April is Poetry Month
For April 1st. Happy April Fool's Day - I hope you had alot of fun playing April Fool's Jokes on people. Here's a fun poem for April Fool's Day..Click on the picture to hear the poem
If you'd like to share your April Fool's Jokes with us, go to the Library Padlet at https://padlet.com/jcday/heoehkfamelj
For April 2nd. Mrs Peterson, one of our Special Ed teachers shares one of her favorite poems for National Poetry Month... After listening to this poem, go out for a walk and see what you find growing in cracks in the concrete. Draw a picture or photograph what you see.
The Rose That Grew From Concrete – Tupac Shakur
Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it learned to walk without having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared.
Click on the picture to hear the poem.
For April 3rd. Ms. Nokes, a 3rd grade teacher, shares a poem and her dog.
Little Dog’s Rhapsody in the Night by Mary Oliver from Dog Songs
He puts his cheek against mine
and makes small, expressive sounds.
And when I’m awake, or awake enough
he turns upside down, his four paws
in the air
and his eyes dark and fervent.
“Tell me you love me,” he says.
“Tell me again.”
Could there be a sweeter arrangement? Over and over
he gets to ask.
I get to tell.
with permission from Penguin Press; F First Edition edition (October 8, 2013)
Click on the picture to see her video.
After listening to this poem, find an animal, real or toy, and share your favorite poem or book with it.
For April 6th Ms. Stephen's Poem today is by a man named Rumi .
Click on the picture to see Ms. Stephens recite this poem.
Think of all the ways things have changed in just the past month. Share with your family 3 things you like about the ways things have changed. Then share 3 things you don't like about the ways things are now. Ask your family to share their likes and dislikes about how thing have changed.
For April 7th Ms. Szilagyi shares one of her favorite poems -
Success is Counted Sweetest
By Emily Dickinson
Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.
Not one of all the purple Host
Who took the Flag today
Can tell the definition
So clear of victory
As he defeated – dying –
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear!
Click on the picture to hear Ms. Szilagyi read her poem.
This poem talks about Success being sweetest to people who rarely experience it.
Take a minute to think about your "Sweetest Success" Something you really worked at.
Write an acrostic poem about your Sweetest Success. Share it with your family.
For April 8th Mr. Hubbard takes this opportunity to share a favorite funny poem.
The Dentist and The Crocodile by Roald Dahl.
Click on the picture of the toy mouth to watch Mr. Hubbard's video.
Get a good report card from your dentist - go floss and brush your teeth right now!
Tonight before you go to bed - give a piece of floss to everyone in the family and have a Flossing Party!
Found on the Poetry Foundations website -https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
April 9th Today, Mrs. Brown shares a favorite poem. Willa Cather found me when I was in middle school. I can't imagine how I would have found her on my own... Solitude and youth all in one poem!
Prairie Spring by Willa Cather - 1873-1947
Evening and the flat land,
Rich and sombre and always silent;
The miles of fresh-plowed soil,
Heavy and black, full of strength and harshness;
The growing wheat, the growing weeds,
The toiling horses, the tired men;
The long empty roads,
Sullen fires of sunset, fading,
The eternal, unresponsive sky.
Against all this, Youth,
Flaming like the wild roses,
Singing like the larks over the plowed fields,
Flashing like a star out of the twilight;
Youth with its insupportable sweetness,
Its fierce necessity,
Its sharp desire,
Singing and singing,
Out of the lips of silence,
Out of the earthy dusk.
(This poem is in the public domain.)
Poets like to play with words, but to play with words you have to know them. Take a few minutes and write the word FIELD down the side of a sheet of paper. One letter per line, skip 2 lines between each letter. Then write as many words as you can starting with the letter on the line as you can. Try to use words that have something to do with the word FIELD. example: "F" - fresh, fallow, farm, feathers, feed, filly, flitting... You can use the dictionary or internet. If you don't know the meaning of the word, make sure you look up the meaning.
*** This Poem was found on the poets.org website.
Also, here is 1st grader, Charlotte Rosenthal, sharing a favorite poem.
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one's name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
For April 13 Ms. Joshi shares one of her favorite poems
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Clouds are wonderful to look at and see what shapes you can find in them. Go outside and watch the clouds for a while. When you come in listen to the poem again. What is the poem really about - the beauty and peace a field of daffodils brought to the poet. Think about what else you noticed that brought you pleasure or peace while you were watching the clouds. The sun? the breeze on your face? the smell of fresh air? the tickle of the grass on your bare feet? Poems make you feel things. What did you feel while listening to the poem again?
***This poem was found on the Poetry Foundation website: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
For April 14, Ms. Stanfield shares a favorite poem by Nancy Tillman. Click on her picture to see the video of her reading the poem.
