Saturday, May 24, 2008
Summer Break
My 2007-2008 residence at Luther Burbank is now over so there will be no more posts on the blog for the summer. Check back in the Fall for a new year of poetry to begin.
May 16 & 23 Hybrid Animal Odes
In our final two weeks I brought in a project borrowed from fellow Poet in Residence Eric Elshtain. In the first week the students were given various pictures of animal sketches from which they cut up parts of the animals and pasted them together to create completely new creatures. In the second week we looked at John Keats's poem "Ode to a Nightingale" and discussed what an ode's relationship is to its subject. I then had them bring their new creatures out and write odes to their creations. I hope you enjoy imagining their creatures!
Mr. Stasiak
Ode to Fishbunny
Edgar T.
Oh, the fishbunny, who could swim fast
and jump fast. It’s eyes that can
see far distances from him.
It finds carrots and worms for its hunger.
Ode to Ribattri
by Ambrielle P.
You fly, you run, and you screech.
You eat interesting things like meat, bugs
and other things.
You have the habbits of a tiger, bat and rhino.
Your name is Ribattri.
Ode to Bertafly
by Justin V.
A cannibal searching the jungle for food.
The Bertafly
it will eat anything.
A bear’s face
A turtle’s body
Butterfly wings.
It could fly
go after its prey any time.
Lifes in the jungle
eats fish
Never leaves the jungle.
Ms. Mays
Oh Butterfishfrog
by Carmen S.
Oh Betterfishfrog
ho coud you do
all that swimming
You could swim
all around the
pond you could
search all your food
How could you
hop and hop
all around
You could
fly like birds
You are
an expert
You are born
to be an
expert doing
what you do.
Tibatbearhy Fish
By Ismael O.
Oh Tibatbearhy Fish I like
how strong you are. You could
break a tree with your big
pointy horns. With your big rhino head.
With your big soft body you
could run as fast as a car
can go. With your tiger body.
You can swim as fast as a
submarine could go. WIth your tail
fish. You could fly higher
thatn a jet can. With your bat wings
you could get tired so fast
with the tongue of a bear.
That’s why I like Tibatbearhy Fish.
Ode to Tirhino
by Jovanny O.
Oh! Tirhino, how you hunt for
other animals to eat. You have the
head of a rhino and the body
of a tiger. You have the power
to kill with your horns and
the power to run fast and
attack wth your claws. You also
have the power to communicate
with other tigers and rhinos.
Oh Tirhino how you hunt for food.
Ms. Jaurgue
Ode to the Tigersnakerab
by Anthony M.
Oh Tigersnakerab I
like the way your
ears can her so you can
not get hit by a car
and run if someone
tries to take you.
Oh Tigersnakerab I like
the way your neck can
stretch long to bite
the perfect
meal Oh Tigersnakerab.
I like the way your
tail can grab stuff and
bring it to me and grab
stuff.
Oh Tigersnakerab I like
how your fur is so
soft.
Brat
by Husna A.
Oh brat, how nice
of you to have a
pointy nose to protect
yourself froim your
enemies. How helpful of
you to have wings to
give bugs rides. Your eyes
have double eyesight and
your wonderful legs to eat
your food with.
The Bruni with the Beetifly
by Rafael V.
The Bruni walks around will
he jump when he saw the great
beetifly flying here and there.
The beetifly has seen them
all. Will it fly? It sees how
two of the Bruni on the ground
when the Beetifly fly away.
When they’re both playing together
their playing pingball where the
Beetifly is the ball and the Bruni
hand is the big stick.
Mr. Stasiak
Ode to Fishbunny
Edgar T.
Oh, the fishbunny, who could swim fast
and jump fast. It’s eyes that can
see far distances from him.
It finds carrots and worms for its hunger.
Ode to Ribattri
by Ambrielle P.
You fly, you run, and you screech.
You eat interesting things like meat, bugs
and other things.
You have the habbits of a tiger, bat and rhino.
Your name is Ribattri.
Ode to Bertafly
by Justin V.
A cannibal searching the jungle for food.
