Do tears not yet spilled wait in
small lakes?
All my missing
gets jumbled up
inside of
me.
Every word is a doorway
something you
could fall
right up
into
a meeting,
one often cancelled.
A dream never flies away
but it can be destroyed
or eaten,
are they invisible rivers
that run
towards sadness?
Monday, April 15, 2013
This Same Sky
Through the reading of this collection of poems I have learned that there is no one way to write a poem, poems can be written about anything and poetry has the ability to convey emotion that no other form of writing possesses.
The Meaning of Simplicity
I found this poem to be rather poignant, leaving me with much to think about. I really loved the lines "Every word is a doorway to a meeting, one often cancelled, and that's when a word is true: when it insists on the meeting." It is truly beautiful, something that needs to read out loud, and I am still at this point trying to make sense of it all. To me it means that words invite the opportunity to be discussed and lingered on. Words should be spoken about and appreciated in ways that they currently are not. That, after all, is what we are supposed to do when we read poetry: be with the words. This poem gave me a lens to read the rest of the poems with; an eye for a meeting with a word.
The Question Mark
This poem is simple yet intriguing. I have never questioned the idea of a question mark, but this poet evoked that questioning. The question mark is personified through these words, leaving the reader to empathize with it. This would be a fun poem to use with students because it makes them really think about small things, and may inspire some poems of a similar idea: writing about a period, a letter, a number. Questions to me can be stressful because they are the unknown. Unknown things, questions, lead me to wonder and hope and dream, all things a poet should do.
Monkeys
I love the view evoked in this poem; that who are we to decide monkeys don't talk because we can't understand them. The reverse of that is introduced, when speaking about how the monkeys are probably unaware of what we are saying, and may feel similarly. This poem is useful to really delve into the idea of questioning the status quo. Why is it that cars drive on the right side of the street? Why can't we understand other animals? There are so many questions that could be asked and pondered in the form of poetry. I think this author is trying to get readers to understand that our perspective isn't the only one, and we need to consider others. This widened perspective helps us to be more understanding people.
"A dream never flies away but it can be destroyed or eaten."
This is just one line of the poem Why There Are No Cats in the Forest, but it was the line that stuck out to be the most. I looked at it in isolation and at first thought of it as a negative thing, looking at the words eaten and destroyed. Upon second look I found the positive, dreams are not something that just become out of our reach suddenly, we have to work at not accomplishing them. It is a line that inspires me to think more about how my dreams aren't just leaving me beyond my control.
The Sky is Vast
I was drawn to this poem because it appears to me like a small story. But this poem does not just detail the events of the tiny cloud, but helps readers to learn a lesson. When reading this poem I learn the lesson of "two is better than one", or something along those lines. Alone, the tiny cloud is scared, but when merged with it's mother it is happy and safe. Merging together with others can help you to be strong and beat even the hardest tasks. This poem allows this message to be conveyed in a very lovely and lighthearted way.
Under This Sky
I love this poem because it is comparing two very different places to one another, yet showing how similar they can be. They might have their intense differences but life and love and dreams can be found in both of them. Despite how different people may think they are from others, there is truly not that much difference in life. We may have "fancier" things or "nicer" things, but when it comes down to it at the end of the day we are all people who are longing for the same thing in life: love.
The Meaning of Simplicity
I found this poem to be rather poignant, leaving me with much to think about. I really loved the lines "Every word is a doorway to a meeting, one often cancelled, and that's when a word is true: when it insists on the meeting." It is truly beautiful, something that needs to read out loud, and I am still at this point trying to make sense of it all. To me it means that words invite the opportunity to be discussed and lingered on. Words should be spoken about and appreciated in ways that they currently are not. That, after all, is what we are supposed to do when we read poetry: be with the words. This poem gave me a lens to read the rest of the poems with; an eye for a meeting with a word.
The Question Mark
This poem is simple yet intriguing. I have never questioned the idea of a question mark, but this poet evoked that questioning. The question mark is personified through these words, leaving the reader to empathize with it. This would be a fun poem to use with students because it makes them really think about small things, and may inspire some poems of a similar idea: writing about a period, a letter, a number. Questions to me can be stressful because they are the unknown. Unknown things, questions, lead me to wonder and hope and dream, all things a poet should do.
Monkeys
I love the view evoked in this poem; that who are we to decide monkeys don't talk because we can't understand them. The reverse of that is introduced, when speaking about how the monkeys are probably unaware of what we are saying, and may feel similarly. This poem is useful to really delve into the idea of questioning the status quo. Why is it that cars drive on the right side of the street? Why can't we understand other animals? There are so many questions that could be asked and pondered in the form of poetry. I think this author is trying to get readers to understand that our perspective isn't the only one, and we need to consider others. This widened perspective helps us to be more understanding people.
"A dream never flies away but it can be destroyed or eaten."
