JUMP INTO SHAPE POETRY.From jump ropes jump rope or skip rope Children's game in which players hold a rope (jump rope) at each end and twirl it in a circle, while one or more players jump over it each time it reaches its lowest point. to jungle animals, give poetry a playful new dimension Begin a new year in poetry with dynamic shape poems, such as John Agard's "Skipping Rope Spell." Reading and writing concrete poems is a great way to spark a child's interest in poetry. By combining art with poetry, they create visual images that make the poem's subject seem tangible. Plus, kids love the humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was and fun of concrete poetry. As poet David McCord observes, "Poetry needs to catch the eye as well as the ear and the mind." Read the Poem Aloud Display the Instructor Poetry poster where everyone can see it. Read the poem aloud to the students once, and then ask students to join in. Read the poem together many times, in pairs, in an echo-response pattern, or in a group. Point to the words as you read. Turn a jump rope with your students and ask them to listen closely to the sound. How is the sound of skipping rope reflected in the poem? Then ask students to take turns reading verses. What do they notice? What does the shape add to the poem? One student explained that "the words jump rope too." Writing Shape Poems Encourage your students to write their own shape poems. Begin by using the animal shapes on the reproducible (opposite page). Write "crocodile crocodile, large, carnivorous reptile of the order Crocodilia, found in tropical and subtropical regions. Crocodiles live in swamps or on river banks and catch their prey in the water. They have flattened bodies and tails, short legs, and powerful jaws. " on the board and encourage your students to start a word bank. For crocodile, they may offer words like "sharp teeth," "green," or "runs fast." Encourage them to think of evocative words, descriptive words, and interesting words that describe the subject they have in mind. Ask students to call out or write down as many words about the subject as they can. Then each child can add words to create his or her own word bank. Each child should choose a shape, making a list of sound, touch, and sight words, Ask them to record each word on a slip of paper. When they have gathered all their words, they can move the slips around to experiment with word order and placement to make new discoveries. Tell students that they are preparing a palette from which to draw words the way a painter prepares a palette of colors. About the Poet John Agard John Agard (born June 21, 1949) is a playwright, poet, and children's writer from Guyana, who moved to the United Kingdom in 1977. He worked for the Commonwealth Institute from 1978 to 1985, travelling throughout the United Kingdom as a touring reader promoting the Caribbean was born in Caribbean Guyana and lived in its major city, Georgetown, until he moved to London in 1977. He currently lives in England but he says his childhood in Guyana formed the way he sees the world. Agard reworks the strong rhythms and cadences of Anglo-Caribbean speech into poems that speak of joy to children, He is the author of Din Do Nuttin and Other Poems (1983) and Laughter Is an Egg (1990). Where to Find More Concrete Poems: * A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems, ed. Paul Janeczko (Candlewick can·dle·wick n. 1. The wick of a candle. 2. a. A soft heavy cotton thread similar to that used to make wicks for candles. b. Embroidery made of tufts of this thread. Press, 2001). * Flicker Flash, by Joan Bransfield Graham (Houghton Mifflin Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. The company's headquarters is located in Boston's Back Bay. It publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers , 1999). * Doodle Dandies: Poems at a Glance by J. Patrick Lewis J. Patrick Lewis (born May 5 1942 is an American poet and prose writer noted for his children's poems and other light verse. He worked as professor of economics before devoting himself full-time to writing in 1998. , (Atheneum ath·e·nae·um also ath·e·ne·um n. 1. An institution, such as a literary club or scientific academy, for the promotion of learning. 2. A place, such as a library, where printed materials are available for reading. , 1998). * Words with Wrinkled Knees: Animal Poems by Barbara Esbensen (Boyd's Mills Press, 2001). 
There are lots of different animals; birds, horses, zebras, cats dogs, cows even MORE!!!!<br><br>I love animals. They are so colourful and always happy!!!!!!!!<br><br>But there are some that are mean monsters!!!!!! Crocodiles, hippos, tigers, lions.<br><br>They are scary!! I don't want to face them!!<br><br>There are also the little,tiny insects like ants and bees. Bees make honey and ants..... well their just cool. <br><br><br>There is so many animals in the world, even I don't know them all!!!!! |
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