Tag Archives: metaphor

Spring, the First Grade Version

On this first day of spring (or is actually the 4th day of summer?), I shared Raymond Souster’s poem aptly titled, “Spring” with the first graders in my class. I could hear them murmuring…that’s not a poem, it’t too short! This poem, made up of two short sentences, was perfect for this last day of parent conference week.

Our typical process with a weekly poem is that I read it aloud first, then students repeat the lines of the poem after me, and then they contribute what they have noticed. Today with this lovely short poem (maybe as short as our winter), I invited students to volunteer to read the poem aloud. So many volunteer readers at this time of the year, we heard the poem in voice after voice. (It’s about rain and roots meeting in a flower). Students noticed the two stanzas, the two sentences, a few even counted out the words. They recognized the science in the first stanza and the metaphor in the second. They even pointed out some phonics-related vowel patterns in the words. They illustrated the poem and added it to their ever growing poetry anthology.

After recess I asked them to write a description of spring using metaphorical thinking. Actually, we had practiced some of these orally earlier in the day, and they were so confident then that I asked them to write three metaphors for spring (on the hopes that they would be varied and more interesting as they pushed past their first attempt). I handed them each a large index card and asked them to write their metaphors. A calm settled, and of course a few students asked if they could write more than three.

I’m counting this as a success when not a single student expressed doubt or mystery about what I was asking them to do…and that everyone easily wrote more than one spring-inspired metaphor. I collected their metaphors and picked one from each child to produce a collaborative Spring Is… metaphor poem.

And on yesterday’s neighborhood walk I couldn’t resist stopping to take a photo of this flower beginning to unfurl–a metaphor of spring in a photo for me!

What would you contribute to this collaborative metaphorical collection about spring?

Be a Tree

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Earlier this week I read the book, Be a Tree by Maria Gianferrari to my first grade students. I’m so fortunate to have an amazing librarian at my school who seems to know just what books I’d love to read before I’ve ever heard of them! Anyway, Be a Tree is a gorgeous book that is a blending of factual information about trees and metaphorical thinking and comparisons of humans and their communities to trees and their ecosystems. And the illustrations by Felicita Sala are worth just sitting and poring over.

I mentioned last week that I had taught my students some photography techniques, one of which was the bug’s eye view. So after reading and examining the photos in Be a Tree, we took out our sketch books and practiced drawing a forest (okay, 2 or three trees) from a bug’s eye view…with a real focus on the trunk, looking up like a bug would from the ground. Then we also took some times to think and write a list of all the ways we need and use trees.

The next day we sketched our forest again, this time on larger watercolor paper and then used oil pastels to blend colors to create texture and depth on the trunks and branches. Today we pulled out our watercolor trays to paint in the backgrounds. Honestly, the results have exceeded my expectations.

First graders also tried their hand at writing some tree metaphors. Here’s a few:

The roots can be the tentacles of an octopus.

Trees shake their branches like hands waving.

Pine trees are as sharp as mountain tops.

Tree bark is as brown as chocolate ice cream.

I love watching students grasp a new technique and/or way of thinking. Their ability to identify a metaphor is currently much stronger than their ability to generate one of their own. But that’s all part of the learning process. and the beauty of giving space to try on new ideas.

And there’s nothing better than wrapping all this learning in an appreciation of nature and all that it offers. There’s so much to learn from trees…and kids.

Poetry Ecosystem: NPM25 Day 8

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Some days it’s the unplanned lessons that have the best results. A few weeks back I came across a picture book that looked interesting. I ordered it, it arrived, and I set it aside. Then yesterday, our first day back after spring break, I found myself with some unclaimed time and reading a book seemed like the perfect solution.

I walked over to the shelf where I stash the books I haven’t gotten to yet…and Together, a Forest: Drawing Connections Between Nature’s Diversity and Our Own called out to me. I started reading the book and those wiggling post-lunch students settled. We learned about different students in the book and their affinity to plants and animals in the forest. There was the student who was interested in everything–and forgetful–just like the squirrel who buried acorns and the ones it forgot later grew into trees.

We started to think about the plants and animals who were like us…and while we didn’t have enough time to finish the book, the seed was planted in the poetry ecosystem that is our classroom.

Today our planned ceramics project went well and we finished successfully before recess. That meant the time I had allowed for the completion of the project after recess was now open and free. So, we went back to Together, a Forest and completed the reading and discussion. And then we started thinking about that question from yesterday…what plant or animal are you like?

The first graders grabbed their notebooks and started to write. They asked the usual questions, “Does it have to be a plant?” (No) “Does it have to be a part of a forest?” (No) “Can I use metaphorical thinking?” (Yes). I wrote–and I made the rounds around the classroom peeking over shoulders, listening to ideas, watching these comparisons turn into small poems, taking root in this poetry ecosystem.

J wrote:

I am an army ant. My super power is strength and I work with people. I eat fruit and I get it at the store then bring it home. My strength is teamwork.

H wrote:

I am an octopus. I am smart. I act like I have eight hands and I am super fast and tricky and change colors.

B wrote:

I am moss. I am like moss because I soak up everything I hear. I remember everything and if it is something bad I can squeeze it out.