You're Here For A Reason
You're here for a reason. If you think you're not
I would just say that perhaps you forgot . . .
a piece of the world that is precious and dear would surely be missing if you weren't here.
If not for your smile and your laugh and your heart
this place we call home would be minus a part.
Thank goodness you're here!
Thank goodness times two!
I just can't imagine a world without you.
***From: You're Here For a Reason by Nancy Tillman with permission from Feiwel & Friends, a subsidiary of Macmillan Publishers
In this poem, the poet reminds us that not only are we loved, but also that we matter. Since we've been social distancing and staying home, some of us find that we are missing school - even if out loud we say, we hate school. Take a few minutes and think about who you love and who matters to you at school - your teacher? your best friend? the new kid you ameant to make friends with? someone you argued with and didn't get to make up with before school was cancelled? If you have a second, write them a little note to let them know they are loved and they matter. Then mail it to them or have someone take a picture of it and email or message it to them. Keep Loving!
For April 15 Mrs. Manning shares a favorite poem by Jack Prelutsky
I Love You More Than Applesauce
I love you more than applesauce,
Than peaches and a plum,
Than chocolate hearts,
And cherry tarts,
And berry bubble-gum.
I love you more than lemonade,
And seven-layer cake,
Than lollipops, And candy drops,
And thick vanilla shake.
I love you more than marzipan,
Than marmalade on toast;
For I love pies Of any size,
But I love you the most.
From: Jack Prelutsky, It's Valentine's Day Used “with permission of HarperCollins Children’s Books”
Click on the picture to watch Mrs. Manning share her poem.
This is a list poem with rhyme. Did you ever think a list could be poetry? When you write a list poem you should choose your words carefully. The title of your list poem should tell us what the list is about. And you can start each line or stanza with the same phrase. Take a few minutes and make a list of stuff you love, special kinds of animals, sports, space, plants. Write a list poem with the words you've written. Share it with your family.
For April 16 Mrs. Thomas shares a How To poem to help us get out of Drying the Dishes
HOW NOT TO HAVE TO DRY THE DISHES
by Shel Silverstein
If you have to dry the dishes
(Such an awful, boring chore)
If you have to dry the dishes
(‘Stead of going to the store)
If you have to dry the dishes
And you drop one on the floor —
Maybe they won’t let you
Dry the dishes anymore.
“How Not to Have to Dry the Dishes” appears in Shel Silverstein‘s collection- A Light in the Attic used “with permission of HarperCollins Children’s Books”.
Click on the picture to see Mrs. Thomas' video of the poem. According to Amy Ludwig Vanderwater on her website, the Poem Farm (http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/2011/04/how-to-poems.html ) a How To poem is a poem that explains how to do something - a line by line walk through explanation. Write a How To Poem about how to do something you find really hard to do. Read it to your neighbor and see if they can do what you are explaining. Have Fun!
For April 17: Mrs. Rolling shares a favorite poem
Tree House by Shel Silverstein
A tree house, a free house,
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house.
A street house, a neat house,
Be sure and wipe your feet house
Is not my kind of house at all--
Let's go live in a tree house.
“Tree House” by Shel Silverstein from Where the Sidewalk Ends used “with permission of HarperCollins Children’s Books”.
Click on the picture to see Mrs. Rolling's video. In this poem the poet describes the difference between a tree house and a street house. If you had a tree house, what would you have in it for your secret cozy house? Write an acrostic poem using the word TREE HOUSE. For each letter write items you would have in your secret cozy tree house.
For April 20: Mr. Hubbard, once again shares a favorite poem.
Humming-bird by D.H.Lawrence
I can imagine, in some otherworld
Primeval-dumb, far back
In that most awful stillness, that gasped and hummed,
Humming-birds raced down the avenues.
Before anything had a soul,
While life was a heave of matter, half inanimate,
This little bit chirped off in brilliance
I believe there were no flowers then,
In the world where humming-birds flashed ahead of creation
I believe he pierced the slow vegetable veins with his long beak.
Probably he was big
As mosses, and little lizards, they say, were once big.
Probably he was a jabbing, terrifying monster.
We look at him through the wrong end of the telescope of time,
Luckily for us.
Click on the picture above for Mr. Hubbard's video. In this poem the poet imagines the tiny humming bird we know today as a prehistoric giant-"jabbing and terrifying". Do some research and see what prehistoric animals are still around, today. Hint: many are sea animals.
For April 21: Mrs Day shares a favorite poem in honor of the 2020 Baseball Season that wasn't.
Casey at the Bat
Ernest Lawrence Thayer 1863-1940
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.
A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, "If only Casey could but get a whack at that—
We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat."
But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.
But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despisèd, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.
Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.
Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt;
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped—
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one!" the umpire said.
From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.
With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;
But Casey still ignored it and the umpire said, "Strike two!"
"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud!"
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.
The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate,
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate;
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.
