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Notetaker (Content): Scribe the key points raised during the class discussion on the Google Doc linked above.

Notetaker (Process): Jot down your observations of the facilitators and participants on the Padlet below:
- What facilitation moves worked well?
- What did not work so well for this discussion?

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Groups 1 - 3: Jack's Responses to Poems (What changes do you notice in Jack's responses to poetry?)

Groups 4 - 6: Jack's Attitudes towards Writing Poetry (What kinds of attitudes did Jack have at the start, and did you notice any changes to his attitudes?)

Groups 7 - 10: Jack's Experimentation with Poetry for Self Expression (What changes do you notice in the way Jack expresses himself?)

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Please type your name as the title of your post

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1) What was your first impression of the book?
2) Did you enjoy the book? Why, or why not?
3) What did you find challenging in reading this book?
4) How is it different from other books you have read so far?

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1. Read the extracts from Dear Mr Henshaw in this document.

2. Respond to any ONE of the questions below. In your response, explain what makes you think so by referring to a specific part of Dear Mr Henshaw:
- How do the 'gaps' in the story affect your reading experience?
- What did you pay closer attention to in reading this kind of story, as opposed to 'usual' stories?
- What might you have to do as a reader in order to make sense of this kind of story?

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1 & 2) I generally like poetry so I was excited to read the book. I like that the book was from a child's perspective and how it tells of this child's journey with regard to the writing of poetry.
3 & 4) There were quite a bit of gaps that readers need to fill in on their own. This means that the story I take away might be different from that other readers take away.

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1. It would be an easy to understand children's book about a boy and his pet dog.

2. Yes, it deals with coming to terms with loss (of a family pet- something most of us can relate to) and also the gradual building up of confidence to express oneself.

Also the works of others may inspire you to revisit your work and improve it.

3. Some of the short extracts did not contain a wealth of information. It required additional reading of subsequent pages to find out. Ony brief glimpses of Jack's relationship with his pet dog were mentioned initially.

4. It makes you feel that you are there when the character composes his poetry. For example, I felt that I was there when the boy Jack describes Mr Myers classroom visit

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1. I thought the book was an easy read and that the modelling of given poems was interesting.

2. I enjoyed the book because it was something easy to digest and I liked Jack's interpretation of the poems.

3. I had to keep flipping to the back to look at the "original" poem.

4. Usually read novels so a book that is actually one very long poem is rather interesting.

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1) Unusual, not like the typical novel I was expecting

2) Yes, it was fascinating to read a book in a different format and the author (or Jack) managed to convey his emotions slowly as the story progressed.

3) The lack of background information

4) The format, the word choice

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I enjoyed the book. It is different as it uses poetry as a base. I had to read the poems and analyse it before being able to analyse the story.

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1 & 2) It was difficult for me to read because I prefer reading narratives. Don't really enjoy poetry.
3) Not enough context for me to understand
4) The structure, the form - very different from texts I usually encounter.

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1. If you do not slow down to read, you can find it very confusing as the sentences seem to be disjointed and abrupt.
2. Yes because I have recently had to put my dog down and I feel the pain of the writer.
3. It is written in a format- poem which you tend to want to form and structure to it. But this one is lovely because it allows expression.

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1) Quite unique as it is written in the form of poetry.
2) Yes, I find it interesting that the main character's emotions were not mentioned directly but you would have to read in between the lines to reveal how he's feeling.
3) Quite challenging to remember the details
4) In the form of poetry instead of prose

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It's an easy read. I could finish it very quickly. However, the content doesn't make an impression. Perhaps, it's because I don't enjoy poetry. I had to decipher the meanings through the words. Re-read a few times to clarify.

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1. My first impression of the book is that it would be an easy read compared to Number The Stars.
2. I did enjoy the book thoroughly. I enjoy reading poems and decoding meaning, so this was an enjoyable read.
3. A challenge would be filling in some of the gaps that existed between entries.
4. Quick read but a very meaningful one!

