Gateway Poet

Three of my English sections are selecting and studying poetry.  My seventh grade and Practical English course that includes twelfth and eleventh graders.  

I came across the poem, "Digging" by Seamus Heaney along with an example essay based on the poem.  Even though there was not a specific assessment that went along with the poem the kids could start to have an idea on what to write about when writing about poetry.  How can a poem inspire 500 words?

I asked my students how do 500 words inspire one tweet.  They followed along and read the poem with me and saw how to point out poetic devices and personal connections within the poetry.

Earlier in the month, I went back to Poetryoutloud.org.  And even though, I'm not sure if we'll be ready for a competition.  I gave these students the instructions of finding a poem that finds them.  They all laughed at how corny it was - some of the kids picked the usual "Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost - and really?  What's so bad about that poem?  They probably think they're being lazy - silly kids.

One of the titles I found interesting was "Fishing" by A. E. Stallings,   I can't wait to read this guy's paper - this guy is an excellent writer -  Of course, I had the usual Emily Dickinson - which I pointed out to one young girl "I'm so glad you like poetry."

She laughed "I only like Emily Dickinson."

I laughed; "You know she's a gateway poet, don't you?"

[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]

An eighth grader recited this at Poetry Outloud last year.  It was so lovely and pretty. I  think I'm going to memorize it to and recite it to myself as I'm sewing or falling asleep.

e.e. cummings

 

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                                      i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Poetry Out Loud

Two of our seniors went to state for the Poetry Out Loud competition. When I saw them perform at the local level, I was convinced that they would move on from the regional competition. Lakeland Public Television has a very nice segment from the regional competition here.

Poetry Out Loud

It is time for my students to pick out a poem for our annual Poetry Out Loud contest. My seventh graders seem to be more enthusiastic. They just take what I say as law and know they'll be doing it. Aww what a class! Sigh...

Eighth grade is not so easy. They can not for the life of them figure out why on earth I would make them memorize a poem and recite it again. I'm not sure how I'll convince these kids that this is worth their time. I'll be enthusiastic. I'll smile a lot and tell them how excited I am about the wonders of poetic devices. I'll believe it.

My day of the Arts

View Larger Map

After the fabulous win of our fabulous Fosston girl, I brought the other student to Stephen, Mn where he competed with his schoolmates in One Act Plays. I had only been in the car for five hours at that point, but after I dropped him off, I figured I needed to go home and see Jbird and the girls. This was my life being torn between my the students at school and my family at home. I realized I needed to be at home. I missed them.

I drove home listening to whatever station I wanted to and thought about students and their dreams. I thought about my daughters and their dreams.

I thought about my dreams and how they've all come true.

Poetry Out Loud - That girl is going to STATE!!!

It ended up I was in charge of bringing our young hopefuls to the regional contest. I left Jbird in charge of the children and headed out to Fosston to pick up the suburban. I was excited because not only was I going to bring the students for Poetry Out Loud, but I was now a MINI BUS DRIVER. Hello! AMAZING! *All week I prepared for this event by making sure I was a legal MINI BUS DRIVER.* I am now able to legally transport your students in mini van, suburban, or MINI BUS - or the short bus as we used to call it when I was a kid.

As I approached the bus barn, I felt tingly because I was driving a car nicer than my minivan. I started the suburban and scraped the windows to be sure we had a secure view on our drive. I drove the suburban to the high school and round up the school champions. I took the key out and ran into the school to get a bottle of water. You know- because I DON"T drink much Diet Coke anymore.

We buckled ourselves in. I put the key in. The suburban started. The suburban stopped. Was it in park? Yes it was. I couldn't figure it out. I ran back into the school where we (Fosston) were hosting an elementary basketball tournament. This had never happened before.

What to do?

What to do?

I looked at my young innocents faces.

"Did any of you drive here?"

"I did, but I can't drive my car to Bemidji." One student offered.

"That's O.K." I said wiping the sweat off my brow. "We will take my 1998 Chrysler Mini Van.... But we'll need you to get us to the bus barn."

We squished ourselves into his little pickup... *uh hmmmm... yeah.* and reached my mini van. It was still warm. Off we flew.... onward to Bemidji State University.- Our destination.

We giggled along the way and hooped and hollered when we reached dips and bumps... "YEE HAW!" That was field trip Mrs. Aakhus style.

When we reached Bemdji, I found the building. I just didn't know how to get to it. Where to park? The kids were nervous to search on their own. They needed me. I found a place somewhere in the middle of a construction site. And we ran. Ran like the wind I'm telling you.

I told them the name of the building. "Hobson Memorial Something," and we ran from building to building looking for the place to be.

