Hop on over to My Juicy Little Universe for more Poetry Friday delights.
My students are participating in the Classroom Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers. They are writing like crazy. It makes this writing teacher so happy.
For 6 years, I have been teaching gifted elementary students. To be able to teach them all in a day, I have to mix grade levels. I have always enjoyed the richness this adds to my class. Sometimes I feel like a juggler when I have 3 different spelling tests to give, but, for the most part, the students mix well and learn a lot from each other. The class is fluid, too, because as the year goes on, I may get new students as they are identified. This year, Vannisa joined one of my groups. She is in third grade and had never written a haiku. What better time to try than in the SOLC. This week she wrote her first haiku. A few weeks ago my students did name research, and Vannisa discovered her name means “flighty.” I told her that was perfect because she flits like a butterfly all over the classroom. Not surprising her haiku is a butterfly haiku.
I have also included a group of questions Mrs. Heinisch’s class asked her in a comment on her blog. I especially love her response. Notice she mentions I Haiku You, a book I learned about on Two Writing Teachers.
Little Butterfly
Fluttering past a flower
Too small to be seen
–Vannisa
Thoughts from Mrs. Heinisch’s 6th grade class:
Why did you pick to write about butterflies?
Why did you chose to write it as a Haiku?
Do you think the word butterfly comes from flies sitting on butter?
How big was the butterfly?
Who made up the word butterfly?
Thank you for posting your Haiku today! We all enjoyed it!
Vannisa’s response:
Well it is nice to know that sixth graders are reading one of my post because I’m only in third grade.
First and second question:
I read a book called “I Haiku You” by Betsy Snyder and I decided to write a haiku. I thought it was going to be hard because a haiku is five syllables and then seven then five. It turns out it wasn’t that hard because my gifted teacher said haikus usually are making the reader put a picture in their head and that they’re usually about nature.
question three:
Actually sometimes, but my name means flighty. Like I’ll do something and then another thing.
question four:
I would say… as big an average human palm.
number five:
I don’t know, and like I said I’m only in third grade.
Slice of Life Challenge Day 8
Reflections on the Teche 