca Stead, just to name a few – share honest-to-goodness manuscripts and revision experiences of specific titles they’ve published in order to illustrate a key element of narrative – say, voice or characterization, setting or plot, and the writing process – maybe research, seeing the Big Picture, word choice, copyediting or brainstorming.
I’m talking REAL examples that lead to raised eyebrows and bulging eyes and all sorts of head-shaking responses.
Each Mentor Author’s offering is the stuff of a mini, personalized writer-to-writer one-on-one.
Each Mentor Author also offers a Try Out for the reader that accompanies the teaching point of each chapter– an easily-reproducible hands-on, doable, concrete exercise that underscores what’s – really – important.
The quotes that begin each chapter are delicious, too.
For instance, Lisa Schroeder’s:
“Revision is like cleaning your room because it may not be fun while you’re doing it but when you’re finished, you can stand back and see what you’ve done, and think, ‘Wow! That looks great!’”
Or Kirby Larson’s:
“Revision is like a newborn because it’s a 24/7 commitment and worth every sleepless night.”
Or Donna Gephart’s:
“Revision is like a lottery ticket because it’s a golden opportunity to make your work even better!”
Throughout REAL REVISION, Kate herself wears both her author and teacher hat, sharing her writing life, her process and the revision stories of her books. Kate happens to be a National Board-certified teacher – and – the award-winning author of such books as the E.B. White Read Aloud Award winner THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z., SUGAR AND ICE and the Marty McGuire chapter book series.
I don my two TeachingAuthor hats to sincerely thank Kate for bringing REAL REVISION’s Mentor Authors and their realistically-presented, insightful and informative revision strategies to the page in such a fun and readable instructive way.
Whether it’s back-to-school for you, and/or back-to-writing, don’t leave home without this anytime/anyonetool.
Oh, and don’t forget to enter our Book Giveaway for JoAnn Early Macken’s WRITE A POEM STEP BY STEP.
Here’s to that prefix “re” and second chances!
Esther Hershenhorn
For the first time in nearly twenty years, no one in our house is going back to school! I won’t miss packing lunches or saying goodbye every day. But I am looking forward to visiting schools myself. I love working with students and teachers in poetry presentations and writing workshops. (For program details,
see my web site.)
Many teachers and writers I’ve worked with have asked for a poetry writing plan they could follow on their own. Write a Poem Step by Step is that plan, based on the workshops I present in schools. It describes a simple, logical method of writing a poem. It includes examples written by elementary school students in my workshops. And we’re giving away an autographed copy! You can enter to win below. The giveaway is set to begin on Friday, August 7, and run through Friday, August 21.
In our neighborhood, we’ve still got time to squeeze in more summer fun before the back-to-school frenzy begins. Here’s a summertime poem from Write a Poem Step by Step.
The Beach
The waves come
and crash on shore.
Shosh, shwash, shosh, shwash
The sand is as smooth as a wooden polished floor.
The sand goes through my toes.
The day was as hot as a heating vent.
I built a sandcastle,
but the waves washed it away.
Shosh, shwash, shosh, shwash.
Sarah Ilbek, Grade 3
The line “Shosh, shwash, shosh, shwash” uses invented words that sound like waves crashing on the beach. Like many creative writers, Sarah made up words to fit her poem. I recommend using this technique sparingly and only when a reader can understand the meaning from the context.
Sarah also repeats the line “Shosh, shwash, shosh, shwash.” Watch for a Wednesday Writing Workout on using repetition in poetry next week.
Don’t forget to enter our Book Giveaway below!
Tabatha Yeatts is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at
The Opposite of Indifference. Enjoy!
JoAnn Early Macken
a Rafflecopter giveaway 
Throughout April (National Poetry Month), I'll be posting poetry-themed
Wednesday Writing Workouts. For today's workout, why not try a book spine poem?
I tried a few and could hardly stop myself. Good thing my bookshelves are somewhat limited! Do not set me loose in a library!
