*All learners must have a copy of Sharon Creech's "Hate That Cat", which is our core text (free verse novel), as well as a poetry journal (dedicated to poetry writing).
*The poetry collections are helpful, but optional, since titles will be provided to a smaller selection of online poetry each week.

This course develops on my "Introduction to Poetry - Love That Dog" course with a more in-depth look at elements of poetry writing, including types of poetry and figurative language. This course is an ideal introduction for learners who have not yet learned about figurative language or are not confident in naming or using these techniques. Poetry lovers are also welcome to join, even if they have not read "Love That Dog" yet or taken my first course. (Each book can stand alone.)

Each class, we will discuss some of the poems of the week and a section from the book, and share our own poetry. Our weekly discussions will focus on a specific aspect of poetry and poetry writing that comes up in "Hate That Cat" that week. The companion poems are prime examples of the week's focus point and will illustrate things like alliteration and onomatopoeia that are mentioned in the book. To be ready for our club meetings, each learner should do the following four things prior to each club meeting: read the selected section of "Hate That Cat" (except for the first class), read some example poems (choose from the provided list), write examples of the weekly writing focus in their poetry journal, and write a poem to share in class using the technique.

I will provide support in the classroom, like dictionary definitions, examples, organizational tables, and short videos introducing the weekly focus.

SCHEDULE:

Lesson 1 -  The Poet's Message: Poetry Notebook, Brainstorming, Topics & Symbols
Prior to our class, choose several poems from this list. Read them and brainstorm some topics you could write about about in your poetry. Then, open your poetry journal to the first page and make a list of your hobbies, favourite things, special people (and pets), emotions, and recent experiences. Consider your favourite people, season, holiday, food, place, sport, music, book, movie, show, game, colour, subjects, and clothes. Are you curious about anything? Write down anything you are interested in writing about! (Ignore anything you are not interested in writing about.) You will share your list in our first book and writer's club.             

What makes a poem … a poem? - Melissa Kovacs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwhouCNq-Fc

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "Where Do I Find Poetry?" by Georgia Heard
                    "Five Tips On Writing A Poem" by Jane Yolen
                    "The Tropics of New York" by Claude McKay
                    "Cotton Candy" by Edward Hirsch
                    "Mustard Flowers" by Ajmer Rode
                    "A Perfect Game" (excerpt) by Yesenia Montilla
                    "His Speed and Strength" by Alicia Ostriker
                    "Before I Was a Gazan" by Naomi Shihab Nye
                    "If I Were My Dog for Just One Day" by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
                    "Carrying Our Words" by Ofelia Zepeda
                    "In This Place (An American Lyric)" by Amanda Gorman
                    "The Republic of Poetry" by Martín Espada
                    "Eating Poetry" by Mark Strand
                    "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes
                    "My Shadow" by Robert Louis Stevenson
                    "Juke Box Love Song" by Langston Hughes
                    "For Poets" by Al Young
                    "A Ballad Of Nursery Rhyme" by Robert von Ranke Graves
                    "A Poet Thinks" by Edward Powys Mathers (As Translator)
                    "A Rhyme about an Electrical Advertising Sign" by Vachel Lindsay
                    "How Billy Collins Writes a Poem" by Marjory Wentworth (Out of Wonder)
                    "The Music of the Earth" by Marjory Wentworth (Out of Wonder)
                    "(Loving) The World and Everything in It" by Marjory Wentworth (Out of Wonder)
                    "The Poet Inside Me" by Chris Colderley (Out of Wonder)
                    "How to Write a Poem" by Kwame Alexander (Out of Wonder)
                    "Snapshots" by Chris Colderley (Out of Wonder)
                    "Courageous Poetry" by Margarita Engle (Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics)
                    "Subway" by Sarah Kay (No Matter the Wreckage *Not specifically a children's book)
                    "I Was Born Here in This City" by Arnold Adoff (Street Music)
                    "Go Away, Poem!" by Loris Lesynski (I Did It Because . . .)
                    "Curious" by Loris Lesynski (I Did It Because . . .)
                    "Hi, Ideas! My Ideas!" by Loris Lesynski (I Did It Because . . .)
                    "porches" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "turtle" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)

In our first book and writer's club meeting, we will begin reading "Hate That Cat" by Sharon Creech together (the September 12th to October 3rd entries), so bring your copy to class.

