4 Reasons to Like Emily Dickinson's Poetry

I have written before of my love for poetry. It is one of my favorite forms of literature and creative writing. There is freedom to write down your thoughts as they come to you and joy when you find the right word to finish a thought, or rhyme, or create a witty play on words. Reading and relating to other poets, however, is even better. Poetry is inspirational. Emily is one of those poets I enjoy even more after reading about her. I can relate to Emily in so many ways. It wasn't until reading the introductions, editor's notes, and forwards to Emily's poetry books that I learned to enjoy her poetry all the more!

Never ever skip those pieces before or after reading a book. It adds depth and makes the book come alive in a completely new way! This is what I would've missed had I not taken my own advice...

1. "She rejected conventions, cared for no set technique, no formulas of versification, no fastidious rhyming." (Ellis, M., Pound, L. and Spohn, G., A College Book of American Literature, I, The Later Nineteenth Century, p.9) 
2. It is said that the effect of her poetry is "gayety, joy, and utter independence." (Ellis, M., Pound, L. and Spohn, G., A College Book of American Literature, I, The Later Nineteenth Century, p.10) That statement is true when you read the subjects of her poetry: nature, everyday life, and her love for her family.
3. Very little of her writing was ever published and the only reason they ever made it to the printing press was because they were found (by accident) after her death. She did not write with an intention to be published. She wrote for the pure enjoyment of it and for her family to whom she sent little notes and poems across the yard. Her humility is remarkable.
4. This is Emily's own test for poetry, "If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know it is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know this is poetry." I love that test! If it were for no other reason than that particular statement, I would love Emily all the same.

Here is one of my favorites,

This would also make a wonderful writing prompt!

Weekly Writing Prompt [Write me as one that...]

Poetry is one of the most inspirational places for me to visit. Sometimes it's one or two lines that catch my eye, or the moral or theme that twangs the heart strings, or the overall idea the author is trying to convey speaks to my soul, or the innumerable clever word choices, play on words, arrangements, rhymes - they all transport me to the wide world of words.

Here is one line that makes an excellent beginner phrase for a student to finish and expand upon, taken from a book of prose sitting in the recycling bin. Breathe new life into it by writing a story or poem to get creative juices flowing...

Think about it, if anyone were to write about you, what would you want them to write?

My example:

Write me as one that passionately lives.

Lives by faith alone.

Saved by grace alone.

In Christ alone.

According to Scripture alone.

For the glory of God alone.

Write me as one that lives for Christ,

Dies to self.

Lives for His glory

And not my own.

Write me as one that loves God

And loves others.

Who serves Christ 

by serving others.

Write me as one that laughs at the time to come;

that trusts in Christ,

that delights in His Word,

that longs for His face,

that worships Him as King,

that fears nothing, because nothing is outside of His control.

Write me as one that passionately lives.

Write me as one that lives for The One.

Write me as one of His.

- Rebecca Lowery

I have many more phrases taken from poetry that I'll be sharing these next few weeks. Plus a writing lesson that I cannot wait to share with you - for free! Stay posted...

3 Supplementary Reading Tools I Use With My Kindergartener

Before teaching my 5 year old, I was a 7th and 8th grade reading teacher. I was hired to fill a position in a Title 1 school that did not have a curriculum and the school possessed limited resources. Needless to say, it was a tremendous learning experience.

Still, I have learned more as a teacher-mom than I ever did as a junior high teacher. Being a parent challenges and excites more than any other job. When she hits milestones or when I get to witness light bulb moments, I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be apart of her reading journey! It's definitely had ups and downs, but compared to teaching a classroom of failing, struggling, angry-at-the-world, pre-teen readers I am enjoying this process immensely.

I'm sure I'll share more of this journey as the years progress, but for now these are the resources I use to supplement our reading curriculum:

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Mobymax.com is a free resource for teachers and homeschoolers. There are lessons for every subject area imaginable. It's easy to use, and while my daughter enjoys doing a 10 minute phonics lesson on the computer, she's also learning valuable computer skills. Win, win. There are many reasons to love this website, but I love this independent learning tool to gauge growth and offer practice, practice, practice in a different place/voice other than mom.

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The Pyramid Reading Game is a super simple activity that my emerging reader finds quite hilarious and fun. She ponders each sentence as it progresses and I enjoy hearing her think alouds - asking why, connecting, laughing. And as she practises CVC and sight words she's also working on fluency (voice inflection with punctuation, speed, accuracy) and comprehension. Every day she wants to do more than one. This is the general idea:

The

The dog

The dog ran

The dog ran to

The dog ran to me to 

The dog ran to me to hop

the dog ran to me to hop on

The dog ran to me to hop on my

The dog ran to me to hop on my lap
The dog ran to me to hop on my lap and

The dog ran to me to hop on my lap and lick

The dog ran to me to hop on my lap and lick my 

the dog ran to me to hop on my lap and lick my hand.

I added the -ck and -nd ending blends to this one and she does so well reading it that the next set of pyramids I create will have more 4 letter words.

Buy 25 of them (just CVC and sight words) for $2 at my Teachers Pay Teachers or Teachers Notebook shops.

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Bob Books are a series of simple readers that encourage and motivate emergent readers! My daughter was so thrilled when she read her first book on her own that she wanted to jump on the opportunity to learn the words in the next book in order to read it too! How could I say no to that?! I've heard the argument, "aren't they just memorizing the book?" Isn't that what reading is? Memorization? You memorize the sounds each letter makes, you memorize sight words like "of" (phonetically - uv), you memorize new word meanings, and commit to memory the alphabet, sight words, cvc words, & crazy rules like, i before e except after c (unless it's words like weird). Reading is the act of training your brain to remember the letter sounds to recognize words automatically (ahem, memorization). If my child can memorize a word in one of these Bob Book's and then turn around to recognize it in another book, well then the books are doing their job! Plus, it's motivating her to want to continue to read! Those are all things worth accomplishing! In fact, she is so excited about it that she shows off her reading skills to daddy as soon as he walks in the door and to anyone else willing to listen to these "enthralling" (wink, wink) reads.

