From the Animal’s Point of View

for elementary students

      Let’s be a dog caught in the middle of a gopher town today. Woof!!   This hilarious picture of our dog, Nemo, was painted by our daughter years ago. We live in the foothills, and our gentle back slope is covered with a sea of gophers.  It’s a ripe and ready buffet for a dog — if he can catch any!  What’s going on in Nemo’s mind here? Is he spooked, surprised, overwhelmed, or is he scheming what his next move will be?
    This class is all about point of view, although I don’t tell the class that until after all the brainstorming. We start with a sentence, fill it in with the 5W’s, and sprinkle it with imagery (the five senses) to create our scene.   
        
    The dog barked. 

    I ask the students what image they have of a dog barking.  We all will have different images of a dog barking, maybe at a loud noise, maybe at the poor mailman, or maybe at a gopher hole. What we do know is this sentence could use some help. There’s just not that much info.
    It’s a great time to introduce the 5 W’s, which are really 6!  I write these on the board, and I also have a handout I pass out with these on it.
Who
What
When
Where
Why
How
        We fill all these in on the board for the barking dog. Then we write our new sentence.

Who    Nemo the dog
What   at gophers in holes
When   daily in summer
Where  in the backyard
Why    to scare them away or to catch them
How    repeatedly, seriously, confidently

        Every day this summer, Nemo, barked repeatedly at the thousand gophers in the backyard. Even though he was confident and serious, he wasn’t able to scare them away or catch any.

          I ask the students to write their own sentence about an animal doing something. It can be a tiger walking, a cat napping, a sloth hanging — any animal they like. Then I ask them to answer the 5 W’s.
         Next we tackle the senses. I write the five senses on the board, and we answer questions about the scene. Sometimes you can’t come up with an answer to every sense.

Sound    sharp bark; munching gophers
Sight      spotted dog, black mask and ear flaps, upright tail; small, dusty brown gophers, buck teeth
Smell     dusty air; dirt from dirt mounds
Taste     juicy gophers
Touch   dry summer grass; hard ground; summer heat 

        Finally we put the two brainstorming tools together, writing a paragraph about the animal including our 5 W’s and imagery. I model it on the board as third person, as an observer watching the scene. The students tell me what to write. I help them or change up sentences a little, but as little as possible. (These here about Nemo are mine, but there are student examples below.)

       Every day in summer, Nemo, the confident black-and-white-spotted dog, loped through the backyard. He stopped where the dirt mounds were the most numerous. He was surrounded by them, and he stood there quite still. A little dusty brown head appeared in one hole, then the next, until each hole contained a juicy gopher's face munching on the dry summer grass with gleaming yellow buck teeth in the bright, hot sunlight.  Nemo's black floppy ears perked out to the sides as his eyes opened wide.  He let out a sharp warning bark.  

       Now we change it up! We write the same paragraph but from the animal’s point of view. We pretend to be the animal and describe the same events from the animal's perspective. This is first person point of view, using “I” and “me.” Again, we use as many senses and 5 W’s as possible. We might continue to ask and answer questions. How does the animal move? What exactly does he see?

       The sun is hot, time to scare off those furry brown critters. Their holes aren’t too far. I can smell them even before I trot right up to their dirt mounds. It’s pretty crowded here, so I’ll just wait a bit and stand perfectly still to surprise them when they pop up out of their holes. I’m sure I can catch a juicy one today.  Ah, there’s one to the side of my left spotted paw. He’s munching grass with those tiny buck teeth! Oh, there’s another one peeking out, also crunching. On my, there’s three more, five more, no ten more, rearing their little heads. Which one should I choose? Arf!


    Here’s examples from one of my classes.

Third Person Point of View:

       The blue kangaroo hops along the savanna. She brushes against an exit sign where she smells a leftover hot dog.  She pokes it with her tail and flips it into her mouth. Unfortunately, it is full of mustard, and she faints, falling with a thud.

First Person Point of View:

     I hop along the dusty savanna. I brush against a red and white smooth, hard stick. Something delicious is around. It's pink and tan with yellow goo, so I poke it with my tail. It seems edible, so I expertly flip it into my mouth. At first, it tastes divine. Then it tastes horrible, sour, spicy, and warm. I overheat and pass out.