This is just one line of the poem Why There Are No Cats in the Forest, but it was the line that stuck out to be the most. I looked at it in isolation and at first thought of it as a negative thing, looking at the words eaten and destroyed. Upon second look I found the positive, dreams are not something that just become out of our reach suddenly, we have to work at not accomplishing them. It is a line that inspires me to think more about how my dreams aren't just leaving me beyond my control.
The Sky is Vast
I was drawn to this poem because it appears to me like a small story. But this poem does not just detail the events of the tiny cloud, but helps readers to learn a lesson. When reading this poem I learn the lesson of "two is better than one", or something along those lines. Alone, the tiny cloud is scared, but when merged with it's mother it is happy and safe. Merging together with others can help you to be strong and beat even the hardest tasks. This poem allows this message to be conveyed in a very lovely and lighthearted way.
Under This Sky
I love this poem because it is comparing two very different places to one another, yet showing how similar they can be. They might have their intense differences but life and love and dreams can be found in both of them. Despite how different people may think they are from others, there is truly not that much difference in life. We may have "fancier" things or "nicer" things, but when it comes down to it at the end of the day we are all people who are longing for the same thing in life: love.
Locomotion, Part 2
Characters
Lonnie
-fighter
-thinker
-dreamer
-a great older brother
-strong
-smart
-lover
-sympathetic
-scared but hiding it
Lili
-young
-scared
-hopeful
-quiet
-caring
-naive
Miss Edna
-caring
-tough, yet gentle
-sign of hope
My Thoughts
I am not someone who generally reads poetry, and I do not necessarily go out of my way to read it. Throughout my childhood I had the picture of poetry as always having to rhyme, Dr. Seuss and nursery rhymes seemed to sum it up for me. Writing poetry was far from enjoyable, because finding the rhymes were just too hard. As I got older, I realized that rhyming wasn't as important, but reading poetry was not an exciting activity because it involved figuring out a meaning that a teacher had pre-determined. Throughout the past year I have come to feel differently, realizing that there is no one way to read or write poetry. I find this book to perpetuate this feeling, as poems are written for a variety of reasons and in a variety of forms. I think that giving this book to students who are having difficulty with poetry could be inspiring. It could also be used for students who are going through difficult times, like Locomotion, as a form of therapy.
This book displayed so many incredible emotions through the eyes of a child. Emotions, I surely have never truly experienced. It was amazing how these were all portrayed through poetry, and it seems that the poems even made the reading a more emotional experience. I was immediately hooked, and trying to figure out what plagued the life of Lonnie. Through their brief introductions, I was able to learn an incredible amount about Miss Edna and Lili. I was visualizing them in my mind, this kind but tough older woman, and this timid little girl. While Lonnie's teacher is only described briefly, it is easy to deduce that she is one of his biggest cheerleaders, giving him the opportunity to express himself in a way he never thought possible. Despite all of his hardships, Lonnie is able to see the bright light in the future, through his poems.
Lonnie
-fighter
-thinker
-dreamer
-a great older brother
-strong
-smart
-lover
-sympathetic
-scared but hiding it
Lili
-young
-scared
-hopeful
-quiet
-caring
-naive
Miss Edna
-caring
-tough, yet gentle
-sign of hope
My Thoughts
I am not someone who generally reads poetry, and I do not necessarily go out of my way to read it. Throughout my childhood I had the picture of poetry as always having to rhyme, Dr. Seuss and nursery rhymes seemed to sum it up for me. Writing poetry was far from enjoyable, because finding the rhymes were just too hard. As I got older, I realized that rhyming wasn't as important, but reading poetry was not an exciting activity because it involved figuring out a meaning that a teacher had pre-determined. Throughout the past year I have come to feel differently, realizing that there is no one way to read or write poetry. I find this book to perpetuate this feeling, as poems are written for a variety of reasons and in a variety of forms. I think that giving this book to students who are having difficulty with poetry could be inspiring. It could also be used for students who are going through difficult times, like Locomotion, as a form of therapy.
This book displayed so many incredible emotions through the eyes of a child. Emotions, I surely have never truly experienced. It was amazing how these were all portrayed through poetry, and it seems that the poems even made the reading a more emotional experience. I was immediately hooked, and trying to figure out what plagued the life of Lonnie. Through their brief introductions, I was able to learn an incredible amount about Miss Edna and Lili. I was visualizing them in my mind, this kind but tough older woman, and this timid little girl. While Lonnie's teacher is only described briefly, it is easy to deduce that she is one of his biggest cheerleaders, giving him the opportunity to express himself in a way he never thought possible. Despite all of his hardships, Lonnie is able to see the bright light in the future, through his poems.
Locomotion
Locomotion
Change in life,
Not sure what to do,
Where is everyone?
Are they going to come back?
Someone new,
Somewhere new,
She may be nice,
but he I am alone.
Where is Lili?
Will we ever be together?
Wondering,
wishing,
hoping,
waiting,
but most of all,
praying.
Mama,
I miss you,
Daddy,
Where are you?
Smoke,
burning,
so much light,
but mostly
Darkness.
