Response to Poetry Books
Love That Dog By: Sharon Creech
I saw the viewpoints of some children who may not like poetry to begin with. For example, the boy in the book had the idea that only girls wrote poetry. (p.1) He thought that a poem could be just short lines, and he is right!! (p.3) I was amazed with the So Much Depends Upon the Blue Car poem which was a life experience that meant so much to the boy. (8) It came deep down from his heart and soul. The freedom and borrowing ideas from authors of poems is scaffolding students’ genuine interest in the process of writing poems. I admired the creativity of his concrete poem “My Yellow Dog.” (p.37) This inspired me to create a concrete poem about “My Boy Ethan!!” The fact that the boy wanted Mr. Walter Dean Myers who wrote the poem “Love that Boy” to visit his class was inspiring to me that he felt such a connection to his writings. The thank you note that Jack wrote to Mr. Myers brought tears to my eyes. “Thank you a hundred million times for leaving your work and your family and your things-people-have-to-do to come visit us.”(p.82) This statement made me realize that I am can make an impact in my future students life. Right now, I may have to give up things in my life to work hard and get my degree. It will all be worth it in the end!! Jack’s poem, “My Sky” touched my warm heart.
Brown Angels By: Walter Dean Myers
I think that a collection of both a picture album and free verse poetry makes the poems more personable. I will try to compile a picture album of pictures that are dear and near to my students’ hearts. The pictures can be an inspirations for creating the word of their poems. The black and white antique pictures in this book display the unique personalities of beauty, joy, sadness, hard times, and the legacy of families. The poem “Prayer” spoke to my heart. The longing of reaching the “angels”; singing into the “skies”; my “ears gaining wisdom”; knowledge will create “beauty in my eyes.” The other poem that spoke to me strongly was, “Pride.” As I go through the aging process, I value my grandparents and the ones that have passed away. I remember the sweet and precious times that I got to spend with my Great Grandmother. I enjoy hearing my Grandparents tell stories about their lives growing up. I miss my Grandfather who passed away, but his memory lives on in my mind. I am proud of how hard they worked for me!!
All the Small Poems and Fourteen More By: Valerie Worth
My favorite poem in the book is “Soap Bubble.” (p.85) When I was a little child, I would catch a bubble on the bubble wand. The bubble’s luminescence world of swirling iridescent colors which put a mysterious sparkle in my eyes. My heart would sink when the world of colors popped away. My curious eyes wanted to see another luminous swirl of pastel colors so I blew and caught bubbles after bubbles.
This Is Just To Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness By: Joyce Sidman
First of all, I love the graphic layers of artwork. The first section includes poems of apologies. My favorite poems include: Lucky Nose, Brownies-Oops!, and It Was Quiet. Lucky Nose was a good luck poem, and the little girl looked up to the statue for encouragement and hope. Brownie-Oops! told of CHOCOLATE. The last verse was my favorite, “My head said, Oops! but my stomach said, heavenly.” (p.14) It Was Quiet is a poem about a boy who had to put his beloved dog to sleep for good. He tried to reason this act by hoping that the dog would not be in anymore pain. He also mentioned the dilemma of death being the right way or not. The responses section was next. To the Girl Who Rubs My Nose says that love and friendship is more important than worrying about a spelling test in the game of life. She wants the girl to rub her cold nose to warm it (her heart) up. Losing Einstein was a closure for the boy letting his dog go. The important thing was that the dog felt the boy’s touch and love as he fell asleep.
History of a Name
Caroline Rose Annas Hewlett
INTERESTING FACTS:
My maiden middle name “Rose” is part of my mother’s name. For example, my sister’s middle name is “Anne,” and my mother’s first name is “Rosanne.” I was named after my mother’s baby Doctor, Caroline. There is a U.S. patent for a Hibiscus plant named Caroline.
WHAT I DON’T LIKE:
My maiden last name is Annas. Back in middle school kids would call me by a horrible name if you can imagine what it was. (Think of the planet, Uranus.) I was picked on a lot for the pronunciation of my last name. When going out to eat, the hostess would call out that horrible last name so that everyone in the restaurant could hear it. Also, teachers in school would pronounce my first name as “Carolyn.” Everywhere that I tell people my last name of Hewlett, I have to spell it out for them. For example, my last name spellings have included: Hewlitt, Hewitt, and so on. Therefore, I just explain my name as, “like the PC products of Hewlett Packard.”
WHAT I LIKE:
While growing up in school, nobody had the first name of Caroline in my classes. I love that my name is unique, and that Caroline is not a common first name.
MEANINGS:
Caroline comes from the Celtic name, Carlota.
The origin is Spanish and the meaning comes from the name Charlotte. In the English language of Latin Caroline means “beautiful woman.”
My name in Italian is Carolena which means “little and womanly.”
The Scottish meaning is the feminine form of Charles: manly.
The French meaning is “song of happiness.”
FAMOUS PEOPLE IN HISTORY:
During the 18th Century, Caroline of Ansbach was the German wife of English King George II.
Lady Caroline Lamb had a famous liaison with poet Lord Byron.
Caroline Aaron starred in the movie, Edward Scissorhands in 1990.
Caroline Harrison was the first lady during the years of 1889-1892. She was the wife of Benjamin Harrison.
Royalty: Princess Caroline of Monaco served as the ceremonial first lady after her mother’s death in 1982.
Politician: Caroline Kennedy
NUMEROLOGY:
My name includes:
20 letters, the 20 letters total to 84, 8 vowels and 12 consonants.
My number is 3.
The characteristics of 3 are: “expression, verbalization, socialization, the arts, and the joy of living.
The expression/destiny for 3: “writing, speaking, singing, acting, or teaching.”
The inner dream number of 6 suggests that “I dream of guiding and fostering my friends and family.”
RESOURCES:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/PP11779.html
http://www.name-meanings.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Edward-Scissorhands-Blu-ray-Caroline-Aaron/dp/B000VDDWDI
http://www.aboutfamouspeople.com/article1071.html
http://www.who2.com/princesscaroline.html
http://www.paulsadowski.com/Numbers.asp
Writer’s Notebook: Chapter 2-”Launching the Notebook”
Aimee Buckner writes in an easy yet specifically informative information about children having the freedom to discover themselves within their writers notebook. Before reading the book, I did not see myself as a writer. After reading, I can’t wait to begin the creative writing adventure! I enjoyed reading the first two chapters of this book and gained a better confidence level as to what a “writer’s notebook” entails.
The pages of a notebook are waiting for the students use to practice writing. For example, the notebook provides a way for students to: “generate text,” “find ideas,” and “practice what they know about spelling and grammar” (p. 5).
Buckner also tells about how the classroom should be set up for the most effective classroom learning environment in beginning the process of using a writer’s notebook. For example, the center of the room is cleared of desks, and the children sit on the floor in a circle listening and participating in oral storytelling and picture books. The students share their own personal experiences as so does the teacher.
My goals as a teacher of writing include: introducing wrtiting strategies, developing writing fluency, and supporting students’ curiosity. Several components of the writing process include: creating drafts, making revisions, editing, and producing the final paper.
Organization of the notebook should be adaptable. Let the students organize their own notebooks by what is most comfortable for them. Keep it simple. The following writing strategies are included in the notebook: daily entries, finding patterns, collecting around the topic, revision strategies, and editing grammar notes(p. 14).