Poem Hour : Rhyme Time

for elementary students

         I love these little puzzles for rhyming words.  I found them originally in a terrific book called Wacky Word Games by Margie Golick, a treasure chest of word play.   I’ve seen the puzzles in middle school workbooks too.  Students can’t stop mulling over the tiny puzzles until they’ve solved them all. It's important to give the number of letters in the rhyming words as a clue.  For example,

   royal jewelry
_ _ _ _    _ _ _ _

       Sometimes, I add on a challenge to their homework: create a new wacky rhyme puzzle. Here are some of my students’ brainteasers:


endless melody                           
long song                                

hit bird                      
struck duck              

rodent beanie           
rat hat  
                   
happy play               
toy joy                      

ancient metal
old gold

blackish putty
gray clay

wood bird (or Howard Hughes’ plane)
Spruce Goose


         After we enjoy the puzzles, I give the students a handout with funny poems on it, and we read those aloud together. These are silly, and I use the opportunity to point out rhyme schemes. There are several different rhyme schemes in the handout’s poems, so this is sort of a puzzle too.  There are many hilarious poets; it’s fun to search for poems to include in the handout. A sampling is below.
        Finally we write a poem together. We make a list of everything we can think of about a subject, then try to put some ideas in a poem. For every end word in a line, we write a list of rhyming words to use in the next rhyming line for our particular rhyme scheme. We usually use rhyming couplets, definitely the easiest in the moment. But I have had a few classes that try ABAB also.
       The assignment: Write a rhyming poem 12 or more lines long.  You can use any rhyme scheme you like, such as AABB, ABAB, AAAA, ABCB, etc. In other words, not all the end words need to rhyme. As you can see below, two of my classes used ABAB, where every 2 lines rhyme.  You can tell these classes met during a rainy week.

Rain

Today there's too much rain!
Oh my, it clogs every drain,
Plants sprout out of roots,
Mud’s so thick it’s stuck to boots.
Today every street’s a river.
I've never seen rain like this. Never!
Everything is completely wet.
Everyone is cold, even my pet.

Jacket

My warm jacket
Has a large pocket.
It keeps me dry in the rain
While wet people walk in pain.
Laces tighten my hood
Others wish to wear one if they could.
I wish I had 21 zippers
To hide all my candy Nerds.
My jacket protects me from a flood
While my legs are soaked in mud.

————————

Below are various funny poems.


Introduction by Jack Prelutsky to his edited book, Laughing Out Loud

If you have got a funnybone,
and I've no doubt you do,
then this completely silly book
is sure to tickle you.
I've filled it full of dizzy ryhmes,
the wildest I could find,
and if it makes you laugh out loud,
that's what I had in mind.

I hope you grin from ear to ear,
I hope you crow for weeks,
I hope you laugh until you cry,
and tears roll down your cheeks.
I wish you lots of belly laughs,
I hope you have to roar,
and if you almost split your sides,
that's what this book is for.

Bursting   by Dorothy Aldis

We've laughed until my cheeks are tight.
We've laughed until my stomach's sore.
If we could only stop we might
Remember what we're laughing for.

Sea Horse and Sawhorse by X.J. Kennedy

A sea horse saw a sawhorse
On a seesaw meant for two.
“See here, sawhorse,” said sea horse,
“May I seesaw with you?”

“I'll see, sea horse,” said sawhorse.
“Right now I'm having fun
Seeing if I'll be seasick
On a seesaw meant for one.”

Edward Jones by Sol Mandlsohn

A skinny man,
    named Edward Jones,
Was nothing but
    a bag of bones.
He filled himself
    with ice cream cones.
And now he's known
    as Cold Bones Jones.

Monday's Child is Red and Spotty   by Colin McNaughton

Monday's child is red and spotty,
Tuesday's child won't use the potty.
Wednesday's child won't go to bed,
Thursday's child will not be fed.
Friday's child breaks all his toys,
Saturday's child makes an awful noise.
And the child that's born on the seventh day
Is a pain in the neck like the rest, OK!