Curiosity
Poetry Is
Note to Self
For the Next Generation
Remember to enter to win one of five
Teaching Authors Blogiversary Book Bundles!
Details are here.
On
my own blog, I'm posting more poetry writing tips and assorted poetry treats on Fridays, including giveaways of
Write a Poem Step by Step. Be sure to stop by!
JoAnn Early Macken
We Teaching Authors are celebrating National Poetry Month by posting recordings of us reading some of own favorite poems.
Today is my turn--lucky me! I spent a few days at a writing retreat with Teaching Authors Jill Esbaum and April Halprin Wayland, who generously helped me try something I've wanted to do for a long time: read a poem in rounds.
Here's our recording of Mary Ann Hoberman's "Counting-Out Rhyme" from The Llama Who Had No Pajama.
What fun! Thank you, Jill and April!
If you're reading this post via email, you can
view the video on YouTube.
Don't forget to enter our drawing to win one of five
Teaching Authors Blogiversary Book Bundles!
The details are here.
After you enter, remember to visit me over at
my own blog, where I'm posting more poetry writing tips and assorted poetry treats on Fridays throughout April and giving away copies of
Write a Poem Step by Step. Good luck!
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at
Today's Little Ditty. Enjoy!
JoAnn Early Macken
Throughout April (National Poetry Month), I'll be posting poetry-themed
Wednesday Writing Workouts.
On
my own blog, I'll add more poetry writing tips and assorted poetry treats, including giveaways of
Write a Poem Step by Step.
Be sure to check out what the other
Teaching Authors are working on this month! April is posting
daily metaphors, and Laura is writing a
riddle haiku every day. For more Poetry Month delights, check out the list of
2014 Kidlitosphere Events on Jama Kim Rattigan's Alphabet Soup Blog. You could start reading the links above and continue for days. Just be sure to come back here on Friday for a special announcement!
For today's workout, give yourself a writing assignment. If you keep writing in the same old forms all the time, try a new one.
How about a limerick? They are silly, lighthearted, and fun. As a challenge, I decided to write one using the name of the place where I live. I first tried to rhyme with "Shorewood," but the stress is on the wrong syllable. Does anything rhyme with "Wisconsin"? I don't think so, but I didn't let that stop me!
(Note that this poem is not autobiographical. I would
never do such a thing!)
A traditional limerick typically starts out by naming a person from a place:
- There was an old man from Seville.
- There once was a girl from Cancún.
To write a limerick, read a few first to get the anapest rhythm in your head: da da DUM da da DUM da da DUM. Lines 1, 2, and 5 each have three anapests (with some variation allowed), and lines 3 and 4 each have two.
Edward Lear made limericks famous. You can read
many of his poems and see his accompanying illustrations on the Project Gutenberg site. Or look for a poetry collection in the library--most of the limericks online are vulgar!
One thing that helps is to choose a two-syllable place name with the stress on the second syllable, such as Madrid or Green Bay. Remember that you have to find two words that rhyme with the place name. Brazil might be easier to work with than Detroit. Have fun!
I'll be highlighting a whole slew of forms on this blog and
my own web site throughout the month. So after you stop here on Friday (You are stopping here on Friday, right?), visit me there for more poetry fun!
Oh, and feel free to post your limericks here--we'd love to see them!
JoAnn Early Macken
National Bullying Prevention Month
As
April and
Mary Ann have pointed out in their moving and helpful posts, October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Resources for parents, teachers, students, and communities are available at
PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.
Wednesday, October 9, is Unity Day, when people who care will wear orange to show their support. More information is on
UNITY DAY, 2013's Facebook page.
When I started exploring what to write about for this post, I began (as I often do) with a search on the
Milwaukee Public Library's web site. The subject "Bullying" brought up 53 categories of books about bullying, including Bullying in Schools, Bullying Juvenile Fiction (477 titles!), and Bullying Prevention Juvenile Literature.
Overwhelming, isn't it?
