April is National Poetry Month - How Can We Forget Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken?

April brings a flood of memories for me because it's National Poetry Month.

Years ago in sixth grade I had to memorize Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken. It gave me lots to think about. It has remained one of my favorite poems thanks to Mrs. Formby's class. Here's a copy:

The Road Not Taken

Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

The took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no steps had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two road diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Then in fourth grade my son had to memorize Jack Prelutsky's Homework - his choice, not the teacher's. It is hilarious and is also a favorite. Here are the first three lines:

Homework! Oh, Homework!

Homework! Oh, Homework!
I hate you! You Stink!
I wish I could wash you away in the sink!

And then there's Ode to Mrs. Hester from my first substitute teaching job at another local school. Yes, fond memories, all!


One poetry website allows you to rate poets and poems by creating an account and I encourage you to read a few poems this month yourself! And read some of the biographies. Apparently Jack Prelutsky hated school and flunked English three times in college. He grew up to be a great poet anyway.

Student Wins Scholastic Writing Award!

Congratulations to Debra McGrew for winning an Honorable Mention for her poetry in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 2013.

We are very proud of you!

Scholastic is a great company that not only promotes reading, but just about everything that students can get involved in! Math, science, the arts, history, and scholarships are all areas that students can benefit from with Scholastic.

A Great Website for Writing!

Purdue Online Writing Lab is a frequently used spot for students to find out information on MLA (Modern Language Association) format. I have been using it for close to 20 years!

Here is an example of the information that can be found on the site:

What are the differences among quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing?

These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.
Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.
Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.
Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/

Check it out!