Some of these pieces included poems, which I wrote about on my blog here, and some were picture books such as Cynthia Rylant's WHEN I WAS YOUNG IN THE MOUNTAINS and WHEN THE RELATIVES CAME, Jane Yolen's OWL MOON, and Patricia MacLachlan's WHAT YOU KNOW FIRST. We began by talking about the difference between a memoir and a personal narrative, and I gave each a packet of mentor texts to read. This particular teacher of the oldest students wanted to give them some different writing experiences, and so I taught a small group in memoir writing. Sometimes I fill a gap that a teacher wants filled, and the following poems are a result of one of those gaps. I am a former middle school teacher and current literacy coach at an independent school working with teachers from mostly from third through eighth grade. What they choose as long as some truth weaves partĪnd most that's kept comes finally from the heart.

Lay the pattern well, it really doesn't matter With tiny rows that knit one, then pearl two To write their lines, a knit of who they are, I'm teaching students how to write memoir, Below, you can read about how Linda and her students studied memoir and wrote poetry together. Linda blogs beautifully and informatively over at TeacherDance, and she says that blogging has helped her to think more about her writing as reading others' work gives her new ideas and new learning along with new friends. Linda has kept journals for most of her life, and she has written many poems and prose pieces just because she loves to write. Today I am so pleased to host literacy coach Linda Baie along with three of her student poets.

What places do you want to exist? Then.give them existence in your writing! And I can't wait to see the drawer where milkweed seeds keep all of our wishes! Think about your life. What places do you imagine might exist in the hidden worlds of fantasy? I will one day visit the Mountain of Lost Socks to find that favorite green wool one I lost. You can read a bit about déjà vu here at HowStuffWorks, but you will see that it is still a bit mysterious for everybody. It's that feeling, the feeling that you've already done something. In case you do not know the expression, déjà vu means already seen in French. Would I choose to watch my life before living it? Probably not. I like the idea of a place where you could watch your whole life unfold. For a while now, I have been writing poems about all sorts of imaginary places, and this make believe theatre is one of my favorites. Students - This poem is about an imaginary place.

Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little