Second Grade Cursive (a poem)

Second Grade Cursive

Miss Rice passed out worksheets

of cursive l’s spaced like soldiers

commanded us to copy.

I dragged my pencil up and down

left almonds in the middle.

Marty Brewster finished first

his scrawls like deflated balloons.

Even after he redid his letters

I still gripped my pencil

the little fish slowly blooming

life no longer balls and sticks

now muddled into loops and angles.

Questions:

1. Should I leave the lowercase l in the opening stanza? That's the cursive letter I'm describing in the poem, but would a capital L make more sense?
2. Although I usually use commas in my poetry, I decided not to in this one. Would the poem's readability improve if I added commas, or are the line breaks enough?
3.  Does the title work? I originally titled this poem "Learning Cursive" and had the second grade information in the body of the poem itself.

Poetry in the Classroom

In anticipation of #titletalk this coming Sunday, I want to honor one of my favorite genres: poetry.

5 of my Favorite Poets

1. Ted Kooser
2. Linda Pastan
3. Billy Collins
4. Carol Ann Duffy
5. Wislawa Szymborska
   

These five poets write lovely, rich yet accessible poems students can enjoy. The first three are American, Duffy is British, and Szymborska, who recently passed away, is Polish.

4 Novels in Verse

1. Sold by Patricia McCormick
2. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
3. Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
4. Requiem: Poems from the Terezin Ghetto by Paul Janeczko

3 Helpful Poetry Websites

1. I'll admit I'm somewhat cheating by leading off with Sandra Effinger's National Poetry Month page; she has amassed a wonderful collection of poetry websites and activities here. Some of my favorites pages are American Life in Poetry, Poetry 180, and Poetry Out Loud.
   
2. Poems Out Loud collects audio of contemporary poets reading their poetry aloud, including famous poets like Billy Collins, Rita Dove, Stephen Dunn, and Seamus Haney, as well as lesser-known poets like Julie Sheehan, whose "Hate Poem" never fails to crack me up.
   
3. The Journal of Mythic Arts dedicates one of its page to poems based on fairy tales, folklore, and myths. If I were still teaching 7th grade in my district, whose curriculum included timeless tales, I would definitely supplement prose with this poetry.
   

2 Guides to Poetry

1. Naming the World: A Year of Poetry and Lessons by Nancie Atwell rescued me during my first year of teaching. This strong collection of traditional, contemporary, and student-written poetry also comes with a DVD of Atwell teaching. I learned so much from her, and six years later, I still return to this book.
   
2. Poetry for Beginners by Margaret Chapman and Kathleen Welton was a serendipitous find at a Borders that was going out of business. As I flipped through this paperback, I was struck by all the lovely ink illustrations that peppered its pages. An illustrated poetry guide? I was sold! The explanations are clear, and many types of poetry are introduced. Though the first edition I purchased had some typos, the author has said a new, corrected version should be coming soon.
   

1 Poet to Follow on Twitter

1. Sherman Alexie, author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, has also written a number of poetry books, including Face, his most recent. His tweets range from humorous and memoir-ish to social commentary and political. He doesn't over- or under-tweet either.
   

And Then CBS News...

In reading a CBS News article about a 15-year-old boy who brought a gun to school and was then shot by police, I was distracted by the following paragraph:

"He said he last saw his son around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, when the boy said goodbye before leaving to catch the bus to school. And he said nothing seemed amiss the night before when he, his wife and their son went out for nachos then went home and watched a movie."

That second sentence which starts with And was very clunky to me. I'm all for starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction when the time is right. This just wasn't one of those times. I had to read it twice before it made sense. Here's my revision, which eliminates the conjunction, changes a phrase, and adds a comma:

He said nothing seemed amiss the previous night when he, his wife, and their son went out for nachos, then went home and watched a movie.

Do you like my sentence better?

Mockingbird Tweets

One of the options on the TKaM exam I gave my sophomore students was to write tweets from the point of view of two of the characters from the novel. My students produced some hilarious and insightful tweets that proved their knowledge and analysis of the novel. Enjoy these samples.

To Kill a Mockingbird Tweets
From sophomore students at Deer Creek High School (Edmond, OK)

Atticus Finch @I_See_Gray:
· What defines a man these days? Character or color? #WeAllKnowThatANSWER
· My children are remarkable. S/O to @Scout_Finch for keeping the peace.
· @Ms.Dubose Jem will be happy to read to you #sorryabouttheplants
· I am always a little up and to the left. Still got the job done though. #GoodShotForAnOldMan

Dill Harris @DillPickle:
· Dared @jemmyboy to run up and touch the Radley house #hestoochicken
· @Scout_F I love you! We are going to get married don’t worry I’ll come back for you. #wordscantevenexpressit
· I sure did give @jemmyboy, @Scout_F and @Ol’_lawyer a good surprise today. Ran away and snuck in (: @thatshowIroll
· I can read. I can write and I’ve washed a camel! @BeatThat

