3-E Poetry

I have been working, for the second half of the year, helping out in one of the Year 3 classes. There are some wonderful kids in "3-E", some real characters. The kids have been learning poetry in term four, much to the distress of the boys.

"But poetry is gay, Mr. Doherty"

I've heard that statement more than once this term.

Week one was Limericks. One of the boys insisted that if he was writing a poem it would be about something cool! Theropods. Finding rhyming words for that is not an easy task. I thought I would set a good example and write a limerick of my own. It is about young Nicholas and his theropods.

....Young Nicholas loves dinosaurs
.....Even though they have very sharp claws
....He can name them all for us
.....Like the Tyrannosaurus
....With short arms but terrible jaws.

This week's style of poetry was Diamond Poems. Seven lined poems shaped like a diamond about a linked subject. The poem switches between the subjects in the middle of the 4th line. The 2nd and 6th line have 2 descriptive words. The 3rd and 5th line have three verbs, ending in -ing

....................Egg
.............Oval, white
..Moving, cracking, hatching,
Helpless, hungry, high nest
..Growing, learning, flying
..........Black, feathers
...................Bird
..................................by Oden.

All the words were his, with only a little prompting.

I love working with the Year 3 students. I'm definitely going to miss them over the Christmas holiday break.

Tuesday Chooseday

Choose-day is where I choose what book I am going to read next. At the moment, I’m reading Derek Landy’s ‘Skulduggery Pleasant – Playing With Fire’ It is the second book in the set and so far, just as good as the first. Skulduggery is such a brilliant concept for a character. I’m jealous.
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But, the next book on my to read list is Mo Johnson’s, ‘Boofheads’
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‘Boofheads is a story about three seventeen year-old mates who have been friends since pre-school but whose friendship begins to change when they go into Year Eleven. Eventually they have to make a decision whether to accept the changes and reassess the nature of friendship, or cut their losses and run.’
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Excerpt from the author’s website:- http://www.mojohnson.com.au/boofheads.html



Boofheads
Walker Books Australia Pty. Ltd
First Ed. 2008
ISBN: 978 1 921150 67 8 (pbk.).
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Now I have looked at this book a few times in the bookshop and thought ‘I’ll have to buy that next time to read.’ I finally did buy a copy of the book last weekend at the Children’s and Young Adult Literary Festival in Sydney. It was a wonderful day and ‘Boofheads’ came out on the top of my new To-Read list.
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I also had the pleasure of meeting Mo Johnson and hearing her speak about her books. Mo is the type of person who makes you smile. She is a very funny lady and if that humour shines through in her book, then I’m in for a real treat.

Mo at the launch of Boofheads

It was clear from hearing Mo speak that she – like me – has a soft spot for the kids who are a little bit naughty. Tommo, Casey and Ed seem like my kind of kids. I can point out the new generations of ‘Boofheads’ coming through the school system. And I think that’s a good thing.
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What would the world be like without a few ’Boofheads’?
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