Lesson 2 -   The Poet's Toolbox: Alliteration 
Prior to our class, read the October 10th to October 16th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Pay attention to the repeated sounds at the beginnings of the words. This writing technique is used to excite our brains, attract our attention to a part of the poem, create a symbolic sound, and create tongue twisters. It is called alliteration. How many examples of alliteration can you find? Write them in your poetry journal. Finally, write your own poem about any topic that excites you, using alliteration.

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams
                    "The Dentist and the Crocodile" by Roald Dahl
                    "Coquí" by Carmen Bernier-Grand)
                    "The Letter A" by Darren Sardelli
                    "The Labyrinth" by Robert P. Baird
                    "Summer Stars" by Carl Sandburg
                    "Bronzeville Man With a Belt in the Back" by Gwendolyn Brooks
                    "The Squirrel" by Emily Dickinson
                    "A Bear Family" by James Whitcomb Riley
                    "Shero" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)
                    "XENIAL" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)
                    "robins" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "tiger" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "slug" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "fireworks" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "pumpkin" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "There is a Wading Pool in Our Park" by Arnold Adoff (Street Music)
                    "S N A K E" by Barbara Esbensen (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "The Flippy, Floppy Flappers" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "Snowflakes" by Nikki Giovanni (The Sun Is So Quiet)
                    "City I Love" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)

Lesson 3 -   The Poet's Toolbox: Onomatopoeia
Prior to our class, read the October 17th to October 19th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Pay attention to any words that are both a sound and a word, like moo, creak, and boom. These sound words are called onomatopoeias. How many can you find? Write them in your poetry journal. Finally, write your own poem about any topic of your choice using onomatopoeia.

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "The Bashful Earthquake" by Oliver Herford
                    "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
                    "Drum Drum Girl" by Margarita Engle
                    "The Great Figure" by William Carlos Williams
                    "Riding in My Car" by Woody Guthrie
                    "I Made a Mechanical Dragon" by Jack Prelutsky (The Dragons Are Singing Tonight)
                    "Tu-Baa-Baa" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "My Name is Julio" by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy (Yes! We Are Latinos)
                    "Open Window" by Arnold Adoff (Street Music)
                    "Street Music" by Arnold Adoff (Street Music)
                    "Music Moves Us Along the Street" by Arnold Adoff (Street Music)
                    "Fourth of July" by Marilyn Singer (Every Day's a Dog's Day)
                    "Sing a Song of Cities" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "City" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "bell" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "Letter to the Rain" by Joyce Sidman (Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow)
                    "Always Together" by Joyce Sidman (Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow)

Lesson 4 - The Poet's Toolbox: Imagery
Prior to our class, read the October 22nd to November 13th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Pay attention to any words that help you to imagine what something looks like, sounds like, smells like, tastes like, and feels like. These descriptive words are called sensory language (think the five senses) and imagery (think image, imagine, and imagination). How many examples can you find? Write them in your poetry journal. Finally, write your own poem about any topic of your choice using imagery.

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "kitten" by Valerie Worth
                    "The Swing" by Robert Louis Stevenson
                    "Winter Moon" by Langston Hughes
                    "After the Winter" by Claude McKay
                    "Autumn" by Alexander Posey
                    "Marshlands" by Emily Pauline Johnson
                    "The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop
                    "The Caterpillar" by Robert Graves
                    "Baba's View" by Shannon Brown
                    "Statl’limx Fishing: Night Air" by Lila Wallace
                    "The Lady of Shalott" by Lord Alfred Tennyson
                    "For Our Children's Children" by Chris Colderley (Out of Wonder)
                    "I Have a Dozen Dragons" by Jack Prelutsky (The Dragons Are Singing Tonight)
                    "A Dragon Is In My Computer" by Jack Prelutsky (The Dragons Are Singing Tonight)
                    "Peace" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)
                    "My Name is Sultana" by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy (Yes! We Are Latinos)
                    "The Stars" by Nikki Giovanni (The Sun Is So Quiet)
                    "I Drew a Yellow Unicorn" by Jack Prelutsky (What a Day it Was at School)
                    "Leaves" by Loris Lesynski (I Did It Because . . .)
                    "Strawberry Patches" by Nikki Giovanni (The Sun Is So Quiet)
                    "Get 'Em Here" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "frog" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)

Lesson 5 - The Poet's Toolbox: Rhythm, Beat, Metre, Stress, HARD-soft Patterns & Syllables
Prior to our class, read the November 20th to December 6th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Try reading the poems in different voices and in different ways. Clap or snap your fingers as you read. Can you find the rhythm or the beat? Try to sing the poems. Could they work as songs? Write your preferences and conclusions in your poetry journal. Finally, write your own melodic, songlike poem about any topic of your choice. Record yourself reading it and listen to the rhythm. Are you satisfied? Share it with the class! 