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Sometimes we spend so much time arguing about where to start, what resource to use or not use, that we miss the big idea: what works with one student may not work with another. And there is no absolute right or wrong way to teach a child to read. Are you teaching them the letters and the sounds they make and how to apply that knowledge when they open a book? Are you introducing them to a variety of text? Reading to them? There are countless resources out there that I'm sure will be wonderful supplements to your reading curriculum (if used as they were intended to be used). These are the resources I use and see success with and they are great for parents and teachers alike. I hope, if you decide to use them, that they offer the same results we have experienced.

P.S. The first two sources I wish I would have known about when I was teaching struggling readers the art of reading. Both would've been extremely helpful and I would recommend either of them to teachers struggling to teach struggling readers to read.

FREEBIE! [6 Trait Writing Rubric]

Every author uses the 6 traits of writing to create a piece full of detail wonderful ideas that are clearly spoken, organized well, convey compelling meaning, while using correct conventions, sentence fluency, and intriguing words or phrases. This rubric exists to help teachers grade a student's writing, while giving students clear and precise expectations. 

Tips:

• While grading, ask yourself, "Is it more 5 than 4, or 4 than 3, or more 2 than 1? etc." 
• To help answer this question I begin underlining what the student accomplished in his/her work under each category so that I can go back and see which has the most underlined qualities. 
• Be sure to go through the rubric together as a class. 
• Grading previously done work helps students master what is expected in good writing.

Students need clear expectations and teachers need precise guidelines to gauge writing and create creative, clear, and focused writers. This rubric helps accomplish just that.

Download the PDF file for FREE at...

Teachers Pay Teachers

Or 

Teachers Notebook 

Weekly Writing Prompts [One Word, Set 2]

Set two invokes memories worth writing about, or feelings worth expressing, or experiences worth sharing!

Example:
I will never forget my first memory of being unwelcome. I was only in 5th grade, but the details are still vivid twenty-plus years later. Thirty minutes on a school bus was already uncomfortable. It wasn't the crowded space or the stuffy environment that introduced me to the heartbreak of being unwanted, unwelcome. It was two girls with whom I shared a seat; thinking, hoping, we were friends. Not long after sitting down, they tried pushing me off. With all their heaving, they were unable to make me budge. I planted my feet, bound and determined to remain despite knowing I was not welcome, not wanted as their seat-mate or their friend. I remember being heartbroken when I got off the bus, not letting the tears fall until I walked into my room. Through the years these girls did their best to make me feel unwelcome in many, many ways; but this memory has been burned into the mind's eye - once haunting me - now imparting wisdom and gratitude as I invest in welcoming friendship.

See the first set of One Word Prompts here.

Pyramid Game for Beginning Readers [CVC & Sight Word Recognition]

I am an ELA teacher, with a master's degree in curriculum and instruction. My specialty has always been in reading. It is by far, the most vital of all subjects. If a student cannot read he/she is doomed for all other subjects. One cannot be a scientist, mathematician, historian, or be proficient in any subject or profession if reading is not mastered.

Most of my student teaching was done in a reading classroom, and then my first 5 years of teaching was with struggling 7th and 8th grade readers. During this time I learned so much about finding and fixing holes.

Most of the time struggling readers lacked basic comprehension skills (i.e. visualizing while reading) or didn't understand what your voice does when it hits certain punctuation, or did not immediately recognize most sight words, or, or, or, or, or...

And the majority of these students who struggled did not have memories of their parents reading to them as children. Typically the parents of these students did not excel in school, therefore having the attitude that education was not important. This attitude was passed down to their children, who also lost the will to try because of multiple years of failure.

The solution was pretty simple, yet extremely difficult. I had to find simple ways for them to be successful, thus gaining confidence. With success and confidence comes a desire, the want-to, a new found interest. We used short non-fiction passages, we read poetry over and over again, we practiced readers theatre, I did a lot of think-alouds, and saw success.

Since becoming a mother and teaching my own kindergartener how to read, I've learned so much more! Still, those same concepts apply to my progressing reader, as to those struggling readers: repetition, fun/interesting passages, think-alouds, &etc. give success, which gain confidence!

Now that she automatically recognizes short vowel and consonant sounds and is well on her way to memorizing 20+ sight words, she is ready and able to begin reading and writing sentences! Aside from being a proud teacher-mom, she is super excited! One of her favorite warm-ups is the pyramid game. Each day we do a new one and she enjoys progressing through each line to finally read the complete sentence.

This is a great activity for parents to do alongside their emerging reader, or a wonderful warm-up for teachers to begin the day, or for homeschool teachers looking for a supplemental activity to begin any reading lesson.

It consists of nothing more than consonant-vowel-consonant and sight words. The more success she has, the more she wants to do. I'm sure that once we make it through this set, I'll be providing more. Until then, enjoy the 25 pyramids given for $2 by following these links:

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Notebook 

Weekly Writing Prompts ["Funny Then - Not Now" OR "Funny Now - Not Then"]

How frequently in a lifetime does one reflect on an event and think - that isn't funny anymore or that is hilarious now! I can think of one time in particular when I thought it would be hilarious to splash a groom's face with a cup full of water during the reception. As a child, I laughed and laughed, thinking it hilarious. As an adult, looking back on that event makes my stomach curdle. It definitely isn't funny anymore!

I could expound on either of these prompts for quite a while...