The Bertafly
it will eat anything.
A bear’s face
A turtle’s body
Butterfly wings.
It could fly
go after its prey any time.
Lifes in the jungle
eats fish
Never leaves the jungle.
Ms. Mays
Oh Butterfishfrog
by Carmen S.
Oh Betterfishfrog
ho coud you do
all that swimming
You could swim
all around the
pond you could
search all your food
How could you
hop and hop
all around
You could
fly like birds
You are
an expert
You are born
to be an
expert doing
what you do.
Tibatbearhy Fish
By Ismael O.
Oh Tibatbearhy Fish I like
how strong you are. You could
break a tree with your big
pointy horns. With your big rhino head.
With your big soft body you
could run as fast as a car
can go. With your tiger body.
You can swim as fast as a
submarine could go. WIth your tail
fish. You could fly higher
thatn a jet can. With your bat wings
you could get tired so fast
with the tongue of a bear.
That’s why I like Tibatbearhy Fish.
Ode to Tirhino
by Jovanny O.
Oh! Tirhino, how you hunt for
other animals to eat. You have the
head of a rhino and the body
of a tiger. You have the power
to kill with your horns and
the power to run fast and
attack wth your claws. You also
have the power to communicate
with other tigers and rhinos.
Oh Tirhino how you hunt for food.
Ms. Jaurgue
Ode to the Tigersnakerab
by Anthony M.
Oh Tigersnakerab I
like the way your
ears can her so you can
not get hit by a car
and run if someone
tries to take you.
Oh Tigersnakerab I like
the way your neck can
stretch long to bite
the perfect
meal Oh Tigersnakerab.
I like the way your
tail can grab stuff and
bring it to me and grab
stuff.
Oh Tigersnakerab I like
how your fur is so
soft.
Brat
by Husna A.
Oh brat, how nice
of you to have a
pointy nose to protect
yourself froim your
enemies. How helpful of
you to have wings to
give bugs rides. Your eyes
have double eyesight and
your wonderful legs to eat
your food with.
The Bruni with the Beetifly
by Rafael V.
The Bruni walks around will
he jump when he saw the great
beetifly flying here and there.
The beetifly has seen them
all. Will it fly? It sees how
two of the Bruni on the ground
when the Beetifly fly away.
When they’re both playing together
their playing pingball where the
Beetifly is the ball and the Bruni
hand is the big stick.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
May 9 Collaboration
This week I brought the students a poem called "A Small Park" by Joshua Beckman and Matthew Rohrer from their collaborative book Nice Hat. Thanks.. We discussed the value of working with another person to create poems and I explained the process of Beckman and Rohrer writing lines back and forth. I then gave a first line to one student in each group of desks, asked them to write the next line, then pass the paper around the group, each of them writing one line at a time. Here is the result of their efforts.
Ms. Mays
Unknown Creatures
by Jocelyn C., Jorge S., and Adalyz M.
Deep beneath the bridge
There is water with different creatures
Different creatures that are unknown.
Unknown creatures flow in the big water.
The Crash
by Richard D., Maria G., Jovanny O., and Taneisha G.
He heard a crash
by a park
There are flowers
And there are lots of trees
There are lots of kids.
From My Bed to the Floor
by Yesenia J., Giovanni S., Carmen S., Ismael O., and Alicia H.
Beside the dry creek bed
The cold air from my window
Hitting my face
Falling down the bed
The same way it starts to rain
Nobody knows
The Floating Flower
by Miguel O., Daisy M., Oscar P., Ruby T., Joey B., and Yahaira C.
The lake needs friends
The lake needs flowers
The lake needs love
Flowers bloom in the air.
And daisies float in the air.
As the daisy floats away it looks like a small bug.
And the small bug looks like a daisy going away
because it is scared.
The Abandoned Building
by Felicia D., Fernando P., Elizabeth P., and Pablo R.
Beyond the distracted building
the building is old
Who lived in the building?
An old man with a cat.
Also, with his old wife.
Seasons
by Itzel F. Andrew R., and Kimberly S.
The june bugs return
to summer and play
And spring to play
with happiness and cheer.