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "Today I Had a Rotten Day" by Ken Nesbitt
                    "My Lunch" by Ken Nesbitt
                    "My Brother's Not a Werewolf" by Ken Nesbitt
                    "My Puppy Plays Piano" by Ken Nesbitt
                    "I Just Can't Stand Poetry" by Jacob Cra
                    "Long in the Tooth" by David Fisher
                    "How to Paint a Donkey" by Naomi Shihab Nye 
                    "Easy Boogie" by Langston Hughes
                    "Heroic Pests" by David Fisher
                    "Carefree Grass" by Emily Dickinson
                    *Try singing it to the Pokémon and Gilligan's Island theme songs
                    "Bee" by Emily Dickinson
                    *Try singing it to "I Just Can't Wait to be King" or "I Wanna Be Like You"
                    "The Moon" by Emily Dickinson
                    *Try singing it to "Amazing Grace", "Yankee Doodle Dandy", and "The Yellow Rose of Texas"
                    "In the Almost-Light" by Joyce Sidman (Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow)
                    "The Dragons Are Singing Tonight" by Jack Prelutsky (The Dragons Are Singing Tonight)

haiku:          “The Old Pond” by Matsuo Bashō
                    "Autumn Moonlight" by Matsuo Bashō
                    "In the Twilight Rain" by Matsuo Bashō
                    "January" by Paul Holmes
                    "October's Gold" by Paul Holmes
                    "Autumn Haiku Poem" by Patricia L. Cisco
                    "Nature" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)
                    "Sparrow" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)

nonet:          "A Pirate's Playground" by Mark Williams
                    "Midnight's Breath" by Marie Summers
                    "Hope" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)

tanka:          "The Pink Pearly Shell" by Holle Abee
                    "It Was an Old Fish" by Holle Abee
                    "About a Storm" by Holle Abee
                    "Subtle Hints of Spring" by Can Sonmez
                    "A Cool Wind Blows In" by Dendrobia

villanelle:     "The House on the Hill" by Edwin Robinson
                    "Hold My Hand in Yours" by Dusty Grein
                    “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop
                    "Personal History by Adrienne Su
                    "Zombie Blues Villanelle" by Tim Seibles
                    "Cracked Ice" by Julie Sheehan

tricubes:      "The music resonates in my chest" by Writer Deviant
                    "Flotilla" by Buffy Silverman
                    "Sunrise" by Alana DeVito
                    "Quiet House" by Jane Yolen
                    "Summer" by Tonnye Fletcher
                    "Night Spring" by Matt Forrest Esenwine
                    "Listen" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)

Lesson 6 - The Poet's Focus: Audience
                  The Poet's Method: Personification
                  The Poet's Message: Themes
Prior to our class, read the December 11th to December 19th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Decide why the poet was writing and who they were writing for. Which choices did the poets make, and why? What was their message? Write your conclusions in your poetry journal. Finally, write your own poem about any topic of your choice that communicates a big idea or a message (a theme). Think about your classmates as you write your poem and make choices so they will understand and enjoy it.

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "Black Cat" by Christopher Myers
                    "The Secret" by Denise Levertov
                    "Autumn" by Emily Dickinson
                    "Saw My Teacher on a Saturday" by Emily Mendoza
                    "Dust of Snow" by Robert Frost
                    "The Crow" by Kunst Judith McCune
                    "A Solar Eclipse" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
                    "A Laugh--and A Moan" by Abram Joseph Ryan
                    "The Abbreviated Fox And His Sceptical Comrades" by Guy Wetmore Carryl
                    "A Bad Beginning" by D. H. Lawrence (David Herbert Richards) - Edited for Content
                    "A Florida Ghost" by Sidney Lanier
                    "That Song In Every Musical That No One Likes" by Sarah Smallwood Parsons
                    "Create" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World) - roundel
                    "Voice" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World) - two voices
                    "Sing a Song of Cities" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "City" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "Mother's Plea" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "Fidgetfidgetfidgeting" by Loris Lesynski (I Did It Because . . .)
                    "I Hate Poetry!" by Loris Lesynski (I Did It Because . . .)
                    "Racing Against the Sun" by Nikki Giovanni (The Sun Is So Quiet)
                    "Winter" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "Snow City" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "kite" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "mushroom" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "mantis" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "coat hangers" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "giraffe" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "garage sale" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "skeletons" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "Dominoes" by Bob Raczka (Wet Cement)
                    "Lightning" by Bob Raczka (Wet Cement)
                    "Brave Music" by Margarita Engle (Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics)
                    "Dream of 

