Saturday, April 28, 2012

Non-fiction - A Mystery


         I am in the middle of preparing a short presentation about non-fiction writing and poetry for the teachers at school, and in the recent two days, I’ve found two posts who are such perfect examples of that.  It was like a gift to me to read them.  Please look at Amy Ludwig VanderWater’s The Poem Farm for her final Dictionary Hike post about the Zaire River, and then go to Elaine Magliaro’s Wild Rose Reader for three different ways to write about one thing. 

       Thus in the midst of this preparation, I’ve been trying my own research that includes my discoveries in a poem.




Fibonacci holds my secret
1, 2, 3, 5 . . . all around
But others know the deeper ones,
those who find me on the ground.
Squirrels know me as a one-dish meal
and nibble as they please.
They hide me in their middens
to find in winter’s breeze.
But the most important secret—
are you able yet to deduce?
It’s that I sometimes become a seedling
that becomes a spiky spruce.


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       Remember there is a poetry month CHALK POEM finale that Betsy of Teaching Young Writers is hosting tomorrow.  Come join us!

           Activities still are happening in these final days of Poetry Month. The last lines of the kidlit Progressive Poem can be found through the links on the right. Find Jama Rattigan's blog post at Jama's Alphabet Soup  to discover other Poetry sites in the kidlitosphere doing wonderful things!  Cathy, at Merely Day By Day, is joining Mary Lee, at A Year of Reading in a poem a day this month. Other daily poem writers include Amy at The Poem FarmDonna at Mainely Write, and Laura at LauraSalas.  Plus Greg Pincus of Gotta Book has just published his first E-book, The Late Bird.  

9 comments:

  1. Three inspiring ladies, Amy, Elaine and you Linda. Good luck on your presentation, I hope you will share with us as well!

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    1. Thanks Betsy. I'm sure I will share. I'm looking forward to prose and poetry mixed up in May!

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  2. Oooh, I do love this one!

    "seedling/that becomes a spiky spruce"

    That just rocks!

    Thank you, Linda. I will see them all this way now. Super math, mystery, and science poem all rolled into one.

    a.

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    1. Thanks Amy, I think you've influenced me with the research possibilities. This was fun!

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  3. I love combining research and poetry! Well, I love combining ANYthing with poetry. I used to share Joyful Noise: poems for two voices with my seventh graders, then watch some eyewitness videos on birds and fish to gather research for our own poetry, the way Paul Fleischman uses details about insects in his poems for two voices.

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  4. Thanks for reminding me, Christy, about this book. I remember it, but don't remember that part. I'll find it!

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  5. This is FABULOUS! One of your best, I think! And a good reminder to me that poetry needs a hearty helping of FACT to make the discoveries it reveals even more amazing.

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    1. Thank you! I am getting more & more interested in the words backed by research, Mary Lee. It's like having the ingredients right there at my fingertips.

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  6. I would have loved to attend your presentation, Linda! :) Sounds very interesting and exciting.

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