Arthur Radley @scissor_recluse48:
· @PoutScouty235 You’re welcome about the blanket. #payitforward
· What’s up with the kids at the school thinking my tree’s fruit is poision? #Goonkids #eatup
· Someone give me the deets on the trial! I wanna know if the world is ready 4 me again
· Totes just shanked @OleBobbyE after he attack two kids #whatapunk

Scout Finch @JLScout:
· Bout to go to school for the first day #nervous :/
· Feelin kinda risky today. @Jem_Finch, Lil_Dill, and I are gonna go mess with Boo Radley. #ThugLife
· What’s up with old women these days?? Tryna make me act like a lady. #SMH
· @Farmerboy_Cunningham must LOVE ruining food. Who puts syrup on their veggies??!! #smh..

Scout Finch @Scout_finch:
· #thewayiseeit we’re all people, so why don’t we all get treated equally? #peoplethesedays
· #thatawkwardmoment when your neighbor is a recluse and you have never seen him before #comeoutcomeoutwhereveryouare
· @QueenAlexandria I hate being treated like I’m stupid! I don’t want to act like a lady! I want [to] wear overalls and run around outside everyday! #tomboyproblems
· #thatawkwardmoment when you get in trouble for using bad language when your cousin is really the one who started it all. #stupiduncle #stuckupcousinproblems

Jem Finch @JemFinch:
· Just got done reading to a half dead person for 2 hours #mindnumbing
· Calpurnia’s lemonade sure hits the spot after playing all day #rubbingmybelly
· It sure is cold out in the open all exposed #notwearingpantsandlikingit
· Shout out to my home dog Boo for savin my life. #livininthehood
· Dill my man if you touch my sister ill beat the truth out of you #mysistermarriedmybestfriend

Scout Finch @ShoutyScouty:
· #yourecreepy RT @BooRad-est: Sitting in my house watching little kids pass by #ComeAndPlay #IHaveCandy
· I’m refusing to go to school. Why you might ask? #ImSmarterThanEveryone
· RT @DillPickle So happy to be married #OneSummerStrong
· Having a drunken fool slice open your ‘ham’ costume #HappyHalloween
· If you don’t like my overalls, I don’t like you. #TomBoyProblems
· I eat mysterious gum off of trees #SoGross #YetSoGood
· RT @KittyCalpurrrnia: Taking these kids to church #ThrowDownTime #StayOutOfMyWay
· My brother is such a crank pank #PubertyProblems
· I’ll never act like a girl #outcast #AgainstAuthority

Calpurnia @number1nanny:
· Glad @jem_finch is okay, it’s been a long night for the Finch family #relieved
· Sad to deliver the news to Mrs. Robinson #prayforher #RIPtom
· Proud of @scoutfinch8 for serving the ladies toady! #goodwork #taughtyouwell
· @jem_finch @scoutfinch8 Where are you two?! #comehome
· Still can’t believe you did that… RT @scoutfinch8: Sorry for being rude today @waltercunningham! #didntknowanybetter
· Lonely without @jem_finch and @scoutfinch8 running around! #backtoschool

The Need for More Pages

I sent this letter to Joyce earlier tonight. I hope the state department makes changes by next school year.

April 26, 2011

Dear Joyce DeFehr:

Imagine that you are a sixteen-year-old girl. Your handwriting is large but legible. You are taking the ACE English II writing test, and you reach the third and final page of the test packet. You are not allowed to write any more, even though you want to write one more body paragraph before your conclusion. You erase two lines and rewrite your sentences in tiny, cramped letters, hoping to pack in a few final details. You skip the body paragraph you wanted to write, and squeeze in two sentences as a conclusion. You wish you could have written more, but the directions say you cannot write below the final line. You close your test booklet, knowing you could have done better.

My students—like all sophomores in the state of Oklahoma—took the ACE English II writing test last week. All year long, I have had my students write a variety of genres. They have written quick writes in their notebooks. They have analyzed models of writing by professionals and my former students. They have revised and edited their drafts in groups. They have even shared their writing in front of the whole class. I did my part to take my students through the writing process with all five state-mandated modes of writing. My sophomores felt confident going into the “EOI.” They soon discovered one component beyond their control: a page limit.

State testing is not the time to go green. As I’m sure you know, students are only given two-and-a-half pages on the ACE English II writing test, compared to the six-and-a-half pages on the ACE English III writing test. (The page inequality even reaches down to the fifth and eighth grades, which each receive four-and-a-half pages for their state-mandated writing tests.) This hardly seems fair. The essay accounts for 9% of a student’s score on the ACE English II test, compared to 14% on the ACE English III test. Still, the English II and the English III essays are scored with the same rubric, which awards 30% of the score for ideas and development. How can students be expected to fully develop their ideas when they are given a limited space? Students are given unlimited time to write their essays. Surely they could be given an extra page or two. If paper is too costly, then steps should be taken, so students can write their essays on computers.