Lesson 7 - The Poet's Toolbox: Rhyme, Assonance & Consonance
Prior to our class, read the December 20th to January 8th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list or from previous lists. Determine which words (at the ends of the lines) rhyme and write down the rhyme scheme in your book or in your poetry journal. Do your favourite poems have a rhyme scheme? What about the vowel sounds in the middle of the words (anywhere in the poem)--do they sound the same? Fill in the table to find some repeated vowel sounds. This is called assonance! Can you find any examples of assonance? Write them down! Meanwhile, consonance has a few different meanings. Can you find any words that look similar with the same beginning and ending consonant sounds? What about words with the same consonant sounds that are flipped? That's still consonance! Even alliteration is a type of consonance! Write down any examples you can find. Finally, write your own poem about any topic of your choice using a rhyme scheme, assonance, and consonance.

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "If-ing" by Langston Hughes
                    "Now We Are Six" by A. A. Milne
                    "Bird Children" by Elizabeth Gordon
                    "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" by Maya Angelou
                    "The Caterpillar" by Robert Graves
                    "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud" by William Wordsworth
                    "The Bean-Stalk" by Edna St. Vincent Millay
                    "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
                    "The Tyger" by William Blake
                    "The Hero Ants" by Kelly Roper
                    "A Rude Awakening" by Kelly Roper
                    "People" by D. H. Lawrence
                    "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
                    "Jack-O-Lantern Song" by Anonymous Poet
                    "Our Little Ghost" by Louisa May Alcott
                    "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson
                    "The Railway Train" by Emily Dickinson
                    "A Snow Storm" by Thomas Frederick Young
                    "I Have a Secret Dragon" by Jack Prelutsky (The Dragons Are Singing Tonight)
                    "Gecko on the Wall" by Joyce Sidman (Ubiquitous)
                    "The Ants" by Joyce Sidman (Ubiquitous)
                    "Soon" by Goldie Olszynko Gryn (A Bad Case of the Giggles)
                    "Smart" by Shel Silverstein (A Bad Case of the Giggles)
                    "Pickled Pickles Don't Smile" by Nikki Giovanni (The Sun Is So Quiet)

Lesson 8 -   The Poet's Toolbox: Simile
Prior to our class, read the January 10th to January 17th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Look for the words "as" and "like" and write down any times when there is a comparison following those words (the poet is comparing two things creatively). This technique is called simile. How many similes can you find? Write them down. Now, think about why those two things are being compared and how it changes the meaning of the poem. Write down your thoughts in your poetry journal. Finally, write your own poem about any topic of your choice with at least one interesting and meaningful simile.

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "The Naming of Cats" by T.S. Eliot
                    "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth
                    "The Storm" by Nora Marks Dauenhauer
                    "Since Hanna Moved Away" by Judith Viorst)
                    "A Storm Simile" by Victor-Marie Hugo
                    "I Wish I Had a Dragon" by Jack Prelutsky (The Dragons Are Singing Tonight)
                    "Intention" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)
                    "Tenacity" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World) - free verse
                    "Connie" by Nikki Giovanni (The Sun Is So Quiet)
                    "asparagus" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "From the Ground" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "Kite" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "cow" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "tractor" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "raw carrots" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "caterpillar" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "horse" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)

Lesson 9 -  The Poet's Toolbox: Metaphor
Prior to our class, read the January 24th to January 31st entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Look for creative comparisons that do not have the words "as" and "like" to join them. This is a metaphor. Often the two things being compared will be joined with "is" or "are". Can figure out which things are being compared and what is similar about them? Write it down in your poetry journal. How many metaphors can you find? Write them down. Finally, write your own poem about any topic of your choice with at least one interesting and meaningful metaphor.