Easy Semester Starter: Short and Sweet (Acrostic, Diamante, Cinquain)

for elementary and middle school students

       I like to start each semester with an easy-peasy assignment. Many reluctant writers take my class, so I have to hook them in quickly with something they can succeed at with little effort. I use the acrostic, diamante, and cinquain poems usually for the first class of a spring semester.  I often receive a sprinkling of new students in spring, when some parents find their child needs a writing nudge.
     I found two cute acrostic images on the net years ago, and my handout starts out with those, as well as two acrostics I wrote. I live in beautiful, big California, hence the CA poem. 

CATS 

C urled up in a small fluff-ball,
A ll snug and warm,
T hinking of mice and milk,
S lowly falling asleep.

California

C oyotes and locals eat chili peppers.
A rt reigns from Hollywood to San Francisco.
L ucky lookers spy passing whales.
I mmigrants galore make us strong!
F olks wear sunglasses even at night.
O aks are majestic in our golden hills.
R ose Parades float among cowboys and bands!
N orthern Sierras and southern deserts,
I ncluding beaches and bays we play,
A lways we love our beautiful state.



   I start with the acrostic. We read the poems aloud, then I write WRITING in a column on the board, and we fill in the letters.

W ith a pencil
R ainbow colors in our words
 I nteresting facts on paper
T ons of terrific books
 I nky fun to read
N ational Geographic around the world
G reat writers are we!

     Next I have the students write the name of an animal or simply their own name to create their acrostic.  After about 10 minutes we move on to the diamante poem. Again, we read the handout.
                 _________________________________________________________

DIAMANTE: a seven-line poem that takes the shape of a diamond. A poem of Opposites.

              Bananas                                                             Lion
          Long, smooth                                                Majestic, proud
    Peeling, squashing, sharing                           Roaring, snarling, prowling
Crescent, sweetness, heart, crunch                 Mane, muscle . . . Fleece, fluff
     Cutting, cooking, eating                               Bleating, leaping, grazing
        Circular, colorful                                              Meek, gentle
              Apple                                                                Lamb
       
 Diamante has 7 lines:
Line 1:  Noun
Line 2: Two vivid adjectives that describe Noun
Line 3: Three interesting  -ing action verbs that describe Noun
Line 4: Two nouns about Noun and two nouns about Antonym
Line 5: Three interesting  -ing action verbs that describe Antonym
Line 6: Two vivid adjectives that describe Antonym
Line 7: Antonym
     Begin each line with a capital letter, and remember your commas.  Do not use ending punctuation. Add an ellipsis ...  in Line 4 if you like. An ellipsis indicates something is omitted that the reader understands (which will be clear by the end of the poem; it is used in a puzzle here). Diamantes need no title.
       ___________________________________________________________________________

     I take suggestions for opposites and write those on the board,  day/night, war/peace, cat/dog, heat/cold, dinosaur/bird, reader/writer, etc.  I write the numbers 1 through 7 in a column to compose the poem.  After choosing antonyms, we add in lines, 1 and 7. Then we work on lines 2, 3 and 4 continuing to finish the poem. I use the ellipsis to remind them of the antonym subject change in line 4.

1                              Sun
2                         bright, hot
3             shining, burning, turning
4           fire,  gas  .   .   .   rock, craters
5            reflecting, waning, leaving
6                        bumpy, cold
7                            Moon

  
      Again I give them 10 minutes to start their own diamante or to at least come up with opposites they might like to write about as homework.  If we have time I include the cinquain as a third poem or as a challenge for homework.  This one has a looser structure and uses synonyms, so it’s fun for some students.  I number 1 through 5 on the board and start with the synonyms on lines 1 and 5, then fill in the rest of the lines. Here is one my class came up with:

Read
fun, informational
exciting, interesting, calming
learn while sitting down
Comprehend

        ___________________________________________________________________________

CINQUAIN: a five-line poem in which the first and last word are synonyms.

