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...

we heart found poetry (word cloud made using wordart ). At the end of a unit in my high school English class, I have students create and present thematic found poetry.  I am sure you can vary this activity in numerous ways; I look forward to you sharing your implementation/ideas with me and other readers.  Recently, I have been using found poems in the following ways: 1.  Near the first day of class, I introduce the concept of found or cut up poetry by using a sample text we have read together in class (can be a shortish excerpt or excerpt(s) chosen for this purpose).  Students are told to write down interesting words and phrases that they hear/see (depending on the modality in which you present the information) with the understanding that these words will later be used to write a thematic poem on the work that was read.  They are to record a minimum of 25 words and phrases, and I am sure to encourage them to write down at least 10 phrases.  Then,...

A student climbs a tree on Earth Day Today was Earth Day!  A joyous reason for me to act like a hippie and for that to be socially acceptable, and so I took full advantage of the situation.  Oh, and it is nearing the end of National Poetry Month, and it is Hump Day and the kids have been working hard, so what better reason to celebrate? I teach high school, three periods a day of English.  English is one of those classes that every one has to take (and pass) four years in a row in order to graduate.  I feel that it is my duty to make my classes as applicable to my students' lives as possible, to help them, through reading and writing, learn to think and communicate.  I also feel that the nature of my class gives me the leeway to get to know my students in ways that other teachers may not be able to--after all, through our writing and sharing as we connect to literature, we learn a lot about one another. And so yesterday, I realized that my students an...

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...

Nature Poems Today, go outside and get your hands and feet dirty!  Look beneath a rock, examine the roots of a tree, or dig through soil and write about whatever you find lurking there: maybe you see ants working, perhaps you are alarmed by the coating of pollen, maybe you are enchanted by the juxtaposition of nature and man's creations.  Feel the sun on your face, the air on your skin.  Rejoice, and write about nature. Your Assignment:   Go outside and write a nature poem.  There are no word limits.  You will have 15 minutes outside for this writing activity. Remember to engage all of your senses.   This poem does not have to rhyme.   Be creative!  Try a concrete poem (written in the shape of your subject). Also, remember to write using figurative language--you know, all of those elements you normally have to analyze literature and poetry for: alliteration, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, rhythm, ...

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...