Out of Her Mind -- Musings on Education and Life

Originally published 1/14/2009.  Updated 11/4/2023 The possibilities are infinite--ish when you use online magnets to get creative. No refrigerator necessary. Free online kits here . Poetry, with its mesmerizing ability to encapsulate emotions, stories, and ideas within the boundaries of words, is a true art form. But there's a particular type of poetry that holds a special place in my heart—the kind that challenges our traditional understanding of language and syntax. I'm talking about magnetic poetry, the quirky, wordplay-filled realm where creativity knows no bounds. I love this type of poetry! It really makes me think in a different syntax, playing with a strange juxtaposition of words. Often, I use this format when I am bored or if I have NO IDEA what I want to write about! The beauty of magnetic poetry lies in its simplicity and boundless potential for creativity. It's an art form where words become movable puzzle pieces, waiting to be rearranged into poetic masterpi...

Language, the cornerstone of human expression, holds the power to shape our thoughts, emotions, and the very fabric of our world. In the realm of English Language Arts, delving into the intricate nuances of language can be a transformative journey, one that transcends rote memorization and taps into the essence of creativity. I love embarking on a quest to empower students with the mastery of language from the inside out, igniting their passion for words through playful exploration and creative expression. I excite them through the use of methods such as cut-up poetry . Imagine a classroom filled with students engrossed in a dynamic exploration of language, wielding scissors and glue with enthusiasm, and eagerly dissecting and reassembling sentences. This isn't a scene from a craft workshop; it's the magic of the Cut-Up Method of writing poetry. And the results? Students discovering that language is not just a set of rules, but a living, breathing entity they can mold and manip...

Crafting Your Writing for Specific Audiences: A Mini Lesson Essential Questions 1. How does considering the rhetorical triangle shape what we write? 2. How do we write differently for different audiences? Audience:  A Key Component of the Rhetorical Triangle When a good writer writes, she keeps her audience forefront in her mind as she chooses her topic, her words, and even the details to include.  Consideration of audience is so important that it is only one of three elements in Aristotle's Rhetorical Triangle. In order to write effectively, one must first know who (s)he is potentially writing for, considering their values, core beliefs, level of knowledge on the topic, and so forth, or, in other words, considering the demographics  of their audience.  This mini-lesson will help you (or your students) understand just how important it is to write for specific audiences. Following the instructions below to explore how we naturally code switch , shi...

I.   Email Cut-Up Poetry Assignment                                 Faulkner Directions:   Open up a Microsoft Word document.   Minimize that document. Open up an email account.   If you don’t have one, now’s your opportunity to create one.   They’re FREE!   But you all have an email account through the school system, so I expect you all to be able to complete this assignment. Look through your emails.   Cut the subject lines you like, find interesting or humorous, etc, and paste into your Word document.   The BULK mail folder is an excellent source of funny subject lines! Continue step three until you feel that you have enough words and phrases to craft a poem. Rearrange these subject lines to create a poem of your...

View Finder Haiku Today, in celebration of National Poetry Month, I challenged my AP (Advanced Placement) Literature and Composition students to the 'ku challenge, described in detail on my poetry blog  here . For this activity, I briefly introduced the haiku genre using the material linked above, asking students to share what they already know about this poetic form, activating background knowledge and also effectively helping other students catch up on their poetry knowledge. Then, I had students choose a viewfinder from the front table.  A viewfinder is useful in art because it helps to focus a student's perspective.  I have collected a ton of paint samples with little squares cut out, and I finally found a use for these items.  They worked perfectly as viewfinders! We were originally going to walk outside, but it started raining.  So, like all teachers will have to do, I had to think quickly of a plan b, which evolved into plan c and d and, w...

http://www.ltl.appstate.edu/prodlearn/prodlearn/summer_2007/Faulkner_Bobbi/art3.html Using I Poems to Teach Poetry, Literacy, and a Sense of Place to English Language Learners Context Then: This unit was created as partial fulfillment for RE 5130, Teaching the  Language Arts, with Dr. Beth Frye as I worked towards my masters in Reading Education K-12 at Appalachian State University.  With this project, we were introduced to the idea of using poetry to explore other content areas.  I am a lover of poetry, so I was enthused by this novel way of integrating poetry into content.  The focus of my communication skills class, a locally required class for 10th graders, is writing, mainly informational and research writing.  As soon as I was given this assignment, I began to think of ays to integrate the two types of writing we had been studying into the poetry unit.  The informational writing component of the course id geared to the NC 10th Grade Writing Te...