MY SKY - by Jack

We were outside

in the street

me and some other kids

kicking the ball

before dinner

and Sky was

chasing chasing chasing

with his feet going

every which way

and his tail

wag-wag-wagging

and his mouth

slob-slob-slobbering

and he was

all over the place

smiling and wagging

and slobbering

and making

us laugh

and my dad

came walking up the street

he was way down there

near the end

I could see him

after he got off the bus

and he was walk-walk-walking

and I saw him wave

and he called out

"Hey there, son!"

and so I didn't see

the car

coming from the other way

until someone else-

one of the big kids-

called out

"Car!"

and I turned around

and saw a

blue car blue car

splattered with mud

speeding down the road

And I saw Sky

going after the ball

wag-wag-wagging

his tail

and I called him

"Sky! Sky!"

and he turned his

head

but it was too late

because the

blue car blue car

splattered with mud

hit Sky

thud thud thud

and kept on going

in such a hurry

so fast

so many miles to go

it couldn't even stop

and

Sky

was just there

in the road

lying on his side

with his legs bent funny

and his side heaving

and he looked up at me

and I said

"Sky! Sky! Sky!"

and then my dad

was there

and he lifted Sky

out of the road

and laid him on the grass

and

Sky

closed his eyes

and

he

never

opened

them

again

ever.

QUESTIONS: (Answer in a new comment with your name at the top)

1. After reading Jack's final poem, "My Sky", compare and contrast it with his original poem we read:

So much depends

upon

a blue car

splattered with mud

Speeding down the road.

2. Describe your feelings after reading "My Sky".

3. Explain how the series of Jack's poems we read over the last few weeks, (which described how he got his dog, what his dog looked like, and his feelings about his dog), added to the overall effect of Jacks last poem, "My Sky".

My Yellow Dog - by Jack

My yellow dog
followed me everywhere
every which way I turned
he was there
wagging his tail
and slobber
coming out
of his mouth
when he was smiling
at me
all the time
as if he was
saying
thank you thank you thank you
for choosing me
and jumping up on me
his shaggy stragly paws
on my chest
like he was trying
to hug the insides
right out of me.

And when us kids
were playing outside
kicking the ball
he'd chase after it
and push it with his nose
push push push
and getting slobber
all over the ball
but no one cared
because he was such
a funny dog
that dog Sky
that straggly furry
smiling
dog
Sky.

And I'd call him
every morning
every evening
Hey there Sky!

Task:
Write a poem about your favourite pet. This can be a pet you have, or used to have, or a pet that you would like to have one day. Try to write your poem in a similar style and format as Jack did in this Blog entry. Remember to put (by: YOUR NAME) after your poem's title in a new comment.

Love That Boy - by Walter Dean Myers

Love that boy,
like a rabbit loves to run
I said I love that boy
like a rabbit loves to run
Love to call him in the morning
love to call him
"Hey there, son!"


Jack writes:
I sure liked that poem
by Mr. Walter Dean Myers
called
"Love That Boy."

Because of two reasons
I liked it:
One is because
my dad calls me
in the morning
just like that.
He calls
Hey there, son!

And also because
when I had my
yellow dog
I loved that dog
and I would call him
like this-
I'd say-
Hey there, Sky!

(His name was Sky.)

Paragraphs to Poems

YOU COME TOO
A PARAGRAPH by: Jack, Room 105 - Miss Strecthberry

We were going for a drive and my father said, "We won't be gone long - You come too." And so I went and we drove and drove until we stopped at a red brick building with a sign in blue letters: ANIMAL PROTECTION SHELTER. And inside we walked down a long cement path past cages with all kinds of dogs. Big and small, fat and skinny, some of them hiding in the corner but most of them bark-bark-barking and jumping up against the wire cage as we walked past, as if they were saying, "Me! Me! Choose me! I'm the best one!" And that's where we saw the yellow dog standing against the cage with his paws curled around the wire and his long red tongue hanging out and his black eyes looking a little sad and his long tail wag-wag-wagging, as if he were saying, "Me me me! Choose me!" And we did. We chose him. And in the car he put his head against my chest and wrapped his paws around my arm as if he were saying, "Thank you thank you thank you." And the other dogs in the cages get killed dead if nobody chooses them.



YOU COME TOO
A POEM by: Jack, Room 105 - Miss Strecthberry

We were going for a drive
and my father said
We won't be gone long-
You come too
and so I went
and we drove and drove
until we stopped at a
red brick building
with a sign
in blue letters
ANIMAL PROTECTION SHELTER

And inside we walked
down a long cement path
past cages
with all kinds of
dogs
big and small
fat and skinny
some of them
hiding in the corner
but most of them
bark-bark-barking and
jumping up
against the wire cage
as we walked past
as if they were saying
Me! Me! Choose me!
I'm the best one!

