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WritingFix Project: Poetry Lessons & Prompts
resources inspired by the NNWP's annual Piñon Poetry Festival
Teachers attend the festival with two or three of their students in tow, and together they write poetry inspired from demonstration lessons presented by NNWP Teacher Consultants. Teachers return to their classrooms with lessons, published samples, and student helpers who can assist them when they teach the lessons to the rest of their students. Kim Polson is the NNWP Consultant who organizes the festival. In 2009, the festival was held on March 27th at Double Diamond Elementary. We are in the process of deciding when and where the festival will be held in 2010.
At WritingFix, we love all of Ralph Fletcher's books. They contain the techniques of an actual writer, presented in such a way that students in third grade and up can easily understand them. Fletcher is amazing at sharing the wisdom he's gained about the writing process in a way that students respond to. Fletcher's book, Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out, will inspire you as teacher, but it will also inspire your students to find the poetry hidden in their souls. In 2009, we gave away copies of this book to all thirty teachers who attended our Piñon Poetry Festival. NNWP Consultants...Propose a Poetry Lesson for next Year's Poetry Festival! If you're an NNWP Consultant (which means you've taken our 5-credit Invitational Institute at UNR), you are eligible to propose a lesson for future poetry festivals. The lessons presented at our poetry festival a) must be linked to a mentor text that we can purchase for teachers who attend the festival and b) must be able to be presented in sixty minutes to 3rd-8th grade students who attend the festival and write alongside their teachers. Here is the template for mentor text lessons that we feature at WritingFix. Being a presenter at our long-standing poetry festival is both a good-paying job, and it looks excellent on a resume!
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 Each spring, 30 teachers register for the NNWP's Piñon Poetry Festival in Northern Nevada. These teachers attend the festival with two of their students, and all three write poetry together to one of the lessons featured here. When teachers return to school, they are encouraged to teach the poetry lesson from the festival with their whole class, using the two students as helpers. |
 2009's Featured Lesson: What If... PoemsLesson's Mentor Text: What If... by Regina J. Williams Focus Trait: Word Choice Lesson Author: Amanda Bodenstein, NNWP TC (2002) |
 Lesson: Haiku Riddles Mentor Text: If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelutsky Focus Trait: Word Choice Lesson Author: Heather Clark, NNWP TC (2004) |
Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency |
Click on the lesson's title or the book thumbnail to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: So Much Depends Upon... Mentor Text: Love That Dog by Sharon Creech Focus Trait: Voice Lesson Author: Dena Harrison, NNWP TC (2001) |
 Lesson: Between Repeated Lines Mentor Text: Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers by Mary Ann Hoberman Focus Trait: Idea Development NNWP Lesson Author: Kim Polson, NNWP TC (2004) |
Click on the lesson's title or the book thumbnail to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Impersonating Great Poets Mentor Text: Science Verse by Jon Scieszka Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency Lesson Author: Leah Keuscher, NNWP TC (2003) |
 Lesson: Ballads about Family Mentor Text: Family Reunion by Mary Quattlebaum Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency Lesson Author: Heather Clark, NNWP TC (2004) |
Click on the lesson's title or the book thumbnail to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: School Song Parodies Mentor Text: Take Me Out of the Bathtub and other Silly Dilly Songs by Alan Katz Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency NNWP Lesson Author: Tara Robertson |
Even if you cannot come to Northern Nevada to attend our poetry festival, we encourage you to sit down and write poetry alongside your students. |
10 Popular Poetry Lessons Inspired by some Favorite Picture Books
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 Lesson: Four Metaphor Poems Mentor Text: Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox Focus Trait: Idea Development |
 Lesson: Emotion & Colorful Days Mentor Text: My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss Focus Trait: Idea Development |
Click on the lesson's title or the book thumbnail to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Listen to the Word Choice of Authors Lesson's Mentor Text: Listen to the Rain by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault Focus Trait: Word Choice |
 Lesson: Ain't Gonna Rain No MoreLesson's Mentor Text: I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency |
Click on the lesson's title or the book thumbnail to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Animals Not to [Verb] with... Mentor Text: Don't Take Your Snake for a Stroll by Karin Ireland Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency |
 Lesson: Hubris at the Bat Mentor Text: Casey at the Bat, original poem by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, Illustrations by Christopher Bing Focus Trait: Organization |
Click on the lesson's title or the book thumbnail to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Start & Stop Poems Mentor Text: Twilight Comes Twice by Ralph Fletcher Focus Trait: Organization |
 Lesson: Poems to Bug Your Reader Mentor Text: insectlopedia by Douglas Florian Focus Trait: Word Choice |
Click on the lesson's title or the book thumbnail to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: The Color of Love Mentor Text: I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse Focus Trait: Word Choice |
 Lesson: Special Place Poems Mentor Text: A Quiet Place by Douglas Wood Focus Trait: Word Choice |
4 Lessons Inspired by Chapter Book Excerpts
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 Lesson: Paulsen-inspired Nature Poems Mentor Text: Woodsong by Gary Paulsen Focus Trait: Voice |
