Creative writing prompts for teens: Japanese wabi-sabi and nature poems

You may have  noticed that the past posts have deviated from the original intention of this blog which was to showcase my poetry and creative writing and to offer tips for aspiring writers. So, um, yeah, in an effort to make money from writing, I shared articles I'd written. Because poetry doesn't always pay the bills like NF.

So with that said, I'm planning to turn my focus back to the fine arts. I'm still poor and still need to make money so feel free to send large amounts. I jest. But I do promise not to cheapen the craft with the trade-writing. Sorry, to wax verbose but the moon is full and I felt a disclaimer was needed. So here's are helps for teen writers on Japanese poems using the art of wabi-sabi, just in time for April.

Why April? It's National Poetry Month. Some writers celebrate NaPoWriMo, or National Poetry Writer Month (an online poetry slam lollapalooza) . And what better month to celebrate poems than April with spring awakening, nature busting out all over and Earth Day nestled in? Want to join the poem-penning but don't know where to begin? Here are poetry writing prompts, story starters and word games I invented, to call forth your inner bard! Perfect for homeschooler parents, English and creative writing teachers.

Verse-adventure: Hands-down, there's no better poetry muse than mama
nature. Get outside and start your poem quest. Pack a bag with pen, paper, thesaurus and blanket. You could write on laptop or phone, but old school pen and paper are more conducive to getting poetry juices flowing. Quill and parchment would be best) Station yourself in a garden. Walk in the woods. Sit on the beach. Observe the elements: wind, sun, water. Notice the flora and fauna: trees, flowers, animals, land formations. Jot down sensory details--colors, sounds, smells, shapes. Check your thesaurus for new, fresh words to express ideas.

Japanese still life poem: In Japan, artists look for wabi-sabi or beauty in simplicity and imperfection. Artists focus on simple subjects: bonsai tree, a vase with a single flower, cherry blossom sprig or pussy willow frond. The artist uses pen or brush strokes to evoke the essence of the subject. Japanese poetry is similarly simple--haiku has 17 syllables in lines of 5, 7 and 5. Create a Japanese still life display. Explore all aspects. Using a few words, describe the item. Write a wabi-sabi haiku, tanka or cinquain. Here are printable directions from St. Jean Elementary). Or create a formless verse in your own style.

For more writing prompts, story starters and poetry templates, visit my blog www.freeprintablelessonplans.com. 

Printable Reading Response Journal Template for Readers Workshop, Writers Workshop- Yahoo Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Can we agree that schools rely too heavily on worksheets? That handouts are boring and kids don't learn much doing them? To teach reading and writing, why not have students make Reading Response Journals? Students complete activities and interact with content, rather than just parroting back answers. Use reading response journals as part of Writer's Workshop or Reader's Workshop activities. Literature, Reading and Writing Response Journal Lesson Plan

Poem Party, Writer Workshop Activities for April National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month in the U.S. Why not celebrate creative writing, by throwing a "poem party." Or host a writer workshop. Teachers and homeschoolers, help kids access their inner bard. I've included writing prompts, poem frames, templates and other inspirational activities. This can be done in any grade from preschool to college. Or do this with a group of adults.  Poem Party, Writer Workshops for April National Poetry Month

Writing Humorous Narrative: Animals Don't Like My Son, Except Armadillos

Do you need to write a funny vignette or narrative type 2? Here's an example I wrote. "Our oldest son has a bad track record with animals. He was gored by a Vietnamese potbelly pig at a petting zoo when he (son, not pig) was three. Fortunately his tusks had been trimmed (pig's not son's)." Read on.   Son Does Not Get on With Animals, Except Armadillos

They Put a Black Rose on My Door When She Died

Empowered, inspired and touched by my friends who've shared about losing children, I'm sharing my motheraches. We lost our 5th and 6th children, both girls, to separate in utero trauma. Both little ladies were ironically the same gestational age when they passed away. But their causes of death were different. And we never found out what exactly happened with either. Here's more on that and a poem I wrote for Mary Therese.They Put a Black Rose on My Door