I decided to focus on one classic book,
Bootsie Barker Bites by Barbara Bottner, illustrated by Peggy Rathmann. I've always liked the satisfying way the young narrator triumphs in the end.
At first, her mother tells her she has to play with Bootsie. When the girl resists, her mother tells her she has to "learn to get along with all kinds of people."
When the poor girl "can't stand it anymore" and shouts, her mother looks surprised. (Ack. How clueless can we parents be sometimes?) The girl goes to her room to think over her response to her mother's suggestion that she tell Bootsie she doesn't want to play that game.
A light bulb flashed when I reread the book after seeing what an expert on disruptive behavior said in April's post:
- Bullies pick on people who are weaker than they are.
- You need to stand up to a bully.
- Be empathetic.
- Create clear boundaries.
In her room, the girl in
Bootsie Barker Bites invents her own creative way to handle the situation. She stands up and looks Bootsie in the eye. She's not exactly empathetic, but empathy is a lot to ask of a kid who's been tormented. She does create a clear boundary by refusing to play along with the bully's demands. What's satisfying about the conclusion is that she solves the problem for herself. I love books that inspire kids to take control when they need to. How I wish all bullied kids could find one book or person or piece of advice that would empower them to stand up for themselves. I hope these resources help.
Book Giveaway
Enter by October 9!
Check out the details in
April's September 27 post for the
Teaching Authors Book Giveaway, featuring
The Kite That Bridged Two Nations by Alexis O'Neill.
Birthday Sale
Besides being Unity Day and the last day of the Book Giveaway, October 9 is my birthday—mine and my twin sister Judy's, that is. I'm celebrating with a Birthday Sale: Order
Write a Poem Step by Step from
Lulu.com through Wednesday and save 20%! Here's a poem from the book, written by a third grader in one of my poetry workshops. This is what today looks and sounds like in Wisconsin.
Thunderstorm
Wet.
A big flash of light and a BOOM!
Drip drop drip drop.
Dark.
Melanie Gilmore, Grade 3
Poetry Friday
Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is at
Dori Reads. Enjoy!
JoAnn Early Macken
It's the start of a new school year here in the United States. Many students have been back to school for several weeks already, and almost all will have returned by the end of this week. Below, I share about a writing challenge some of you, our readers, may be interested in. But first, I want to announce our own new beginning here on the TeachingAuthors' blog. Jeanne Marie posted a few weeks ago that she's stepping away from blogging with us for awhile. We will miss her unique perspective as a working writer and teacher who is also the mother of young children. We hope that she'll be able to rejoin us again in the not-to-distant future. Meanwhile, we're happy to welcome back JoAnn Early Macken!
If you're a new reader here, you may not know that JoAnn was one of the founding
TeachingAuthors. She is the author of the nonfiction book,
Write a Poem Step by Step (Earlybird Press). Her most recent picture books are
Baby Says, “Moo!” (Disney-Hyperion),
Waiting Out the Storm (Candlewick Press), and
Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move (Holiday House). JoAnn's poems have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies, and she has also written more than 125 nonfiction books for young readers. If you'd like to know more about how JoAnn became a
TeachingAuthor,
check out this blog post. You can also read more about JoAnn
on her website.
With JoAnn's return, we're modifying the posting schedule a bit. JoAnn will return to her former Friday posting spot, which will allow her to participate in Poetry Friday. And Jill will take over Jeanne Marie's Monday spot. We hope you enjoy our new rotation!
Now, for a "new beginning" opportunity for you, our readers: Today I discovered that award-winning author
Laurie Halse Anderson has shifted her annual
Write Fifteen Minutes a Day (WFMAD) challenge from August to September. If you've slacked off in your writing over the summer, or you've been in a slump and you'd like some help getting back into a writing routine, I recommend you join the challenge. You can work on a project of your choosing, or write responses to one of two prompts Anderson provides each day. She also provides bits of inspiration each day. In today's post,
Your Abundance of Time, she shares a link to an interesting article about why we allow the Internet to absorb so much of our valuable time.