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "Dreams" by Langston Hughes
                    "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes
                    "Egret in Flight" by Jane Yolen
                    "The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee" by N. Scott Momaday
                    "The Widening Sky" by Edward Hirsch
                    "The Children's Hour" by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow)
                    "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" by Hague Albert and Geisel Theo Seuss
                    "And here is the same wind" by Lance Henson
                    "Majestic" by Kwame Alexander (Out of Wonder)
                    "mushroom" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "From This Bus Window" by Arnold Adoff (Street Music)
                    "Ants and Grass Hoppers" by Arnold Adoff (Street Music)
                    "Flavors" by Arnold Adoff (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Heavenly" by Joyce Sidman (Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow)

Lesson 10 - The Poet's Choices: Structure, Shape, Line Breaks & Enjambment
Prior to our class, read the February 7th to February 25th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Read some concrete (shape) poems and some with stanzas. Notice how poems can look very different with different numbers of lines in each stanza and varying shapes. Count the number of lines in each stanza and check what that length of stanza is called to write it in your poetry notebook. Why do you think the poet chose that number of lines and that format? Write your thoughts in your poetry journal. Finally, write your own poem about any topic of your choice. Name your stanzas based on the number of lines or try making a concrete poem!

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r" by E. E. Cummings
                    "The Mouse's Tail" by Lewis Carroll
                    "Forsythia" by Mary Ellen Solt
                    "Point Scored" by C. Cardenas De Dwyer
                    "Concrete Cat" by Dorthi Charles
                    "Sailboat" by Court Smith
                    "Swan and Shadow" by John Hollander
                    "A Dark Bird With Outstretched Wings" by Lance Henson
                    "I Think I Could Be A Poem" by Linda Boyden
                    "Autumn" by Bob Raczka (Wet Cement)
                    "Brouhaha" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "Merry-Go-Round Horse" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)

monostich:   "Winter Echo" by Yvor Winters

couplet:        "Three Witches' Couplet" from Macbeth by Shakespeare
                    "maggie and milly and molly and may" by E. E. Cummings
                    "Covers" by Nikki Giovanni (The Sun Is So Quiet)
                    "My Puppy" by Aileen Fisher (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Out in the Dark and Daylight" by Aileen Fisher (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Gecko on the Wall" by Joyce Sidman (Ubiquitous)

tercet/triplet: "Snowflakes Haiku" by Kaitlyn Guenther
                    "Easter Chocolate" by Kaitlyn Guenther
                    "Haiku I and Haiku II" by George Ann Gregory
                    "An Old Silent Pond" by Matsuo Basho
                    "Autumn Moonlight" by Matsuo Basho
                    "O Snail" by Kobayashi Issa
                    "Cherry Trees" by Machi Tawara
                    "A Minute" by Patricia A. Gordon
                    "Ode to the West Wind" by Percy Bysshe Shelley
                    "For a Student Sleeping in a Poetry Workshop" by David Wagoner
                    "Kittens" by Myra Cohn Livingston (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Shell" by Myra Cohn Livingston (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "pebbles" by Valerie Worth (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Recess" by Lilian Moore (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Pet Parade" by Marilyn Singer (Every Day's a Dog's Day)

quatrain:      "Old Man with a Beard" by Edward Lear
                    "My Cat and I" by Aileen Fisher (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Lemonade Stand" by Myra Cohn Livingston (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Martin Luther King" by Aileen Fisher (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Skip Rope Rhyme For Our Time" by Eve Merriam (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Beach Day" by Marilyn Singer (Every Day's a Dog's Day)
                    "Brouhaha" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "Duel With a Mosquito" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "A Bad Case of the Giggles" by Bruce Lansky (A Bad Case of the Giggles)
                    "Solving Medical Mysteries" by Margarita Engle (Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics)
                    "The Lichen We" by Joyce Sidman (Ubiquitous)
                    "Winter" by Nikki Giovanni (The Sun Is So Quiet)

quintet:        "Sweating bullets" by Kelly Roper
                    "Tanka 06" by Masaoka Shiki
                    "Struggle for the Perfect Tanka" by Kelly Roper
                    "On the white sand" by Ishikawa Takuboku
                    "Pirate of Boulder" by Graham Lester
                    "If You Catch a Firefly" by Lilian Moore (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "lawnmower" by Valerie Worth (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "fence" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)

sestet/sestain: "Sestina" by Elizabeth Bishop
                    "Puppy and I" by A. A. Milne
                    "Mine" by Lilian Moore (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "safety pin" by Valerie Worth (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "stars" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)

octave:        "Snowman" by David McCord (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "I AM BOOM!" by Jack Prelutsky (The Dragons Are Singing Tonight)

mixed:         "Chansons Innocentes: I" by E. E. Cummings
                    "Make Me a Picture of the Sun" by Emily Dickinson
                    "Listen, Rabbit!" by Aileen Fisher (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Bat" by Barbara Esbensen (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Elephant" by Barbara Esbensen (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "My Cat" by Barbara Esbensen (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Pencils" by Barbara Esbensen (A Jar of Tiny Stars)
                    "Nothing Beats a Pizza" by Loris Lesynski (I Did It Because . . .)
                    "The Streets Are So Hot" by Arnold Adoff (Street Music)
                    "Let the Birds Live!" by Margarita Engle (Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics)
                    "The World's First Woman Pilot" by Margarita Engle (Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics)
                    "Diatoms" by Joyce Sidman (Ubiquitous)
                    "Fluff Head" by Joyce Sidman (Ubiquitous)
                    "Seal At the Zoo" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)

