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Poem in your Pocket - Ways to Celebrate and Share Poetry!

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POEM IN YOUR POCKET - GREAT IDEAS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL POETRY MONTH! FROM WWW. POETRY.ORG Celebrate the first national Poem In Your Pocket Day! The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends on April 17. Poems from pockets will be unfolded throughout the day with events in parks, libraries, schools, workplaces, and bookstores. Create your own Poem In Your Pocket Day event using ideas below or let us know how you will celebrate Poem In Your Pocket Day by emailing npm@poets.org. Put Poems In Pockets In this age of mechanical and digital reproduction, it's easy to carry a poem, share a poem, or start your own PIYP day event. Here are some ideas of how you might get involved: ·  Start a "poems for pockets" give-a-way in your school or workplace ·  Urge local businesses to offer discounts for those carrying poems ·  Post pocket-sized verses in public places ·  Handwrite some lines on the back of your business cards ·  Start a street team to pass out poems in your community ·  Distribute bookmarks with your favorite immortal lines ·  Add a poem to your email footer ·  Post a poem on your blog or social networking page ·  Project a poem on a wall, inside or out ·  Text a poem to friends

National Poetry Month

Hello!  I have a host of ideas and web-links you can visit for National Poetry Writing Month or to tune up those rusty poetry plans....There are ideas for writers, teachers (lesson plans & web-links), and students of all ages (poetry/visual art projects).  Enjoy!

FOR TEACHERS:

This is my Favorite site - Ideas for educators for poetry month – includes lesson plans and different ways to celebrate poetry month BOTH FOR TEACHER AND WRITER - http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/6

Read, Write, Think – web-site with great poetry resources – lesson plans, links, resources

http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=478

Lesson plans and ideas that create visual art to go with poetry for students both Elementary and Secondary:

           From Crayola – They have some cool new tools!

Poems and paintings – relating the written word to visual art –

http://www.crayola.com/crafts/detail/poems-and-paintings-craft/

older elementary through high school ideas for memory books/journal/sketchbooks - http://www.crayola.com/crafts/detail/magnificent-memories-sketch-book-craft/

older and younger – magnetic poetry corner and paper bag pirates –

http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/detail/pirate-poems-lesson-plan/

All ages - Swirls and Similies – Great way to integrate writing with the arts and music.   Yes, I’ve tried it with all ages!   It’s like graffiti!  http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/detail/swirls-and-smiles-lesson-plan/

NOW - Night of Writing Opportunity and Get together

Hello everybody!

Writing opportunities - yeah!

hey,
All 2007 fellows, we are on for April 25 and 26.   Your reunion group
has planned a N.O.W. (Night of Writing) for the 26th.

All 2006 and 2007 fellows, you have reunion meetings on the afternoon
of the 26th. BBQ at my house later, and N.O.W. which I am told is going to
give folks lots of time to visit, see Boise, and have a lot of fun.

PLEASE, EVERYONE, PLAN TO JOIN US!!!

Jeffrey D. Wilhelm
Professor of English Education
Director of Boise State Writing Project
Visit the BSWP website at
http://english.boisestate.edu/bswp/Index.htm

Poefusion - poetry web-site

Next month is National Poetry Month.

Listed below is a great link to get those poetry juices started!   I've done "random" links before and there are some curious poems that come from these.  Try it!

http://poefusion.blogspot.com/search/label/Poefusions

This site has lots of other cool things to try...check it out!

Upcoming Events

Glenda Phipps - Learning Communities (LC)

Service Learning (SL) workshops

2/7/08  4:00-7:00 p.m.

BSU Sub - Gipson Room

Download glendaphipps.pdf

**************************

Democracy in Education

Download democracy_in_education_flyer.doc

Saturday, March 8^th, 2008

In the LA-Liberal Arts Building, rooms LA-106 & LA-203 at Boise State University

Open to all educators at all levels in all subject areas

8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Sample Speakers:  Jeff Wilhelm, BSWP director and BSU professor

Erika Boas, Hardie Scholar from Tasmania Australia and visiting BSWP fellow

and many more speakers and topics involving democracy in education

Chapter 3 - Culture of Disconnection

I believe that much of what is wrong in our culture is due to being disconnected (from ourselves, our food, each other, the land, resources......)  Parker Palmer makes a strong argument that this culture of disconnection is due to both fear and the fact that we think in polarities.  In my opinion, we have compartmentalized, labeled, names, identified, reduced, and separated so much of the world.  Much of this is in service of understanding what surrounds us.  Or is it? I think it is time to not just think the world together but feel it together.  Reflect on his statement, "We think the world apart."

