Blackout Poetry by Room 12

Have you ever heard of blackout poetry? 

credit: flowmagazine.com

It is a form of "found" poetry, where you select words from a written text to create something new. Once the students got over the shock of me letting them write in books (don't worry, these were weeded books that either were falling apart or hadn't been checked out in years or extra copies from former RICBA sets), they came up with the following: 

Pop!

Sweet candy across my tongue.

Mmmmmmm, nice.

Tastes like chocolate and strawberry.

Chocolate-covered strawberries, anyone?

- A.S., "Willa by Heart"

Pick pretty cool.

Stupid Ryan rolled his eyes.

Huh?

Turkey sandwiches, corn.

Declan, Grandpa Eddie, Lizzy.

Antique.

- A.O., "A Drop of Hope"

I didn't like anything 

but things better spinning on.

My phone, Owen, paddle in the background.

As he shot photos, trying to email you.

Owen.

- C.C., "Because of the Rabbit"

Before that start was said,

it seems impossible that Black entered a single subject.

I inform Percy.

"Yes" said coldly.

Dementor cross the threshold.

I am, Percy, abashed.

- D.M., "The Prisoner of Azkaban"

The Box

June 22

I bother people

I figure myself

Over the next months

My assignments sleeping

- T.C., "Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life"

Sebastian spotted friend

few minutes to two

before their last class began

- A.R., "Dew Drop Dead"

The ghost of our dead cat Bat

Calm down

Pull me back down

We can't move

- N.S., "Every Soul a Star"

Most of the blood

under me ...

noise jumps

quick in a doorway.

How long will it be?

- A.M., "Bloody Jack"

Wanted to compete

Early talked

Canals of venice

Explain things about boat building

September, two weeks

- W.B., "Navigating Early"

Green leaves rotting

trail mills hauled milk to Afghanistan

Money college

Ground woods

Light-headed

- L.S., "Wildfire"

Coral-colored,

those poor,

his smile.

He said to me,

"I assure you, this young lady."

"That's wonderful," Ms Fry said.

I'm so relieved.

Happily

Suitcase

Relieved.

We went behind,

shut the door beind us.

Ripped poster.

Leave guests, ruin property.

Sudden speechless.

- D.P., "Out of My Shell"

Smoke in the air

I leap to my feet and stare

There's a fire burning somewhere nearby

Too close for comfort

Fire coming

Let's try south

South takes longer than I expect

- R.D., "Wildfire" 

Blackout Poetry

Have you ever heard of blackout poetry? It is a form of "found" poetry, where you select words from a written text to create something new. Once the students got over the shock of me letting them write in books and rip out pages (don't worry, these were weeded books nobody had read in more than 10 years), they came up with the following:

First afternoon

the castle with you.

Help the fence.

She was crying again.

It's hard for me

to miss the medieval feast.

- CC, "Eleven"

Began tipping

I had fallen back

onto a bag of flour.

Somehow the blankets

hung on my little friend.

- B.I., "Across the Wide and Open Prairie"

Old North Road

One bright morning

A secret hidden

by the Old North Road.

- O.O., "The Midwife's Apprentice"

I jammed it.

The game stopped.

No way, but he heard every word.

With 38,387

Wilt Chamberlain

were just numbers filed.

- N.C., "Along Came Spider"

Memories of my grandmother

Part of the world

It was so beautiful

I howled with laughter

With love and affection

A way for her to entertain me.

- T.C., "The Tales of Uncle Remus"

Trail dust

Heavy rains

began folding

crawling into our bed.

- E.P., "Hattie Big Sky"

RIP RBG

Runner-up

To mark the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September, I read two picture-book biographies about her to students in grades 3-5: "I Dissent" by Debbie Levy and "The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality" by Jonah Winter. 

We discussed what the authors had chosen to include in their books, working from the same original sources. 

For example, both books mentioned that the library where Ruth borrowed books as a child was over a Chinese restaurant. However, only one talked about how she wasn't allowed to take shop in school (and got bad grades in home economics because she was a terrible cook). 

WINNER

Both books mentioned that she was one of only 9 women out of 500 law-school students. However, only one gave details on the cases she worked on as a lawyer.

The students then voted on which one they liked better; of those who had a preference, twice as many kids voted for "I Dissent."

I also asked the kids if there was a rule or law that they found unfair or unjust. Not surprisingly, most of their answers involved school, COVID, and rules at home. But they brought up other issues at the national level as well. Here are some verbatim comments: 

School

• More time for lunch at school.
  
  
• I think it's unfair that we don't get to wear PJs to school every day. 
  
  
• We should get an equal amount of summer and school.
  
  
• That you can't wear hats in class.
  
  
• I think in school if you don't raise your hand you shouldn't call on someone if they didn't raise their hand. They don't know the answer. 
  
  
• I think private and public school systems are unfair and should be the same, all kids are same and they have a right to learn on equal levels. When I grow up I will make all the schools for all kids same.
  
  
• I think it's unfair that school starts so early. I think it should start at 10.  

School in COVID times

• I don't think it's fair that we don't get to have breakfast during morning meeting. What if your alarm clock breaks and you don't have time to eat. 
  
  
• I cant eat or have a little snack while I am in class online. Because my brain needs food all the time. EAT when I want as long as I do my work.
  
  
• I don't think it's fair that my little brother is back in school, in person, 5 days a week.
  
  
• In school you can't drink from the fountain.
  
  
• I think it is unfair that I can't meet my teacher and see all of my friends. What I would do to change things is try to make everyone know that the virus is serious and people need to follow the rules better. Then, maybe I could return to school.
  
