February is Library Lover’s Month
And that was the inspiration for yesterday’s Poetry Thursday group. Using a portion of Elizabeth Barret Browning’s Sonnet #43, Songs from the Portuguese, I demonstrated starting a poems with the opening line:
“How do I love thee? Let count the ways…”
This is Sabrina’s take on it:
Library
How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways
As much as the books that fillt it
As much as the people that come together,
Too much to count.
Your imagination flows
Your mind blows
What a great feeling
Library, how I love thee.
–Sabrina, 4th grade
Love it.
I am having a bit of a dilemma with the Poetry Thursday group. It has become quite social. This is not bad but I am finding the concentration is less. If you have any ideas, I welcome them.
Poetry Friday Roundup awaits us here: AmoXcalli.
Happy reading.
MsMac
February 8th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Familiarity breeds contempt, and it sounds like they’re having a fine time, but kind of losing their focus on the poetry aspects. Methinks they need a project. Working toward a common goal will give them some focus and direction.
Other idea? A visitor. One they need to prep for, or who will spark them to do something in particular (a new type of poem, etc.)
February 8th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
How about a Poetry Shout-Out (as opposed to calling it a “Slam”) where they invite the community (adults? Other classrooms?) to hear their best work and have reception with cupcakes and the good punch?
Something to work toward, like Kelly said, will really hone and focus them — creating the art and then performing it. How about at a Retirement Center?
February 8th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
A lot of grownup writers’ group have this problem, too. Some groups let chat happen for 5-10 minutes, then have a signal that more focused time is about to start. Perhaps if you let the kids take turns being the one who closes out social time and rings in poetry time, that would help. And I see that performance has been suggested. Channel that enthusiasm. Or try ONLY writing orally one day, going around the circle, maybe with you as scribe?
February 13th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Sorry, no advice,
I’m still teary-eyed after reading the “Library, how do I love thee.”