This poem is in the public domain
Click the picture to hear the poem.
Martin Gardner of the American Heritage magazine says of Thayer, " Somehow, in harmony with the curious laws of humor and popular taste, he managed to produce the nation's best-known piece of comic verse—a ballad that began a native legend as colorful and permanent as that of Johnny Appleseed or Paul Bunyan. " Ballads are a form of poetry often set to music. Look up some ballads on the internet - comic ballads, love ballads, tragic ballads... Share it with your family.
For April 22, Mrs Cox shares a favorite poem - you know Mrs. Cox is the 4th grade Math Teacher.
Click on the picture to see Mrs. Cox sharing this poem.
This poem asks us to imagine a world without Math. I know some of us would love this idea, but it could have some interesting results. Take a minute to brainstorm other things that have to do with numbers. What would our world be like without numbers?
For April 23, Mrs. Gilbert shares her favorite poem.
Click on the picture to watch Mrs. Gilbert share her poem.
Tug of War is one of the events in our traditional Lee Olympics - Shel Silverstein changed it to Hug O' War. Think of some of the other Lee Olympics events and write a poem about your favorite event. Here's the list from Coach Rangel... Jump Rope, Bean Bag Throw, Hula Hoop, Sac Race, 3 Legged Race, 50 Meter Dash, Long Jump, Obstacle Course, Baton Relay, Hurdles and Long Distance Run
For April 23, kindergartner, Silas Armstrong and his mom, share a few poems from a local author's book - A Space Opens Up by Shelly Herbert and Carl Smith. Please click on the picture to watch their video.
The Academy of American Poets proclaim next Thursday, April 30, as Poem In Your Pocket Day. Your challenge is to make at least 5 copies of a poem of your choosing - it can come from a book or you can write your own, and share it with people in your neighborhood - let's Poetry Blast the Neighborhood. You can share it with your neighborhood, people walking down your street, the postal worker or delivery person. Spread Poetry to cheer up our friends and family and neighbors! To practice social distancing you can put the poem in an envelope and leave it on someone's door step, leave it taped to the mailbox for the postal worker, stand on your sidewalk and recite it to people passing by on their walk, or go for a walk and recite it to people you see in their yards. You can even share it on social media.
For April 27 Mrs. Soto/Ms Paula shares a favorite poem from her childhood.
Snowball by Shel Silverstein
I made myself a snowball
As perfect as could be.
I thought I'd keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas
And a pillow for its head.
Then last night it ran away,
But first it wet the bed.
Click on the picture to watch Ms. Paula share her poem.
Lots of poems shared this month were by Shel Silverstein. Check out http://www.shelsilverstein.com/ to find out some interesting facts about Shel Silverstein. At dinner tonight, share 3-5 interesting facts about him with your family.
For April 28 - Mrs. Day found another poem that speaks to the wonder of nature by Jim Arnosk.
Go on a Nature Walk. Keep track of where you see creatures of different sizes. On your next class Zoom meeting - share with your class the best place to find different creatures.
For April 29th Ms. Osborn shares a warning poem about a crocodile. Click on the picture to see Ms. Osborn's video.
How Doth The Little Crocodile... by Lewis Carroll
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws![1]
In this poem from Alice in Wonderland - the poet warns you to beware of characters who speak and look nice on the outside, but are waiting to attack you when you are not looking. Can you think of some other stories that have characters like that? Share your ideas with a sibling or cousin or friend.
HAPPY POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY!!!
For this last day of Poetry Month - Ms. Perez from the front office, shares an encouraging poem.
Life Doesn't Frighten Me
by Maya Angelou
Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Mean old Mother Goose
Lions on the loose
They don't frighten me at all
Dragons breathing flame
On my counterpane
That doesn't frighten me at all.
I go boo
Make them shoo
I make fun
Way they run
I won't cry
So they fly
I just smile
They go wild
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
Tough guys fight
All alone at night
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
Panthers in the park
Strangers in the dark
No, they don't frighten me at all.
That new classroom where
Boys all pull my hair
(Kissy little girls
With their hair in curls)
They don't frighten me at all.
Don't show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I'm afraid at all
It's only in my dreams.
I've got a magic charm
That I keep up my sleeve
I can walk the ocean floor
And never have to breathe.
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
This poem shares some things that don't frighten the poet. Make a list of times that you surprised yourself by being brave. Write a free-style poem about what you did, how it made you feel, and what was the result of your bravery.
To get us ready for the Virtual Lee Creates Release 2020 party. Mrs. Wilborn shares a favorite poem and some student art.
“Hope” Is The Thing With Feathers
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
I hope you enjoyed the Poetry Month Readings and Activities. I want to thank all the teachers and staff who participated, and especially Ms. Sileo, who posted the recordings every day in the morning SMORE. Keep reading Poems and Books! Love, Mrs. Day.