 Lesson: Writing a Backwards Poem Mentor Text: Holes by Louis Sachar Focus Trait: Word Choice |
Click on the lesson's title or the book thumbnail to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: A Poem for Two Voices for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Mentor Text: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Focus Trait: Idea Development |
Focus Trait: Voice |
Click on the lesson's title or the book thumbnail to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Turning Point PoemsMentor Text: Crank by Ellen Hopkins Focus Trait: Idea Development |
More to come! |
9 Lessons Inspired by some "Classics" of Poetry
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Focus Trait: Idea Development |
Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency |
Click on the lesson's title or the poet's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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Focus Trait: Word Choice |
Focus Trait: Idea Development |
Click on the lesson's title or the poet's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Four Ways of Looking at _______ Mentor Text: Wallace Steven's poem, "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" Focus Trait: Idea Development |
 Lesson: Serendipitous Personification Mentor Text: "The Railway Train" by Emily Dickinson and "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer Focus Trait: Word Choice |
Click on the lesson's title or the poet's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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Focus Trait: Word Choice |
Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency |
Click on the lesson's title or the poet's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Death Personified Mentor Text: John Donne's poem, "Death Be Not Proud" and Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. Focus Trait: Voice |
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18 Poetry Lessons Inspired by Song Lyrics
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 Lesson: With Your Own Two Hands
Mentor Text: Ben Harper's My Own Two Hands Focus Trait: Idea Development |
 Lesson: One Minute in Time
Mentor Text: The Cure's 10:15 on a Saturday Night Focus Trait: Idea Development |
Click on the lesson's title or the singer's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Quest Item Poetry
Mentor Text: Jim Croce's I've Gotta Name Focus Trait: Idea Development |
 Lesson: What Else is Love?
Mentor Text: Pat Benatar's Love is a Battlefield Focus Trait: Idea Development |
Click on the lesson's title or the singer's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Is Perception Reality?
Mentor Text: Jack Johnson's Inaudible Melodies Focus Trait: Word Choice |
 Lesson: Color my World Grey and Blue
Mentor Text: Dave Matthew's Grey Street Focus Trait: Idea Development |
Click on the lesson's title or the singer's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Ain't That America
Mentor Text: John Mellencamp's Pink Houses Focus Trait: Idea Development |
 Lesson: Boogie Woogie with a B
Mentor Text: The Andrews Sisters' Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy Focus Trait: Word Choice |
Click on the lesson's title or the singer's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Things I Love Poems
Mentor Text: Tom T. Hall's I Love Focus Trait: Idea Development |
 Lesson: My Favorite Things
Mentor Text: The Sound of Music's Favorite Things Focus Trait: Idea Development |
Click on the lesson's title or the singer's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Beautiful Noise Poetry
Mentor Text: Neil Diamond's Beautiful Noise Focus Trait: Idea Development |
 Lesson: Poems versus Lyrics
Mentor Text: Kelly Clarkson's Addicted Focus Trait: Word Choice |
Click on the lesson's title or the singer's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Mentor Text: The Beatles' Yesterday (plus two other songs) Focus Trait: Idea Development |
 Lesson: My Adidas
Mentor Text: Run DMC's My Adidas Focus Trait: Idea Development |
Click on the lesson's title or the singer's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Tribute to an Artist and his/her Work
Mentor Text: Don McLean's Vincent Focus Trait: Idea Development |
 Lesson: What's Important in Your World?
Mentor Text: Billy Joel's We Didin't Start the Fire Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency |
Click on the lesson's title or the singer's picture to read an overview and to access the entire lesson and its resources, including student samples and graphic organizers.
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 Lesson: Advice to Youth on Things Now GONE
Mentor Text: Switchfoot's Gone Focus Trait: Idea Development |
 Lesson: A Call for Change
Mentor Text: Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin' Focus Trait: Idea Development |
Right-Brained Poetry Prompts |
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Structured Poetry:
Other Left-Brained Prompts:
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Serendipitous Poetry Elements: Other Right-Brained Prompts:
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Our Piñon Poetry Festival is Dedicated |
He was a poet and long-time member of Ash Canyon Poetry Society. He would often entertain us with his poems during Northern Nevada Writing Project Summer Institutes. He founded the Northern Nevada Piñon Poetry Festival when it became apparent that the Book-Out and the Nevada Young Writers publications were so overflowing with poetry that we perhaps needed an additional event and publication just for the poetry selections. Bill suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for most of the years he worked with us. He joked and laughed about the annoyances of the debilitating disease and negotiated the difficulties of his disability with uncommon courage and grace. He inspired us to do our best and to see the finest in one another. We found it most fitting when noted poet, Sean Griffin, announced in 1998 that the Northern Nevada Piñon Poetry Festival would be renamed the Bill Abrams Piñon Poetry Festival.Click here to open and read one of Bill's poems. |
Copyright 2010 - The Northern Nevada Writing Project and WritingFix- All Rights Reserved |
