Comparison Poem--One Minute Till Bedtime

by Jacqueline Jules

How do you inspire students to write beautiful poetry? Share beautiful poetry in your classroom! A wonderful new resource is One Minute Till Bedtime selected by former Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt. This extensive collection features new poems from Jane Yolen, Jon Scieszka, Nikki Grimes, Jack Prelutsky, Lemony Snicket, Mary Ann Hoberman, Eileen Spinelli, and dozens of other well-known children’s authors. Each poem is a minute in length, perfect for a quick transitional moment before lining up for lunch, dismissal, or specials. It’s also perfect for calming a class down to begin social studies or math. Dreamy illustrations by Christoph Niemann will invite young readers to cuddle up with this book in a corner. If you are looking for poetry to add to your classroom library, this should be on your wish list.

For the writing workshop, One Minute Till Bedtime provides a wide selection of poems on various topics to use as models. You will find poems on virtually any subject of interest to your students. Family relationships, school, home, food—it can all be found in this 164 page compendium of rhyme, rhythm, and figurative language. Particularly notable are poems on the seasons, which could tie in to the science curriculum. Poems on animals also abound. My contribution to this collection is a poem called “Pigeon.” 

Illustration by Christoph Niemann
from One Minute Till Bedtime

Read this poem to your students and discuss how the poem compares pigeons to other birds. Challenge them  to write their own comparison poem. How does a flamingo compare to a penguin? How does a frog compare to a toad? This activity requires some science related research to compare two animals. Integrating language arts with science expands critical thinking skills and creativity!

Happy researching and writing!

www.jacquelinejules.com

JUST-SO FUN AND FACTS

by Jacqueline Jules

The Elephant’s Child, Rudyard Kipling’s wonderful just-so story is a staple of children’s literature. Children never fail to be amused by this zany explanation for why the elephant has such a long trunk. They also love retellings of why the chipmunk has stripes or why the zebra has stripes.

Personally, as an avid bird lover, I have always been fascinated by traditional tales about why each bird species has such distinctive feathers. There are tales from around the world depicting a time when birds were naked and not at all happy about it.  “How Buzzard Got His Feathers” from the Iroquois is a famous one. There are also stories of birds who borrowed or stole feathers from other birds. Authors often take a pinch from one story and a pinch from another to create something entirely new. And that’s what I did when I decided to write an explanation for why the peacock has such amazing plumage.   

In Feathers for Peacock, I dispute the old saying, “Proud as a peacock.” Is the peacock really boastful or vain? Peahens, the female of the peafowl species, like males with flashy colors. When the peacock displays his feathers in a giant fan, he is trying to catch a wife so he can become a daddy. Is that so wrong? In my mind, the peacock got a bad rap. He is no more boastful than a bat is blind. Besides, how could I write a just-so story saying that the peacock was awarded a gorgeous appearance as some kind of punishment? Wouldn’t that be counter to all sense of fairness?

In Feathers for Peacock, the poor peacock arrives late on the day all the other birds receive their warm colorful feathers. No one had remembered to invite him to the party. Peacock is left shivering and crying. When his friends see the mistake, the community responds humanely, and Peacock, rather than being an example of vanity, becomes an example of generosity and kindness.

Ask your students to brainstorm sayings about animals such as “slow as a snail,” “fast as a cheetah,” “lazy as a sloth.” Afterward, challenge them to write a story about how that animal behavior came to be. Encourage your students to be critical thinkers and research if the adage is actually true. For example, “Blind as a bat.”

Choosing a distinctive trait of an animal and explaining why it came to be in a story is a fun exercise for writers of any age. Go one step further the way I did in Feathers for Peacock and ask your students to add a nonfiction addendum called Fun Facts About (whatever animal the story is about).

Animal stories provide a perfect opportunity for creative thinking and research.

Happy Writing!

www.jacquelinejules.com

  

WRITING AND COMMON CORE CONNECTIONS WITH SUSAN STOCKDALE

by Mary Quattlebaum

Schools are abuzz with talk of Common Core.  What are the challenges for students, teachers of writing, and those who write for children?  How might the new standards be best implemented to enhance writing as well as reading and information-processing skills?  In exploring these questions, I’m delighted to welcome acclaimed author/illustrator Susan Stockdale to Pencil Tips. When it comes to nonfiction, Susan embraces beauty and accuracy.  Her books on the natural world, including her newest, Stripes (Peachtree 2013), are scrupulously researched and stunningly presented, both in terms of language and image.   Check www.susanstockdale.com  for more information on Susan’s books and activities.

1. Your new book, Stripes, is in the style of your award-winning titles Bring on the Birds and Fabulous Fishes, with back matter that helps the book to grow with the reader. Can you share your greatest joy in writing and illustrating it?

My greatest joy in creating the book was when I determined my approach for writing it. I decided to write rhyming verses for the animals’ habitats and to show each animal in action in its particular home: "Propped on a log,/poised on a leaf./ Scaling a ridge, /and scouting a reef." From a writing standpoint, this gave me the opportunity to highlight where the animals live and use some verbs that might be new to children. From a visual standpoint, I was able to paint some wonderful and diverse environments.

2.  What about your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge was deciding which animal to illustrate for each line of text. I had many choices. For example, for my line “poised on a leaf,” I illustrated a zebra swallowtail butterfly, but I considered a Colorado potato beetle, a leafhopper, a red shield bug, a bumblebee, a caterpillar and other creatures. I chose the butterfly because I thought it was the most visually appealing of all my candidates and would be fun to paint  - an important consideration!

Here is the progression of my badger illustration:

Sketch 1: the badger that is "prowling the prairie"  

looks pretty meek here!

 

Sketch 2: now the badger looks more like it's prowling

  

Image 3: final acrylic painting

 

3.  Thank you for sharing the evolution of that particular image!  It’s fascinating to see how you add ever-greater detail to the depiction of the badger and its habitat.  Do you have a writing or drawing prompt that might connect with the book?

As a fun and easy warm-up exercise, I give children a sticky note and ask them to write an adjective describing a photo or painting we are observing. (There’s something about writing just one word on a little piece of paper that takes the intimidation out of writing.) Then I gather up the notes and ask the children to direct me as I arrange and rearrange their words on the wall. The results can be surprising and sometimes beautifully poetic. This prompt demonstrates how changing the order of words changes their meaning, and how a small change can make a big difference.

Thank you, Susan.  I know you’re already hard at work on your next nonfiction book, Spots, and look forward to sharing that one with my students, too.

www.maryquattlebaum.com

MINI DIARIES FOR WRITING AND RESEARCH

by Mary Amato

Keeping a mini diary is a fun way to encourage both writing and research. Share Cronin and Bliss’s funny picture books, Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider, and Diary of a Fly. First read for enjoyment. Then read it again and ask students to identify what facts they are learning about the animal. Next, invite students to create their own Diary of a…. Here’s how:

1.     Have students choose an animal that they really love.

2.     Take students to the library and let them find books about their animals and/or do web research.

3.     Ask students to create a fact sheet on the animal for reference.

4.     Make a simple blank book by taking four sheets of paper, folding them in half and stapling at the fold with a long-arm stapler.

5.     Invite students to pretend to be the animal and write one diary entry. Students can add illustrations and keep adding entries each day for a week.

At the end of the week, share your diaries.

www.maryamato.com