Approaches to Writing

I have been reading and writing ever since I was a little girl. I always had a diary, wrote notes to friends, and began epic novels on my old Macintosh Classic. I have struggled with helping students discover their voice in their writing and am hoping to learn more this term. I liked the energy from class on Monday, it seemed to be a buzz with good work and dedicated writers. In all of my classes we always talk about how much we teach literacy, but never give students a chance to read or write in class. I liked that we did just that, we discussed, wrote, discussed, and began developing new ideas for our drafts. Friends have been telling me for the last several years that I should write a book and maybe this class will help motivate me enough to actively find time and energy to write my book! Here's to a class full of exploring the art and craft of writing, metacognitive viewing of writing, and real strategies for the classroom.

Final Reflection

I can't believe this semester is almost over (I guess I should since it is already Thanksgiving)! I have enjoyed being immersed by so many children's books. I don't always have time to sit down and read quality literature for young kids and this class gave me that chance. I also had a chance to evaluate illustrations and their connections to text--I never realized that most authors and illustrators don't work in tandem. I guess I thought they worked together bringing their stories to life. There were lots of interesting books at the library that I couldn't possibly hope to have discovered a fraction of the great picture books out there.

Having focus weeks on certain genres and types of picture books was a good chance to read outside my normal selections. I don't often read poetry anymore, so being reconnected with Shel Silverstein and other poets was fun. I was also able to revisit several of my childhood favorite authors and their newer books--James Howe and Roald Dahl in particular.

Having the blog was a great idea because being an educator is often secluded, so being able to share great books made me feel more connected to other educators. Seeing selections from other students in the class also helped expose me to new books to read! One of my favorite things about this blog was when an author thanked me for writing a nice review for her book--it was a real reminder that people actually read what you write on these things.

Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat edited by Nikki Giowanni

This poetry collection has a huge list of famous influential authors. Starting with Hip Hop's stars, poems by Common, Young MC, Tupac, Mos Def, Kanye West, Queen Latifah, and Lauren Hill were included. Many of these are artists our young students are familiar with--songs and poetry share so much in common.

I have long thought that using modern hip hop lyrics would be a great way to reach reluctant readers. As I am not an avid hip hop listener, I appreciate the editing Nikki Giovanni did in creating such a eclectic mix. Paired with a CD, several of the poems are read aloud by their authors, giving students another way to experience the genre.

Once readers have been lured in by the hip hop artists' work, real poetic talent can be explored by reading Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Some of these poems can be hard to read as they deal with difficult subjects ranging from race relations to MLK's I Have A Dream Speech.

I was pleasantly surprised how many different styles and text difficulty were included. The poems range from very short to quite long and complex. Illustrations are included with each selection and add to the book's meaning and beauty. Colorful illustrations paired with rich text, make this a very enjoyable read. This would be a great book for using as a read-aloud or paired reading. Reading the poems aloud would be fun for the kids and the natural beats of the lines would be expressed.

I have to admit I laughed out-loud when I came across Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang. Such a silly song as this would be hilarious to listen to in an elementary classroom, read by young poets.

Dirt On My Shirt by Jeff Foxworthy

I know, I know Jeff Foxworthy as a poet? I am not a redneck, but have always thought his good natured jabs were well intended and funny. I saw that he had written a book of poetry and was pleasantly surprised to find it pretty good.

I enjoyed the quick, sharp stanzas about various humerous topics close to his own childhood experiences. The watercolor pictures went along with the text wonderfully and helped increase meaning. The words used were simple, but the rhyming made them enjoyable. The light tone of these poems would be appealing to many readers, but probably best for beginning readers as the vocabulary isn't very intense.

I think my favorite poem was entitled Snakes Alive! It talks about a boy seeing a snake out in the backyard and sending his dad out to look. Dad didn't find it and the boy concluded that he hadn't looked that hard (I wouldn't either). The watercolor illustration on that page was a fun addition.

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

I have heard the name Sharon Creech many times, but had never read an entire book by her. This was definitely a quick read--I think it took maybe 15 minutes. I think the concept is neat because it has a very stream-of-consciousness quality to it.

In my mind as I was reading, I could hear the voice a little boy who didn't want to write poetry. The various entries echo sentiments of a lot of the reactions young writers have to creating poetry. I like that this book shows how different poetry can be from what we might be familiar with. Not all poetry has to rhyme and that can be hard to get across to kids.

This book chronicles how poetry is conceived by this young boy Jack. He seems to be an ordinary boy who is asking why and talking about the love he had for his dog Sky. As he became more comfortable about his words actually being real poetry, he was able to express more and make the writing more detailed.

I think it would be great to have a favorite author come to the classroom, maybe a local poet would be more likely to be available. For kids to see the poet and interact would be a great, authentic experience they would likely remember. I can remember the writer/singer Doug Wood coming to our Earth Day celebration at school when I was in elementary school--only I was sick that day and couldn't meet him. I was heartbroken because we had sang so many of his songs and I had been so excited! Even after all of these years, I still remember the Minnesota Mosquito author visiting my school.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

I have loved this poetry book for years! The story is heartwarming and really makes one think. I grew up reading lots of Shel Silverstein poetry books as his quirky style and illustrations were hilarious. The short, easy to read aloud poems made me laugh and like poetry. Unfortunately, I have forgotten about these books along the years and didn't remember how great they can be. I recently reread The Giving Tree and was quickly reminded of how poetry can touch your heart.

The story is about a boy and his tree. Much like we are with our parents, the boy asks for lots of things that the tree dutifully provides until there is nothing left. The relationship between the boy and tree is often one-sided as the boy only seems to remember his tree friend when he needed something.

I think this poem is a comment on our sometimes overzealous need to obtain more things instead of cultivating our personal relationships. As an educator, we are often lax in introducing children to poetry because of fears that it will be shunned by boys and hard to understand for all. Silverstein finds a way around this problem and gives a story complete with wit and introspection in poetry format.

The Story Goes On by Aileen Fisher

This is a beautiful and charming poetry picture book. The text was easy and fun to read. The story takes a reader through the life cyle--starting with a seed on the title page. The seed continues to leaf-bug-frog-snake-hawk-farmer-fox-crowes-sextons-and back to the soil. There is an interesting progression through this life cycle that is beautifully portrayed by the text rhymes and illustrations. The text would be easy for beginning poetry readers to read and understand. The sing-song quality would lend itself well to choral reading.

I loved the illustrations--by Mique Moriuchi, who is from Japan and lives in England. I think these living experiences molded well to create an illustrating style that is pleasing to the eye and multi-layored. There is a child-like quality to the illustrations and a lot to look at. I noticed that images were painted on newspaper and then cut out into a collage format. The colors were fresh and alive (green was the major color used). Almost every page had green as a main color except the one page totally void of green--the hunter shooting the hawk. I liked the format of text dancing around the page, often helping create the illustrations through positioning and colors (as rain drops and rays of sun).

I think kids would like reading about this content area subject in a poem format more than a simple textbook paragraph. This style of presenting the information is pleasing and informative. I would definitely use this book for a unit on life cycles--it can reach a variety of learners through the poetry, illustrations, and simple storyline.