equation poems | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘equation poems’

Slice of Life #30: This Photo Wants to be a Poem

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged #small poems, equation poems, student photography, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on March 30, 2022| 45 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

Last week I took my students out to the playground to find photos. I wrote about the activity yesterday. I was surprised by the variety and interest their photos generated. Without any direction, Adelyn straddled the drainage and folded herself in half and took this photo upside down. When I asked if I could use her photo for the poetry prompt, she said, “Be sure to give me credit.” Of course. She wrote this equation poem: Investigation = question + adventure.

Now it’s your turn. What do you see? Write a small poem in the comments. Support other writers with your comments.

Follow your curiosity.
Landing among the stones,
Explore a mystery.
Margaret Simon, draft

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Slice of Life #29: Photo Project

Posted in Photography, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged equation poems, Kim Douillard, Laura Purdie Salas on March 29, 2022| 11 Comments »

Following other teacher-bloggers can lead to new ideas for classroom activities. Recently I read Kim Douillard’s posts about using photography with her students. She graciously sent me a slide show to teach students about three photography techniques, bug’s eye view, bird’s eye view, and rule of thirds. My students caught on to these ideas with ease and were anxious to get outside to try them out. Our beautiful spring weather was a wonderful collaborator.

Following our playground photo sessions, my students used the editing tools on the Chromebooks. Kim had led her students to write equation poems with their photographs. I shared Laura Purdie Salas’s equation poems. I directed my students to use Canva to display their photos and equation poems. Here are a few student photos.

Sunlight + Trees = Painting by Jaden, 6th grade

The creative teacher in me wants to find more opportunities to practice photography and language. In fact, I think I’ll use one of their images for a poem prompt tomorrow. Stay tuned.

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This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Fleeting Summer

Posted in Photography, Poetry, Writing, tagged equation poems, summer, This Photo Wants to be a Poem on July 7, 2021| 28 Comments »

Does anyone feel like summer is quickly going by? I did not, intentionally, make a list of goals for this summer; however, there is that running list in my head of things that are not getting done. So be it, right? Summer is for relaxing and taking each day as it comes.

When I look out of my window, I see this mandevilla vine going wild. It’s stretched beyond the reaches of the trellis. So be it… Let it go. That is what this plant teaches me. (This post is up later because I forgot it was Wednesday, another good sign of summer.)

Wandering Mandevilla vine, Photo by Margaret Simon

Summer sun + daily dose of rain = wandering time
Margaret Simon, equation poem

Please add a small poem in the comments. Encourage other writers with positive response.

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Poetry Friday: Equation Poems

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, tagged equation poems, Laura Purdie Salas on April 15, 2021| 22 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup

I hope you are having a fun-filled poetry month. This week I played with equation poems à la Laura Purdie Salas. Laura released a book of equation poems titled Snowman – Sun = Puddle (published by Charlesbridge and with art by Micha Archer). This is a great book to read with budding second and third grade writers as they learn about figurative language. This month Laura is posting an equation poem on her blog daily. My students and I enjoyed creating image equation poems using Canva.