Incredibly, 40% of every public Oklahoma high school’s Academic Performance Index score is determined by ACE English II test scores. Shouldn’t a test that determines a school’s progress and performance allow students to succeed regardless of the size of their handwriting?

The day after the writing test, I asked my ninety English students, “How many of you would have written more had you been given more space?” Sixty-five of them raised their hands.

Sincerely,

Jason Stephenson

Oklahoma Writing Project Teacher Consult

Deer Creek High School, Teacher of the Year, 2008-2009

Rambling Autobiography

I was born on Labor Day in 1982, the same year E.T. phoned home. My favorite cake is Italian cream, and my favorite pie is rhubarb. I played my mom’s dented cornet for eight years. In second grade, when my teacher Miss Rice read Charlotte’s Web aloud to my class, I knew I would read books for the rest of my life. I have never seen an illegal drug in person. My favorite Christmas gift was an expandable plastic tunnel. I have skied a black diamond run on accident and on purpose. My mom told me she had leukemia through a text message. On the last song of my high school prom, I danced with my crush, Beth. My favorite place on earth was the hay barn at my grandparents’ farm; a tornado destroyed it. I didn’t floss regularly until I was 28. In high school on Sundays, I wrote notes to my friends on the backs of offering envelopes while my dad preached. The smell of gasoline reminds me of lawn mowing. I once stole a butterscotch candy from a grocery store. After fifteen years since her death, I have begun to forget the sound of my Nannah’s laugh. The first video game I owned was Link’s Awakening for Gameboy. I believe the best sunsets in the world are here in Oklahoma. I don’t think I will ever move away from this state.

inspired by Linda Rief's rambling autobiography

Attachment

I am hopelessly attached to some of my students. For some, this school year marks our fourth year in education together. I had them as little seventh graders and now I have them as sophomores with driver's licenses. I have had the opportunity to watch them grow up, whether or not I had them every year as a student.

Today in class I couldn't help but beam with pride as I read some of my students' reflective essays. The prompt was from the annual essay contest for the Oklahoma National Memorial and Museum. Students had to reflect on an occasion when they had to make an unpopular moral choice. I heard stories about saying no to drugs and alcohol. One girl described how she let an adult know about a rape that had happened--even though a friend had sworn her to secrecy. A simple story about turning in a lost wallet--with all its money still in tact--also moved me. And it wasn't just that these were good choices. It was that these were choices being made by my students. I was very, very proud of them.

Also, one of my favorite students told me today that he made a 30 on his ACT. Another reason for me to be proud. (I am definitely attached to him because he is one of two students who I have now had for four years in a row.) My first score on the ACT was also a 30, but that was when I was a junior in high school, but he is only a sophomore. I am excited to see what he does with his life.

Ruined Surprise

This school year I have written every essay that I have assigned my English students. Just as a sort of "I-did-it-so-you-can-do-it-to" credibility thing. I think it's gone over very well, and the end result for me has been rewarding. I had forgotten what it was like to write for fun. I really enjoy the writing process, and narrative writing is one of my favorite kinds of writing, which, coincidentally, was our first essay to tackle this year.

I wrote one essay about my grandparent's farm and all the memories connected to it. These mainly involve my sister and my cousins and all our crazy adventures, which include: crazy billiards, leeches from the creek, forming a chain and grabbing a hot wire fence, and my foolish choice to jump up and down on a pseudo-frozen pond.

I was so pleased with how this essay turned out that I decided I would give it to my grandma (Ma-ma, if you must know her "real" name) for Christmas. Today, my parents and I visited Ma-ma down in Hobart. We were down there because Dad is preaching a revival at the church where he grew up.

While we were visiting, we were talking about school. I told Ma-ma that I was writing example essays for my English students.

Then Mom opened her mouth.

She asked, "Did you ever get to read that essay about the cousins?" She turned to me. "Now, where were you showing that essay before?" (I had shown this essay to one of my cousins at a wedding earlier this month.)

Ma-ma looked confused. "No, I haven't," she said.

I decided not to make a scene. "Well, Ma-ma, I'll have to bring that essay and show it to you at Thanksgiving," I said nonchalantly, hoping that she would forget between now and Christmas.

Meanwhile, my dad was in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen where he was getting a cup of coffee. He started to chuckle because he realized Mom had ruined the surprise.

"What?" Mom asked.

"Nothing," Dad smirked.

Mom and I had a good laugh on way out of Hobart. The good thing about this situation is that I get to hold this over her head for a couple weeks.

Told any more secrets today, Nancy?