No one looks the same to each other
by Alex S., Michael A., Brenda B., and Yadira A.
Why does everyone look different?
They look different because they didn’t want to be the same.
They don’t want to be the same cause they want to be different.
They want to be different so they don’t get mixed up with each other.
But at the end they’re the same inside but not outside.
Mr. Stasiak
[Deep Beneath the Bridge]
by Dominique P., Nicholas R., Arely G., Allen B., Natalie C.
Deep beneath the bridge
the river runs through the bridge
then meets up with the lake
see the lake and animals.
And eat under the trees and ride on a horse
eat a candy with water.
[We had a good idea]
by
Pedro G., Oscar C., Justin V., and Dylan A.
We had a good idea
we went to the zoo
we saw a lion and a cheetah
they ran with tremendous speed
By only one winner
[I was cleaning]
by Jamilah Z., Daniel G., Nancy V., Eric C., and Diane T.
I was cleaning
and found something amazing
It was something cool to see.
It was really bright like a diamond shining bright.
Day light dark bright I see a cool sight
the night sky with bright stars the sun so bright just like a big bright star.
[No one remembers]
by Jorge S., Maria U., Edgar T., Yasmine M., and David J.
No one remembers
The little trees that grow in the park.
The trees and the park disappear in the day and in the night
as the dog looked for the park in the night
he finds a bone
It was an ancient dinosaur bone.
[The wind blew the door open]
by Ambrielle P., Andrea M., Jessica N., Alan F.
the wind blew the door open
then the wind pushed too hard and opened the windows
papers flew into the air
and with the graceful wind it made a rustling noise
also the flowers blew into the ground.
[there are two kinds of people]
by Jeremiah E., Luis O., and Alex O.
there are two kinds of people
one loving, one not
the caring and sharing of what the parents have taught
one loves and not one
Ms. Jaurigue
In the lonely field
by Patrick T., Maria B., Ivan P., Tania B., Deivies R.
The june bugs return
Spring is coming again
with those pretty flowers
comes a yellow sunshine
Then the park disappears
In the lonely field
The picure of joy
by Amber A., Leo B., Elizabeth R. , Raul D.
The picture of baby
is the cutest picture
I’ve ever seen.
It reminds me of my baby cousin.
They look just alike.
They are so twins.
The Crash of Group 1
Jonathan S., Julian S., Karina B., Fatima T., Alfredo R., Yesenia S.
He heard a crash
At the corner of the street
The sound was so hard it
made people deaf.
Which made them all want to eat.
And made every living thing deaf come alive
Then people don’t know what people are saying.
It could be a problem.
Looking for the bell
by Leticia R., Alex B., and Jasmine R.
The police have come
what should we do he is going to get us.
We should go and hide somewhere else.
Let’s go hide behind a big bell.
But where is the big bell?
We don’t know, we should find it.
It is behind us.
The amazing displayed building
by Husna A., Isabel P., Rafael V., Anthony M., Celena B.
Beyond the distracted building
comes a crowd of people
screaming out loud to see a display
hearing out loud she saw the new display
seeing the display, she said “cool”
but she got mad.
Friends Are Gold
by Antonio R., Stephanie M., Miriam H., Lucy T., and Alberto R.
The lake needs friends
Friends are gold
Friends will be with you until you grow old.
Friends are always there for you
When you need someone to talk to.
So lets hang out lets go play
it’s a beautiful day.
Ms. Mays
Unknown Creatures
by Jocelyn C., Jorge S., and Adalyz M.
Deep beneath the bridge
There is water with different creatures
Different creatures that are unknown.
Unknown creatures flow in the big water.
The Crash
by Richard D., Maria G., Jovanny O., and Taneisha G.
He heard a crash
by a park
There are flowers
And there are lots of trees
There are lots of kids.
From My Bed to the Floor
by Yesenia J., Giovanni S., Carmen S., Ismael O., and Alicia H.
Beside the dry creek bed
The cold air from my window
Hitting my face
Falling down the bed
The same way it starts to rain
Nobody knows
The Floating Flower
by Miguel O., Daisy M., Oscar P., Ruby T., Joey B., and Yahaira C.
