Steffani H. Gilligan- Bio

There is a bit of magic to teaching. Don’t you think? When you begin providing poetry-emersion to your students - can you guess what happens? You got it! Students begin to write poems!

You need to try it! (Please, do not fret! It is a painless process!) I feel I should admit at this time, that I have never read poetry as a child or as an adult. I have never understood the difficult passages of broken hearts of those before me or made-up words used to fit the rhyme. I do, however, understand my own surroundings, best practices in teaching and the boundless energy of children. So, within those parameters, I can write poetry for children. Trust me, your students will LOVE it! They will love you and your poems! How fun is it for the students to see you actually going through the thinking process to find just the right words?

It takes a bit of drama – stand at the board – create a list –then bring a poem to life. Cross out words, draw circles around something, move a word from here to there, you know –model the process for them! I like to begin modeling a lesson with a large clean board. I make a list of something. For example – foods they serve in the cafeteria – and have the students generate a list of food words.

Then, scratch your head and start putting them in a poetry format. For some reason, I can form the story within a four line poem, with lines 2 and 4 containing the rhyme – think, Roses are Red poem. You will need to find a pattern that works for you.

Begin on the far left side of the board. As your poem comes to life with all of your scratch-outs, circles and move this word from-here-to-there. REWRITE moving left-to-right, making the poem neater and easier to read. This also gives students an unmistakable visual of the writing, editing and revision process. They see the messy draft on the left and the polished piece on the right. Bonus! Remember, the actual poem itself is not as important as the process of writing. I write a poem sometimes with a class and I don’t like the final product – do you ever tell the students that you hate the poem? – ABSOLUTELY not! Maintain your confidence and your resolve! Reflect on why the poem didn’t work for you (as a reader) and try to make the next one better.

I always try to type out my poem as soon as I can. I carry little journals (i.e. source books) everywhere I go! Well, most of the time. You never know when an idea will pop in your head! Given the fact that I carry a journal, I still manage to lose some poems, which drives me crazy! Last year, while finishing up in a fourth grade class after FCAT testing, I wrote a poem called My Bursting Bladder because we all needed a trip to the restroom. Somehow, I lost the poem (I remember having it on a loose piece of paper, remember seeing it in my daughter’s girl scout cookie box, remember the pediatrician laughing at the title as I was selling her cookies and that’s the last time I saw that poem!) and it is a real loss to lose even a single one! I can write poems “in the moment” but can’t retrace my words when I’m out of that particular moment.

As with any picture book, poems can be used to teach writer’s craft. The following poem “Said” is Dead was written as I reflected on the lesson alternatives for said. Your students could easily make additional stanzas to this poem.

Generate a chart of alternatives for said. (You may have even done this already!) Ask the students to work in pairs or alone and add to the poem. This poem could go on and on!

You could also have students extend the poem by adding talk bubbles and illustrations. Students could draw a dentist, add a talk bubble with the words “Please, open wide.”

Then, ask students to transfer the talk bubble into dialogue. They would write, “Please open wide.” the dentist whispered. Again, you are creating another concrete image for the students to latch on to when they think about adding dialogue in their writing.

Take a Writer’s Walk! After a discussion on details, take your class outside with their source books, a few sharp pencils and something to sit on. Ask them to write down anything they can touch, see, hear or smell. Bring the lists back in the classroom and have your students reflect on what they wrote down. I gave my students the choice of writing a story or poem. The first time I came back inside with my word list, I thought, “Make a poem with these words - no way!” I really thought I would write a story. (Remember, you are always modeling what you want them to do.) But, for some reason, my brain seems to like the four line poem with lines two and four rhyming. I wrote 2 poems from my one word list. The students wrote both stories and poems from their personal lists. It was very interesting to see the different creations from the one experience that we all shared. Make sure that students understand that it is OKAY for them to add items in their writing that did not take place in the real-life experience. Students get stuck on trying to write exactly what happened when they were present which may…or may not…be interesting to the reader.

While in the park, I saw a girl on a tricycle and a man on a bike but they were not together; they are not family. While in the park, I sat in the grass but I did not search for clover. While in the park, I enjoy this spot on Earth but my mom isn’t calling me home, etc. I had my students go through my poems line by line and decide which words were “true” and which were added to make the story/poem interesting and complete.

Another easy way to have students write poems is to give them an existing poem and modify the pattern. The two examples below are both from second grade teachers at Brentwood Elementary School of the Arts. The first one uses a short poem by Shel Silverstein and was

Ms Gustason’s opening to her science unit on weather. Once again, if you can make natural connections between poetry and the content areas, you will “hook” your students on both poetry and the topic.

It’s Hot
by Shel Silverstein

It's Cold!
by Ms. Gustason's Class
2005-2006

(reprint permission requested and pending)

It's cold!
I've drunk a quart of hot cocoa.
I think I'll put my sweater on,
and sit around by the fire.

It's cold!
My bones are shivering.
My teeth are chattering.
I think I'll put my jacket on,
and sit around by the heater.

It's cold!
I've tried a hot bath,
and sitting in the sun.
I think I'll put my blankie on,
and sit around in bed!

The second example is from Mrs. Collins’ class. Mrs. Collins happens to love reading and teaching poetry. Together, they rewrote the book People, People Everywhere. Mrs. Collins had a big brainstorming lesson where they charted everything they could think of that had to do with teachers in and out of school. After they had charted lots and lots of ideas to ponder, each student was asked to write a 4 line poem following the pattern in the book. The poem is amazing!

I love those two teachers! They have provided us with outstanding examples of using an existing poem and rewriting it to match the focus of a lesson. Want to try it? Start small and think, Roses are red and Violets are blue. How can we rewrite that poem?

Daisies are white.
Daisies are pink.
Daisies are pretty,
But I think they stink.

Remember – student or teacher poems don’t have to be deep thoughts or heavy topics! Let the students have fun with words. Teach them how to rhyme and follow a pattern. And, praise their efforts!

The poems throughout this website contain the following examples of writer’s craft. Tell students that using writer’s craft is a little like using salt on your food, a sprinkle here and there makes it good, a big bunch of it in one spot will spoil the whole dinner. And, just like picture books, once you have read them for enjoyment then you can begin picking them apart to teach writing strategies or craft.

ThePoetryTeacher.com

Writing