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I'm hunting for poems! Suggestions??


helena
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I'm putting together next years poetry study and would love to hear about your favorites.

 

My 13yo requested Goblin Feet by JRR Tolkien http://ladyaleta.com/aleta/tolkien.htm, so we'll definitely do that one.

I'm considering Afternoon on a Hill by Edna St. Vincent Millay http://www.bartleby.com/131/5.html and

The Road to Anywhere by Bert Leston Taylor http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-road-to-anywhere/

 

I'm hoping to find a few poems to go along with our early modern history study, and our year long study of the orchestra, ballet, and opera.

:bigear:

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A good contrast poem to "Goblin Feet" would be Christina Rosetti's "Goblin Market".

A companion poem to "Afternoon on a Hill" might be "The Daffodils" by Wordsworth (and a

.)

A companion poem to "Road to Anywhere" could be JRR Tolkien's "Roads Go Ever On".

 

 

Some "don't miss" poems our DSs enjoyed:

- "The Jabberwocky" (Carroll)

- "The Raven" (Poe)

- Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Coleridge)

- "Ride of Paul Revere" (Longfellow)

- "The Village Blacksmith" (Wordsworth) -- and then enjoy the

- "Ozymandias" (Shelley) -- very early 19th century poem

 

 

Other Ideas for Poems:

- The Convergence of the Twain (Hardy) -- about the sunk wreck of the Titanic

- Song of Hiawatha (Longfellow) -- book-length poem on the life of Hiawatha

- Evangeline (Longfellow) -- book-length poem on the tragic separation of lovers during the expulsion of the Acadians

 

 

And while the poem was written by Lord Byron before the early modern time period, "Darkness" is fabulous for capturing the worldview that came about and dominated during/right after WWI.

 

Also maybe a little earlier than you're looking for is "Old Ironsides" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, written in response to the proposed dismantling of the USS Constitution that fought in the War of 1812 -- so moving did people find the poem, that it caused people to rally and save the ship -- and you can walk on the decks of the Constitution in Boston Harbor today!

 

"Captain, O Captain" by Walt Whitman was written after Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865 in honor of the fallen leader.

 

As for ideas for poems to go with your early modern time frame -- here are some key poets of the 19th century and early 20th century; just do a little background reading or google search for their most famous works to get started:

 

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

- Robert Browning

- Hillair Belloc (famous for humorous and satiric poetry)

- E.E. Cummings

- Emily Dickinson

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

- TS Eliot

- Robert Frost

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

- Rudyard Kipling

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

- Edward Lear (famous for nonsense type poems)

- Christina Rossetti

- Carl Sandburg

- Robert Lewis Stevenson

- Lord Alfred Tennyson

- Walt Whitman

- William Carlos Williams

- William Butler Yeats

 

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

Edited by Lori D.
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The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. Though they may be too young to truly appreciate it.

 

My current favorite poet is Mary Oliver. She's still living and writing.

 

And just for fun, you might want to read Love that Dog by Sharon Creech. It's about a boy who's teacher is trying to make him write poetry, and it covers a lot of different styles of poetry in it. It also makes me cry. It's a wonderful short little book that adults and children seem to equally enjoy.

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If you have time, would explain how you do poetry study? I'm interested but don't even know how to start a lesson.

 

Well... for the record, we've been doing poetry study for 6 years, and I'm still not sure what I'm doing. :001_huh:

 

Every year I expect to find a more academic proper way to teach it, but I can't seem to make it happen. What we have here is a bulletin board (at eye level) dedicated to poetry. Once a month I post a poem to be put to memory (along with the printed poem is a photo of the poet and his/her name in bold type and other relevant tidbits printed off the internet). The kids spend a few minutes everyday practicing on their own, at the end of the month they recite from memory.

 

We've done many variations over the years. We've done our final recitals outside with tea on our homemade stage, I've had them read poetry books and choose a second poem for recitation (great way to make sure some of these lovely poetry books get read in their entirety). I always look for interesting readings on youtube like these:

and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUuZBXNw0O8. Every year I do it a little different. This coming year's theme is "simplify". In fact that is my theme for all subjects this year. (I'm really looking forward to it. :001_smile:) We will only do one poem per month and recite here at our table. They will be using poems from previous years as copywork for Spencerian cursive.

 

Poetry has come up in other language arts work over the years, so they've learned a bit about the mechanics. I'm sure eventually I'll do some kind of formal poetry study. In the meantime they've become very familiar with many poems and poets. They know their faces, some of their stories, their styles... and best of all they quote poems at random moments in life (Callooh Callay!)

 

Today I cleaned out our poetry shelf (I collect vintage poetry books), and I put all our old printed poems in a nice fat pile. I'm surprised how many there are.

 

There's a photo of the bulletin board here in an old post: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252521

 

I encourage you to give it a go!

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A good contrast poem to "Goblin Feet" would be Christina Rosetti's "Goblin Market".

