So Many Stars!

Here are two new poems to read and consider. Which on do you like better? Tell me why!

Star Stories by Lynn Noel (excerpt)

 

Music was still ringing in my ears
As I stepped out under the stars.
Silence.
Sudden silence.
Black, and frost, and midnight.
Just the wheel of the world
Going round over my head.
Just space.
Black space, like rhythm.
The space between the notes.
The breath before the song.
Huge space, big as an indrawn breath.
The stars shape the space into stories.
Sword of Orion.
The dancing Bull.
Seven shining Sisters
Snowflakes clustered as a chord...
The stories hang there in the stars.
Draw breath at midnight
And feel them catch in midwinter's throat.

I Heard a Bird Sing

by Oliver Herford

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.

Mystery Man

I like this poem so much, that I have posted it before! What do you think? Do you like it...or not so much? Who is this mysterious 'man'? Any ideas...(hint: Think about the title! :)?


Windy Nights
by Robert Louis Stevenson


Whenever the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the wind is high,
All night long in the dark and wet,
A man goes riding by.
Late in the night when the fires are out,
Why does he gallop and gallop about?

Whenever the trees are crying aloud,
And ships are tossed at sea,
By, on the highway, low and loud,
By at the gallop goes he.
By at the gallop he goes, and then
By he comes back at the gallop again.

An Interesting Rock Poem

What do you think about this poem...? Why is Flint more important than all the beautiful gem stones?

Flint
by Christina Rosetti

An emerald is as green as grass,
A ruby red as blood;
A sapphire shines as blue as heaven;
A flint lies in the mud.


A diamond is a brilliant stone,
To catch the world's desire;
An opal holds a fiery spark;
But a flint holds a fire.

A Poem for the Full November Moon

Please read this poem about the moon...it's a full moon this week, after all! Do you like this poem? Does it make you think of anything? Do you like it more than "The Red Wheelbarrow"? Or do you like is less...or about the same? (PS: What is a 'quay'? In the poem, you pronounce it "KEYS"...)

The Moon
by Robert Louis Stevenson

The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.

But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.

Great First Comments!...and a Video

Thanks to everyone for the great comments! Let me be very clear, I am not writing the poems on our blog, I am simply posting them for you to read and consider...I thought it was quite interesting that so many of you were puzzled by the chickens...or found them so funny! :) I guess chickens ('chicons') ARE pretty funny!! :) I am wondering about Akash's poetry comment: rhyming would make it better and longer would make it more awesome. Hmmmm...I am going to challenge you on that one, Akash! I found Stephanie's comment about it being an "awkward" poem quite interesting. Good connections on Braden's part - this was definitely a 'rural' setting!! Nice ideas, everybody!

Now check this out: I found this video clip and thought it was a very creative way to communicate this poem....what do you think? Does it help make the poem easier to understand? Click on it and tell me what you think! - Ms. K.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PqRhDdeKDA

The Poem that Started Our Blog

The Red Wheelbarrow
by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

...hmmmm. This is a poem I would like you to read and consider. Here are some questions to get you started:
What do you think about it?
Why do you think the poet wrote it?

Is art poetry?

Try this out -- then write a poem about your new little friend!

http://www.drawastickman.com/gallery.htm?p=18

Have fun! :)

Mrs. Kutertan

Welcome Back!!

Hello and Welcome Back to Everyone!
I am really looking forward to teaching and learning with you this year! I hope you will all enjoy our BLOG!! :) So many of you were at the CNE this summer and I got to thinking: I wonder what THEME you would have chosen for our CNE chair? Here is a picture of the chair that last year's class designed and painted. The theme was "We all belong at the CNE"! What would you like to paint on the chair if we enter the competition next year?

Also, I would like you to read and respond to this poem:

"The milkweed pods are breaking,
And the bits of silken down
Float off upon the autumn breeze
Across the meadows brown."
- Cecil Cavendish, The Milkweed

I thought of it, because I saw a Monarch butterfly in my garden and learned that, the Monarch butterflies that we see at the end of August will fly all the way to MEXICO, in one trip, before they lay their eggs and rest. That seems incredible to me!

What do you think?
- Ms. Kutertan

Is Music "Poetry"?

Happy Poetry Month! Is music "poetry"? How are they the same? How are they different?

1. Try this out:
Click some squares and see what you can create:

(You will need to copy this link into the bar at the top of your screen. This will take you away from our blog, but you know the way back...just use the 'back arrow' at the top left of your screen!)

http://biancavirina.tumblr.com/post/2665295375/click-the-squares-the-whole-world-needs-to



2. Now, finish this with as many words as it takes to tell me what YOU think: "Poetry is..."

Finish This Poem Starter...

Hi Everyone!
Spring is finally feeling like it is here! Here is a little activity for you today. Please finish this poem and send me your ideas...Your poem should be at least 6 lines long. It can rhyme, but it doesn't have to! Looking forward to reading your poems!

"I looked outside the window
and saw to my surprise,
a ..."