  
• I think that online schooling is unfair because you cant see your friends and it is really difficult to do everything over a laptop.
  
  

Home Rules

• Bedtimes are early because we have school the next day. I could change it if I had the power of an adult so I will block up the time on my cable box with my TV stand that sliding doors to cover the time.
  
  
• Change bedtimes for kids. It’s unfair because some kids I know stay up till 10 and I can’t,  I go to bed at 8. I would make it so everyone has to go to bed at the same time. I would pick 9 so it’s in the middle.
  
  
• It's unfair that my older sister can stay up later and has to get up earlier.
  
  
• My brother has to go to bed 30 minutes before me.
  
  
• A rule I don't like in my house is that I am not allowed to play with slime in the upstairs living room.
  
  
• I can't choose what I want for dinner every night. My mom likes us to have a variety of foods but sometimes I just want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 
  
  
• I think its unfair that my my little sister does not have to do chores and I do.
  
  
• I think that not playing ball in the house is unfair because I wanna play but my parents say no.
  
  
• I have to do all work before I can play video games.
  
  
• One rule I would change in the house is that we don't have a electronic time limit.
  
  
• I cannot have my IPad 24/7.
  
  
  

National/General issues

• I hate how in the MLB the National League the pitchers have to bat and in the American League they don't.
  
  
• I think not being able to steal bases until the ball crosses the plate is unfair in Little League. I think its unfair because not all runners run at the same speed. 
  
  
• I think that everyone should have free healthcare. I have a disability and now the Supreme Court may change that for people like me.
  
  
• It's unfair that for some things black people are still treated differently than white people. I think more needs to be done for inequality in our world.
  
  
• I think it is not fair that is matters what color skin color we have... I think we should all respected no matter what.
  
  
• I think it is unfair for people to be picked on because of their religion. People who have different religions should be treated equal.
  
  
• I think it is unfair that teens/children under the age of 18 can not vote for the president. Although we may not be 18 that doesn't mean we are not informed enough to vote. Children/teens deserve to vote too because depending on who wins determines part of their future.
  
  
• A rule I do not think is fair is in hotels they do not let pets go in to the hotel, and what I would do to change it is I would say pets have feelings too.
  
  
• All dogs should be able to go into stores, not just service animals.
  
  
• That dogs cant go in playgrounds. I would change that and let dogs go in but only if they have a leash on.
  

• A unfair rule is that you have to wear matching clothes. You should be able to wear whatever you want. 
  
  
• I don't think it fair that at the beach and pools boys don't have to wear tops but girls do. I think it's unfair because it shows the same body parts. I would make boys wear swimming tops. 
  
  
• It is not fair that some people don't have enough foods. I think that is unfair because everyone should have enough food. I would help get money for people's food. 
  
  
• You need to buy things. I think you should trade instead.
  
  

Grade 5 Advertising Agency

We spent several weeks discussing advertising, including its history (going back to ancient civilizations), its prevalance (some of the kids are walking ads in branded clothing), the power of logos (proven by the students' knowledge of these product mascots), and three tactics to be aware of: exaggeration, generalization, and scare tactics

Finally, the kids took what they had learned and produced an original ad of their own, using one of the tactics listed above. Here they are at work, along with what they came up with:

 

In Other Words ... with Grade 5

Fifth graders are practicing their paraphrasing skills. First we worked together to come up with synonyms and ways to recast a sentence.

ORIGINAL: The automobile that went by very quickly was maroon. It went through a big puddle and splashed us.

NEW: The big puddle got us really good when the dark red car flew through it.

ORIGINAL: The educator removed the unruly student from the learning environment because of the sounds he was making

NEW: Because the student was making a ruckus, the teacher made him go away.

ORIGINAL: In the metropolis, the recreation area was dilapidated. Youngsters received injuries when they attempted to utilize the equipment.

NEW: People in the city got hurt because they tried to use the playground equipment that was dangerous.

Then they worked on an individual assignment, putting the following sentences into their own words:

During my earlier years, I experienced much conflict with my male and female siblings who were born before me. Now that we are more mature, we have overcome some of our differences and have the ability to interact pleasantly.

Here are some of the new sentences the students came up with:

When I was a youngster, I experienced a lot of bad things with my older brother and sister. Now we solved our problems and have fun. - T.R.

When I was younger, I fought with my sister, but now we are older, so we don't fight. - M.J.

When I was younger, I got into a lot of fights with my brother and sister. But since we have grown up, we stopped fighting. - A.Z. 

When I was younger, I didn't always get along with my older siblings. Now that we are older, we can play and talk together without fighting. - S.D. 

A few years back, I was bullied by my older relatives, but now we're grown up, the problems fade away. - T.K.

When I was younger I argued with my older brothers and sisters. Now we are older, we have stopped arguing and we have fun. - A.J.

Coding with Cups

It's Computer Science Education Week! We're doing many of the unplugged activities at code.org to learn some programming basics, including writing algorithms and debugging problems. I took pictures of several classes at work doing the My Robotic Friends activity.

Room 12

Room 13

Room 14

Room 15

Grade 5 Advertising Agency

We spent most of 3rd quarter discussing advertising, including its history (going back to ancient civilizations), its prevalance (some of the kids are walking ads in branded clothing), the power of logos (proven by the students' knowledge of these product mascots), and three tactics to be aware of: exaggeration, generalization, and scare tactics

Finally, the kids took what they had learned and produced an original ad of their own, using one of the tactics listed above. Here they are at work, along with what they came up with: