Praising Everything at Young Authors Conferences

Week before last, I spent Tuesday through Friday at Young Authors Conferences here in the Twin Cities. I’ve been doing this for four or five years now, and I always enjoy it. The 4th-8th graders are, in general, very smart, enthusiastic, and excited to be college students for the day.
 

My poetry workshop was on praise poems this year.

Here’s what I did:

First, we read excerpts from several praise poems. I wanted to choose great poems with kid appeal that 1) didn’t rhyme, 2) used metaphor and simile, 3) in some cases, praised unusual subjects, and 4) in some cases, used really exaggerated, over-the-top language.

So, I shared and had students read aloud excerpts from:

“Hello, Moon,” by Patricia Hubbel
“Letter Poem to a Mailbox,” by Marjorie Maddox
“Ode to Mi Gato,” by Gary Soto
“Hymn to the Comb-Over,” by Wesley McNair

Students found what these poems have in common (no rhyme, lots of comparisons and other rich figurative language, lots of sensory language, praise something), and I explained we would write a group poem and then individual poems using those same features.

Then we brainstormed topics, just to give them ideas of how to come up with their own topics. So I wrote on the board (as students shouted them out) some examples of different categories of possible things to praise: favorite foods, favorite board/video/sports games, useful objects we don’t often praise but that make life easier (toothbrushes, dishwashers, pencils, etc.), things one particular student likes but maybe friends and family think they’re not so great (unmatched socks, funky hats, shrimp and peanut butter sandwiches), everyday things we see all the time but pay little attention to (grass, air, school buses), and things that really matter to us–that are important to us (dance, music, my family, grandmoms, books). They loved having this input!

Then I chose one topic of the board and we wrote a short group poem. I’d ask for a first line about how the object looked. If it was a flip flop, I borrowed a kid’s flip flop and wandered around the room with it. I asked them to exaggerate or use sensory language. So the line might be, “You are as silver as the sea at midnight.” And the next line, about texture, might be, “You squish under my feet like dependable tires, taking me anywhere I want to go.” Etc.

After a few lines of that, I set them to work on their own poems. First, I gave them a minute (yes, one minute) to brainstorm 8topics of their own. Most only come up with 4–5, but that’s great! Then they picked their topic.

We went through writing lines, one minute per line. I love using the timer and discussed with the kids why I do it. It forces them to just use what their brain spits out instead of judging their ideas on the spot. With unlimited time and white paper, so many kids just stare at it, with too many choices to choose from. This method gets kids writing stuff down fast, and THEN they can judge it and choose which lines to keep.

So we did that for 6 or 7 minutes. Time allowing, I would call on volunteers to share one line after every couple of minutes.

At the end, the kids read through their lines and decided which to keep and which just didn’t work as well.

Then they recopied their poems, keeping only the parts they wanted, onto an Ode reproducible I brought in or a blank piece of colored paper.

And then volunteers who wanted to shared their entire poems in front of the room.

The kids did a fabulous job! Amazing to see what they came up with in such a short time!

Friday I shared an Ode to Pho written by 6th-grader Elijah. I wanted to share more samples today, but my laptop won’t connect with my network, where the images are stored. Maybe I can do that Friday, instead.

If you’re interested in seeing what I’ve done in years past, click on the Young Authors Conferences (and its variations–gotta get my tags cleaned up!) tag in the list in the right sidebar.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,548 other subscribers

Are You Looking For?

Poetry Friday posts

Classroom Connections posts

All my poetryactions

Go to my Poetry page for:

  • National Poetry Month projects through the years
  • Small Reads Roundups (poems grouped by topic)
  • Introductions to several favorite poetry forms
Tags
#waterpoemproject15 Words or Less Poems20for2030 Painless Classroom Poems50 State Poemsacrosticsactivity pagesactivity sheetALAA Leaf Can Be...Amy Ludwig VanDerwaterA Need to FeedanthologiesanthologyA Rock Can Be...art projectsaudiopoemsawardsbad newsBarbara Juster EsbensenBilly Collinsbiopoemsblog tourbookalikesbook festivalsBookSpeak!book spine poemsbook trailersbop poembyr a thoddaidcafepresscalendar poemsCamp Read-a-LotCan Be... bookscan be... poemsCapstoneCarol Varsalonacascade poemsCatherine FlynnccbcCCRA.W.3CCRA.W.4CCRA.W.5centoschapter booksCharles Waterschoral compositionschristina rossetticinquainsCLAclassified ad poemsclassroom connectionclassroom connectionsClover Kittyconferences and conventionscrown sonnetscybilsdansaDare to DreamDavid Elliottdeeper wisdom poemdefinitosdiamantesdiversitydizaindodoitsuDot DayDouglas Floriandownloadablesdrum corpse.e. cummingsekphrastic poemsepistolary poemsequation poemsessentialethereeseventsexquisite corpseFairy Tale Garage Salefamilyfibonaccifiction picture booksfinding familyfirefightersforeign editionsfound poemsfree author zoomsfree versefrom studentsgeesegeorgia heardghazalGift Taggiveawaygolden shovelgoldilocksgratitudehaikuheart of aheart of a teacherHeidi MordhorstHelen FrostHighlightshow-to poemshow to make a rainbowI Am FromI Am poemsidiomsif you want to knit some mittensIf You Were the MoonILAimagepoemsinterviewin the middle of the nightIRAIrelandIrene LathamJ. Patrick LewisJanet WongJoyce SidmanKendraKerlanKidlit Comboslailaura's board booksLaura's booksLaura's poemsLaura's readingsLaura ShovanLee Bennett HopkinsLilian MoorelimericksLinda Booth SweeneyLine Leads the WayLion of the Skylist poemslittle free librarylive writingLullaby and Kisses Sweetlyricsmadness poetrymagnipoemsmargaret simonMarilyn Singermary lee hahnmask poemsMatt Forrest EsenwineMeet My FamilyMelissa StewartMentors for Rentmentor textsmetaphorMichelle Myers LacknerMillbrookMinnesota Book Awardsmoneymoonmy reading lifemy writing processN+7naaninarrative poemsNational Poetry Month 2012 (haiku a day)National Poetry Month 2014 (riddle-ku)National Poetry Month 2015National Poetry Month 2016National Poetry Month 2017 (#wonderbreak)national poetry month 2018 (haiku a day)National Poetry Month 2020National Poetry Month 2021 (#EquationPoem)national poetry month 2022 (sticky-note poems)National Poetry Month 2023 (Digging for Poems)National Poetry Month 2024 (magnipoems)ncteNerdy Book Clubnifty newsnifty stuffNikki Grimesnonfictionnonfiction booksNonfiction Writers Dig Deepnovelsnovels in verseodesOne Minute Till BedtimeoppositifyOskar's VoyagepadletpantoumsparodiesPatreonpeacepersonalpet poemsphotopoetryphrase acrosticspicture booksplagiarismpoempicspoemspoems for two voicespoemsketchpoetic pursuitsPoetry 7poetryactionspoetry activitiesPoetry Blastpoetry booksPoetry FridayPoetry Friday AnthologiesPoetry Princessespoetry promptspoetry sistersPoetry Tips for Teachersprogressive poempublishing processpuddle songPutridquotationsraccontinosRandy Salasread-aloudreadaloudreading poetry in the classroomRebecca Kai Dotlichrecipe poemsrefugeesresearchreview copiesreviewsrevisionrhyming booksrhyming nonfictionrhyming picture booksRhyming Picture Books the Write Wayrhyming poemsRiddle-kuriddle poemsRock Can Be...Rock the Blogrondeau redoublesRudyard Kiplingsalas snippetsSCBWIschool visitsScotlandseasonssecrets of the loonSELsestinasshrinking daysskinnyskypeslice of lifesmall readssnack snooze skedaddlesnowman-coldsonnetsStampede!storm poemstorytimestorywalkstudent poemsstudent workSylvia VardellTanita Davistankatautogramteachableteacher resourcesteen/adult poemsterza rimasthankfulthank yous and referencesthe business sidethings to do iftracy nelson maurertrioletstunie munson-bensonvideosVikram MadanvillanellevillanellesWater Can Be...wealthy elementaryWe BelongWhat's InsideWhy-kuwinterwonderwonderbreakword of the yearwordplaywordsmithswork for hirewritingwriting bookswriting processwriting promptswriting the life poeticyoung authors conferencesYouTubeZapZap Clap Boomzenozentangle
Show More Show Less

Discover more from Laura Purdie Salas

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Join Laura's monthly newsletter for eductators

Get three of Laura's favorite poetry activities when you subscribe to "Small Reads."