Paradox is everywhere and as teachers we must learn to embrace both/and thinking which joins opposites and results in profound and authentic teaching and learning environments.  Do you agree with/practice Palmer’s six paradoxes?  What other principles would you consider in order to design a “space” that embraces the tension of paradox?

Writing Retreats

Hello there!  I trust the holidays have been wonderful and that you find your life slowing down some.  Now, you're ready to create!   I have been "exploring" and have some fun writing retreat places you might enjoy for either reading them or writing them.  Sometimes our writing just deserves a little spark to shoot off an amazing array of fireworks...so here's what I've found:

READ WRITE POEM - There are some fun poetry prompts as this site, as well as a random word generator to get you started.  They have put together reading and writing poetry tips, as well as tips on collaboration of poetry.  One of the ladies, Jessica is is a lover and reader of poetry and does a cool poetry book club.  She often puts together poetry groups and has done some magazine articles, as well as establishing some personal collections of poetry from writers on line.  check it out at: http://readwritepoem.org/

  BIG A LITTLE a    http://kidslitinformation.blogspot.com/        This is an on-line journal for Children's literature.  They also have Poetry Fridays...

Fiction Fridays -  http://www.take2max.com/writing/fiction-friday/ - These guys have fun prompts for characters and stories.  It is also the host of the CREATIVE CARNIVAL - a place you can witness ore submit creative works under various categories, including ficiton and non-ficiton and others!

If you are looking for something local, The Write Path, hosted by Sue Reuling Furness, has various classes available to write and bring out your creativity...there are even classes for healing through writing.  Check out her site at:   http://www.writepath.org/class_schedule.asp 

AND DON'T forget Jerry Hendershot's writing retreat in Lowman!  Download writers_retreat2.ppt . 

There are many more writing adventures to come.

Enjoy your writing!

Marie

A Culture of Fear

Here is our second post from Becky.  Let's support her and write her some comments!

Chapter 2. A Culture of Fear

“I can have fear, but I need not be fear—if I am willing to stand someplace else in my inner landscape.”  Parker Palmer

What happens when divergent truths meet?  Are we afraid of a challenge to what we believe and have taken to be truth?  Are we afraid of losing our identity or of the fact that when we encounter otherness we may indeed change?

Think about a “student from hell” you have experienced.  In reflecting upon that student and your teaching, do you take any responsibility for how things went? After reading Palmer’s chapter two, do you still view those circumstances in the same way? 

What does it mean to you to listen to a voice before it is spoken?

Has objectivism and “keeping a distance” impacted relationships with your students?  How important is it to develop relationships with your students?

Book Club Debut - The Courage to Teach

Hello!  Hopefully you have all had a blessed, wonderful holiday and you are rested and ready to continue this amazing year you've had so far. 

Becky Morgan, our host for this book club has written some thoughts she has had about the first chapter of our book.  Feel free to make comments on her post.   You can do this simply by clicking on "post a comment," and verifying it by typing in the verification code that appears once you click "post."  This is just to ensure that you are not a solicitor.  Please know that when you type in your e-mail address, no one will see it, it's just another way to verify who is posting.  Take a chance!   If you'd like to probe our minds in a different direction and see what happens, write a post for me, and I'll post it.   This is going to be fun! 

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life, Parker Palmer

Chapter 1: The Heart of a Teacher

Parker Palmer challenges assumptions that drive much of educational reform..."that meaningful change comes not from the human heart but from factors external to ourselves [budgets, methodologies, curricula, institutional restructuring, etc.].”  He powerfully argues that we must look within ourselves in order to best assist our students in becoming all they can be.  “To educate is to guide students on an inner journey toward more truthful ways of seeing and being in the world.”

Think about the mentors that you have had in your life.  How did you decide to teach?  What made your mentor great and what in you allowed the great mentoring to happen?

Reflect on how it is that we, as teachers, can provide our students with the mentors we wish to be.  How do we seek authority within ourselves?

National Writing Month

Here's a challenge for you "Writing" project fellows!  Since we are writers, and it is good to practice our craft, I thought I'd issue you a challenge to try to write a thousand words a day or even a thousand words a week (since I know we're really busy these days.)  The challenge for the project is to write a novel, no editing (that's for December)...and write even if you don't have a plot or a good story in mind...just go with the flow and see where your writing takes you.  Natalie Goldberg is a big fan of writing without editing.  I believe this kind of writing to be authentic, fresh and inviting.  The characters are more vibrant too.  Come on, "I DARE YOU!"  Yes, I shall do it too.

P.S.  If you want to post any trials or good lines or favorite chapters you've written for an audience, we're here for you!  Let me know, and I'll post it right away!

For more info or to find groups in your area, there aren't  many.  We could start them! 

http://www.nanowrimo.org/