Welcome Back to School!

I am so excited about our new and upcoming school year!  I have planned some really fun new lessons and activities.  I look forward to working with you and reading your writing.

Sweet Savannah, how I love thee!

I took a week off from writing to go on a family vacation to Savannah, GA.  We had an amazing time.  However, like most writers, I was inspired by the beautiful scenery of the city.  This poem is special to me because it came to me at different times during my trip.  I jotted down a couple of things that stood out to me and this is what I ended up with.   I hope you like it.

Suddenly Savannah

By: Kristin Cox

As I watched the pretty pink crate myrtle pedals fall unto the uneven

cobblestone sidewalk, I knew that I was in Savannah.

For only in Savannah do you see the ancient trees covered

in moss creating a whimsical feeling in the day,

and spookiness at night.

The tide is high on Savannah Beach as the

 warm tan sand covers my weary feet.

The river front of Savannah is always a joy,

while listening to the sailors scream “ahoy!”

Savannah’s succulent seafood oozes authenticity.

It’s to die for!

Oh how I hate to see my vivacious vacation come to an end,

but don’t worry, I’ll see sweet Savannah again.

What do you think? Haiku or the American Sentence?

Dr. Sue Walker, the poet Laureate of Alabama, suggested a style of poetry called, "The American Sentence."  It's an alternative to the Japanese haiku.  She taught us this style during the National Writing Project Institute. 

Allen Ginsberg was a believer in condense, condense, condense-which is an Ezra Pound dictum.  Ginsberg thought the 17 syllables of the haiku were too limiting in its 5-7-5 syllable lines, making the haiku poem merely an exercise in counting, not feeling, and too arbitrary to be poetry.

Ginsberg's solutions, which first appear in his book Cosmopolitan Greetings, are his American Sentences: One sentence, 17 syllables, end of story.  It makes for a rush of a poem, and if you decide to do so, include the season and an aha! moment as in Japanese haiku. 

I went to Savannah, GA and Tybee Island for the 4th of July holiday.  This American sentence came to me as I sat on the sparkling beach.  Here it is:

My hair wisped in the wind as I looked at the haveanly clear, blue sky.

Written by:  Kristin Cox

I'm Back!!!

Well, I took two days off to rest and spend some time with my children.  I finally finished that "ode" poem today.  It's not my best work; but hopefully, it will inspire someone else.  I hope you like it.   By the way, one of the fellows inspired me to write it during the National Writing Project last month.

Last Day of the Writing Project

Well, today was the last day of the Writing Project. Parting from my new found "teacher friends" was bitter-sweet.  I am so honored to have had the opportunity to participate in this prestigious program.  It was THE BEST professional development that I have ever had in my entire life.  I will never forget this grand experience.

I have an idea for another poem. However, I'm about to take a nap right now because I am exhausted.  Hopefully, my sweet dreams will give me some ideas for a new topic.  I think I want to attempt an "ode" poem.  Hmmmmm...

A Seasons Poem

The form of this poem is unique because I attempt to describe the 12 months of the year without using the name of the months, holidays, or the names of the 4 seasons.  I also limit the amount of times that I use words like, "it", "as", "the", "to", and "he/she".  This was a challenge.  One of the women in the National Writing Project presented this style to the fellows.  I hope you like it.

This is Your Season

By:  Kristin Cox

As the sky clears,

ice sickles start melting while cold wind

is being ushered into Jack Frost’s past.

Sweet hearts giggle while giving gifts of love.

Feeling lucky yet?

How about that four leaf clover?

Glamorize your rainy day with rain boots.

Flowers blooming, bees buzzing, oh, how I long for sweet days like this.

Smoldering sun, cool crisp beaches are all fun.

Boom! Goes the fireworks on top of Red Mountain at 9:00 pm sharp. 

Hating to end my vacation,

but smelling  freshly sharpened pencils is calling my heart .

Can’t wait for Friday night lights!

From candy corn, costumes, to pumpkin carving with friends,

From spending time with family while eating off the “good dishes”,

To trimming trees while drinking egg nog and snuggling with the ones you love.

This is your season.



