Poetry Month

Poetry Month (or April as you may know it) has come and gone in a flash!  Here's a glimpse of how SES celebrated!

Our poetry calendar

A different staff member read a poem over the morning announcements each day of April

A few kiddos share their poems from Poem in Your Pocket Day

Creating color poems with the Pic Collage app during Techie Thursday

Selecting poems for their pockets

This was taken at the end of the day, but this guy needed a poem for the road!

This Week in the Library...

This week we're reading poetry!

Third grade will be reading Marilyn Singer's Mirror, Mirror.

Here is the author reading from her book:

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Fourth grade will be reading Pirates by David Harrison

Check out the author's website to find out about all of his fantastic books!

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Fifth grade will be reading novels in verse, including these:

Listen to the author read from her book:

Here's the author talking about Home of the Brave:

Read more at the author's website.

Here's a great book trailer for Love That Dog:

Learn  more at the author's website.

We're Celebrating Poetry!

As poetry month continues, SES students are participating in activities that have them reading, illustrating, and writing their own poems.

My library helpers, Brooklyn, Vivian, Bodie, and Margherita created this amazing "Poet-Tree" for my bulletin board!

Karli builds a poem

Alexandra, Mason, Kaden, and Nickolas write some graffiti poetry about pictures of ocean animals.

Mason and Margherita's finished graffiti poems

Tanner, Iain, and Mason created black out poetry with some old book pages.

Clay copies a poem to illustrate for Picture Poetry.

On April 24th, we celebrated Poem In Your Pocket Day.  Sophie wrote her own poem to carry in her pocket!  What an awesome writer!

April is National Poetry Month!

All month, Smithville Elementary will be celebrating poetry!

Each day, a different teacher will read a poem over the announcements.  The poems will then be posted on our poetry calendar across from the office.

If you'd like to have some fun with poetry, check out one of these sites:

• Poetry Splatter: Write your own poem by filling in the blanks with some splatter words!
• Giggle Poetry:  Read some super FUNNY poems and rate your favorites!
• Poetry 4 Kids:  Meet author and poet Ken Nesbitt, and discover some of his funniest poems!
• Instant Poetry Forms:  Want to write your own poem?  This site makes it easy--just fill in the blanks!

This week in the library...

This week month in the library, it's National Poetry Month!  Check back this week and throughout April to find out about all kinds of great poetry books and resources!  Happy April!

 

 

Thought of the Day: Reader's Oath

Today, Smithville Elementary students will be taking the NEA Read Across America Reader's Oath. We pledge to be life-long readers and to read every day!

Reader's Oath

Debra Angstead, Missouri--NEA

I promise to read

Each day and each night.

I know it's the key

To growing up right.

I'll read to myself,

I'll read to a crowd.

It makes no difference

If silent or loud.

I'll read at my desk,

At home and at school,

On my bean bag or bed,

By the fire or pool.

Each book that I read

Puts smarts in my head,

'Cause brains grow more thoughts

The more they are fed.

So I take this oath

To make reading my way

Of feeding my brain

What it needs every day.

Thought of the Day (Bonus Valentine's Quote!)

So, it's a day early, and I will, of course, share another Thought of the Day tomorrow, but I couldn't resist this line from one of my favorite poets...

 

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

This week in the library...

This week, third grade will be welcoming Autumn with The Stranger by Chris VanAllsburg.  When Farmer Bailey accidentally hits a strange man with his truck, he and his family welcome the stranger into their home.  As the days and weeks go by, though, the Bailey family starts to notice some peculiar things about their strange visitor...

Here's a short book trailer about The Stranger:

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Fourth grade will be learning about our poetry section through three very different poetry books.

Here's a snippet from Marilyn Singer's Mirror, Mirror:



Here's a trailer for Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman:

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Fifth grade will be learning about novels written in verse, including May B. by Caroline Starr Rose:


Have a great week, everyone!  See you in the library!

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse
by Marilyn Singer

Fairytales written
Up and down
Back and front
Characters good and bad
Reversed
Poetry unveiled.

Unveiled poetry
Reversed
Bad and good characters
Front and back
Down and up
Written fairytales.
[Summary from Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List]

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Amazing Faces

Amazing Faces
by Lee Bennett Hopkins

"The night is beautiful, so the faces of my people" says Langston Hughes in this multicultural collection of 16 poems by various well-known authors. The verses portray varied emotions and backgrounds, while the watercolor illustrations perfectly capture the differences and similarities within all of us.
[Summary from The Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List]

MORE holiday poems!

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Here are some more great poems about different holidays. This time, from Mrs. S. Vinklarek's class!

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Easter by Sophie
Easter eggs outside the window
Your mom cooking scrambled eggs in the kitchen
Birds chirping and chicks pecking
You can taste brownies after Easter egg hunting
You can touch purple, green, and yellow eggs
Easter

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Aggie Football Game by Carlee
Tackled on the field
Fresh popcorn
Fans saying whoop
Pepsi in a cup
The bleachers that are cold
Aggie Football Game

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Christmas by Kirt
Presents under the tree
Cookies in the oven
Music from the radio
Chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven
Wrapping paper on the presents
Christmas

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Birthday by Colt
Balloons floating in the air
The fresh smell of cake on the table
The sound of friends and family singing Happy Birthday
The taste of delicious cheese pizza
The texture of soft wrapping paper on the presents
Birthday

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Christmas by Alexis
Snow falling from your window
Chocolate cookies cooking in the oven
People singing on the sidewalks
Gingerbread men going into mouths
Wrapping paper coming off presents
Christmas

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Jamboree by Logan
Rides that spin
Hot dogs that are cooking
Screaming people on the rides
Hamburgers with pickles
Metal that's painted
Jamboree

Holiday Poems from 3rd Grade

Mrs. Erwin's class wrote holiday poetry in the library today! Here are some great examples:

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Easter by Jannie
Colorful, plastic Easter eggs
Lots of chocolate
Birds singing beautiful songs of spring
Lots of sweets and candy
New toys
Easter

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Christmas Day by Lindsey
A bright green tree with colorful presents under the tree
A big turkey on the table
I hear presents opening
I taste a big turkey on the table
I touch some colorful presents
Christmas Day

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Valentine's Day by Liana
Valentine cards on my desk
Sugar cookies on the tray
Screaming of my classmates
Cupcakes from the oven
Valentine cards I got that day
Valentine's Day

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Fourth of July by Jaxon Fireworks
Hot dogs and hamburgers
Crackling of fireworks
Bar-b-que grilling outside
Firecrackers
Fourth of July

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Christmas by Adiana
Presents under the tree
Cookies baking in the oven
My excited siblings
Fresh-cooked ham
Presents when you're opening them
Christmas

This week in the library...

April is National Poetry Month, so we'll be reading LOTS of poetry in the library this month!

Looking for some great poetry to read? Check out one of these awesome sites!

• Poetry 4 Kids
• Giggle Poetry
• Children's Poetry Archive

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This week, 3rd Grade will be writing their own book spine poems using some of the favorite books in our library. Check back next week to read some of their poems!

Want to write more fun poems? Check out this site!

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4th Grade will be reading Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman. Click here to read more about the book, or watch this great trailer:

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5th Grade will be continuing to read Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, and will also be reading some Langston Hughes poetry.

Click here to read more about Langston Hughes.