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Tag Archives: Veterans Day

Three poem ideas for Veterans Day

Try these three poem ideas for Veterans Day with your middle and high school students.

Posted byMarilynOctober 26, 2020October 27, 2020Posted inCreative Writing, Poetry Lessons, Writing InstructionTags:Education, ela, patriotism, Poetry, Veterans Day, Writing3 Comments on Three poem ideas for Veterans Day

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About ekphrastic poetry... “The arts challenge us with different points of view, compel us to empathize with ‘others,’ and give us the opportunity to reflect on the human condition,” write Brian Kisida and Daniel Bowen of The Brookings Institution in their article, “New Evidence of the Benefits of Arts Education.” To be sure, empathy and other soft skills, such as understanding and tolerance for ideas different from our own, are always in demand.

During the 2019-20 school term (remember that blissful time?!), I attempted one-pagers (from @nowsparkcreativity) twice, once in both the fall and spring. However, I was less than impressed with the results. I just didn’t receive quality, in-depth work from my students. The work was messy; the drawings were bare-bones. The necessary critical thinking and creativity just wasn’t evident in their one-pagers. In short, it was disappointing. But I didn’t give up. I gave it another go last month and tried one-pagers a third time. This time, I made one simple (like embarrassing simple) change. And y’know what?! It worked! Wonderful one-pagers... finally! Click the link in my bio to read more.

Last month in my junior English classes, we started our journey into Writer’s Workshop. New on the project list this year: ekphrastic poetry. An ekphrastic poem is written in response to or about a work of art. According to the Poetry Foundation, “An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the ‘action’ of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning.” Click the link in my bio for the entire mini-lesson that featured all of us writing about a powerful Frida Kahlo self-portrait.

Book bentos might be a fun and new thing to try. Plus, it might get your kids away from a screen to create their book bento with tangible objects they find around the house. I made this example based on Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl as a mentor for my kids. Check out my post about my first attempt with these visual treats and scroll to the end to find the eight things I’ll do differently next time! The link to this post is in my bio.

I’ve been on a Beowulf kick lately with three new posts on my blog about how to reveal this awesome text’s relevance. It was helpful to extend Beowulf to a unit on Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth/The Hero’s Journey... ending with a viewing and discussion of the 2007 western, 3:10 to Yuma. Can rancher Dan Evans (played by Christian Bale) be Beowulf? Why, yes. Yes, he can. See link in bio for this post from my blog.

Yesterday, I read the introduction to this fascinating book for #firstchapterfriday to my juniors and seniors. It’s filled with around 250 styles of hot beverage lids, common items most of us think nothing of because they function so well. Unlike the paper clip, the wooden pencil, and other tools that have reached their “form follows function” zenith, the coffee lid continues to evolve. My students think I’m weird that I collect these things (I have about 30). I just like to give them something new to read and think about... y’know, things like slosh prevention and nose accommodation.

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Recent Posts

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About Me
- Resumé
Contact
Student Writing Contests updated 3/15/2021
Blog
Headline Poetry
My Top 12 Posts
Find a Blog Post

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ELA Brave and True by Marilyn Yung, Blog at WordPress.com.