Here's a Poem About Me

I think I'm going to have my students create a "Where I'm From" poem when we get back to school.  It's a creative and fun way to get to know each other a little better at the beginning of school.  Here is an example of mine.  I hope you like it.

Where I’m From

By:  Kristin Cox

I am from bike riding,

From bike riding with my friends.

I am from a spotless house

 (my mother kept an extremely clean house).

I am from a house

 that smelled like a combination of food cooking, cigarette smoke,

And men’s cologne (my mama loved to cook and my daddy

smoked cigarettes and wore lots of cologne).

I am from sharing holidays with Big Mama,

From, “shut up before you get bopped in the mouth!”

“You can’t change the spots on a leopard!”

“Well, I’ll be John Brown!”

I am from going to Sunday school every Sunday,

From youth choir rehearsal, vacation Bible school,

And finally, the church picnic.

I am from chicken and dressing, collard greens,

Macaroni, string beans, and potato salad (Sunday dinner).

I am from the death of my father

on my birthday.

From making it through middle and high school

In a single parent household.

From graduating at the top of my class,

From earning a masters and an Ed.s. degree in education,

From finding my dream husband,

From looking into the eyes of my sweet baby boys,

From ripping and running to t-ball games, karate, and swimming,

From loving my family unconditionally,

From just plain old being me.

I love my life!

An Alternative Ending to Edgar Allan Poe's "Tell Tale Heart"

By:  Kristin Cox

          I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer!  I felt that I must scream or die!—and now—again---hark!  louder!  louder! LOUDER!  As my feeble, weary soul became more and more and more annoyed by this beating sound, I had to do something.  I began to remove the nails that I had so carefully hammered into the floor only to find that the old man was indeed dead.  However, that eye continued to mysteriously gaze into mine.  At that point, I realized that I was addicted to the sight of the eye.  I actually adored the eye.  It seemed as if the eye could see into my soul.  The eye knew the “true” me.  This beating that I heard was actually my heart longing for the sight of the eye, so I took one last dreadful, but yet pleasing look at it.  I saw myself.  It was me that I had been so obsessed with, but hated at the same time.  The eye saw me for who I really was.

Disclaimer: The photo was found on http://www.freakingnews.com/.

One Long, but Refreshing Day

Today, I met an amazing poet at the National Writing Project Alumni Refresher.  Her name is Dr. Sue Walker.  She is the Laureate of the state of Alabama, a successful writer (she has written several books), and an English instructor at the University of South Alabama.  Dr. Walker presented 10 of her 30 poetry lessons with us today.  She is an awesome writer.  I loved all of her lessons.  The type of poem that inspired me the most was the "Etheree".  Dr. Walker said that "an etheree, uses syllable count rather than meter and is unrhymed.  It is named for its creator, a poet named Etheree Taylor Armstrong.  The basic etheree form has ten lines, the first consisting of exactly one syllable, the second line of two syllables, and so on until the last line's ten syllables.  An etheree can also be reversed, starting with ten syllables and ending with one.  A "double etheree" combines the two, so it is twenty lines, starting with one syllable, counting up to ten.  Line eleven also has ten syllables and each line thereafter reduces by one until line twenty's single syllable."

The "etheree" poem that I wrote turned into a prayer.  I wrote it in ten minutes, so I think God used me today.  I hope you like it.  It forms a cool structure too.  Here it is:

The Etheree Prayer

By:  Kristin Cox

Here,
I stand
before God
waiting, yearning
for a miracle.
In the eyes of my God,
I am wonderfully made.
Lord, please give me the strength to wait
on what you have in store for my life.
Lord, I stand in need of you guidance.

Lord, here I stand in need of your mercy.
My feeble soul has become weary.
Lord, give me the strength to just stand.
Lord, I know you are with me.
I know you will keep me.
Lord, give me a sign.
I need you now.
In your son
Jesus'
name.