The Amazing Full Moon

Tonight there is SUCH a beautiful full moon! In fact, I have discovered that tonight it is the closest that the moon has been to our Earth since 1993 (long before any of you were even born!!). So, in honour of tonight's moon, here are a few moon poems...Just a note: when I was in grade 5 (which was well before 1993 and the last, very close full moon - practically ancient history!), I had to memorize and recite the poem Silver by Walter de la Mare. I remember being quite nervous about this, but I also remember liking the poem quite a lot. I still do not know what the word "shoon" means...or "casements"...maybe we should look these up together? Anyway, here are the moon poems that I chose for us to consider. I will look forward to reading your ideas and connections that you write about! :) And by the way, I hope you are all having a fabulous March Break!

Silver
by Walter de la Mare

Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy coat the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream.

This next one is a bit tricky, but I think that of all the moon poems I found, I like this one the very best, even though there are some complicated ideas and words...like "constancy" (which means to be stable, never changing, faithful, true, loyal, unwavering...does this help?), and even though it is a little sad...my favourite line is "wandering companionless": It sounds so lonely. I would not want to be wandering around like that, without a friend (companion). Now I am feeling a little sorry for tonight's lovely moon...Please write about your ideas and thoughts!

To the Moon
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Art thou pale for weariness
Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,
Wandering companionless
Among the stars that have a different birth,
And ever changing, like a Joyless eye
That finds no object worth its constancy?

I also find that the poet's middle name is a very interesting one...!
Looking forward to hearing your ideas! - Ms. K.

May the Force be with You!

I am thinking of some way to relate this video clip to poetry, but actually, I just wanted to share it with all of you! Besides, it is a great way to begin our unit on Forces (and Structures)...and a good link to Media, too! There must be a poem in here somewhere...

HAPPY SNOW DAY EVERYONE!!!!

It seems like we should all be celebrating this happy event together somehow, but then I guess it would not be a Snow Day!! :) Anyway, my first thought was of all of you today and how much fun you would have in the snow...and no Social Studies test, either! ;) I thought I would need to shovel the snow so I could get my car out of my driveway and off to Norman Cook early, but instead I am writing a haiku on our blog:

Norman Cook Snow Day!
Classroom's dark, our books can sleep
Celebrate the snow!

(PS: I don't think the poor groundhog is going to see his shadow today!! Does that mean that Spring is almost here??!!)

A little Frost for a Frosty Day!

Hello everyone! I am really looking forward to reading your thoughts about THIS famous poem by Robert Frost. (I will tell you my thoughts later, because I don't want to influence you in any way!) PLEASE MAKE CONNECTIONS: to yourself, to other poems or stories you have read, to the world around you...

By the way, some of you have still not voted for your favourite poem on our blog so far. Please do this today!

In the meantime, have a happy snowy day (and, apparently, a very snowy evening!) and I will see you tomorrow! Now, here is the poem:

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost

 

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Cats Playing Patty-cake, what they were saying...

Gemma's blog has some great things to check out...you must look for the baby hummingbird! But here is one of the videos she found and it goes with a very old poem you might know:

Here is the old and traditional rhyme that goes with this video! :)
The earliest recorded version of the rhyme appears in a play from 1698!!!
(How many years AFTER Medieval Times was that...? Anyone?)

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man.

Bake me a cake as fast as you can;

Pat it and prick it and mark it with B,

Put it in the oven for baby and me.

Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man.

Bake me a cake as fast as you can;

Roll it up, roll it up;

And throw it in a pan!

Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man.

Maybe you could post a "nursery rhyme" that you know....is it poetry?

Let's Vote for our Favourite Poem!

Since we are starting a new year, it might be a good time for us to look back at our blog so far and to vote for our favourite poem...After reading some of your comments and ideas, I feel I must remind you that I HAVE NOT WRITTEN ANY OF THESE POEMS! I only found them ( in books or online) and thought they were interesting, so I wanted to SHARE them with you. You certainly do not need to like every single poem, but I am really interested to hear your ideas and what you think. Sooooo....

1. I would like you to look at the list of all the poems we have read so far (in the blue column to the right of your screen) and
2. vote forThe Best Poem (so far) and tell me WHY and
3. vote for your Least Favourite Poem, and tell me WHY.

Everyone needs to vote....Thanks! I am looking forward to hearing your ideas :)

Happy New Year!

...and Welcome Back! Hope you had a fabulous holiday! Here are two great poems and one "musical" entry for the New Year 2011...The first is only part of a poem by one of our favourite poets, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who wrote The Eagle (such a great poem, don't you think?). The second is an uncomplicated poem, that I happened to stumble across. It was published as a "haiku", but in English, the syllables don't cut it as a haiku...(5-7-5). Puzzling, but maybe it works out in Japanese?The thrid entry is a **link to a little video made by somebody not much older than you are. It is a "Soundscape" (we'll be talking about this in music....). Is this music? art? poetry? What are your thoughts about these first 3 entries of the new year?

By the way, I saw a total of  THREE gorgeous hawks over the holidays, right by my house and on the same day -- this made me think of Tennyson and The Eagle. It was a rather magical experience, as one does not often see these specatacular (and HUGE) birds of prey so close to the city. Anyway, a special thanks to those hawks for choosing a tree by me to perch on...and also for reminding me to post these 3 little gems on our blog! Best wishes to everyone for a Happy New Year!

In Memorium
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Poem for the New Year
by Kobayashi Issa

New Year's Day --
everything is in blossom!
I feel about average.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm9AonuPivQ   (If you have any trouble using this link directly, try copying it into the top bar on your screen...it is on Youtube.)