Poetry Slam!

http://www.poetryguy.com/about.php     1 April 2010

http://www.poetryguy.com/about.php 1 April 2010

PoetrySlam

In November, Ted Scheu was our Poet in Residence.  First, he met with the whole fourth grade, where he shared his poems and told us how he finds his inspiration for his poetry . Mr. Scheu met with each fourth grade class individually.  He showed us examples of poems by kids from other schools.  Then, he explained what similes were and told us we were going to use them in poems.  He handed out mirrors to each student.  Looking at the different parts of our face,he wanted us to write a poem using similes.  For example, my nose is like an Olympic ski jump.  The next day, he came to us and had us write poems about a place that is special to us.  The third time he came to us , we wrote noun-verb poems about any subject we wanted.  At the end of his visit, he met with the whole grade again.  Eight students from each fourth grade class shared their poems.  Mr. Scheu taught us a lot.  It was a great experience!

Ted Scheu is a poet. He has written over a 1000 poems and he never wants to stop writing.  He has a kid’s heart but on the outside a grown-up’s body.  He gets ideas from his memories, especially of when he was a kid, in fact, he considers himself  “a fourth grader with glasses and gray hair”.  He feels that poems are a great way to share one’s feelings.  When he writes poems, he likes to end the poem with something funny.

The authors have recorded their poems.  The Fourth Grade Chickering Reporters added some sound effects, when appropriate.  We hope you enjoy our poems.

http://www.poetryguy.com/

http://www.poetryguy.com/

Podcast of poems by some students in Mrs. Haggett’s and Mr. Wadness’ classes:
FinishedPoems-WADNESS

Poems by some students in Mrs. McLaughlin’s class:
POETRY-MCLAUGHLIN

Poetry by students in Mrs. Atkinson’s class:
ATKINSON-POEMS

We want to thank Ted Scheu for allowing us to use these two photographs from his wonderful website:
< http://www.poetryguy.com/index.php >;
for sharing his poetry with us and inspiring us to become poets.

Reported by: Caroline, Elizabeth E., Grace, Katie, KB, Madison, Maggie, Laura, Melanie, and Josie

11 thoughts on “Poetry Slam!

  1. To Mrs.McLaughlin’s reporters,
    We really enjoyed your podcast. The sound effects fit all of the poems really well. This is a intresting way to put the poems together. We especially enjoyed the jingle bells in the Christmas Day poem.
    We have a suggestion, next time it might be easier for your listeners if you make a way to separate each of the poems.
    You did a great job on your podcast!

  2. Wow, Caroline C. and Gracie DD., You both did an amazing job on creating this poetry share. Thanks so much for putting it together.. Mr. Wadness’ class loved it!!!!

  3. Dear Fourth Graders,
    The post brought back memories of working with Ted Scheu last year. We really enjoyed listening to the poems, and reading the post. Also we thought the sound effects were really neat because it related to what the authors of the poems were saying.
    We would make one suggestion, you might consider next time, when you are recording try to find a quieter place. We noticed backround noise on some of the poem recordings that were not “sound effects”.
    Overall we think you did a great job with your project!

  4. Dear Mr.Wadness’ and Mrs.Haggett’s class,
    We loved your podsast. Everybody talked with expression and talked very clearly. Next time you may want to think about trying to change the tones of the chimes in between every other poem.
    We all agreed on one thing, it was a fantastic podcast!

  5. Dear Amazing 4th Grade poets,
    I’ve been sitting back at my desk, taking a writing break, being totally tickled and inspired by your podcast project poems. I love ’em! They blast me back to last fall, to my most-memorable three days with you all. I know this seems sort of impersonal, perhaps, in that I’m going to share the same comment with each group, but for the purposes of time and shared congratulations, I have written you all a poem in praise and admiration of the project. I love the poems, of course, but I especially love being able to hear them read aloud with such power–complete with amazing sound effects. Very cool. Poems absolutely have to be read aloud, as you have demonstrated so well. Thanks for sharing your work with the world!
    Cheers and chocolates,
    Ted

    Here is my poem of awe to all of you!

    The Chickering Podcasting Poets

    At 29 Cross, in Dover Mass,
    are some kids who love to write.
    They do it with skill, and humor, and heart,
    daily, and often at night.

    The Chickering Podcasting Poets–
    are Dover’s brightest and best.
    They’ll wow you with wisdom and wonderful words,
    as their teachers can proudly attest.

    These 4th grade writers are superstars
    at searching for a way
    to find the most delicious words
    for what they need to say.

    These powerful poets love to share
    their marvelous poems on-line.
    Their podcast project, with sound effects
    is perfectly sublime.

    Their nouns are proud and jazzy;
    their verbs are symphonies.
    And, endlessly, they offer up
    the sweetest similes.

    These Chickering bards can share their hearts
    with words that make you proud,
    Courageously, with energy,
    they share their work out loud.

    So, if you’re looking for a place
    to hear an awesome poem,
    just find a podcasting poet–
    and ask to get to know ‘em!

    With great admiration and thanks,

    Ted

    April 15, 2010

  6. Thanks Ted for creating an amazing poem for us… We thought you were on a writing break from your poetry. You’re the best and don’t compare to the rest… Have a wonderful spring!!!!! Mr. Wadness’ class

  7. Dear Caroline C and Grace D,
    We liked how you explained the different types of poems.
    Maybe next time you should try to find a quiet place to record to avoid classroom noise. The background noise distracts the listener from the speaker.
    We also liked how you instructed the poets to read their poems slowly and clearly to hear every word. We’d love to hear what you think of our podcasts.

  8. Dear Maggie, Katie, Laura, Josie, and Melanie,
    We liked how you only used the chime to separate the different types of poems rather than between each poem.
    Next time it might be helpful for your poets to read slowler and clearer so that the listener can better appreciate their poems.
    We also liked how you added the barking at the end of the poem about puppies. We’d love to hear what you think of our podcast.

  9. Dear Mr. Wadness’ class,
    We really liked your poems, because they were very descriptive, clear, and creative. Maybe next time you might try having more of a silent back ground for some of the readers. We liked the introductions to each type of poem. We loved the poems and the great expression you put into all of them.

    Great job!
    Issy F., Andriana V., Sara L ., Alex A., Hannah D.

  10. Dear Mrs. Atkinson’s poets,
    Your examples of the list poems were spectacular!!! We loved the choice
    of sound effects that you used in your podcast. We couldn’t believe that some of the sound effects were made by real people! We loved the way you enunciated the words, but maybe next time you could try talking with a little bit more expression. The adjectives really helped us to imagine what the poems were about! We can’t wait for your next post! Keep up the good work!

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