The lake needs friends
The lake needs flowers
The lake needs love
Flowers bloom in the air.
And daisies float in the air.
As the daisy floats away it looks like a small bug.
And the small bug looks like a daisy going away
because it is scared.
The Abandoned Building
by Felicia D., Fernando P., Elizabeth P., and Pablo R.
Beyond the distracted building
the building is old
Who lived in the building?
An old man with a cat.
Also, with his old wife.
Seasons
by Itzel F. Andrew R., and Kimberly S.
The june bugs return
to summer and play
And spring to play
with happiness and cheer.
No one looks the same to each other
by Alex S., Michael A., Brenda B., and Yadira A.
Why does everyone look different?
They look different because they didn’t want to be the same.
They don’t want to be the same cause they want to be different.
They want to be different so they don’t get mixed up with each other.
But at the end they’re the same inside but not outside.
Mr. Stasiak
[Deep Beneath the Bridge]
by Dominique P., Nicholas R., Arely G., Allen B., Natalie C.
Deep beneath the bridge
the river runs through the bridge
then meets up with the lake
see the lake and animals.
And eat under the trees and ride on a horse
eat a candy with water.
[We had a good idea]
by
Pedro G., Oscar C., Justin V., and Dylan A.
We had a good idea
we went to the zoo
we saw a lion and a cheetah
they ran with tremendous speed
By only one winner
[I was cleaning]
by Jamilah Z., Daniel G., Nancy V., Eric C., and Diane T.
I was cleaning
and found something amazing
It was something cool to see.
It was really bright like a diamond shining bright.
Day light dark bright I see a cool sight
the night sky with bright stars the sun so bright just like a big bright star.
[No one remembers]
by Jorge S., Maria U., Edgar T., Yasmine M., and David J.
No one remembers
The little trees that grow in the park.
The trees and the park disappear in the day and in the night
as the dog looked for the park in the night
he finds a bone
It was an ancient dinosaur bone.
[The wind blew the door open]
by Ambrielle P., Andrea M., Jessica N., Alan F.
the wind blew the door open
then the wind pushed too hard and opened the windows
papers flew into the air
and with the graceful wind it made a rustling noise
also the flowers blew into the ground.
[there are two kinds of people]
by Jeremiah E., Luis O., and Alex O.
there are two kinds of people
one loving, one not
the caring and sharing of what the parents have taught
one loves and not one
Ms. Jaurigue
In the lonely field
by Patrick T., Maria B., Ivan P., Tania B., Deivies R.
The june bugs return
Spring is coming again
with those pretty flowers
comes a yellow sunshine
Then the park disappears
In the lonely field
The picure of joy
by Amber A., Leo B., Elizabeth R. , Raul D.
The picture of baby
is the cutest picture
I’ve ever seen.
It reminds me of my baby cousin.
They look just alike.
They are so twins.
The Crash of Group 1
Jonathan S., Julian S., Karina B., Fatima T., Alfredo R., Yesenia S.
He heard a crash
At the corner of the street
The sound was so hard it
made people deaf.
Which made them all want to eat.
And made every living thing deaf come alive
Then people don’t know what people are saying.
It could be a problem.
Looking for the bell
by Leticia R., Alex B., and Jasmine R.
The police have come
what should we do he is going to get us.
We should go and hide somewhere else.
Let’s go hide behind a big bell.
But where is the big bell?
We don’t know, we should find it.
It is behind us.
The amazing displayed building
by Husna A., Isabel P., Rafael V., Anthony M., Celena B.
Beyond the distracted building
comes a crowd of people
screaming out loud to see a display
hearing out loud she saw the new display
seeing the display, she said “cool”
but she got mad.
Friends Are Gold
by Antonio R., Stephanie M., Miriam H., Lucy T., and Alberto R.
The lake needs friends
Friends are gold
Friends will be with you until you grow old.
Friends are always there for you
When you need someone to talk to.
So lets hang out lets go play
it’s a beautiful day.
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