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1,2) It was an interesting and easy to read book. The story keeps moving forward and once I start, I couldn't stop.
3) The story goes back and forth. There seems to be  details lacking at some parts but these gaps were filled as one keeps reading on.
4) Its makes me feel young. The form is also different from what I usually read

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1. You mean it is not written in prose…?
2. Yes. Its simplicity in word choices leaves much to the imagination.
3. It seems written in chronological order with the dates as a marker.
4. The organisation and layout

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1) It's not a typical narrative story but it's interesting to read.
2) I do enjoy reading it but need to infer and fill the information gaps here and there.
3) Got to make sense connecting the different parts of the story
4) not linear and need to fill in the infor gaps between the lines

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1) My first impression was that it's not like the typical type of story.
2) I enjoyed it.
3&4) Because it's rather atypical- I had to do a lot of inferring.

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1. It was nice to see the change in Jack's attitude towards poems as he developed along the whole book.

2. Yes, I enjoyed Jack's way of expressing himself

3. Students might need to be able to draw connections between certain poetry-related terms and have some form of background knowledge

4. It is written in an interesting form, as compared to usual narratives in chapters

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1) My first impression of the book....'Huh....what kind of book is this?', as I was looking forward to a book like Frindle.

2) Enjoyable book....easy to read

3) Some missing details

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I find it difficult to enjoy the book because of the form and structure. I am also not a fan of poetry. Therefore, it took me extra effort to read it. I also find it tiring to always have to infer the meaning behind his sentences. It's not so straightforward.

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The first few pages were a challenge for me to be honest. I was used to reading typical novels filled with words, strings of sentences. As I strolled through the rest of the pages, I realized that the novel was written in series of poems. The vocabulary used are not challenging. It was an easy read. However, there are many gaps to fill in and I have to be intrinsically motivated to go beyond the first few pages as the content was not particularly engaging at first.

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1) I thought that the book had a very bright and attractive cover, and it was very easy to read.

2) Yes, I enjoyed the book. It brought me on a journey with Jack and I felt myself personally experiencing his joys, fears, sadness and growth.

3) Some parts are ambiguous as not much details are being revealed, so it involves reading between the lines.

4) The text type and structure.

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1) I was pleasantly surprised with the format of the book as I was expecting it to be a narrative format.
2) Yes, it was quite refreshing!
3) Understanding the context and the background.
4) The format of the book.

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It was a relatively easy read. It was interesting to read poetry from a child's perspective. However there was alot of filling in the gaps and certain assumptions. I did not quite enjoy it, maybe because I dont generally enjoy poetry

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It is interesting for me especially that it is actually a narrative but written as a poetry. I wonder if the students will be able to appreciate the emotions that follows the poems written by the writer.

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1 & 2) I enjoyed reading this story. It shows the thoughts and monologue of a young boy. He gradually loves poetry because of a certain poet. It also touches on the fragility of life and how it left a hole in the young boy's life.
3 & 4) The story includes some references to some other poems written by famous poets. The lack of background knowledge makes it hard to understand what the character is referring to at times.

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1) Poems? Hmm.. interesting.
2) Yes, it is easy to read and can finish quite fast.
3) There are some gaps in between whereby will require us to go back to read again.
4) Usual books are in prose form

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1 & 4. I found the book pretty unique. It's very different from the usual books that I read.
2. Yes, I did. I liked how I could get into the mind of the writer and it was pretty easy to read.
3. I think it was rather challenging to "fill in" the blanks or the gaps from one day to the next.

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1) Easy read. Words used are simple and easy to understand.
2) Yes. Nice to see how Jack's character developed and he began to like poetry through encouragement.
3) Many layers to unpack.

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1 & 2) Yes. Its different from the typical story books. It seemed an easy read with few words.
3) Some parts of the book was challenging as there was not enough information given to the reader.
4) The style of writing was different from the usual books I read.