    Dog                                                       Mules
    friendly, loyal                                        Stubborn, unmoving
    jumping, licking, running                      Braying, kicking, resisting
    loves to chase balls                                Not wanting to listen
    canine                                                    People


      A cinquain has 5 lines:
Line 1: Noun
Line 2: Two adjectives that describe the Noun
Line 3: Three action verbs or gerunds (“ing” words) about the Noun
Line 4:  A four word verb phrase relating to the Noun (can be a Feeling or Effect of the Noun)
Line 5: Synonym of Noun.

Line 1: One word                        Dinosaurs
Line 2: Two words                      Lived once,
Line 3: Three words                    Long ago, but
Line 4: Four words                     Only dust and dreams
Line 5: One word                        Remain

Cinquain originally consists of twenty-two syllables distributed as 2, 4, 6, 8, 2, in five lines:
Line 1: Two syllables                    Baseball
Line 2: Four syllables                   Bats crack against
Line 3: Six syllables                     The pitch, sending it out
Line 4: Eight syllables                  Over the back fence, I did it!
Line 5: Two syllables                    Homerun

Ono! Zany Anteaters Zap Ants

                                                   
 for Elementary writers

     Onomatopoeia, who created this word?!  The Greeks actually; it means “made up name!”  I actually love this word and mysteriously can spell it, no problem. If you sing it over and over, the students can sing it with you, and they won’t forget it. Besides, onos are words that sound like the sound they are representing, like whoosh, buzz, hiss, and click.
     I often use the following as the first fall lesson of the year.  Boys especially love it, incorporating loads of exploding onos.
     For the ice breaker I ask the students to write two words, an adjective and a noun: one has to start with a Z and one with an A. My examples are Zany Anteater or Artsy Zingers. If they can’t think of Z words, we start writing as many as we can think of on the board.
     After the ice breaker, I write the alphabet on the board from A to Z.   Then I ask them to write the alphabet backwards down their paper, Z to A, with one line for each alphabet. We start with Z (if we didn’t already) and write 2-3 of our favorite words that start with that letter, zero, zipper, zinger, zigzag. Then we move on to Y, yessiree, yoga, yellow, yard.  I always do X with them because it’s difficult. I allow them to use words that start with EX, like excellent and extra. I have the kids continue on the letters, working on this for about 10 minutes, then we share some on the board. There’s not enough time to cover all the letters, but everyone has fun offering their selected words.
     Next I give out a little handout with sneezes from around the world. The students think these are hilarious and sometimes will try to formulate their own. This is my introduction to onomatopoeia. Finally I give them a handout called "Whiz Bang Onomatopoeia." I believe I snitched this from Word Hero by Jay Heinrichs.  It explains rappers’ origin of the word “bling” from cartoons, and also points out onos from comic books.
    We write as many onos on the board as we can think of,  buzz, bonk, stomp, smack, click, splash, tap, hiss, clank, scratch click, thump, chomp, whir, whiz, zip, ding, dong, crack, crackle, snap, pop, peep, chuckle, giggle, gurgle, ka-ching, zoom, boom, kaboom, whisper, whoosh, poof, swoop, screech, squeak, slap, clap, clang, bubble, rustle, rumble,  . . . 
    Finally we can begin to write a paragraph. I explain what a paragraph is and make sure the students indent using their thumb or two fingers from the margin to start.  The challenge is this:
    Write a paragraph using 5 onos and 5 words from their Z to A list.
   I model it on the board, using their ideas. Start with a character or topic.  Here are a few examples my students came up with. The first example uses only onomatopoeia; the chosen words are underlined in the second example with rad and queen from their Z to A list that was left on the board. 

         Randy whizzes down the street on his bike. He screams as he loses his balance, screaching, and squishing onto a neighbor's wet lawn. He hoots as he recovers. For a break, Randy opens his backpack, gobbles his lunch and slurps his water.

         The rad skateboarding queen of England whispers to the king of Scotland.  He scratches his bald head and asks for a pink wig. She explodes in anger and stomps on the king's big toe. The king wailed until she brought him a chocolate cupcake to apologize. 

      The students write their own wild paragraph next and share it before class is over.  I give them the assignment to write another at home using 5 onos and 5 words from their Z to A list.