Another and another…
This week my students and I wrote word association poems after a movement exercise I learned from Bonny McDonald. See the post about that activity here.
I found it interesting (and so did they) where their original word led them. I wanted to make word clouds with them but am having some technical difficulty.
Apple
A fruit
Has cousins
like banana,
orange and
pear
which bloom
in Spring
with cousins
like Fall,
Winter and
Summer
Fall has
red, yellow
orange and
brown leaves
falling everywhere
Winter has
ice and
is cold
Summer is
hot and
dry with
people swimming
at the
beach with
sand flying
everywhere
people surfing
and having
fun all
from the
word apple.
by Tyler
Brooklyn chose a word that she didn’t like.
Storm
rain
thunder
lightningStorm
crash
loud
dark
scaryStorm
cold
wet
shelterStorm
watch
alone
togetherStorm
afraid
loseStorm
don’t
continue
won’t
stopStorm
Join the Poetry Friday Round up at Keri Recommends. Happy Birthday to Keri!
Reflections on the Teche 
Those word associations always amaze, and these two poets connected well in the poems, Margaret. I did a word connection writing exercise today too, helping a group work on ‘slicing’ ideas. We opened the dictionary at random, pointed without looking, and this time just shared what we might say in the writing. What fun to do! I enjoyed the ‘stream’ of Tyler’s poem, a year like any other, but also enjoyed the line breaks Brooklyn did, more and more tension!
I love the random dictionary word activity, too. I think these types of exercises push them to think outside the box and leads them to discover their own creativity.
Oh, I do love this, Margaret – I am definitely going to try this with my kiddos. Thanks for sharing.
Tara, I hope you will share the results. I enjoy connecting with like-minded teachers, like you.
Tara, your kids are doing great work. How old are they?
Sorry, I called you Tara, Margaret! I was just at Tara’s place and her name must have gotten stuck.
No worries. I often skip using a name in my reply because I am so bad with names.
My students are gifted. This group is a mix of 4th, 5th, and 6th. Tyler is in 5th and Brooklyn is in 6th. I love watching their writing grow. Tyler only started with me this year. I have seen such growth from his first few writings. I kinda love showing them off on my blog.
Love, love, love this! Your kids are a delight!
Fun exercise, Margaret! Thanks so much for sharing these. =)
I love the idea of cousins in Tyler’s poems. I might take that as my word and do an association poem today!
Here I am a week late, but just wanted to thank you for the inspiration and this great way to get the writing juices flowing! Will definitely give it a try.
So cool, these are neat. Now to decide whether to edit or leave them free!
Check out Georgia Heard for more kid poem generating ideas, my fave.