Best Free Online Spelling, Vocabulary Games to Boost Reading Skills

I have a confession to make--I love online word games. For all the articles I write warning parents and kids about the dangers of obsessive game playing, I admit that there are advantages. Playing word games helps boost my visual tracking, perceptual acuity and typing skills (or so I tell myself). Mostly, I use them as a brain break from writing and research. Here are the best word games I've found that are free. Free Word Games Online

How to Write Japanese Haiku Poems

Haiku poems are more than just 17 syllables in three lines of 5-7-5 syllabication. Many styles of Japanese poetry rely on syllable count to establish poem structure, similar to the Greek iambic or "feet" (or meter) poems. Notable are the iambic pentameter poems, composed of five lines with ten syllables each. Haiku and senryu are structured on "mora" or "on" which are similar to syllables, but not an exact corellation. "On" in Haiku and Senryu is simliar to iambic feet, which are patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables. Thus haiku are cadence (rhythm) poems vs. rhyme poems, but the similarity of western poetry ends there. Use this guide to teach haiku writing or to write your own. Read on for more information... How to Write Japanese Haiku Poems

Free Printable Writing Lesson Plans--Essay, Report, Composition, Writing Homework Help

Have you ever sat staring blankly at what is supposed to your English paper? Looks uncomfortably void of writing,does it? It's due tomorrow and you haven't got a clue what to write or how to write it or both? Writing is a struggle for many people. And composing an essay, research or term paper can be really intimidating. Here are websites to help with all your writing needs: essay, type 2, personal narrative, research,  term papers and more. Top10 Websites for Free Essay, Report, Composition or Any Other Writing Homework Help

Paranormal Prose Promotion--Youth and Beauty

For our 2012 Horror Anthology, here's a hair-raiser from Angel Sharum. Youth and Beauty "So pretty. You’d never make fun of me, would you, little one? No, you’re too sweet for anything like that. I can tell. Not like those nasty brats down the street, always laughing at me; or the kids on the playground running whenever I come near. Like I’m going to eat them or something! You wouldn’t do anything like that." Read Angel Sharum's Story Board: Youth and Beauty

Ice Cream Dreams and Michigan Memories

Here's an example of personal memoirs writing. Use this for an example of nostalgia or local history writing.

Ice cream has spelled summer since the Chinese invented it 3,000 years ago. It was primarily for nobility and the upper class until 1776, when the first public ice cream parlor opened in New York City. Ice cream went portable when edible coronets, or cones, made from waffles were introduced at the St. Louis World's Fair. My grandmother remembered buying ice cream squares wrapped in paper, from street vendors in Grand Rapids, Mich. When I was a kid, the Good Humor man still sold frozen novelties, accompanied by a cheerful tune. Ice Cream Dreams and Michigan Memories 

Labor Day Social Studies Lesson Planner, Writing Prompts

Labor Day might make us think of picnics, parades and the last vacation before school starts. It's easy to forget why we celebrate Labor Day and what it's all about. Labor Day is a day set aside to honor the work that people perform to care for loved ones and keep our country functioning. We honor too those who have lost their lives on the job, in accidents, strikes, lockouts or in the labor organizing process.


We can thank Labor unions such as the UAW (United Auto Workers), the farm workers, railroad and steel workers, miners, NEA, PATCO, Teamsters and those unions within the AFL-CIO for their action to preserve the dignity of labor, to facilitate healthy and safe work environments and to negotiate successfully for better working conditions. Many skilled trades people (like authors) have guilds to protect their rights. For free Labor Day lessons and writing prompts, visit Labor Day Social Studies Lesson Planner

Sample Commentary for Current Events Essay Writing

Looking for guidance on essay writing? In an essay, the writer takes a stand on an issue and backs it up with fact. The essay should employ literary devices and some elements of creativity--it shouldn't just be dry fact. It's similar to creative non-fiction in that fact is written about creatively.

