A7  Time Capsule

After a rainy start to our day we had a very productive afternoon. Because the playground was still wet we had to have indoor recess in the afternoon. I love hearing the buzz of our busy first graders during indoor recess. From working on their number scroll to making cards for their friends and family everyone manages to keep themselves busy. I took a fun panorama of what indoor recess in our room looks like.

After recess we created our class time capsule. We’ve been study classrooms from the past, and I thought a nice way to end the unit would be to create something that will help classrooms in the future learn from us. Each student filled in an information sheet so everyone felt that they had contributed.

I gathered materials from around the room and several students also brought in items to add. After we filled our time capsule (an old chlorine buck from my parent’s garage) we discussed when the time capsule should be opened. After MANY suggestions we decided to wait until 2024, the year this class will graduate high school. While I didn't end up burying the time capsule, hopefully someday someone will learn something about what 1^st graders were like in 2013.

Back to School, Back to Poetry

I am excited to get back to school tomorrow after a relaxing week. Tomorrow in poetry we will be starting our 6 word memoir project. I can’t wait to see the poems our class creates tomorrow. Over break I did some research on other elementary classes who did this project and found some great examples to show the class, here are a few examples.

6 Word Memoir Examples

While some of the above examples are little advanced for 1st grade I think it will be a fine place to start. Specifically we are going to start by writing 6 word memoirs about spring. I think once the students gain confidence in the structure of the poem they will run with this project.

Spring Break Fun Day #8

Jack Perlutsky is another one of my favorite poets. Read his poem “Beezer’s Ice Cream” and make up your own silly ice cream flavor! Feel free to share your flavor in the comment section so we can all see what crazy flavors you have come up with!

Bleezer's Ice Cream

I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
there are flavors in my freezer
you have never seen before,
twenty-eight divine creations
too delicious to resist,
why not do yourself a favor,
try the flavors on my list:

COCOA MOCHA MACARONI
TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY
CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW
CHICKEN CHERRY HONEYDEW
TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO
TUNA TACO BAKED POTATO
LOBSTER LITCHI LIMA BEAN
MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN
ALMOND HAM MERINGUE SALAMI
YAM ANCHOVY PRUNE PASTRAMI
SASSAFRAS SOUVLAKI HASH
SUKIYAKI SUCCOTASH
BUTTER BRICKLE PEPPER PICKLE
POMEGRANATE PUMPERNICKEL
PEACH PIMENTO PIZZA PLUM
PEANUT PUMPKIN BUBBLEGUM
BROCCOLI BANANA BLUSTER
CHOCOLATE CHOP SUEY CLUSTER
AVOCADO BRUSSELS SPROUT
PERIWINKLE SAUERKRAUT
COTTON CANDY CARROT CUSTARD
CAULIFLOWER COLA MUSTARD
ONION DUMPLING DOUBLE DIP
TURNIP TRUFFLE TRIPLE FLIP
GARLIC GUMBO GRAVY GUAVA
LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA
ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET
WATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT

I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
taste a flavor from my freezer,
you will surely ask for more.

Feel free to share your peom below in the comments section so I can see what great work you're doing!

 

 

Spring Break Fun Day #7

Color poems are another fun easy way to create poetry. Here are few different templates you can use to create your own color poem.

Brown

Brown is a chocolate cake and a chocolate Labrador
Brown is a chocolate milkshake.
Boxes are Brown
Brown is a feeling on a winter day,
It's mud, it's a turkey
a cow, Cocoa Puffs and a dirty pig.

Color Poem Templates:

Have you heard the sound of (color)?
(List three things that your color reminds you of)
-
-
-
That's the sound of (your color).

----------OR-----------
Have you heard the sound of (color)?
If not, then,
Can you hear the (something your color reminds you of)?
Can you hear the (something your color reminds you of)?
Can you hear the (something your color reminds you of)?
If you can,
You have heard the sound of (your color).


Feel free to share your peom below in the comments section so I can see what great work you're doing!

Spring Break Fun Day #6

Sometimes just listening to a good poetry reading can really brighten your day. I have a few poems that are personal favorites of mine that I think anyone could fall in love with after listening to them read by the poet who wrote it. When we return from break we will continue writing poetry but also start learning about performing poetry. Watch and enjoy!

On this site, Kenn Nesbitt has several poems preformed via podcasts.

http://www.poetry4kids.com/blog/category/podcast/

Spring Break Fun Day #5

This is one poem everyone can write. Why? Because it's so easy and so much fun. All you have to do is to make a list of your favorite excuses/complaints you make every time you’re ask to “____________”

Children

-Clean your room

 -Do your homework

-Eat your dinner

Parents list might look like this…

-Clean up the house

-Pay the bills

-Make the dinner

Whatever poses a constant battle in your house can magically turn into poetry, add just the right title and ending and voila! You've written a terrific list poem.

Here's how it might turn out:

I Can't Write a Poem

Forget it.
You must be kidding.
I'm still half asleep.
My eyes keep closing.
My brain isn't working.
I don't have a pencil.
I don't have any paper.
My desk is wobbly.
I don't know what to write about.
And besides, I don't even know how to write a poem.
I've got a headache. I need to see the nurse.
Time's up? Uh oh!
All I have is this dumb list of excuses.
You like it? Really? No kidding.
Thanks a lot. Would you like to see another one?

Feel free to share your poem below in the comments section so I can see what great work you're doing!

Spring Break Fun Day #4

April is Poetry Month! Today I thought we would celebrate with acrostic poems. They are often explained by using a person's name. Try writing an acrostic poem using a different noun like the examples below or even a verb!

Candy

Charleston Chew
Almond Roca
Nestle's Crunch
Dots from Mason
Yummy

By: Bruce Lansky

Garbage

Grounds (coffee)
Apple (core)
Rinds (mellon)
Banana (peel)
Anchovies (from a pizza I wouldn't eat)
Grapes (too ripe to eat)
Emptying the stinking bag (my job)

By: Bruce Lansky


Feel free to share your poem below in the comments section so I can see what great work you're doing!