Day 4 ~ How to Write an "I Am" Poem for "30 Poems in 30 Days" #NationalPoetryMonth

OK, Day 4 is upon us ~ Let's get to know each other! 

How to write an "I Am" poem ~ Don't worry - at the end, I'll share a "fill-in-the-blanks" LINK that will help you do this poem easily and quickly. Let's get started. In order to create an "I Am" poem, you need to answer certain questions!! 

. .

This "formula" form poem was one of my favorites to use as a teacher because it ended up giving me some interesting insight about my students. Some were very serious and tender, others were silly. For example ~ one boy wrote for the "I Am" line (which gets repeated over and over): "I am an honest young man who loves the Lord." (Yep, right there in school, then he went on to fill in the other lines with the type of person he tried to be ... because he was a young man who loved the Lord). However, another student wrote "I am a happy boy who loves pizza." The rest of the poem was hysterical. You can go anywhere, depending on WHO you say you ARE. Here's the form - YOU fill in the blanks BUT you must follow the instructions for each line!!

IF this feels TOO personal - make up a character or if you are writing a book, use one of your characters for this poem ~ the easiest way is to copy and paste the format onto a document page and then read the instructions and replace them with YOUR words:

Below is the line-by-line set-up for this version of the "I Am..." poem:

I Am…

1st Stanza

I am (two special characteristics you have)
I wonder (something you are actually curious about)
I hear (an imaginary sound)
I see (an imaginary sight)
I want (an actual desire)
I am (the first line of the poem is repeated)

Stanza 2

I pretend (something you really pretend to do)
I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)
I touch (something you imagine you touch)
I worry (a worry that is real to you)
I cry (something that makes you very sad)
I am (the first line of the poem is repeated)