And I wrote:

I am an egret. I am quiet and still. Patience is my super power. Most of the time I am good at waiting and thinking. Other times I startle and fly off in a flurry of feathers. I am good at being alone without being lonely. I love to reconnect with my family at the end of the day.

These first drafts will be fodder for the writing we will continue to do, this month and into the future. Right now, my students are writing easily, adding details and elaboration, beginning to play around with language and ideas…and willing and eager to read their writing aloud to their classmates. We have truly built an ecosystem of poetry and writing in our classroom.

Quirky Birds: SOL25 Day 7

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For the first time in my teaching career, this year we have been allotted two days (we get a sub to cover our class) to write report cards. We do write report cards three times a year, but two days is better than none since report card writing always falls to “do it at home in the evening or weekends” time. So today was a report card writing time for me since parent-teacher conferences begin soon.

As I was writing report card comments, I found myself thinking about the joy of quirky kids. You know, the one who has a million questions even after I have carefully explained what we are doing. Or the student who can’t resist singing in full voice while everyone else is quietly working. There’s the student who wears the chunky gold chain–an aspiring rapper? Or the one with the cat ear headband (when did those become so popular?).

I think I may be drawn to the quirky birds. I know when I am walking on the beach, I notice the birds that stand out in some way. It might be that shore bird that hops along on one leg with the other tucked up tight against its body. Or the osprey that swoops down and then rises up with a fish firmly clutched in its tremendous talons. But more than likely it’s a snowy egret.

I love snowy egrets. There’s something about these tallish birds with long graceful necks and long beaks…and wait for it…bright yellow feet–that always make me smile.

Just last week I saw this character.

And fell in love!

That wind ruffled hair…and that foot! A bright yellow foot in action. Snowy egrets use those quirky feet of theirs to stomp around and stir up fish and shrimp and other seafood delicacies from the tide pools. I’ve learned to creep up quietly with my camera in hand to take photos of these beautiful and often quirky birds. I love to capture them in action…somehow freezing the movement into a still that still shows their liveliness.

So here’s to quirky birds and quirky kids…celebrating all the differences that make life lively and interesting.

How to Take a Photograph: SOL25 Day 2

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Have you read Kwame Alexander’s picture books? I love How to Write a Poem and use it with my first graders to help them understand metaphor and metaphorical thinking. Last week I read How to Sing a Song first to remind my students about metaphor and its power in writing and then again a few days later to use a mentor text.

I had taught my students some photography techniques (bird’s eye view, bug’s eye view, and rule of thirds) and then we all headed out to our fairy garden (as they kids call it–adults know it as the pollinator garden) and the playground to try out the techniques. Once back in the classroom, each student picked a favorite photo and studied it carefully.

That’s when that second reading of How to Sing a Song came in. We looked at the text carefully, noticing how the writing was working to describe music. Then came the challenge. Students (yes, first graders) set out to write a How to Take a Photograph version of these books we love. I also suggested that my students consider using their senses to help them come up with their metaphors.

Here are just a few of my students’ works in progress:

First, make a target then decide if you like or not, then take a deep sniff of the blazing violet flowers.

The snap of my iPad is like thunder in the forest, the sound of birds chirping as if they are instruments.

The wispy chews on the leaves look like they got beaten up by a caterpillar. It sounds like the green leaves are talking to me.

I took this photo on our playground.

And alongside my students I wrote this draft with them as my audience:

How to Take a Photograph

Step out. Breathe in everything you see like a cool breeze. Zoom in close like a magnifying glass. Tilt and find the perfect diagonal where the palm tree overlaps with the climbing structure. Taste the cool of the silvery metal and frame it in the lower third. Listen with your eyes and hear the sounds of children playing, hanging from the braided ropes. Push the button….slowly, carefully, purposefully. Your photo will sing for others to hear and sing along.

If you haven’t had a chance to read these books (there’s another called How to Read a Book), I highly recommend them–even if you don’t have a class of children to read them to! What are your favorite picture books that every adult should know?

Poetry is Sunshine: NPM #28

What Does it Take to Thrive? SOLC 2019 Day 14

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I walk below these cliffs all the time, noticing the canyons and wrinkles wind and water carve along their faces. I see evidence of human interference, the places where lawns and ice plant hasten the natural erosion of sandstone along the beach. I’m mindful of walking too close to the cliffs, remembering days when huge chunks let loose and fall to the shore. I wonder about the multimillion dollar homes perched on the edge–the ones with the incredible views of the Pacific Ocean–that are in danger of dropping into the sea during the next big storm. Are those homeowners insured for cliff erosion?

Today’s blue was intense, blues that need words like cerulean, azure, and cyan to begin to describe the richness of the color. And the blue was punctuated with thousands of small orange butterflies…on a mission headed north. It was almost as they were emerging from the sea, flying straight for the cliffs, then up, up , up.

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Oddly, though, my eyes were drawn to a small bunch of yellow flowers high on the wind-blown cliff, a tiny patch of blossoms flourishing in hardscrabble sandstone. I’m reminded that some of us make the best of where we are planted and take advantage of whatever resources are available…not dependent on soil amendments, special fertilizers, and protection from wind and other elements. What does it take to thrive in sandy soil and harsh conditions? Sometimes the blue skies, mild temperatures, and more plentiful than average rainfall is enough.

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