Essays are similar to commentaries (also called editorial or op-ed), in which the writer comments, from his own opinion and experience, on trending news stories. Typically, other stories or facts are employed to back up the author's contention. Writers need to be careful not to write too much fact with essays/commentaries. The piece is then an analysis. Essays should clearly reflect the writer's opinion. Here's an example from a piece I wrote for Yahoo!

--Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to censor. Take the matter of online photo sharing--there's sometimes a fine line between offensive content and freedom of speech (or share). Who's to say what constitutes offensive material. There's no one-size-fits-all model  that works for every situation.

Like a fly, Facebook keeps getting tangled in the censorship web. Time and again, photos are banned that shouldn't be. Case in point are the images from a breast cancer survivor which Facebook deemed obscene. Read more at...Facebook's Odd Photo Bans Highlight Censorship Dilemmas 

Free Poetry Writing Guide: How to Write Free Verse Poetry

 Poetry gives voice to the soul. Writing poetry is like singing;it should flow from the spirit, as a lament, a rhapsody or an aria. Unlike tangible things poetry is not so easy to dissect, critique or explain. There are some devices that poets employ to create poems. Having created some poetry myself and taught courses in poetry in creative writing, I'll try to distill the essence of poetry in this guideline. Poetry Writing Guide: How to Write Free Verse Poetry 

Free Printable Poetry Lesson--'Green' Nature Poems with Science Connections

April is National Poetry Month. April 22 is Earth Day, too. In spring, our lesson plans usually turn to life science, new life, plant life, seasons and other such activities. In many classrooms, from preschool to kindergarten and up through 8th grade, lessons are focused on the sun, clouds, rain, precipitation, the water cycle, budding trees, plants and flowers, insects and baby animals. Here's a green project. You can easily combine a unit on poetry reading and writing with your spring life science lessons.  Free Printable Poetry Lesson: Green Nature Poems

Free Printable Holy Week Activities

Holy Week, the week preceding Easter, begins on Palm Sunday of the liturgical church year. Holy Week is the culmination of Lent. The Easter Triduum, consisting of Maundy or Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday bring christians to the highest point in the church year, Easter. Holy Week is also referred to as the Passion or Paschal celebration.  Here are writing activities and devotional ideas. Read more at Free Printable Holy Week Activities 

Advent Hope Story

Advent Story He slams into his second grade classroom, late as usual. He must have read Hitler's Mein Kampf, about the way to make a grand entrance. Arrive late;leave early. He does. He hides, sneaks off and causes adults to hunt for him whenever possible. Despite weighing in at sub-pee-wee 50# and reaching only to my belly button, he packs a lot of p*ss and vinegar. Read more...

83rd Oscar Nominations for Academy Awards 2011

Nominations are in for the 83rd Oscar Awards. In the lead for Best Picture is "The King's Speech" (Colin Firth). Other picks include "True Grit", "The Social Network", "Inception", "The Black Swan", "The Fighter", "127 Hours", "Winter's Bone", "The Kids are Alright" and "Toy Story 3". Read more...

Christmas Memories: The Enemy Appendix, the Almost-Nativity and Snow for Christmas

This is a Christmas essay that I wrote. It might help you if you have to write a holiday essay. 


"The only reason I believe that Christmas 1997 actually happened is that we survived to tell the tale. No one could invent so unfortunate a series of events. I call it the Christmas of "The Enemy appendix, the Almost-Nativity and the Miracle Snow." Here's how it happened..."

How to Write Truly Frightening Horror Fiction

Anatomy and Psychology of a Horror Movie
Halloween is the ripe for horror movies, but what exactly constitutes a horror movie? Does it need a plot twist? Suspense? Mystery? Zombies? Blood and gore? Satanic influence? A presence of evil? Here is a psychological analysis of horror movies.
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An All Souls Day Essay on Honesty

All Souls Day Stories: An Honest Little Boy
It's All Souls Day, and I'm feeling reminiscent. After homeschooling for years, it seems a little odd not to be wrapped up in holy day and holiday preparations. Here's a little story to warm you for the holy day. It's true.
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