Stanza 3

I understand (something you know is true)
I say (something you believe in)
I dream (a dream you actually have)
I try (something you make an effort to do)
I hope (something you really hope for)
I am (the first line of the poem is repeated)

~~~~~~~~~~

Been a busy, crazy and fun weekend at our house - so I'll have to come back later to share my own version but that shouldn't slow down any of you. 

To help you out - here is an ONLINE "I Am" Poem generator - 

"I Am" Poem Creator

JUST fill in the blanks ~ you'll notice it is from an elementary school website - goes to show you how simple it can be!! Enjoy!! Cheers!

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright for to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or you FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work. 

Day 3 – How to Write a Triplet Poem for “30 Poems in 30 Days” #NationalPoetryMonth

I’m fond of teaching how to write a “Triplet” on the THIRD of April. Yes, it’s a repeat from years past, but new people join in each year and as I said, I love this form for Day 3 ~ besides, it’s worth reading my info on it so it doesn’t get confused with “tercet.”

And another reason I like sharing this poetry form early on is that I SHARE a COUPLE of GREAT RHYMING TOOLS ~ websites that help you brainstorm rhyming words!! Sweet!! Right?

Now, depending on which EXPERT source you get your directions from, you are bound to get different definitions for various forms of poetry. Odd, I know. But I'm trying to stick with as accurate definitions as I can for this challenge. Some people use the term "tercet" and "triplet" interchangeably when discussing poetry, but that's not what I have found. A "tercet" is a 3-lined poem (which may or may not rhyme and may or may not share the same meter). Therefore, yes, a "triplet" is a "tercet" BUT all "tercets" are not triplets. Go figure.

A "TRIPLET" is a very specific type of tercet and for our purposes we will follow these rules:

How to write a Triplet Poem ~ Triplets are 3 lined poems that rhyme. And some sources say they should have a title.

BUT ~ HERE’S THE IMPORTANT PART ~

EVERY LINE HAS THE SAME NUMBER OF SYLLABLES or BEATS!

Need help with making words rhyme? Try this little “rhyme finder” – pretty cool:

http://www.rhymezone.com/?loc=bar

OR, here’s another one: http://www.rhymer.com/index.html

However, some sources say that having the same meter for each line is at the discretion of the poet. 

So, TRY one that has the ending words rhyme and the same number of syllables, but it that gets too hard – just make sure the last word of each of the 3 lines rhyme! Cheers!!

Fun times ~ it helps to think of a topic first, any topic (nature is usually an easy one to try).

I’ve tweaked one I wrote a few years ago:

Through Laughter and Tears 

We’ve been married forty-five years,

Through laughter, joys, and all the tears.

Now, only you can calm my fears.

     © 2016 by Stephanie Abney 

And here's one that's way silly - which shows you I've been up in the wee hours working on this post. Sigh.... oh well. BUT, each line has 7 syllables/beats:

To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme

Finding words that always rhyme

Really takes a lot of time

Is not rhyming such a crime?

  © 2014 by Stephanie Abney 

Now you give it a try ~ Cheers!! Please feel free to share it in the comments or at least tell us you wrote one and where to find it.

AND PLEASE, obviously, any poetry that is shared in the comments section of this blog is the property of the person who shares it. The poem is their original work and no one may use it in any form without their express permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to it. Just a little reminder. Thanks!! 

And if you choose to post your poems on your own blog – that’s awesome. But please don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem and LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to read the instructions. Thanks for respecting my work. OKAY - GO!!!! 

Day 2 - How to Write a Spring Senses Poem "30 Poems in 30 Days"

Yesterday was fun!! Some new folks joined in and some great poems were written. Did you know that you can check your "stats" on your blog? It can tell you which posts are getting read the most. I find it quite fascinating and gratifying that people are still coming to my "how to" write this type poem or that type poem blog posts that I wrote up to five years ago. My most frequently read blog post is the one I wrote in 2011 on how to write a "Spring Senses Poem." Isn't that interesting? What's up with that? Maybe teachers are assigning it? I don't know, but if it's so popular - then maybe we should visit it again. Plus, it's a simple "fill in the blank" style of poem. Perfect for only the second day of National Poetry Month.

#NationalPoetryMonth

This simple little poem involves the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. How do YOU envision Spring? You can fill in the blank with a singe word or two or you can write full-on sentences. It's basically free verse as there are no required rhyming patterns, unless, of course, YOU want to make it rhyme, which is perfectly fine.

Here is the pattern:

Spring Senses Poem
Spring looks like________________
Spring sounds like_______________
Spring feels like_________________
Spring smells like________________
Spring tastes like________________

Here's one example of mine:

Spring Senses Poem
Spring looks like sunshine.                         
Spring sounds like birds singing.      
Spring feels like a cool breeze.
Spring smells like mint leaves.
Spring tastes like strawberries.

                   © Stephanie Abney


There is another way to approach a "Spring Senses Poem." You can start each line of the poem with the function of that sense, like this:

Spring Senses Poem
I see_____________________
I hear____________________
I feel_____________________
I smell___________________
I taste____________________

Also, feel free to create this poem with the various five senses in whichever order suits you.

So, here's my example of this style using I in front of each of the five senses.

Spring Senses Poem
I see a mother hen gather her chicks.
I hear the song of a meadow lark.
I feel the warmth of the sun on my face.
I smell the fragrant dogwood blossoms.
I taste fresh cherry pie.

                © Stephanie Abney


YOUR TURN!!! 