Lesson 11 - The Poet's Choices: Titles, Diction, Characterization & Voice
Prior to our class, read the February 28th to March 14th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Think about the titles. Do they seem suitable and interesting? Why or why not? Can you think of some better titles? Write your thoughts in your poetry journal. Now, pick out the most powerful and interesting words and write them down. What makes them powerful and interesting? Finally, write your own poem about any topic of your choice, using powerful and interesting words and a passionate writer's voice. Don't forget to give your poem a strong title!

                    Reader's Choice:
                    "This is Just to Say", "To a Poor Old Woman", and "Poem" by William Carlos Williams
                    "Amelia’s First Ski Run" by Nora Marks Dauenhauer
                    "The Sharks" by Denise Levertov
                    "Window" by Carl Sandburg
                    "A Rune Of The Rain" by George Parsons Lathrop
                    "A Session With Uncle Sidney - I - One Of His Animal Stories" by James Whitcomb Riley
                    "A Southern Lullaby" by Virna Sheard
                    "A June Night" by Emma Lazarus
                    "A Lay Of Real Life" by Thomas Hood
                    "A Late Walk" by Robert Lee Frost
                    "icicles" by Bob Raczka (Wet Cement)
                    "balloon" by Bob Raczka (Wet Cement)
                    "poeTRY" by Bob Raczka (Wet Cement)
                    "Prickly Lot" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "Unruly Bunch" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "Duel With a Mosquito" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "The Stars" by Nikki Giovanni (The Sun Is So Quiet)
                    "Hydrant" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "From the Ground" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "City Lights" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "sun" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "jewels" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "kitten" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "crows" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "potatoes" by Valerie Worth (all the small poems and fourteen more)
                    "The Gray Ones" by Joyce Sidman (Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow)

Lesson 12 - The Poet's Choices: Form, Types of Poems & Repetition
Prior to our class, read the March 21st to April 11th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Try reading some different types of poems. Take note of the number of stanzas and lines, rhyme scheme, and any other special features. Write your observations in your poetry journal. Then, read at least one poem with repetition (at the bottom of the list). Why do you think the poet used repetition? Finally, write your own poem about any topic of your choice in one of these forms. Why did you choose this form? Write about it in your poetry journal.

Reader's Choice:

Alphabet/ABC: "ABC Poem" by Cameron Davidson

acrostic:      "Fear" - https://examples.yourdictionary.com/acrostic-poem-examples.html
                    "Spring" - https://examples.yourdictionary.com/acrostic-poem-examples.html
                    "Food" - https://examples.yourdictionary.com/acrostic-poem-examples.html
                    "Empathy" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)

bop:             "Wonder" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)

cinquain:     "Planet" by Kim Kautzer
                    "Ice Cream" by Ken Nesbitt
                    "Castle" by William Swink
                    "Snow" by Anonymous
                    "Acrobats" by Anonymous
                    "Courage" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)

concrete:     "Bye" by Anatol Knotek
                    "Giraffe" by 
                    "Hopscotch" by Bob Raczka (Wet Cement)
                    "Firefly" by Bob Raczka (Wet Cement)
                    "Corners" by Bob Raczka (Wet Cement)
                    "Windshield Wiper" by Eve Merriam (A Jar of Tiny Stars)

free verse:   "Hate That Cat" by Sharon Creech
                    "My Name is Juanita" by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy (Yes! We Are Latinos)
                    "My Name is Lili" by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy (Yes! We Are Latinos)
                    "My Name is Andrés" by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy (Yes! We Are Latinos)

found:          Personal example

list:              "Recipe For Writing An Autumn Poem" by Georgia Heard
                    "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon
                    "Home is Where" by Betsy Franco
                    "Advice to Myself" by Louise Erdrich
                    "Still Life of Your Mother" by Peter Fowler
                    "Hi, Ideas! My Ideas!" by Loris Lesynski (I Did It Because . . .)
                    "The Ants" by Joyce Sidman (Ubiquitous)
                    "Prickly Lot" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "Subways Are People" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)