But wait! Before you head off to write your fifteen minutes for today,
be sure to enter for a chance to win a copy of Lisa Morlock's terrific rhyming picture book, Track that Scat! (Sleeping Bear Press).
Happy Writing!
Carmela
Congratulations to Jan Godown Annino, whose entry was chosen by the Random Number Generator to win an autographed copy of Write a Poem Step by Step!
Thanks to all your helpful suggestions, I'm adding a number of books to my Must Read list. Here are the titles contributed in the Book Giveaway entries:
Wild About Words said, "The book that influenced my writing was STORY by Robert McKee -- really helped with story structure and character arcs."
Robyn Hood Black said, "One of my favorites . . . now is Georgia Heard's AWAKENING THE HEART."
Joyce Ray said, "I also love poemcrazy by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge."
moonduster said, "The Artist's Way was required reading for a class of mine in college and it was wonderful at helping me embrace my creativity."
jan godown annino said, "In addition to poem crazy, which I shared last year with my poetry critique group, I am grateful for several titles. One I'd like to be bold & mention is THE CREATIVE HABIT by Twyla Tharpe. This choreographer & dancer of great stature provides us a lively guide that I try to reread every year. When she talks about collecting her posse, it makes sense for children's literature folks to especially note that this group of her advisors included Maurice Sendak. Her tips lift me up."
Linda said, "Another book I still refer back to is Lee Bennett Hopkins' Pass the Poetry, Please."
skanny17 said, "One of a number of books that influenced my teaching of writing was Write from the Start by Donald Graves and Virginia Stuart. (An oldie but a goodie.) After that all of Nancie Atwell's work and Lucy Calkins's early works such as The Art of Teaching Writing and Living Between the Lines were very helpful. Georgia Heard's books also were a big influence. Naming the World: A year of poems and lessons by Atwell is very helpful for teachers."
Karen said, "One book that influenced my writing is Seeing the Blue Between: Advice and Inspiration for Young Poets by Paul B. Janeczko."
Lisa said, "The book I love to use for teaching about using one's unconscious mind when writing is Writing the Natural Way" by Gabriele Rico."
Thanks again to all who entered--I'm glad to see so much support for writing and teaching poetry! And thanks again to the Teaching Authors for inviting me here for the Write a Poem Step by Step Book Giveaway and guest post!
JoAnn Early Macken
TeachingAuthors Schedule
The TeachingAuthors will be taking a winter break until January 2,
2013. They'll return with a special announcement regarding the blog in
2013.
Happy holidays, everyone!
I used to be a regular contributor here at
TeachingAuthors, but
now I am a guest. In
my last post, I explained my difficult decision to
step away from the blog because of an overwhelming workload. Now my busiest
teaching semester ever is coming to a close, and I have a new book to celebrate.
Hooray!
Write a Poem Step by Step: A Simple, Logical Plan You
Can Follow to Write Your Own Poems evolved from the poetry workshops I’ve been
presenting in schools for the past fifteen years or so. Poems written by
students in my workshops illustrate each step in the process. I’m delighted
that the TeachingAuthors have invited me back to tell you about it and to give away
an autographed copy.
I used to be a regular contributor here at TeachingAuthors, but
now I am a guest. As soon as I wrote that sentence, I remembered one of my earliest inspirations for helping students write poetry. Anyone familiar with Kenneth
Koch’s classic Wishes, Lies, and Dreams: Teaching Children to Write
Poetry will probably recognize the form of the “I Used to Be/But Now I’m” poem
that he used as a structure for student poems. When I started working with
elementary school students, I pored over that book and his Rose, Where
Did You Get That Red? Teaching Great Poetry to Children. What I took away from Wishes,
Lies, and Dreams is underlined in my tattered copy: “Children have a natural
talent for writing poetry and anyone who teaches them should know that. Teaching
really is not the right word for what takes place: it is more like permitting
the children to discover something they already have.”
