Lesson Plan One: From Journal to Poetry—Writing
the List Poem
Where do poems begin?
With the eyes, the ears, the hand, and the heart. Poets don't wait for inspiration;
they find inspiration through their explorations of the world around them. Many
begin with the journal: their hand-written recordings of what they see and hear
and feel. These raw observations then become the fodder for their poems.
In this lesson, your students will explore a favorite nature spot, preferably
one with water, in which they and other living beings co-exist, and create a
journal of their observations, modeled after the journals of John Wesley Powell
who explored the then unknown Colorado River in l800’s and published his
journals as the wildly popular Exploration of the Colorado River of the
West and its Tributaries in 1869.
Your students' journals will become the basis of their first poems. By comparing
and contrasting Powell's journal selections with Walt Whitman's poem, There
Was a Child Went Forth (1890), they will discover the transforming elements
of poetry--what can distinguish poetry from prose. Then using their journal
observations, they will compose a type of poem called the list poem,
modeling theirs after Whitman's poem, and focusing on using concrete specific
language, the names of things that they have discovered in their biosphere exploration,
and formal elements of the list poem such as repetition, rhythm, and sound patterns.
As part of the science extension activities, your students will also be provided
with ecological terms and definitions to further describe their experience outdoors.
Field guides can assist them in identifying what they see.
Underlying your neighborhood is a living ecosystem known as a bioregion. Bioregions
are defined by landforms, distinct communities of plants and animals, and a
degree of biological self sustainability. Watersheds
(http://www.riverofwords.org/youth/watershed.html) are a vital component of
your bioregion. Student journals will record their exploration of their bioregion
and include both a hand-drawn map of a specific location in their watershed
and written observations.
But
before you delve into the Resources and Assignments for the List Poem, take
a moment and listen to Walt Whitman reading from his poem "America,"
courtesy of The Walt
Whitman Archive.
Navigation Links
Click for Prewriting exercises with your students
Click for Specific Suggestions on writing this poem
Click for Suggestions for more indepth science activities
![[ river ]](../images/river1a.jpg)
Lesson Plan One: From Journal to Poetry—Writing
the List Poem![[ river scene ]](/ccftb/river%20of%20words/spot.jpg)
But
before you delve into the Resources and Assignments for the List Poem, take
a moment and listen to Walt Whitman reading from his poem "America,"
courtesy of The Walt
Whitman Archive.