sonnet (look for 14 lines and these rhyme schemes): 1. ABAB BCBC CDCD EE  
                                                                                     2. ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
                                                                                     3. ABBA ABBA CDE CDE 
                                                                                     4. ABBA ABBA CDC CDC
                    "Learning To Write a Sonnet" by Denise Rodgers
                    "A Toast to Toast" by Gideon O. Burton   
                    "White Chocolate: A Vituperation" by Gideon O. Burton
                    "After Turkey Day" by Denise Rodgers
                    "Shakespeare's Sonnet #18" by William Shakespeare
                    "A Sonnet" by Fannie Isabelle Sherrick
                    "A Sonnet By Sir Edward Dyer" by Sir Philip Sidney
                                                                
senryu:        "A Folded Napkin" by Dendrobia
                    "School Year Ends" by Ian Willey
                    "I Go By Car" by Unknown
                    "That Vegetable Called Cabbage" by Kobayashi Nami
                    "Service" by Irene Latham and Charles Waters (Dictionary For a Better World)

repetition:    "All On A Golden Summer Day" by Arthur Macy
                    "Fifty Ukeleles" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "Bamboozled" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "Coyotes" by Joyce Sidman (Ubiquitous)
                    "Mud" by Loris Lesynski (I Did It Because . . .)
                    "City Summer" by Lee Bennett Hopkins (City I Love)
                    "Bubble Song" by Joyce Sidman (Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow)

Lesson 13 - The Poet's Choices: Narrative
Prior to our class, read the April 18th to June 5th entries of "Hate That Cat", as well as some poems of your choice from the following list. Notice how these poems tell stories. How does the poet develop the story through the poem? Write your observations in your poetry journal. Now, listen to a song that tells a story. This is also poetry! Write about it. Finally, write your own poem about a story from your life.

narrative (a poem that tells a story, often dramatically and with a rhythmic metre)
                    "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
                    "Alice And The White Knight" by Lewis Carroll
                    "A Leap Year Episode" by Hattie Howard
                    "A Fable" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox -Edited for Content
                    "A Fairy Tale" by Thomas Hood
                    "Essie and Amber" by Vera B. Williams
                    "Rathers" by Mary Hunter Austin (edited)
                   "Being Brave At Night" by Edgar Guest
                    "Afternoons" by Jorge H. Aigla
                    "In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles" by Francisco X. Alarcón
                    "We All Return to the Place Where We Were Born" by Oscar Gonzales
                    "The Band-aid and the Chewing Gum" by Vikram Madan (A Hatful of Dragons)
                    "Two Languages at the Library" by Margarita Engle (Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics)
                    "Mrs. Ribeiro" by Sarah Kay (No Matter the Wreckage)

ballad (a narrative song passed down orally, often with an ABCB rhyme scheme)
                    "Blackbeard, Bluebeard, and Redbeard" by Eric Herman
                    "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer
                    "The Ballad of the Landlord" by Langston Hughes
                    "The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver" by Edna St. Vincent Millay
                    "A Ballad Of The Kind Little Creatures" by Richard Le Gallienne
                    "During Wind and Rain" by Thomas Hardy

epic (an extremely long narrative poem about amazing adventures from long ago)
                    Except from "Paradise Lost" by John Milton *About a Dragon
                    Excerpt from "The Cantos" by Ezra Pound

lay (an adventurous or romantic narrative poem with eight syllable lines, which are often in couplets 
       but also in stanzas of varying lengths)
                    "The Three Voices" by Lewis Carroll

Lesson 14 - The Poet's Choices: Presentation
Prior to our class, listen to some spoken word poems of your choice from the following list. Take note of the poet's language choices, like rhyme, simile, repetition, and rhythm, as well as their presentation choices, like gestures, dramatic voice effects, and props. Write your observations in your poetry journal. Now, listen to a song that tells a story. This is also poetry! Write about it. Now, try reading the song lyrics aloud without the music. How is it a different experience? How is it also powerful? Write it down! Finally, write your own poem about a story from your life and prepare to present it in a creative way, whether you record a video, make it into a song, write a poem for two-or-more voices to be read by your classmates, or perform it live.