And that's where we saw
the yellow dog
standing against the cage
with his paws curled
around the wire
and his long red tongue
hanging out
and his black eyes
looking a little sad
and his long tail
wag-wag-wagging
as if he were saying
Me me me! Choose me!

And we did.
We chose him.

And in the car
he put his head
against my chest
and wrapped his paws
around my arm
as if he were saying
Thank you thank you thank you.

And the other dogs
in the cages
get killed dead
if nobody chooses them.

Jack's Thoughts About Poetry

Remember the wheelbarrow poem
you read?
Maybe the wheelbarrow poet
was just
making a picture
with words
and
someone else-
like maybe his teacher-
typed it up
and then people thought
it was a poem
because
it looked like one
typed up like that.

And maybe
that's the same thing
that happened with
Mr. Robert Frost.
Maybe he was just
making pictures with words
about the snowy woods
and the pasture-
and his teacher
typed them up
and they looked like poems
so people thought
they were poems.

The Pasture - by: Robert Frost

I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;
I'll only stop to rake the leaves away
(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):
I shan't be gone long. - You come too.
I'm going out to fetch the little calf
That's standing by the mother. It's so young
It totters when she licks it with her tongue.
I shan't be gone long. - You come too.




JACK from Room 105 - Miss Stretchberry, writes:

I really really really
did NOT get
the pasture poem
you read today.
I mean:
somebody's going out
to the pasture
to clean the spring
and to get
the little tottery calf
while he's out there
and he isn't going
to be gone long
and he wants YOU
(who is YOU?)
to come too.

I mean REALLY.

And you said that
Mr. Robert Frost
who wrote
about the pasture
was also the one
who wrote about
those snowy woods
and the miles to go
before he sleeps-
well!

I think Mr. Robert Frost
has a little
too
much
time
on his
hands.

Love that Blog

The Tiger
by: William Blake

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

dog
by: Valerie Worth

Under a maple tree
The dog lies down,
Lolls his limp
Tongue, yawns,
Rests his long chin
Carefully between
Front paws;
Looks up, alert;
Chops, with heavy
Jaws, at a slow fly,
Blinks, rolls
On his side,
Sighs, closes
His eyes: sleeps
All afternoon
In his loose skin.

Media Literacy & Music Videos

RADIOHEAD – All I Need

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-xHfBAKMcCc&feature=related

Answer the following questions in a new comment - Put your name at the top of the comment, and number your answers!

1. Describe the video you just watched.
2. What does this music video make you think about?
3. What connections can you make between the main characters in the video, and yourself?
4. What song lyrics stood out to you?
5. What appeared at the end of this music video, and how was it different from regular music videos?
6. Explain the quote, “some things cost more than you realise”, and support your explanation with reference to the music video.
7. Provide examples of other things in the world that cost more than we realise.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening - by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Questions:
1. Make up questions you have about the poem you just read, and type them as a new comment.
2. Notice how much more descriptive Robert Frost's poem is, than the one about the Red Wheelbarrow from the last blog. Find the "So Much Depends Upon" poem you added as a comment in the previous blog, and re-write it in your new comment, including more detail about WHY so much depends on the thing you wrote about. INCLUDE YOUR NAME AT THE END BEFORE SUBMITTING!

WIlliam Carlos Williams

The Red Wheelbarrow
- by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens

Write a poem in a similar style to The Red Wheelbarrow as a new comment.
Start your poem with, "so much depends upon...".
Put your name at the bottom before submitting!

Favourite Poem

The Rat - by Hamilton Leithauser

You've got a nerve to be asking a favour
You've got a nerve to be calling my number
I know we've been through this before
Can't you hear me, I'm calling out your name?
Can't you see me, I'm pounding on your door?

When I used to go out
I would know everyone that I saw
Now I go out alone if I go out at all
I'm sure we've been through this before
Can't you hear me, I'm beating on your wall?



QUESTION:
I have many favourite poems, and this is one of them. Find a poem you like and type it as a new comment to share it with the rest of the class. Be sure you include the poem's title and the author's name. Remember to add your name at the bottom of your comment before submitting.

Poetry: painting with words

poetry is painting
colourful words
creating pictures
in readers' minds.


QUESTIONS:

What does this poem make you think about? Do you like reading poems? Do you like writing poems? Where do you encounter poetry in your life?

Write one paragraph as a new comment, and remember to put your name at the bottom before submitting.

Homework

What do you think about the amount of homework that is assigned to you this year? How does it compare to the amount you had to do in previous grades? What do you think your homework will look like next year?






Write a new comment (one paragraph) to answer these questions. Type your first name at the bottom of your comment before you post it.

Canadian Athletes

Question:
If YOU were a Canadian athlete, and had trained your whole life for your chance to compete in the Olympics, would you support a Canadian boycott of the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China? Explain.

Post your one paragraph long answer in a new comment. Remember to type your first name at the bottom of your comment before submitting.