Senryu similar to a Haiku

Janeczko, Paul B.  and J. Patrick Lewis. 2006. Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku. New York:  Little, Brown and Company.

Poetry Break:

Begin by having students brainstorm things they think are fun as well as negative things that can happen when having fun.  ex:  going to the beach and getting a sunburn

After there is a list, read the poem to the class.

Paul B. Janeczko and J. Patrick Lewis

Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku

Irksome mosquito,

kindly sing your evening song

in my brother's ear.

Sluggish squirrel lurches

across the busy highway

to the other si--

On Ferris wheel

I regret French fries, milk shake--

those below agree

O warm summer night

I awake to rude music:

cat coughing up hair ball

Reread the poem a second time, then take volunteers to read a stanza at a time orally to the class.  As a follow up activity, students can write their own poem using ironic events in their life and share them with the class. 

Senryu is a three line  Japanese poem structurally similar to haiku. It is unrhymed and the subject is based on human nature. It is usually satirical or ironic. 

*line 1 - 5 syllables

*line 2 - 7 syllables

*line 3 - 5 syllables

Information provided by: http://members.optushome.com.au/poetry.senryu.html

Non-Rhyming Poem

Mora, Pat. My Own True Name: New and Selected Poems for Young Adults, 1984-1999. Pinata Books. Houston, Texas. 2000.  ISBN: 9781558852921.

Introduction:

Have a poinsettia plant in the front of the room as well as books about poinsettias for students to see when they enter the room.

Ask if anyone knows the name of the plants and what time of year we typically see those plants.

Make a large copy of Poinsettia by Pat Mora and have it placed so all students can see the poem.

Read the poem aloud:

Poinsettia

      by Pat Mora

You grew green and ignored 

wild in the rocky hills of Mexico

a common weed.

A brown-eyed boy

with no Christmas gift for the Virgin

picked you

though he wanted to blaze her shrine

with gold or silver or stars.

He carried you inside a dark adobe church

set you before a flickering candle

cried in shame at his poor offering.

That tear

stained your green leaves red.

Reread the poem asking students to close their eyes and visualize what they are hearing in the poem.  A nice touch would be to dim the lights while reading the poem if you have a Christmas tree for decoration, reading the poem by the lights on the tree might add an ambiance.

Extension:  Discuss the Christmas story and the various parts of the poem and how it relates to the Christmas story.  

As a follow up activity read the Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie DePaola.  Have a class discussion on what the poem and book have in common.

A Pocketful of Poems by Nikki Grimes

Grimes, Nikki. A Pocketful of Poems. Ill. Javaka Steptoe. Clarion Books, New York,  NY. 2001.

A Pocketful of Poems by Nikki Grimes is a fun, energetic, selection of poems all written by Ms. Grimes. The poems cover a variety of topics, the first is about the name "Tiana" and the book continues with the feel that "Tiana" is writing the rest of the poems.  Each poem is short, some have rhyming words, but not all do. 

Each poem has its own strength and contributes to the collection and the overall book in a positive way.  A variety of moods and feelings are elicited from the poems, some are silly, funny, some are just about things everyone experiences, like being "Hot" and needing a drink of water in the night. Other poems are about miscillaneous things such as pigeons and pumpkins.   One clever tough to the collection is that each poem has a "sub-poem" either on the page or the page next to the actual poem.  These bonus poems add a little extra to the poem and make the reader ponder both a little longer. 

The illustrations by Javaka Steptoe are in a 3-D type form, and compliment each poem. The illustrations are "busy" and have quite a bit to each one, but they are a good match for the whimsical theme of the poems.

I feel this poetry book would be a great addition to any library, public or school. It is lively and fun and demonstrates how poems can be written by by taking a word and putting "life" into it. This book could be used for a writing lesson or just for the fun of reading it out loud. 

Poetry Break using The Penguin by Douglas Florian

The Penguin  by Douglas Florian

Introduction:

Have books about Penguins sitting around the room where students can see the covers.  Choose books that have large pictures of penguins on them.  On sentence strips or the white board list some facts about Penguins.  I think a fun bonus would be to dress in black and white and wear a toboggan on your head.  Write the Poem on a large sheet of paper or transparency.

The Penguin

by Douglas Florian

A penguin isn't thin--it's fat.

It has penguinsulation.

And it toboggans through the snow

On penguinter vacation.

The penguin's a penguinsome bird

Of black-and-white fine feathers.

And it will huddle with its friends

In cold, penguindy weather.

Let the poem sink it for a second, then reread it to the students.  Ask students to come to the copy of the poem and point to the words that are not "real" words. Discuss what those words are indicating and why they are funny.

Read the poem again, ask students to read along with you.  If possible, allow students time to look at the penguin books you have around the room. 

This poem could be used as a spring-board to a lesson on winter, snow,  or penguins. Or of course, just for a poetry break.

Florian, Douglas. Zoo's Who. Harcourt Publishing, New York, NY. 2005.

Module 2 NCTE Award Poet: David McCord

HOW TO SAY A LONG, HARD WORD

David McCord

Introduction:

Have  a variety of long, hard words appropriate for the age and grade level you teach written on sentence strips. Have them taped on the door as students walk in to the library, for older students have more of the sentence strips with words taped around the room, and even on the floor.  Allow students a few minutes to glance around the room and look at the words, encourage them to try and say them.