The Roots of Poetry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9qaVXE30FU

Why We Tell Stories
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7fWagDQyvg

Poetry Makes People Nervous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHbgZcur7ik

Be a Rainbow in Someone Else's Cloud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nYXFletWH4

Stage Presence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLULKW_ASEs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBCGVqyWrSQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYmavCsp8Hs

spoken word/performance poetry
                    "I Wish I Were an Extrovert" by Izzyy Eze
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buQe_g3vFps

                    "Raccoon" by Sarah Kay
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9thtDwM_wlE

                    "Snow" by Izzyy Eze
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3V1lSTy1Rc

                    "Mrs. Ribeiro" by Sarah Kay
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GqMgLnluKY

                    "Titanic" by Sarah Kay
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-TDMDSerNE

                    "A Love Letter" by Sarah Kay
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-VCoqxCPlk

                    "Wake Up" by Jesse Oliver
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04rfgNvvXz8

                    "If I should have a daughter . . . " by Sarah Kay
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0snNB1yS3IE
 
                    "An Origin Story" by Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esgfG3BoAPc

                   "59" by Harry Rowlinson
                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LYOTATI4TY

                   "Hermione Should've Been Black" by Aris Kian + Kendryk Youngblood
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuXnEEGoTh4

                   "Accents" by Denice Frohman
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtOXiNx4jgQ

                   "What Latinos Look Like" by Carlos Andrés Gómez
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKYB8Bx3yFY

                    "Afro-Latina" by Elizabeth Acevedo *Content warning: Language
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPx8cSGW4k8

                    "What We Build" by Sarah Kay
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StE7b5mRWHk

                    "No More Bullying For Me" by Daisy
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJsSxVNLSuQ

                    "A Letter to the Playground Bully from Andrea Age 8 1/2" by Andrea Gibson *Content: Bullying & spiritual reference
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-VGTAk1T3Q

                    "Truce" by Andrea Gibson
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDOM5wJkw9M

                    "Forest Fires" by Sarah Kay
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlter5esJ88

                    "My Honest Poem" by Rudy Francisco *Content warning: Spiritual reference at the end
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDa4WTZ_58M

                    "What Do You Call Beauty" by Amanda Tretter
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBG3tBJbVHQ

                    "Still I Rise' by Maya Angelou
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qviM_GnJbOM&t=11s

                    "Beginning, Middle & End" by Phil Kaye *Content warning: Language
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gck7DtLAN0k

                    "Table Games" by Sarah Kay
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlcTGDRX450

                    "On being bilingual" by Anacristina *Content warning: Language & spiritual reference
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-tdWCFtujI

                    "Ode to My Sister" by Brandon Leake *Content warning: Spiritual reference & thematic (loss)
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8tcoUE8_vA

                   "Almosts" by Bianca Phipps *Content warning: thematic (loss)
                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wvnQcm3SZE&t=63s

                   "Before the Internet" by Phil Kaye
                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QKoGKKfOeU

                   "A Letter To My Dog, Exploring the Human Condition" by Andrea Gibson *Content: Language
                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMeTA9-zMuk

                   "Hiroshima" by Sarah Kay *Content warning: Spiritual reference
                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXb9N2cVUs4

                   "We Wear the Mask" by Maya Angelou *Content warning: Slavery reference
                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HLol9InMlc

                   "Royal Heart" by Andrea Gibson *Content warning: Language
                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNL2qrh4IM4

                    "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7quZRyF8OQ

                    "Simon Says" by Ashley Davis & Oompa *Content warning: Language & reference to systematic racism
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zatHOwWBPEI

                    "Numbers Man" by Phil Kaye *Content warning: spiritual reference

                    "I talk Black" by Lady Brion
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5SKSZ6T3NI

                    "Repetition" by Phil Kaye *Content warning: divorce
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7fWagDQyvg

                    "Blink" by Ebony Stewart *Content warning: spiritual reference
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxzTSD6gGhI

                    "Your Black Friend Told Me To Tell You This" by Hannah Flores
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5RGVU0Gubo

                    "Woman, Black" by Chika Stacy
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MMPXSnlRUc

                    "My Grandmother's Ballroom" by Phil Kaye
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z031zWfI5os

                    "Poppy" by Sarah Kay (No Matter the Wreckage)

two voices   "Opposites Attract"
                    "The Moth's Serenade"
                    "Grasshoppers" by Paul Fleischman (Joyful Noise)
                    "Fireflies" by Paul Fleischman (Joyful Noise)

Lesson 15 - The Poet's Choices: Presentation
Prior to our class, arrange your poems into your own anthology. Decide how to arrange your poems: chronologically, topically, alphabetically, etc. Make choices about the font styles, colours, spacing, illustrations, borders, etc. Then, add an author bio introducing yourself as the poet and design the front and back covers. You will present your anthology to the class and describe your creative process and choices.