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1) I thought that it was interesting to read the entries in the form of a poem.
2) Yes, I enjoyed the book as it was refreshing to read a content written in such a text type.
3) I had to move back and forth the text to make sense of the things that I was reading as I read more pages.
4) The style of writing is different but interesting.

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How do the 'gaps' in the story affect your reading experience?

- slow reader down
- need to make references back and forth between two posts
- need to make assumptions and draw own conclusions
- no prior introduction to the characters
- cause confusion to some readers

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The 'gaps' in the story makes it difficult for us to understand what the young boy was writing about to his favourite author.

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How do the 'gaps' in the story affect your reading experience?

- The need to understand/read the book the Leigh Botts made reference to
- As a reader, we need to read on and pluck out chunks of information to fill in the gaps.
Eg: where he lived, the people in his environment, the pictures sent
- What was Mr Henshaw's reply to his letters
- The definition of the term 'mobile home park'- this may not be a known term here in our context
- Why though is there a need for a letter to be handwritten? (Leigh requested for this)

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Q3 : Readers need to pay attention to the dates that are listed in the entries and try to make sense of what might have happened in-between.
Eg - from May to Dec
Need to understand what might have transpired in the gap between the dates. Need to make assumptions on what might have happened in the classroom as well as in the writers' personal life.

Readers would also have to read all the entries to make sense of the overview and big picture of the entries to make inferences on what might have happened in the story.

There is a shift in the way the writer presents himself to the recipient of the letter, and the reader needs to take note of the way the writer choses to sign off. What are the implications and what would be the intentions of the writer?

There are missing elements in the story that lead to gaps. As readers, we have to rely on some prior knowledge and background information to make sense of what is going on the story.

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How do the 'gaps' in the story affect your reading experience?

- The reader can easily be confused due to 'gaps' or missing details and may have to reread certain entries to try to get a better understanding/ sort out his/her own confusion.

- The reader may need to tap on his/her own experiences or make certain assumptions to make sense and fill in the 'gaps' in the story.

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1.Gap- Mr Hendshaw did not reply to the boy. So there is no purpose. Mr Hendshaw does not seem interested in what the boy had written and so the boy keeps writing.
2.Nov 13- the boy seeks authentic replies
There are no solutions provided by Mr Hendshaw to all the problems listed - one sided entry. If there is no feeling of response , then why publish.
Finally does he even exist.
3. Is this writer fictional

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Qn: How do the 'gaps' in the story affect your reading experience?

- quite a number of assumptions have to be made about the setting, characters and plot. (rereading the first and second entries)
- readers have to make a lot of connections  on their own, instead of referring to the story for clues
- readers also need to understand the different books/titles mentioned and find out what they refer to

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There is a gap of a year between the posts.

The gaps can make the readers feel a bit lost as we have to make some assumptions and to think deeper about the story.

The letters are shorter at first but grew longer towards the end which reflects the boy’s growing interest towards writing.

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We found that there were many gaps in the text which impeded our understanding. It is important to have an understanding of the wider context, or be able to make some inferences so that students would be able to grasp meaning

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The dates are in chronological order but there is a time lapse. Also readers do not know Mr Henshaw's response to Leigh. the boy. As readers, have to find out more on our own as we try to fill in the gaps. We also may end up making some assumptions on our own.

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-asked for evidence
- rephrasing for clarification
- Extending the ideas presented with another question
- Collating and summarizing all the ideas that were presented thus far
-  definition of original

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Facilitator sought an alternative viewpoint from one of the participants which in turn elicited more responses from other participants.

Facilitator expanded on the participants' responses. Participants were very enthusiastic in responding their viewpoints on what creativity and originality mean.