Have the poem written on a transparency or large sheet of paper so the students are able to see it.  Read the poem out loud.

HOW TO LEARN TO SAY A LONG, HARD WORD

David McCord

5.

Limicoline, an adjective, describes

some shore birds, like sandpipers--little tribes

that trot along the curvy line of foam

when tides are running out or coming home.

They skip, you know, like tiny clockwork toys

whose legs crisscross, crisscross, but make no noise.

Limicoline means "living in the mud,"

not in the earth like a turnip, beet, or spud:

lim-

Mick-

a-line.

There's something fresh and clean

about the sound of it. See what I mean?

Extension:

Reread the poem a second time. Ask students to say the word "limicoline" out loud as a group. Say the word a few times. 

Read the poem again, ask student to repeat the words "limicoline" when you read it in the poem. Add in movements to go with the words of the poem:  

trot: have students trot in place

curvy line: make a curvy line with your finger

skip: skip in place

tiny clockwork: move arms like arms on a clock

crisscross: crisscross legs while standing

Next, have students work in small groups to try and figure out the pronunciation of the words on the sentence strips. (provide a handout with a list of all the words)

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Wonderful Words Poems about Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening.  Illustrations by Karen Barbour. Simon & Schuster. 2004.

HONEY, I LOVE and other love poems

HONEY, I LOVE and other love poems

by Eloise Greenfield

pictures by Diane and Leo Dillon

Introduction: Make a copy of the poem on a large sheet of paper and hang it up in a location all students can see.  Read the poem orally.

Fun

by Eloise Greenfield

The pedal on our school piano squeaks

And one day Miss Allen stopped playing (read with sadness in your voice)

And we stopped singing   (continued sadness, hanging your head)

And Mr. Cobb came with the skinny, silver can (use a hopeful, happy, voice)

And gave it a long, greasy drink

And the next day when we got ready to sing (read each line with mounting excitement)

Miss Allen smiled

and blinked her eyes

and plinked her piano

and pushed the pedal

And the pedal said

SQUEEEEEEEEAK!

And we laughed    (laugh out loud)

But Miss Allen didn't (read in a more serious voice)

[From: Honey, I Love and other love poems   by Eloise Greenfield, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1978]

Pause to let the children think about the poem for a minute, then reread it again with similar emphasis as the first reading.

Hold up a copy of the book and show it to the class. Open to the page "Fun" is on and read the poem one more time, this time from the book.  This time ask the students to recite any of the lines they remember with you. 

Also, ask the students to laugh out loud along with the part of the poem that says, "and we all laughed".

Extension: Use the poem to begin a discussion with the students about events that have happened in their classrooms or even at home that they found  "fun", but their teachers or parents did not. Help them brainstorm, if possible write some of the things they share on a large sheet of paper.

As a class write your own version of a "Fun" poem.  

As a spin-off activity for older students, have them write their own poem and present it to the class.

America At War

 Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2008.  America At War.  New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. 

This anthology of poems about war is moving and brings out various emotions as you read through the poems.  The anthology has poems about war beginning with The American Revolution and goes all the way to the current war in Iraq.  The poems are written in different voices, a few of those are soldiers, parents, and siblings.   While reading the anthology I felt a range of emotions and feelings, and the illustrations that accompany the poem enhances the mood and emotions each poem brings out.

The poems are a variety of types, and each poem touches on a different sense.  This anthology includes both new poets as well as older and deceased poets. Each poem contributes to the book and the essence of War.  Although none of the poems have a happy tone, their are some that make you smile or have a slightly happier tone than others.

This book could be used in a history classroom as a teaching tool or an enhancement to a larger lesson. At the beginning of each section is historical facts about the war, the dates and how many soldiers were lost and injured from the US.  Not only do the poems make you think about history and what wars have cost ours and other countries, but it also teaches you about each war in a deeper level.  

Personally, I feel this anthology is a must have for all middle school and high school libraries. It would be a great resource for history teachers, students who are interested in history, as well as students or teachers who just like poetry. It would also be a must have for all public libraries.

Poetry Break Module 1

Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees:

School Poems

Edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa

HarperCollins, 2008

Introduction:  Use this book of poems for the first meeting/library orientation with grades K-2.  Begin by reading the poem "Library" by J. Patrick Lewis using a happy, excited voice,  then end by reading the final word with a louder voice. (With a large smile on your face, of course.)  Write the poem on a large sheet of paper and have it hanging on a wall or something similar.

Library

by J. Patrick Lewis

Come right in, (motion with hand as if asking someone to come in)

Look around (motioning around the library with one hand)

At all the treasures

That are bound

To make you glad  (point at the smile on my face)

For a week or two (hold up 2 fingers, nodding at students)

Until your treasure's

Overdue.  (heavy emphasis on this word)

Reread the poem a second time to the students, this time without any gestures or movements. Just let them hear and enjoy the words this time.

After reading the poem, introduce yourself and your library aids/assistants. Ask students to raise their hands if they have been to the library before. Then move into explaining about the library, policies etc. 

Read the poem a 3rd time, this time from the book,  as students are lining up ready to leave, ask them to join in and say the poem with you.

[Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees School Poems.  I Can Read!. Lee Bennett Hopkins. New York: Harper Collings, 2008.]