Today's Demo Lesson

Today I had to do a "demo lesson" in front of my peers at the NWPSI (National Writing Project Summer Institute).  I don't know what it is about speaking in front of an adult crowd (especially English teachers)  that makes me nervous...oh well.  Anyway, my lesson went well.  Actually, it went very well.  I didn't stumble over words, I was confident, and comfortable.  The NWPSI fellows were impressed with my "performance".  I felt as if I had finally perfected that lesson (I have been doing this lesson for seven years).  Here is a summary of what I did today.  By the way, I wrote it in future tense.  Let me know what you think.  The summary really doesn't do it any justice.  It's one of those things that you have to see, but here goes:

             The lesson that I will be teaching for my demo is called, “Step Up to Writing:  Using the Color-Coded Method”.  This lesson focuses on teaching students how to write clear, concise, and organized paragraphs.  It also establishes a sense of order and control over their writing.

            After explaining the purpose of the lesson to the students, I will have them brainstorm by having the students write down five things that they would do if they had a million dollars.  Next, I will give them one minute to write down as many descriptive words as they can that relate to having a million dollars.  Then, I will give them one minute to write down as many transitions as they can.  After they have brainstormed ideas and written down descriptive words and transitions, I will give them some “helpful handouts” that they can use to help assist them in writing topic sentences, transitions, and concluding sentences.  After that, I will show the students an example of my color-coded accordion paragraph graphic organizer.  Next, I will show them my finished product and explain to them how I edited and transferred my information from my rough draft to my final draft.  Lastly, we will do one together as a class. 

Now, I will give the students instructions on how to fold and set up their color-coded accordion.  After that the students will share their ideas about what they would do with a million dollars with their group members and pick the top two.  Next, they will start working on a general topic sentence.  Then, they will start discussing and filling in the graphic organizer (rough draft) with details and explanations.  Once the group has filled in the graphic organizer and proofread, they will have to raise their hands so that I can come to look at it and approve their work.  Once they have my approval, they can go ahead and start transferring the information from their graphic organizer (rough draft) to their color-coded accordion.  Finally, they will choose one person from the group to read the finished product aloud.

What a Day!

Okay, I have been up since 5:30 AM, driven to and from JSU, got some gas, met my husband at his job, attended a young adult meeting in church, given baths to my kids and put them to bed...whew!  I'm beat! However, I did manage to edit my latest poem.  It's called, "Without Writing".  What do you think life would be like if writing didn't exist?  Well, here's a little insight.  I hope you like it.



Without Writing

By:  Kristin Cox

What would the world be like without writing?

Would there be any beautifully written words?

Oh how different the world would be.

Writing is everything!

Without writing there would be no Bible,

No Dickens,

No Poe,

No Hawthorne,

No Blake,

And no Thoreau.

Writing soothes the soul,

Writing eases us into the old.

Writing does not discriminate,

Through writing, we are allowed to exaggerate.

Writing is what truly makes the world go round,

Writing keeps us bound.

Writing is free,

And most of all, writing is me.

Here's My First Poem

“What Makes Life Worth Living?”

By:  Kristin Cox

As I stepped into the smoldering sun,

I was greeted with a kiss from the sun’s radiant rays.

I was reminded of all of the little living things around me

that make life worth living.

Everything from the delightful daffodils dancing in the wind,

to the swaying of the weeping willow trees,

to the silver sound of the birds chirping,

makes life worth living.

One can appreciate the merry march of the ants in a line,

because they walk with pride.

One can appreciate swimming ducks in a row,

because they paddle with a purpose.

Even these things make life worth living.

Beauty is everywhere and can be found in unexpected places.

All you have to do is open your eyes, mind, and heart.

Stop reading for a moment...  Listen... Breathe…

It is YOU that makes life worth living.

My First Day as a Blogger

In order for any teacher to become a teacher of writing, one must practice the art of writing daily.  English has always been my favorite subject, so hence, I became an English teacher.  Not only am I an English teacher, but I am a devoted wife and a mommy of two beautiful little boys which makes writing a challenge because I don't always have enough time.

In May 2011, I was accepted into the National Writing Project Summer Institute (NWPSI).  This program is geared toward teaching teachers different writing strategies that can be used in the classroom.  Because of this program, I have been granted "time" to work on several creative writing pieces of my own.  After hearing me go on, and on, and on, about this program, my husband suggested that I start a blog to publish some of my pieces, get constructive criticism, and create a writing outlet for myself.  So, here goes.

I'll post my "official first post"  tonight or tomorrow.  I need to do a little more editing.