A companion poem to "Afternoon on a Hill" might be "The Daffodils" by Wordsworth (and a

.)

A companion poem to "Road to Anywhere" could be JRR Tolkien's "Roads Go Ever On".

 

 

Some "don't miss" poems our DSs enjoyed:

- "The Jabberwocky" (Carroll)

- "The Raven" (Poe)

- Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Coleridge)

- "Ride of Paul Revere" (Longfellow)

- "The Village Blacksmith" (Wordsworth) -- and then enjoy the

- "Ozymandias" (Shelley) -- very early 19th century poem

 

 

Other Ideas for Poems:

- The Convergence of the Twain (Hardy) -- about the sunk wreck of the Titanic

- Song of Hiawatha (Longfellow) -- book-length poem on the life of Hiawatha

- Evangeline (Longfellow) -- book-length poem on the tragic separation of lovers during the expulsion of the Acadians

 

 

And while the poem was written by Lord Byron before the early modern time period, "Darkness" is fabulous for capturing the worldview that came about and dominated during/right after WWI.

 

Also maybe a little earlier than you're looking for is "Old Ironsides" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, written in response to the proposed dismantling of the USS Constitution that fought in the War of 1812 -- so moving did people find the poem, that it caused people to rally and save the ship -- and you can walk on the decks of the Constitution in Boston Harbor today!

 

"Captain, O Captain" by Walt Whitman was written after Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865 in honor of the fallen leader.

 

As for ideas for poems to go with your early modern time frame -- here are some key poets of the 19th century and early 20th century; just do a little background reading or google search for their most famous works to get started:

 

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

- Robert Browning

- Hillair Belloc (famous for humorous and satiric poetry)

- E.E. Cummings

- Emily Dickinson

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

- TS Eliot

- Robert Frost

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

- Rudyard Kipling

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

- Edward Lear (famous for nonsense type poems)

- Christina Rossetti

- Carl Sandburg

- Robert Lewis Stevenson

- Lord Alfred Tennyson

- Walt Whitman

- William Carlos Williams

- William Butler Yeats

 

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

 

Thank you Lori.

I printed up a couple poems I think the girls would like.

It's also reassuring to see some we've already done. I'm on the right track! :D

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The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. Though they may be too young to truly appreciate it.

 

My current favorite poet is Mary Oliver. She's still living and writing.

 

And just for fun, you might want to read Love that Dog by Sharon Creech. It's about a boy who's teacher is trying to make him write poetry, and it covers a lot of different styles of poetry in it. It also makes me cry. It's a wonderful short little book that adults and children seem to equally enjoy.

 

Yeah, I think Prufrock is too much for them right now.

I'm excited to read about Mary Oliver. I love this line: from New and Selected Poems: “When it’s over, I want to say: all my life / I was a bride married to amazement. / I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.â€

I look forward to getting to know her work. Thanks!

 

I've seen this Creech book a few times at the library book store. I'll pick it up next time I see it. It looks like a good match for us.

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I like the Poetry for Young People series. Longfellow is one of my personal favorite poets. My oldest dd likes Robert Louis Stevenson

 

I really like that series too!

 

I think we're going to do Ride of Paul Revere. We've done The Village Blacksmith :001_wub: and one or two others.

 

I agree with your daughter on Robert Lewis Stevenson. Every year I want to do one poem by him (and Robert Frost as well).

As my kids get older, I get a small nagging feeling that I've got to cram their imaginations with poems like The Hayloft and Pirate Story while I still can.

 

I'll probably go through my A Child's Garden of Verses tomorrow.

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Have you considered doing a poetry in music unit where you study song lyrics? I'm thinking specifically of the 60s/70s singer/songwriter/folk music.

 

Oooo! Cool idea!

Last year we did composer study, this coming year orchestra/ballet/opera, and I was planning on doing folk the following year. I could totally make that work! Thanks :001_smile:

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Wow, Helena. You are amazing, I don't think I'd seen your pictures before, I love everything including the skeleton girl on the sliding glass door, and I think I want to join your school.

 

 

You can join us anytime! We can drink tea, talk about vintage book sets, and shop at the library book stores in town. :001_smile:

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I love that schoolroom! Especially your bookcases!

 

Thanks for the info. I think we will give it a try this year!

 

Thank you :001_smile:

I really do hope you give it a try. Just a little a day adds up over the years, it really doesn't have to be a big ordeal.

 

If you haven't already, you ought to search the boards for poetry threads. There's a lot of people here who do it, and everyone in their own way. You might find something especially inspiring!

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I was on Pinterest and stumbled across this. I don't know if you lapbook, but if you want more formality to your studies, your daughters might enjoy doing a project like this.

 

I like everything about this!

I'll show it to the girls tomorrow.

Thanks!

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I think that you sould look at Jabberwocky too. :) This has not only poems but familiar verse.