Find the light,
find the hope
Poetry.
Love,
light,
LaTenya.
Someday,
I'll finally find
a home.
Change in life,
Not sure what to do,
Where is everyone?
Are they going to come back?
Someone new,
Somewhere new,
She may be nice,
but he I am alone.
Where is Lili?
Will we ever be together?
Wondering,
wishing,
hoping,
waiting,
but most of all,
praying.
Mama,
I miss you,
Daddy,
Where are you?
Smoke,
burning,
so much light,
but mostly
Darkness.
Find the light,
find the hope
Poetry.
Love,
light,
LaTenya.
Someday,
I'll finally find
a home.
Monday, April 8, 2013
House of the Scorpion!
Here are my thoughts on this weeks book via video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7u1771qgsdakb3q/Video%20Apr%2008%2C%205%2038%2026%20PM.mov
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7u1771qgsdakb3q/Video%20Apr%2008%2C%205%2038%2026%20PM.mov
Monday, April 1, 2013
Chains
While reading this text I made a lot of connections to texts I read as a child. One of these texts is the American Girls series about Addy. Addy is also a young slave who is trying to get to freedom. She is trying to protect her siblings, but unlike Isabel, Addy's mom is still alive, but they both have in common that they had to leave their fathers behind after being sold. Addy is luckily able to reunite with her family at some point, while at this point Isabel's reunion with Ruth has not transpired.
As a child I attended events around these books and this character, and was able to relate to Isabel at one point because, I too, had made a cornhusk doll. It is absolutely heartbreaking when she loses Ruth's doll, and she describes it as if she's lost everything. Even though it seems small to us, to her it was all she had. I wonder if this is how people who were affected by Hurricane Sandy felt.
There are many quotes throughout this text that really struck me. Here are a few:
I can't imagine what it would feel like to be sold, and it is upsetting to here it described as feeling like a chipped bowl. It makes me feel some of the pain Isabel must have felt, but of course I can never know what it would feel like to be sold. The way Isabel describes her feelings gives the reader a sense of what it might be like to be a slave. The description of her feelings shows the strong person she is, but also her moments of weakness. She is seen as someone we can relate to, as she is not just strong but human.
Isabel's faith in God allows her to keep going when times are tough. This shows the importance of religion in her life.
I once again, cannot imagine what it must feel like to lose your mother and be sold around to different people. She is continuously lied to and things are taken away from her. As she leaves she grabs seeds of her mothers, in hopes to keep something of her mothers. This shows that Isabel is hopeful and has great ties to her family.
Things I was thinking:
As a child I attended events around these books and this character, and was able to relate to Isabel at one point because, I too, had made a cornhusk doll. It is absolutely heartbreaking when she loses Ruth's doll, and she describes it as if she's lost everything. Even though it seems small to us, to her it was all she had. I wonder if this is how people who were affected by Hurricane Sandy felt.
There are many quotes throughout this text that really struck me. Here are a few:
I can't imagine what it would feel like to be sold, and it is upsetting to here it described as feeling like a chipped bowl. It makes me feel some of the pain Isabel must have felt, but of course I can never know what it would feel like to be sold. The way Isabel describes her feelings gives the reader a sense of what it might be like to be a slave. The description of her feelings shows the strong person she is, but also her moments of weakness. She is seen as someone we can relate to, as she is not just strong but human. 
Isabel's faith in God allows her to keep going when times are tough. This shows the importance of religion in her life.
Isabel continues to reveal her feelings in many ways.
I once again, cannot imagine what it must feel like to lose your mother and be sold around to different people. She is continuously lied to and things are taken away from her. As she leaves she grabs seeds of her mothers, in hopes to keep something of her mothers. This shows that Isabel is hopeful and has great ties to her family.
Martin's Big Words
One of the coolest and most interesting facets of this text are the pictures. They offer a unique view of the subject and enhance understanding of the book.
The pictures, while they are not real, they look very realistic. They give the reader the sense that they are actually a part of the book. The spirituality that surrounded Martin Luther King Jr. is present throughout the book. In the front and the back of the book are double pages of stained glass windows which reflect Martin's minister background. He is also pictured at the pulpit preaching as an adult, and reading the bible as a child. The white only water fountain pictured below in conjunction with the quote "You are as good as anyone" allows readers to evoke feelings about this subject.
As mentioned above there are also quotes on most pages that are from either Martin or sometimes his mother. This text is obvious not fiction, but the narrative style of writing allows it more accessible to the reader. It provides the information in a succinct way which allows the reader to learn without being overwhelmed.
This text is perfect for students in the intermediate grades because it allows them to learn while being exposed to a story. By using this in the classroom students can be shown that it is okay to read picture books even as an older child. It will make these types of texts accessible, and show students below grade level that it is possible to read interesting nonfiction texts at their level.
In addition to the interesting facts in the story, there is a timeline at the end as well as additional resources to look into on the topic. These text resources allow students to learn more about the topic and further their learning.
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