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them. Thanks so much.

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem and LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.

Day 1 - How to write a 5W's Poem for National Poetry Month "30 Poems in 30 Days

Greetings and welcome to my 30 day poetry challenge – a poem a day for 30 days. It’s April 1st and this is NO April Fool's Joke - this is a CHALLENGE to write 30 Poems (of all kinds) in 30 Days!! Who is with me?

#NationalPoetryMonth

This is the fourth year that I have run this challenge on my blog. I am of the opinion that ANYONE can write poetry. If you haven’t the knack for creating flowing free verse, you can just follow some simple instructions that I will give to you every day and you will be amazed at the poetry you come up with. There are SO MANY KINDS OF POETRY – far more than 30 poetry forms. If you are new – welcome. If you have done the challenge in years past you may notice I will repeat certain poetry forms from year to year as they are fun ones, or they are favorites, etc. I will also try to include a few new ones each year.

Just a few things before we begin here in 2016 ~ Please join in as OFTEN as you can but if you miss a day, hey, you miss a day. No reason to give up. Life is BUSY!! We all can relate!

Some people like to share their poem of the day in the comments to this blog. Wonderful ~ we all enjoy reading them. Others may post their poem on their FB page or on their own blog – I do have one request – IF you put your poems on your own blog – please do NOT copy and paste my instructions here onto your blog. I have invested a lot of time and research over the years to create these posts. What you can do is to link to that day’s blog here at “Stephanie Says So” and tell your readers that they can come here and get directions to write their own poems. Thanks.

Also – all poems shared here, either by me or by those who post in the comments are automatically copyrighted by the writer. They are not to be used without permission of the writer – except as an example to someone you may be writing with or teaching, but always give attribution to the author, please.

I’ll be posting a different poetry form each day in the month of April and I’d love to have you join me. I also am creating a poetry challenge group on Facebook this year if that interests you.

Like I said, even if you think you can’t write poetry, I’d love to prove to you that you can!!! So many poems have actual patterns or forms to follow; some are almost "fill in the blank." 

We’re going to start out this year with a basic and simple poetry form. The 5 

W’s Poem

How do you write a 5 W’s Poem?

This is an obvious poem, but can be a sweet, silly, romantic, or a serious, etc., depending on what you fill in.

This poem answers the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When & Why.

You can be serious and heartfelt or light and silly by your choice of words.

These poems have no need to rhyme, nor are the lines any particular length or meter. So, it’s a pretty simple poetry form to follow:

Line 1: Who (or what) is the poem about? 
Line 2: What action is happening? 
Line 3: Where does the action take place? 
Line 4: When does the action take place? 
Line 5: Why does this action happen?

Here are few examples of mine:

Poems for National Poetry Month
Are being crafted and written down,
Everywhere and anywhere,
During the month of April,
Because our words beg to be given wings.

                  © 2015 Stephanie Abney

My precious grandchildren                    
Want to come play with me,
At grandma's house,
As often as they can,
Because I'm lots of fun to play with.

              © 2014 Stephanie Abney

Jim, my eternal companion
Takes good care of me,
Wherever we are,
At each opportunity,
Because he loves me.

                 © 2014 Stephanie Abney

Okay ~ YOUR TURN ~ Whatcha’ got?

"I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew, I mean . . . Taiyuan, China"

Well, the blog heading wouldn't allow for the ‘strike outs’ so I'm reposting the title here:

"I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew Taiyuan, China" 
(My China story – part 2 ~ see part 1 in previous post, dated Feb 24^th ~ yeah over a month ago. Sheesh)

 ~ One of my all-time favorite books by Dr. Seuss is “I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew.” It’s a wonderful story about a young protagonist who sets out to reach Solla Sollew. He thinks getting there will solve all of his problems (now, I never thought that going to China would solve anything for me, but I did venture out with great optimism, as does our hero in this charming book). Yet, at every turn, something goes wrong and it seems he will never get to his journey’s end. Finally, the story concludes with an empowering life lesson as our hero learns he can and must plow right through his troubles and keep on going. In the end, he experiences much personal growth. By the time I got to Taiyuan, China – I felt a great deal like the main character in Dr. Seuss’s book. And I came home with many new life lessons – I highly recommend it (Both the book and going to teach in China). 

And I also want to say before I share this part of the journey – that I left China very much in love with the people and the country and everyone involved with “Impact Exchanges” and “Newshape International Education.” But getting there was, well ~ you’ll find out. I don’t blame anyone for the craziness; it was just a series of unfortunate miscommunications, wrong directions and bad luck …

What an adventure! At this point I suppose I should tell you who was part of this remarkable experience with me (for their personal privacy, I’ll only use first names). There was myself, Shelly (a delightful fellow writer, substitute teacher, wife and mother, in her 30s), Amber (single, college grad, in her 20s, adorable, professional – also works part-time for “Impact Exchanges”~ she went to China for a couple of months last summer so she knew the ropes and was in charge of our little group of teachers), Trent & Nat (a darling married couple – no kids yet – Trent is a successful businessman and leader in the automated security field and Nat – short for Natalie, but since the director of “Impact Exchanges” is named Natalie, we shortened Trent’s wife’s name to Nat. She is a Dental Hygienist; both are in their 20s). All four of these teachers were from Utah. And, unexpectedly, Natalie (the founder of “Impact Exchanges” and also from AZ), came to be with us for the first week. I was really glad she came as she has been to China numerous times, is a personal friend and I have known her for many years.

