This mother’s day I reflect on my two children. There is one thing that I worried about when they went to school. I hope they can read.

I say hope because some kids don’t.

Some kids struggle.

I know what happens to kids who can’t read and struggle.

They can give up on themselves and school.

We need to do better with these kids.

Learning disabilities are real, they are for life.

Attempting to force a student with LD to read, in the traditional way, all the time, is harmful.

It does not make sense. We have technology.

We have had technology for awhile but now there is more technology.

What happened to “Listen to Reading”?

No, not just RAZ kids. (A leveled reading program)

REAL books.

We had these listening centers when I was a beginning teacher: a “ghetto blaster” and headphones. Books on CD from Scholastic.

We have digital books now. With a library card the world of books is accessible by paper copy and digital. Digital means audio and it means full membership in the reading club, with endless choice.

I was reminded of this while reading “Tribe of Mentors” by Timothy Ferriss.  Joel McHale a stand up comedian who is dyslexic, recently signed up for Audible.com. He now listens to books all through the day, including those challenging classics that were never a possibility in High School.

A possibility…everyone should have a possibility.

So this Mother’s Day, listen. (Did you catch the clever ending to this sentence?)

Let’s think about our kids, our students, how can we get them back into reading?

As Rick Astley said, “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

He meant reading, as a nerd, I am sure he meant reading.

Love,

Coach Clark

Why do I read business articles? Because they are often the source for amazing ideas to use in the Language Arts classroom.  This Forbes’ article about the Limerick Butler poet Stephen Clare inspired my take on Fresh Poems in the Classroom.

Stephen Clare sets up his typewriter and creates “fresh” poems for people in under 10 minutes.

He requires two things to create poems… a WHAT and a WHO

• WHAT is the topic for the poem?
• WHO is the poem for?

The customer talks to him as he writes. Stephen’s creative process determines the length and the structure of the poem, he lets the poem take the lead.

This magic can happen in the classroom too! Here’s how!

Setting Up This Experience in the Classroom

Immerse students in poetry. Explore many different kinds, not just ones that rhyme.

Here are some handy lists.

30 Books of Poetry for Young Readers

20 Best Poetry Books for Kids

Practice writing poems together as a class. Model first as a teacher (I DO, STUDENTS WATCH), then together as a large group and in small groups (WE DO TOGETHER) and then as individuals (YOU DO ON YOUR OWN).

After writing a few different types of poems, set up students in pairs to write “Fresh Poems”.  Encouraging students to share topics that are meaningful to them and to carefully consider who could the audience of their poem could be. This opens the audience to other students in the class and in the school, in addition to other school staff and to family at home.

However, reality is that writing a poem without scaffolds can be challenging. While some students can listen to another student’s ideas and create a poem, most cannot. Here are some ways to support the student writer of “fresh poems.”

Have poem templates for students to use with prior instruction of how to create with them.  These are the same templates students have explored in class to write poems.

Consider an organizer for holding the ideas of the student “customer”.  One option is to have a paper for students to make a jot list or perhaps a series of boxes on a page for students to create quick drawings with/without words.

If you have access to Google Apps, perhaps have the student “customer” speak into Google Docs using the voice typing feature found on the toolbar under “tools”. The benefit of  voice typing is that the poet can use these captured words, already typed into a doc to create the poem without worrying about the initial step of idea capture.

Finishing ideas can include no tech, meaning hand printed on a page.  It can also be low tech, using a word publishing technology to create a polished poem using typed words and found images. A high tech option would be using BookCreator, to include pictures and words in an eBook format.

Here are some other places online to create or learn how to write poems.

Poster My Wall

Poetry Templates from READWRITETHINK.org

Poetry Templates from Teach-nology

Using Google Slides to Make a Poster

How to Write Free Verse Poetry

Enjoy this process, make tweaks as you find out what works for your students. I think it is important to emphasize the beauty in the personalized gift of writing. Celebrate these newly created poems by bringing in those that are receiving the poems. As an extension, set up a FRESH POEM REQUEST box where students can fill out a form to request a fresh poem. The form should include, the name of the person requesting the poem, the topic for the poem and for who the poem is for.

I look forward to hearing how you used “fresh” poems in your classroom. Please make note in the comment section.

Here’s a bonus for you! I created this Poetry LiveBinder and you might find it helpful as you explore poetry in your classroom.

Until Next Time,

Coach Clark