Nov 15, 2013

POETRY FRIDAY: An Autumn Haiku and Halloween Poetry Recap

With our trip to Florida a few weeks ago, my boys’ birthday party, and juggling many (fun!) writing projects, I haven’t participated in Poetry Friday for the last few weeks. But on Halloween, I did have the opportunity to work with both of my boys’ fifth grade classes on poetry! During our lesson, I read aloud several of the poems from AN EYEBALL IN MY GARDEN (a wonderful book of fun, spooky poetry that I reviewed a few weeks ago in this post), and then we had a lively discussion that included rhyming couplets, stanzas, and rhyme scheme, among other things.

After we were finished, the students wrote their own spooky poems, and they were great! I still hold fast to my theory that kids’ favorite poetic format (at least in elementary school) is the acrostic poem (which I discussed in this post awhile back). About a third of the children chose this format for their own poems, and it was not just because it is an “easy” format—they really put a lot of thought into their pieces, and definitely enjoyed the assignment! It was SO much fun to talk about poetry with these smart, funny kids, and even more fun to see them get excited about writing poems of their own! ☺ 
For my Poetry Friday contribution today, I am excited to share a new haiku. If you didn’t see my earlier posts about haiku poetry, you can read them here.

I have spent a lot of time walking in the woods in my neighborhood over the past few weeks. My puppy has been NUTS, and these walks help clear my mind and also provide Gracie with much needed exercise! The leaves have been beautiful, and are now starting to fade and fall, but late one afternoon I took these photos off of my back deck:


The way the light hit at that particular moment inspired me to write the haiku below. I hope you enjoy it!
Autumn Afternoon
Golden rays slant down,
Igniting leaves like stained glass.
All the world’s aflame.
 
Enjoy the last little bit of fall, and Happy Writing!

8 comments:

  1. Lovely haiku, Becky! Sounds like you and the students had a lot of fun with those Halloween poems.

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  2. You capture a peaceful moment so well in your haiku that, if I had only read that, I would not have guessed what your weeks have been like lately! So glad you were able to bring the fun of poetry to your kids' classes :-)

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    1. Thanks, Tabatha! I just hope they have just as much fun with the creative nonfiction poetry I am sharing with them this Tuesday! = )

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  3. What a beautiful and inspiring view you have, and a gorgeous haiku to match. Your boys' teachers must be thrilled to have you come in and share your expertise.

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    1. Thank you, Michelle. My boys have fabulous teachers, and the kids are wonderful and well behaved, so my time with them is always a LOT of fun!

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  4. Oh wow, Becky! The leaves are on fire! Beautiful.

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