I’m excited about April, National Poetry Month! I can’t remember if I’ve ever done an original poem a day for April, but that’s what I’m going to do this time. I’m going to be sharing some riddle haiku–or riddle-ku. I know. Riddle-kulous, right? Anyway, I wanted to give you a peek at what I’ll be doing, and I’m hoping to spread the word so that educators might choose to take a couple of minutes a day to share my poem as a classroom activity.
SAMPLE:
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Riddle-Ku of the Day
Mountain has a mouth?a stretched wide, gaping black hole
devouring small cars –Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved ?
HINT 1:
HINT 2:
TITLE (AND ANSWER):
TUNNEL
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So, each day will feature the haiku, a close-up photo, a regular photo, and then the title/answer. I’m showing them in reverse order so that if you’re sharing on a SMART board or screen, you can start at the top of the post and work your way down, revealing the clues and then the answer one step at a time.
By or on April 1, I’ll also post some tips for using these with your students in case you’re not super comfortable with poetry. All the objects will be common (in fact, tunnel is probably one of the more obscure ones), and I’m trying to keep the poems accessible?for kids from?kindergarten on up. Older kids probably won’t need the photos as much. Anyway, more info to come…please share with any educators friends you think might be interested! Thanks:>)
[Educators, please click here to see a roundup of the entire month’s riddle-ku and also to get suggestions for using these riddle-ku with your students.]
UPDATE: My riddle-ku are now available in Kindle and paperback as Riddle-ku: Haiku for Very Close Reading (along with tons of great auxiliary materials for teachers), part of the 30 PAINLESS CLASSROOM POEMS series.
34 Responses
I thought I might draw some pic as i read some poems
To my preschoolers
Great idea, Jessica!
I thought I might draw some pic as i read some poems
To my preschoolers
Great idea, Jessica!
Great idea. Fun for teacher and class.
Thanks, Connie! Hope some teachers decide to use it:>)
Great idea. Fun for teacher and class.
Thanks, Connie! Hope some teachers decide to use it:>)
Terrific idea, Laura. I’ll share with my colleagues! As for tunnels, we have lots of those gaping mouths here in the Rockies-that’s one Riddle-Ku I got right away!
Yay, Linda–you get a gold star;>) I love mountain tunnels!
Terrific idea, Laura. I’ll share with my colleagues! As for tunnels, we have lots of those gaping mouths here in the Rockies-that’s one Riddle-Ku I got right away!
Yay, Linda–you get a gold star;>) I love mountain tunnels!
Fun idea, Laura. I’ll add it to my Kidlitosphere Poetry Month Roundup. 🙂
Thanks, Jama! I visited a week or two ago to see if you were doing a round-up, and then I forgot about it. Can’t wait to see what everyone’s doing for NaPoMo.…
Fun idea, Laura. I’ll add it to my Kidlitosphere Poetry Month Roundup. 🙂
Thanks, Jama! I visited a week or two ago to see if you were doing a round-up, and then I forgot about it. Can’t wait to see what everyone’s doing for NaPoMo.…
I love the idea Laura. Especially for Poetry Month. Good exercise for anyone. I have just recently delved into the world of Haiku and I especially love working with syllables. A lot of my poetry is accomplished with seven syllables per line, regardless of length. It’s a challenge and I understand it’s an old Welsh custom, even though I have been unable to come up with anything in print to support that statement.
Thanks, Martha! I do have so much fun writing in different poetic forms. I’m working on a collection right now of poems for grown-ups that I think will be in poems of 5 lines with 5 words each. It’s always neat to set up a challenge for ourselves. I think those restrictions are often what force us to come up with fresh ways to say things. Cool about the seven syllables and possibly being a Welsh thing…
I love the idea Laura. Especially for Poetry Month. Good exercise for anyone. I have just recently delved into the world of Haiku and I especially love working with syllables. A lot of my poetry is accomplished with seven syllables per line, regardless of length. It’s a challenge and I understand it’s an old Welsh custom, even though I have been unable to come up with anything in print to support that statement.
Thanks, Martha! I do have so much fun writing in different poetic forms. I’m working on a collection right now of poems for grown-ups that I think will be in poems of 5 lines with 5 words each. It’s always neat to set up a challenge for ourselves. I think those restrictions are often what force us to come up with fresh ways to say things. Cool about the seven syllables and possibly being a Welsh thing…
Correction! I should have said “regardless of the number of lines,” not just the word length. The length of the line, or course, would be no more than seven syllables. Sorry.
Correction! I should have said “regardless of the number of lines,” not just the word length. The length of the line, or course, would be no more than seven syllables. Sorry.
Martha, it is Welsh! An englyn. Three lines of 7 syllables each. Read more here. http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/nov/27/poster-poems-englynion
Diane, you are an angel. Thank you so much. I have tried to document what I had heard, but was never successful. And all it took was to have a comment fall on educated ears. Wow, what next? Now I will enjoy the exercise even more. I had not heard about the three lines. That is my new piece of learning for this day. Will study the site with enjoyment and gratitude.
Martha, it is Welsh! An englyn. Three lines of 7 syllables each. Read more here. http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/nov/27/poster-poems-englynion
Diane, you are an angel. Thank you so much. I have tried to document what I had heard, but was never successful. And all it took was to have a comment fall on educated ears. Wow, what next? Now I will enjoy the exercise even more. I had not heard about the three lines. That is my new piece of learning for this day. Will study the site with enjoyment and gratitude.
Thank you for this exercise, and for all you do in general Laura. Like last year I will correspond with a poem as well for every one you write. Here’s my contribution.
STRETCHED DARKNESS
Lambasted crevice
Engulfs you in stretched darkness ?
Freedom?s within reach.
© Charles Waters 2014 all rights reserved.
I love that “stretched darkness,” Charles. Wonderful!
Thank you for this exercise, and for all you do in general Laura. Like last year I will correspond with a poem as well for every one you write. Here’s my contribution.
STRETCHED DARKNESS
Lambasted crevice
Engulfs you in stretched darkness ?
Freedom?s within reach.
© Charles Waters 2014 all rights reserved.
I love that “stretched darkness,” Charles. Wonderful!
So. Much. FUN! Can’t wait to share these with my students!
Thanks, Mary Lee–that’s the best reaction of all:>)
So. Much. FUN! Can’t wait to share these with my students!
Thanks, Mary Lee–that’s the best reaction of all:>)