A Celebration of Bees: Helping Children to Write Poetry by
Barbara Juster Esbensen was an even bigger influence on my developing
teaching/helping techniques. I took her words to heart: “If any one word can
stand for the essence of creating a climate, an atmosphere that allows the
creative impulse to grow and flourish, I think it would be the word accepting. Every child needs to feel that you respect and accept what he or she is
trying to do.” I also latched onto her
practice of asking questions to draw out children’s own ideas.
For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry by
Georgia Heard convinced me of another important aspect of my approach. “Poems
come from something deeply felt; it’s essential for student poets to be able to
choose their own topics according to what’s important to them.”
With those concepts in mind, I’ve developed and fine-tuned
my own approach to working with student poets over the years. What I wanted from the
start was a method students could follow all the way through the process of
writing a poem. I didn't want to give them a form to fill in; I wanted them to find their own way, step by step. That process is at the core of Write a Poem Step by Step.
The results in workshops have been amazing: students do have
original ideas, extensive vocabularies, and creative ways of expressing
themselves. Here’s an example from a long-ago series of visits with one class
for which I received the Barbara Juster Esbensen 2000 Poetry Teaching Award:
My Imagination
My mind plays tricks on me
in the dark.
An invisible man
in my closet
is wearing my jacket and shoes.
Miguel Rowell-Ortiz, Grade 3
Write a Poem Step by Step is available now from
Lulu,
amazon,
Barnes & Noble, and bookstores. You can read more about it on
my web site. Enter the Book Giveaway for a chance to win an autographed copy!
Book Giveaway!
For a chance to win an autographed copy of
Write a Poem Step by Step: A Simple, Logical Plan You
Can Follow to Write Your Own Poems, tell us about a book that influenced your own teaching or writing
.
To enter our drawing, you must follow the
TeachingAuthors blog. If
you’re not already a follower, you can sign up now in the sidebar to
subscribe to our posts via email, Google Friend Connect, or Facebook
Network blogs.
You may enter the contest one of two ways: 1) by
posting a comment below OR 2) by sending an email to teachingauthors
[at] gmail [dot] com with "Book Giveaway" in the subject line.
Whichever
way you enter, you MUST give us your first and last name AND tell us
how you follow us (via email, Google Friend Connect, or Facebook Network
blogs). If you enter via a comment, you MUST include a valid email
address (formatted this way: youremail [at] gmail [dot] com) in your
comment.
This contest is open only to residents of the United States.
Incomplete entries will be discarded. The entry deadline is 11 p.m. (CST)
Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. I'll announce the winner on Wednesday, Dec. 19.
Good luck!
It's
Poetry Friday! Today's Roundup is at
READ, WRITE, HOWL.
JoAnn, my birthday is Oct. 12th-we libras have to stick together! I love the idea of this picture book for bullies-so many are written for older children, but this can work for younger readers very well. Thanks for telling about it! And Happy Birthday week!
Thank you for sharing this title. I am in the process of collecting picture book titles related to bullying for a course I'd be teaching in January. Will definitely add this one to my list.
Mary Ann's post reminded me that this is National Anti-Bullying month. I sponsor a leadership group at our school, so I introduced the idea to them on Friday using videos from Pacer's site. Some great resources there. Some of them expressed interest in reading to younger students. I was planning to use Kate Messner's Sea Monster and the Bossy Fish.
Love the precious Thunderstorm poem. Heading over to Lulu now. Thanks!
This sounds like a great book, JoAnn. And I enjoyed the thunderstorm poem.
My husband's birthday is October 9 as well, so I guess we'll be celebrating with you! Loved Melanie's Thunderstorm poem, BTW.
I must be having computer issues--all these comments just showed up--on Monday afternoon! (And I was afraid no one read my post--whew!)I'm so glad the info was helpful!
Thanks for the birthday wishes! Linda, happy birthday to you, too, and to Michelle's husband!