Poetry Friday round-up with Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
C,lick to order
The lovely Irene Latham shared her newest book of poems with me and my students. We had a great time traveling to Antarctica this week. We started in the glossary. Where else would you start? We learned new words like adept, baleen whale, and crèches. My students made notes in their journals.
We read aloud a sampling of poems, such as “When the Sun Shines on Antarctica” and “Beware the Brinicle!” Oh, how they hate brinicles, ever since they learned that “this frozen lightning rod…entombs all it touches.”
In the back of this amazing book there is a listing of websites to visit. We visited Discovering Antarctica. This site is full of videos, amazing images, and fun activities. I asked my students to do three activities. They jumped right in and were riveted.
To culminate the week, we looked back at Irene’s poems and talked about craft moves. There was onomatopoeia in”Gentoo Penguin Jumps In.” I showed how Irene played with the way the word appeared on the page (dive actually dives down the page). We talked about rhyme and short lines, metaphor, simile, and personification.
Then they took a turn at writing their own Antarctic poems. Thanks, Irene, for leading us on this adventurous discovery.
(My kids love disgusting things like a bird that vomits while flying in the air.)
Southern Giant Petrel at the Seashore
Petrel
doesn’t do
sandcastles
or suntans–
he’s more
like a flying
trash can.
His belly
is where all
the garbage
goes:
his beak
is the lid
that never
stays closed.
Careful,
don’t come
too near–
or Petrel
will spew
a rotten brew
all over you.
–Irene Latham (used with permission from the author)
Now for student poems.
Antarctica Poem
Freezing water
cold temperatures
Emperor Penguins
Penguin chicks
The sound of silence
Being broken by sounds
Grah!!
Killer Whales eating
Penguins feasting
Petrel barfing
On its predators
Antarctic Galore!
by Andrew, 3rd grade
Adelie Penguins
Little gray balls
beaks with all.
Black and white tuxedos,
important yellow shoes,
they’re businessmen.
White and black gowns,
little golden slippers,
stylish as can be.
–Lynzee, 1st grade
Who am I?
Who am I?
Who am I?
The killer of krill
I eat thousands, in every meal.
My teeth are two plastic plates.
I sing a song to attract my mate.
My bestie is the barnacle.
He’s been here since he fledged.
You guessed it!
You guessed it!
I am the baleen whale.
Now I will end this poem
with the flip of my tail.
–Emily, 5th grade
I have been participating in Laura Shovan’s February writing challenge. We are writing to images of found objects. Today, our poems are posted by Matt at Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme.
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Reflections on the Teche 