Each year, I have my students craft forced association poems, where they pull together a poem that’s written about one thing…but it’s really about another. We start by thinking of places or things (usually in nature) important to us: that one lilac bush, the park we love to play at, a favorite tree. Then, weContinue reading “Slice of Life Tuesday: Write-Along”
Tag Archives: poetry
Slice of Life Tuesday: The Important Thing
I love teaching units more than once. I get do-overs! Each year, my kids teach me more about how they learn, how best to reach them. And lucky me, I don’t even have to wait until the following year! Working at two schools, with two sets of kids, I get two tries for each lesson.Continue reading “Slice of Life Tuesday: The Important Thing”
Slice of Life: So How Are You?
How are you doing,
I asked my writers to say
(Only in haiku)…
Slice of Life Tuesday: Ask Me (almost) Anything
Lately, asking me how I am will reveal…well, really any number of things, depending ontime of daywhat I ate for breakfasthow I’m feelingwhether or not there’s chocolate in the copy room stashwhich way the wind is blowingSo I thought I’d give you a slightly more helpful guide Ask me:How I like the weather latelyHow myContinue reading “Slice of Life Tuesday: Ask Me (almost) Anything”
Slice of Life: Testing, Testing
Standardized testing. It has me feeling some kind of way. I can’t be alone in this. I know we are legion, those of us wanting to teach in a way that aligns with our moral compass. We are legion, those of us in systems that say they are student-centered, that focus on the development ofContinue reading “Slice of Life: Testing, Testing”
Poetry Month Day 11: Emptying the Pockets
From April 21, 2016. I thought about writing a poem that described how I was feeling. Realized I had already written one: She told meThat someone told herTo set asideTimeEach day for aReckoning,A counting of thingsOne carries. After checking my pockets,My shoulders,My soul, I have thisListOf what I brought to school today:My tea thermosA schoolContinue reading “Poetry Month Day 11: Emptying the Pockets”
Poetry Month Day 9: Ode to Empty Nesting
There once was a mama of boysWho brought her both sorrows and joys And then one dayThey both went awayAnd sometimes she misses the noise
Poetry Month Day 8: Honey, I (should) Love*
There was that podcast the other dayabout tacky stuff.Not the tape or the glueor the stick-em-up putty,but the stuff that doesn’tdeservelove or fandom,but somehowgets us. Things I love more than a person should: boxed macaroni and cheese, singing in front of my children,plain marshmallows, new school supplies, the feeling of flossed teeth Things I loveContinue reading “Poetry Month Day 8: Honey, I (should) Love*”
Poetry Month Day 7: How I’m Doing
Eachday Imove myselfstart to finish,not quite knowing how Ihave theenergyto keep goingbut somehow I do… Ido thinkprobablyI could use sometime to just relax. Sometimes, when I’m looking for a way to post a poem for the day, I’ll look around for a poetic form I’ve been waiting to try. Today, it’s the Arun, a poemContinue reading “Poetry Month Day 7: How I’m Doing”
Poetry Month Day 5: Life as a Poet
It’s a blessingcursetolive in metaphor:to seesun pushing through clouds,a shoelace refusing to relinquish its knots,extra-long stoplights, a stubbed toe,wondering if these things carry meaning or just are what they are and wondering ifthat’s yet another metaphor Today’s quadrille was inspired by Raivenne, one of the folks who challenge me to try something new here andContinue reading “Poetry Month Day 5: Life as a Poet”
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 