Archives of Past Promots

 

Fall Poetry Prompt

Eliza’s Jacket

Eliza has a jacket,
a jacket made of pockets.
The pockets all have numbers,
numbers on the jacket pockets.
Pocket three has bees inside,
sixteen contains their honey.
Number eight has cracker crumbs
and wads of Turkish money.
Twenty-three is filled with gum
(all unchewed I hope),
while right next door in twenty-four
is kept a one-inch piece of rope.
Thirteen is packed with useless facts,
and four has melted snow.
What’s in the rest
you’ll have to guess.
It’s not for us to know.

By Calef Brown

MRS POEMS wants you to submit your Pocket Poem!
Get an okay from an adult with this form Fill out the form and email it with your poem to mrspoems@laurashovan.com
Need inspiration? Read some Pocket Poems by kids like you.

Lesson Extension for Teachers & Parents

Related poems

Another poem to share about the magical power of words is W.S.   Merwin’s “The Unwritten.” The poem begins, “Inside this pencil/crouch words that have never been written.” What a powerful thought for young writers!

You can find “The Unwritten” in two anthologies for children. “How to Eat a Poem” http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/341, and “Poetry Speaks to Children,” which is reviewed by NPR here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5058489
      If your poets love “Eliza’s Jacket,” explore more of Calef Brown’s imaginative poems. The author/illustrator has several books out for children, including “Dutch Sneakers and Flea Keepers,” and “Flamingos on the Roof.”

Pocket Poem activity
Materials:

• one 6”x6” square of white construction paper
• one to two 6”x6” square of denim/blue construction paper
• scissors (adults)
• markers or crayons

Directions:

• Ahead -- trim one edge of the blue paper into a triangle, so it looks like a jeans’ pocket (see photos).
• If you are using two pieces of blue paper, staple them together leaving the top/longest edge open to create a pocket.
• Holding the white paper like a diamond, poets write the final draft of their poems on the white paper. Decorations encouraged!
• Fold the left and right corner of the white paper in so they touch.
• Decorate the blue pocket. Give your pocket a number. Remember the authors’ name!
• Staple the pockets to a bulletin board or hang them up. Put the poems inside – they should look like white handkerchiefs.
• Invite friends to read the poems!

Thanks to the third grade team at Northfield Elementary in Ellicott City, MD for collaborating with me on this multi-sensory activity. They are Treva Hilliard, Shana Pruitt, Katie Porter, Karen Geissler and Mindy Abbott.

HELP!
Are your students literal thinkers? Check out my blog about easing into imagination activities. http://authoramok.blogspot.com/2008/08/amok-in-new-hampshire-storytelling-with.html Scroll down to the “Writing Exercise.”

 

Email your poems to laura@laurashovan.com. Include your age, first name only, and state. Your poem might be posted at www.mrspoems.com!

 

Check out past prompts in our archieve.

 

 

Spring 2008

Poetry Writing Prompt for Spring: Punny Poems
A pun is a play on words. Sometimes a one word has two or more meanings:

Johnny: “That pig needs a new pen.”
Sarah:               “Why, is it dirty?”
Johnny: “No, but it’s running out of ink!”

You can use a play on words to make jokes (better than mine, I hope) or to be silly. Homonyms are also good for puns – they sound alike, but have different spellings and meanings. Try working a pun into a poem, like the letter I mistaken for human eyes, in the poem “Alphabet Soup.”

Alphabet Soup
Give me a literary lunch,
A bowl of consonants to crunch.
I want alphabet soup!

Edible B’s won’t buzz at me. Slimy, gooey eyes can’t see
Because they are part of the recipe.
I want alphabet soup!

Squishy noodle S to slurp, W’s that make me burp,
Spelling silly words like “twerp,”
I want alphabet soup!

Top it off with a sip of T, then it’s time to catch some Z’s.
Nothing left but a few green P’s.
I want alphabet soup!

 

 

 

Copyright 2010 Laura Shovan