Getting from the US to China was pretty crazy. The Utah teachers flew into Phoenix Thursday night. Shelly stayed with us – the rest with Natalie. We left my house for the Phoenix airport at 4:30am on Friday morning Jan 22 (flight left at 6am) and we didn't get to our Beijing hotel (really a hostel) until 8:30pm Saturday, the following night!! We flew to Dallas, had a layover that really was only enough time to change planes and then we flew to Beijing. (Experienced a major time change, too – China is 15 hours ahead of AZ). The flight from Dallas to Beijing was over 7,000 miles and nearly 14 hours long. I tried to stretch my legs every hour or so but the aisles were so narrow. I watched three movies on the way over. There was lots of turbulence the last 20 min. I don't mind turbulence; it kind of feels like an amusement park ride to me, but two of our group threw up quite a bit. We landed at 2:05pm Beijing time on Saturday afternoon. (We were to travel by train the next day to Taiyuan).

Once we got through immigration (which didn't take that long), and meandered through the airport with trams, stairs, and escalators galore, we were finally met at the baggage claim by one of Chen’s employees, Vivian, age 22; cute, fun, darling and very anxious that she get us where we needed to be. She continually tried to gather us much like a mother hen, saying “Hurry, hurry, hurry.” I soon came to love Vivian – but in all honesty, she may not have been the best choice to meet us as she had only been to Beijing twice in her life and did not know her way around. And although she spoke English, I’m not sure she always understood us. She would just nod and say, “Yeah, yeah.” But at least she was a native Chinese speaker – that helped when it came to talking to taxi drivers and such. Nevertheless, there was some miscommunication going on (something sweet little Vivian apologized to us about profusely as we were about to leave to go home. Bless her heart – she felt so badly about how long it took us to get to the hostel and then the next day – well, we missed our train… yeah, but not her fault).

Anyway, it took us over SIX hours in the freezing cold from the time we landed (mostly walking … sometimes running to catch the subway, and an insane SHORT taxi ride that dropped us off a considerable distance from our hostel/hotel) to get to our destination!! (Beijing Hyde Courtyard Hotel)

DESPITE the fact that the hotel website says they are about 16 km from the airport – that’s like 10 miles. Yikes!! My first impression of Beijing is that they have stairs EVERYWHERE!!!!! Oh my heck. I think I must have climbed no fewer than ten very long staircases, (airport, subway stations, and just around town) some having several landings. And we were dragging all of our luggage with us. I could never have made all those stairs with my luggage by myself. Thankfully, Amber managed to grab at least one of mine along with her backpack and duffle bag already over her shoulder and plow right up those stairs like a mountain goat. She's 26 and very beautiful as well as lean and STRONG. (There were a few escalators but I still struggled with my luggage. Thankfully, Amber and the other teachers always helped me out).

So, sadly, while we were going through one of the subway turnstiles, Natalie’s phone was stolen – with her wallet that had her credit card and driver’s license as well. AND, the phone number and address of the hostel we were to stay at was IN HER PHONE. So, there was a lot of guessing about where we were going. I don’t even know what all went on because it was so freezing in Beijing, literally. It was –7°F (the "feels like" button on the weather app said “feels like –22°F”) while we were traipsing all over Beijing so we could barely talk to each other or even look up, keeping our heads down against the wind. We got lost on the way to our hostel, dragging all of our luggage behind us. It also made it pretty impossible to stop to take any pictures, and it was getting very dark. The website said it was about an hour drive by car (which seems long to me to travel 10 miles – must be the way the roads are set up) or under two hours by subway with some walking and yet it took us SIX hours. It's just a long crazy story.

When we finally got to our hostel (a very ornate, cool, old building) we were exhausted and crashed around 9 pm (no dinner). It was so brutally cold that we couldn't really enjoy seeing anything and we were rushing the whole time. As it turned out Shelly and I got the only room that the heater didn't work. And of course, it was UPSTAIRS! Ugh.

    
        It was so brutally cold that we couldn't really enjoy seeing anything and we were rushing the whole time. As it turned out Shelly and I got the only room that the heater didn't work. And of course, it was UPSTAIRS! Ugh.

I had on my underwater w/ thermals over them, knit pants, FOUR pairs of socks, a high-neck tank, 2 long-sleeved shirts, a hoodie, gloves and Jim's stocking cap on to sleep in. Shelly was bundled up too. It was a rough first night in Beijing. We found out in the morning all the other heaters worked great. Really?                                  

The hostel was charming – a 400 year old building here's a pic of the heater in the lobby  – yeah – that tower thing with heat coming out of just the upper vent.   

Here's a pic of the open area inside – a couple of cats were cuddled up on the couch. The towels on the floor were because it was wet. Not sure why. Rain? Leaking? I don’t know.

And here's a pic that Trent took of the eating area – so bright and colorful!! I didn’t even see this part until the next morning – Amber and Shelly went out to find some breakfast for us and brought it back and we ate in this fun room …

Think that’s long enough for now – I’ll post about what we did in Beijing the following day and the train ride to Taiyuan next time. So, you can kind of see why I said we had trouble in getting to Taiyuan. Cheers!!

And if you want a link to that cute Dr. Seuss book ~ here ya' go:
I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew 

How did I end up in China?