 

FYI, Jabberwocky has poetry studies for Junior High too ... here

 

Jabberwocky! I even do parts of it with my 2 and 4 year old and they love it! :)

 

We did Jabberwocky a few years ago. It's a favorite around here. I'm reading through a Lewis Carroll book right now to see if there's anything that looks good.

Hmm... I have A Boat, Beneath a Sunny Sky bookmarked. Maybe it's time to do this one: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173163

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Helena, I have too many favorites to pick just one, but I did want to recommend a book to you (before I start the board break I just resolved to do :tongue_smilie:). I have just started reading Awakening the Heart and I am absolutely in love with her ideas!

 

My library has it! Heading over there today. :001_smile:

Thanks

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Love your poetry study ideas an am looking forward to hearing about your year of ballet, opera and orchestra. What about Phillis Wheatly? She's a bit early for early modern history.

 

Liz

 

I put it on hold at the library.

Now I'm reading all about her, I'm so excited to see her work!

 

I'm working, working, to find only the yummiest books for the orchestra, ballet, and opera study.

I'm trying to keep it simple. Last years fairytale study really taught me to make my best plans, stay consistent, to relax, and accept that I can only do a fraction of my "good" ideas. :001_smile:

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I'm working, working, to find only the yummiest books for the orchestra, ballet, and opera study.

I'm trying to keep it simple. Last years fairytale study really taught me to make my best plans, stay consistent, to relax, and accept that I can only do a fraction of my "good" ideas. :001_smile:

 

I have a picture book of South Pacific, retold by James A. Michener, with illustrations by Michael Hague. I know that's not an opera, but I thought you might be covering musicals too.

 

I also have a very beautiful picture book of Lohengrin, but I can't seem to locate it this afternoon. It's probably from the 50's or 60's or even earlier. It has a light blue cover, and I cannot for the life of me remember much more than that.

 

One more book you might be interested in is The Wonderful World of Music, by Benjamin Britten, copyright 1958. It's a lovely book that describes the history of many musical instruments.

 

Are you going to make the poetry lapbook this year? I'm very interested in it, as it looks like a great idea to me.

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I have a picture book of South Pacific, retold by James A. Michener, with illustrations by Michael Hague. I know that's not an opera, but I thought you might be covering musicals too.

 

I also have a very beautiful picture book of Lohengrin, but I can't seem to locate it this afternoon. It's probably from the 50's or 60's or even earlier. It has a light blue cover, and I cannot for the life of me remember much more than that.

 

One more book you might be interested in is The Wonderful World of Music, by Benjamin Britten, copyright 1958. It's a lovely book that describes the history of many musical instruments.

 

Are you going to make the poetry lapbook this year? I'm very interested in it, as it looks like a great idea to me.

 

Is this the Lohengrin book? http://www.tias.com/10782/PictPage/1923011887.html

If so, I have the Aida book to that set! I seriously love that book.

 

I could swear I've seen The Wonderful World of Music at the library book store... I'm going to find it!

 

The lapbooks are amazing. I'm still in the book collecting phase. I'm kind of playing around with all my other ideas, like activities, dvds, cds, outings... they really are neat though. We'll see. Let me know if you end up doing it.

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Is this the Lohengrin book? http://www.tias.com/10782/PictPage/1923011887.html

If so, I have the Aida book to that set! I seriously love that book.

 

I could swear I've seen The Wonderful World of Music at the library book store... I'm going to find it!

 

The lapbooks are amazing. I'm still in the book collecting phase. I'm kind of playing around with all my other ideas, like activities, dvds, cds, outings... they really are neat though. We'll see. Let me know if you end up doing it.

 

Yes, that's the Lohengrin book. I know I only paid a quarter for my copy, but it's pretty tattered. I think my local thrift shop has another copy of the music book, so I can look for it when I go today if you'd like.

 

I'm not sure about this, but I seem to remember seeing a Deluxe Golden Book or something similar that was all about ballet stories. I could be wrong, but I'll try to remember what it could be.

 

Ah yes, I found it! It is The Royal Book of Ballet (1962) by Shirley Goulden. I don't have that one, but there are many cheap copies at some of the used booksellers.

Edited by Poke Salad Annie
found the book title
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Yes, that's the Lohengrin book. I know I only paid a quarter for my copy, but it's pretty tattered. I think my local thrift shop has another copy of the music book, so I can look for it when I go today if you'd like.

 

I'm not sure about this, but I seem to remember seeing a Deluxe Golden Book or something similar that was all about ballet stories. I could be wrong, but I'll try to remember what it could be.

 

Ah yes, I found it! It is The Royal Book of Ballet (1962) by Shirley Goulden. I don't have that one, but there are many cheap copies at some of the used booksellers.

 

(My bolding)

I have it! It's at the top of my list for ballet story books. The illustrations are great.

 

If you find another one of those books I'd definitely buy it from you! Let me know. (no worries though, I don't want to make it a hassle for you)

Edited by helena
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