Finally, we found the building. We ran inside. There were signs pointing the way.

POETRY OUT LOUD it stated by a stair case. OK... but were we supposed to go up or down?

One student went up. One went down. We found our way out a door. The sign pointed to another building? Our eager student ran ahead.

Hooray!

We found it.

We were where we were supposed to be.

The students checked in while I visited with the organizers. I could have hugged them. I was so thrilled to be there. I found out the emcee for the morning was none other than Will Weaver. Hello! AMAZING ZING ZING.

I sat in the back seat. I was just as nervous for the program to start as the kids.

And it began.

All of the students were amazing. The poems came alive for me. Again... I was impressed. Will Weaver was extraordinary. He made sure to note that the day was about these students' accomplishments and not about his. Impressive....

Poem after poem I was dazzled, but I can't lie to you. I'm biased. I had a feeling that one of my students would win. And she did. The cheerleader. The volleyball player. The goofiest member of the senior class. Also, one of the classiest kids I've ever met. I held hands with her mom in the back row. When we realized she was the winner, we hugged and cried.

That girl is going to state.

Poetry- its AMAZING

The School's Night of Poetry Out Loud was phenomenal. Magical. Delightful. Or to use the new word of 2009 "Amazing.." Not as though it's a new word, but it seems to be THE word for us.

I was the prompter judge. I sat in the front row and watched to see if they needed help. The kids rarely needed help.

I'm glad I wasn't one of the 'big time judges' I never would have been able to judge my students knowing what I know about them. I would have marked them all EXCELLENT. I would have marked them all AMAZING.

What surprised me the most was their support of each other. The bond all of the kids had for each other. The general atmosphere of respect. The general atmosphere of AMAZEMENT at each others' talents. Their cheering knocked my socks off.

In particular, I was dazzled by their hearts on their sleeves. They put it out their with guts. They went in front of the room and showed a part of themselves deep, innocent, and fresh.

Loud Poetry

For the past few days, the students have been reciting their poetry out loud for Poetry Out Loud. Today, the students are making flash cards. On one side of the card they are putting two to three lines of the poems. On the other side of the flashcard, they are drawing a picture that will help them visualize those lines.


After a half hour coloring, the students put away their flashcards and worked on their memorization skills. My room got very loud as many different poems were being recited at once.




The words of Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, Robert Browning, and many more are being murmured within my classroom walls. It's exciting.



The students are coming up to me with their poems and asking me what I think of a certain line and what it might mean. For the most part, the student's intuition was right and when I help them confirm their thoughts, they smile. The poem is etched a little deeper into their hearts.

Poetry- it's a Piece of Cake.....

We went to the computer lab to find about 100 perfect poems to recite. I walked around helping and guiding students into finding their poems. I had a blast. The students were into it. I only had one student complain.

"I hate poetry Mrs. Aakhus"

"This is boring. Mrs. Aakhus."

The other students started getting angry with her.

She continued whining.

Over and over. Finally, I took a look at her and said "Have you ever been given a piece a cake that is not your favorite cake? And when you had that cake, shout out 'This cake stinks!' I bet you haven't. You only need to state how much you hate poetry once. After that, you're ruining it for the rest of us. It's rude."

Poetry- Outloud?

My students are confused. I'm expecting them to memorize a poem and recite it to the class. As part of a grant our school is participating in a Poetry Out Loud competition. I decided to incorporate it into my poetry unit. The organization maintains that students learn many skills along with reciting poetry.

Poetry offers mastery of language, and stocks the mind with images and ideas in unforgettable words and phrases

• Poetry trains and develops our emotional intelligence

• Poetry reminds us that language is holistic—that how something is said is part of what is being said, with the literal meaning of words only part of their whole meaning, which is also carried by tone of voice, inflection, rhythm

• Poetry lets us see the world through other eyes, and equips us imaginatively and spiritually to face the joys and challenges of our lives

For the past few days, we've been reading poetry. We've been listening to an Elizabeth Alexander interview on NPR. We've been watching a Nikki Giavonni interview I found on iTunes. The kids have watched a video I made on "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes. This is the youtube version of the poem/song.

A lot of students have been whining.

"Not poetry! How boring!"

These are the same students who volunteer to read the poems. So, I totally ignore them. They're supposed to whine about poetry. It's expected.

One of our colleagues has worked diligently on this program. She set up a visit from Diane Tribbit who presented the program to our students. She talked a lot about Poetry Outloud and how one poem can save a life. She really connected with the students when she told them about when her husband died. I hate to admit I had a few tears in my eyes. Some of the students wiped a tear from their eyes too. The students watched a DVD of some of the winners from the national contest. They were on the edge of their seats.


How boring.