So, if you know me personally, you might know that I recently went to China to teach English for two weeks at an “American Experience English Winter Camp” held during their winter break from school. I have been promising to share some of my experiences here on my blog. It will need to be in several installments ~ this is the first:

I have a friend here in Arizona, Natalie, who has been working with foreign exchange students for quite a few years. She has been the regional director of a non-profit student exchange organization and her family has hosted numerous exchange students in their home. In fact, when I was teaching at American Leadership Academy in Gilbert, Arizona (and one of Natalie’s sons, William, was my student), Jim and I hosted the Chinese teacher of a group of students who came for a brief visit to the United States. It was so much fun having her in our home.

In the spring of 2011, Natalie discovered a Chinese high school was looking for teachers for their summer camp and looked into how she and others could teach in China. She and another son, Daniel, founded "Impact Exchanges" and took a team of teachers to China in 2013, and in 2015 they taught over 600 students in eight cities.

I would see her post about it from time to time, saying there were openings for teachers (I retired a few years ago), but it was never at a time when I could go . . . until she posted about the “Winter Camp” for 2016. It was to be a 2 week “American Experience” English Camp for Chinese students who were on their winter break. With travel time and all I would be gone for about 2 and a half weeks from Jan. 22^nd to Feb. 8^th. It really intrigued me. I wondered how it would even be possible to accomplish much of anything in only two weeks, but I really wanted to go and find out. I was also excited about the upcoming Chinese New Year – Feb. 8^th – (the day we were leaving), but we would at least be there for their New Year’s Eve.

Pretty soon it was all I could think about. I mentioned to Jim and I don’t think he really believed I was serious at first. My passport had expired so I hurried and applied for a new one and put a rush on it. I prayed about it and soon I knew I needed to go. As a volunteer teacher, you do pay to go, but the cost was reasonable for what we got in exchange: airfare coming and going, hotel and all meals, transportation, and admission to any sightseeing we might do. We had enough in our account for me to go and I soon found myself filling out the application, sending in my resume, and figuring out what I needed to do and buy in order to be ready. 

I tried to find a friend to go with me but none of my teacher friends around here could make it. I did reach out to my FB friends, and Shelly, a fellow writer, and a substitute teacher in Utah, felt like this would be her opportunity to go, too. We had only met briefly at a writers conference or two in years past and were more of just social media online friends – noticing each other’s activities now and then, but still, she was a kindred spirit and I was excited for her to come and to get to know her better. They made us roommates and we had a BLAST together. We got along great, despite my being about 30 years older than she is. Not to mention that made me basically forty years older than the other three teachers who came, also all from Utah. I figured if I didn’t go this year, I might not ever get the chance to go.

Funny thing, though, the first suggested location was in southern China and the weather wasn’t that much colder than what we were experiencing in Mesa, AZ so I figured no problem. I totally skimmed right past the actual location (which had been changed) when I filled in the application – NORTHERN China – where it was FREEZING (literally) in the winter. That really took me by surprise. I realized my oversight only two days before we were supposed to leave. YIKES!!! I ran around trying to secure warm enough clothing, etc. and get everything ready in time.

Natalie has found “Chinese partners” to work with who are educators, etc. who want to be able to provide this type of experience for Chinese students. We were to work with a young man named Yufei Chen, whom we simply called, Chen. He was a very savvy and successful businessman who is also passionate about education. Besides running his own company, he works with a “training center” called, “Newshape International Education” 

in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China, where students can come after school and during summer and winter breaks for additional learning by way of private tutoring and other classes. It was in this facility that we would teach our lessons to the Chinese students. These were students whose very dedicated and devoted parents could afford to pay for their child to come to this “English Camp.” Surprisingly, Chen, who was born and raised in Taiyuan, said it was a moderately small city . . . of only 4 million people. Yeah, it didn’t seem small to me. 

We were also responsible for lesson plans for 2 key subjects that we would teach to the entire group (about 30-35 students for the winter camp) in the morning and then have activities to support it for the classes we divided into afterwards, each of us having a smaller group, based on age and/or English proficiency. But I knew very little of how any of this would work until we actually arrived and began to teach. We were each asked to suggest two subjects we might have some expertise in to teach and submit it to see if our choices got approved. I chose leadership skills for one of my subjects. ALA, where I taught was a Stephen Covey Lighthouse School and his seven habits of highly effective people were incorporated into our daily lesson plans. However, we used the program for students and I taught the “Seven Habits of Happy Kids.” The other subject I suggested was poetry. I run an annual “poetry challenge” on my blog each April, National Poetry Month, and thought I would have some ideas that we could use for that subject. Both of my subjects were approved. Each of the other four teachers did the same thing so there was a subject each day of the two weeks. (More on that later).

I had no idea how this “American Experience English Camp” would be accomplished when the teachers didn’t speak any Chinese. I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into and I really had no idea what to expect. I honestly didn’t think it was possible to make any kind of “impact” in two weeks.    

I was wrong.