Find more Poetry Friday at Miss Rumphius Effect.
As one of my students called out,”You love to connect us with authors.” They know me well, and they know that when I tell them we are going to learn a new poetry form, writing will happen, they will be supported, and it will be challenging. Last Friday, Michelle Heindenrich Barnes featured J. Patrick Lewis on her site. Pat put forth a challenge with a new form that he created called a zeno. The zeno is based on the hailstone sequence. This is the kind of math I enjoy. Math poetry: repeated syllable counts. My students were fascinated. They couldn’t wait to share with their math teachers. Matthew said, “I think I can use this in a magic trick.”
I have been playing with Emaze for presentations. I was so taken with the poems my students created in the morning group that I made an Emaze to teach my afternoon group. Later, I added some of their poems to the presentation. I encourage you to try this with your students. If you want to use the Emaze presentation, let me know.
Click the link below to go directly to the presentation.
http://app.emaze.com/882076/zeno-poetry
Reflections on the Teche 
Margaret!!!! I LOVE this!!!! The presentation is wonderful and all of your zenos… WOW WOW WOW!!!! Who knew my heart could race like this at 7:00 in the morning. 😀
This was a fun way to present student offerings! Thanks for introducing me to “zenos”. Somehow I missed those posts! And now I have to try out emaze! What with the chocolate cake on Jama’s site, and this…it’s going to be a busy day!
Oh, I forgot to say – I have lines from your poem and your students’ poems from Laura’s 15 Words or Less from yesterday that I am sharing in a “found poem”. Perhaps they’d like to see which line I used and where I put it!
http://mainelywrite.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-little-something-i-just-had-to-try.html
Thanks for letting us know. What a great poem and nice to honor is with it. I love the ways we are connecting.
Just wonderful, Margaret. These aren’t easy to do, but your students made it look that way. The emaze is a great way to present, too. Thanks to all the students who wrote.
Great project – and some great poetry! Especially loved those 1st three, as well as the last one.
I love that presentation, Margaret. I had a bit of trouble scrolling but I caught the first poem. Great stuff!
Great presentation! I can tell you and your kids had fun with this.
So much fun for your students! I tried a Zeno once when I learned of Lewis’s new form. Time for another! Love the presentation, too.
Wow, your students really embraced this form! I love Emily’s ice cream Zeno – so tasty. Thanks for sharing!
We really had fun, and everyone chose their own unique topics. I love that!
Very clever, Margaret. I can understand why the kids put out. I would too if I had the hope of the reward of seeing my poem in a jazzy presentation like that. You have some talented writers in your class.
Your presentation is terrific, Margaret, and those zenos are amazing. I’ve been working on one this morning, and it’s quite a challenge! Thanks so much for sharing!
Margaret — I had so much fun checking out your classes’s presentation this morning. Great zenos, everyone. I’m fond of bugs and creepy crawlies, so your spider was my favorite poem!
Thanks for coming by. My students can’t get enough of this form. Definitely a new favorite!
[…] with their starling zenos. Some of my students are loving J. Patrick Lewis’s new form. A zeno is a great form for writing nonfiction poems. Enjoy these poem movies made using […]