Wordless Picture Books and Novels

I really enjoy the thought of wordless picture books.  I understand where teachers are coming from though when they say that students can’t “read” wordless books, because they are no words how do you read it?!?  But I love the idea of having to become the author as the reader.  I can hear the story in my head as I look at the pictures.  This is such a great idea for students.  They can become the authors and create a story to go along with the pictures after reading the story. 

I also like the idea of having students write stories and then to paste the story on different pages to allow the students to illustrate is a great idea.  Many students don’t realize how well they can write until they do an activity like this.  They then realize that they can be authors and illustrators and create their own books.

Acrostic Poem

Sitting in class tonight I realized that I never posted my acrostic poems. I actually wrote 2 and could not choose which to post.

Climb higher than

One has been before.

Until you can go no further,

Realizing that you

Are higher than you can

Grow, and then pushing yourself

Even further.

Life if fulfilled with

One person who you know

Very well and can stull spend time with them

Everyday.

Multi-Genre Project

After a lot of thought I think that I will do my multi-genre project on Penguins. I love penguins and I am very curious about them. I have done a poem on them already and have an informational text about them. I also thought about doing Audrey Hepburn. I think that she is the classiest woman ever and I just love everything about her. I don’t know how hard it would be though to do this project on a human instead of an animal.

I don’t know.

Multigenre Text

I just love this idea of creating a research project and not having students write typical research papers.  I actually remember in Middle School doing a Multi-Genre project.  The teacher cleverly disguised it though as a “Historical Scrapbook.”   We chose a historical figure, preferably an author or illustrator or poet.  When we had a subject I remember researching for a few weeks the figure in the library and then creating artifacts that would be included in their scrapbook.  I remember writing a letter in Mark Twain’s voice, a program from a theater production, one of his Primary grade report cards, and I think I even included his obituary.

From the information that I read in the book about a Multi-Genre text, this is essentially the same thing.  We were required to research all parts of the subjects life and then include them in an album that would look like a scrapbook that they would have kept.  I really enjoyed this project and I remember researching Mark Twain to the point that I could recall most of the information many years later.

I think this is a great idea for students to research a topic of their interest.  It is a great way to learn about text of different genres while incorporating research on a topic of the students choosing.  I hope to be able to include this in my classroom in the future.

Haiku

Drops dripping off leaves.

Splashing down into the mud.

Rain in the meadow.

Writer’s Notebook Invitation

This writer’s notebook invitation was created for a first grade classroom. The students are invited to create a first entry in their notebook that tells things that they like and dislike. Included is an excerpt from the Junie B. Jones diary of Top Secret Personal Beeswax.

Concrete Poem

The Penguin

They live down south in the arctic,
in the land of ice and snow.
Spending time in colonies,
the cold is all they know.

To them thier wings are useless,
they will never fly.
Crooning their necks upward,
toward the bright blue sky.

Diving into the ocean,
for a daily snack.
Eating a tasty fish,
and then diving back.

Their lives are spent together,
in the same small pair.
The mother lays the egg,
and the father is there to care.

He protects it with his body,
keeping it warm, day and night.
Against the cold arctic air,
and predators with all his might.

Atop his webbed feet it stays,
Until the mother comes back.
And then it is the fathers turn,
to go to the sea for a snack.

The penguin is a funny bird,
that spends it’s life in the cold.
We should all learn about them,
Everyone, Young and Old.

I am…

I am the flag that stands for a nation.

I am red,

I am white,

I am blue.

My stars represent my people.

My stripes represent my past.

I flow freely in the breeze

a powerful reminder of what I stand for.

I weep for the men and women that have fought for me.

I am draped over them with pride.

I hear the bands playing as I am saluted

I see the hands as they are proudly placed over hearts.

I feel the canons blast,

I am free.

I am the flag that stands for a nation.

Love That Dog

I think this book is so powerful.  When I bought the book, I initially thought is was a novel with long chapters, until I flipped through it.  I was shocked to find that instead it was a novel in poetry.  I really enjoyed the poems.  They were short yet powerful, and I could relate to Jack.  I too felt the same way about poetry when I was his age.  When he responded to the teacher questioning of why, with “the wheelbarrow guy didn’t have to tell why” I was literally laughing out loud because I know how he felt.  I never cared why the author wrote the poem, I either liked it or not, and didn’t enjoy breaking down the poems.

I love how he changed throughout the book from hating poetry to embracing reading and writing poetry.  Jack was so excited about the visiting author and afterwards his willingness to write only grew.  I never expected what happened to Sky.  I was shocked but thought that by using poetry it helped him to cope with his pain.

I can see myself using this book in the future to show my students that everyone can write poetry and with the help of classic poetry they can too be authors.

Pictures

I viewed this assignment in a different way.  My object that I would have a picture of would be my camera, but instead of a picture of my camera, I have pictures that I have taken.  I will include a picture of my camera later. 

 

My life outside of school and work consists of hanging out with family and friends and taking pictures.  I am dubbed “the permanent photographer” of my group of friends.  No one ever brings cameras anymore because they know I will have one.  Whether I am surrounded by a group of my friends or in a field on a hill completely alone with nothing but the sound of grass whipping around, moving like waves on the sea I am taking pictures.  If I didn’t know that after a long day, I could escape to a place and take pictures I would go crazy.  So much of my life can be seen through the lens of a camera.  As the years have passed the subjects of the pictures have changed and my view of the world has changed but my love for the art has never faltered.

So much depends on 

the use of a lens

to express my thoughts,

to capture my life.

 

 

 

 

Your posture is not perfect

Your limbs are not bursting

But life on a peak 

is never easy.

Seen from a far you are just average.

But as one approaches 

your true beauty

is apparent.