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1. F started by asking to pick out evidence that the work is original as compared to ...- Is there anything original?
2. F also started that based on what he had read - to ease the group into speaking
3. F clarified to P to see if she understood.
4. F then summarized or to confirm and to seek evidence whether they were on the same track and idea.
5. F then summarized what was shared - original - evidence and non- original -evidence
6. F Invited other responses - who disagrees ?
7.  F then narrowed down the discussion to 2 camps. Original or not original
8. P spoke and used style to agree.
9. F then used evidence to state and invite responses about how P felt.
10. P responded to the question by F by stating more evidence and elaborated the new evidence presented.
11. F then defined the idea of originality

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Jack thought,
poetry was for girls.

Seeing his work displayed,
Made Jack glow,
A little.

Words soon started pouring out,
Especially about Sky.
Readers are taken,
on a rollercoaster ride,
of Jack's emotions.

We find a boy,
who wears his heart on his sleeve,
And breathes through his words,
Who grows to accept,
that boys,
can write poetry, too.

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As a group, compare and contrast the two poems assigned to you. Then, respond to the following prompts:

1. In one sentence, define what you think poetry is.
2. What are some essential traits of poetry?
3. What are some non-essential traits of poetry?

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Other Points to Note in Henshaw Extracts

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Other Points to Note in Henshaw Extracts

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Two more points to note:
- Need to pay attention to fine details (e.g. spelling of 'friend', change in the sign-off
- Are all the letters to Mr Henshaw even sent off? Or are these the attempts by teacher to infuse 'authenticity' in task? Reflect (as teachers) what seems to be practice in Leigh's EL Class and how this series of letters fits in.

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Please refer to Slides on Day 1 Wrap to see how these Check-In Questions can be utilised for instructional planning for a RC

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Please refer to Slides on Day 1 Wrap to see how these Check-In Questions can be utilised for instructional planning for a RC

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1) Loved its simplicity - was a bit afraid I wouldn't be able to access it when I heard it was about poetry

2) Loved it. Ease of reading, and written from the perspective of a child. I could see myself in it as a kid growing up with trauma and self-doubt.

3) There were references to other poems that I was not familiar with.

4) I've read diary-type texts written from the child's POV before, but nothing on such timeless, mature themes such as loss, grieving, and growth.

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Access this activity sub-Padlet to complete your group task

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Access this activity sub-Padlet to complete your group task

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Please take a few minutes to leave us your feedback on the Reading Circles Text-specific Workshop (Love That Dog).

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RC 2023 Feb Love That Dog Workshop Feedback

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Jack feels that writing poetry is difficult as it needed to conform to a structure. He is unsure and seek assurances - use of ???? in his writing
He starts to change his attitude when he finds he realizes that he can write about his dog; allowing his feelings for it to pen down his ideas and feelings. (He now uses poetry as an expression for pain)
His words start to flow. He has an idol that he can look up to and is even protective of him.

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1) It appears to be an easy read as there are no big words and sentences are not long and convoluted. There are no ‘heavy’ chunks of prose.

2) Yes. It is from the perspective of a young child, struggling with crafting something for his teacher, something which is familiar to us. I am familiar with Blake’s poem, Tiger and Frost’s poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, and that motivates me to read on.

3) The ideas conveyed are not always presented in chronological order e.g. Jack’s reservations about writing a poem, the blue car, his dog and his apprehension of displaying his work, etc. and so there is a need to return to certain parts to re-read to make sound inferences.

4) It is not prose but an epistolary novel, in the form of free verse which is not so common for me.

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1. What do you notice about the responses?

2. How would you respond as a facilitator, if you were to get these responses?

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1. Definition of Poetry
- Takes the reader on a sensory ride to craft imagery that varies based on the reader's experiences

2. Essential of poetry
- expressive
- sensory experience
-> imagery

3. Non-essential of poetry
- rhyming words (too traditional)
- structure (variety)

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1. In one sentence, define what you think poetry is.

Poetry is a piece of writing in which the poet expresses himself through imagery.

2. What are some essential traits of poetry?
Imagery
Stanzas (4 present in both poems)
Leaves readers thinking... (thought-provoking)

3. What are some non-essential traits of poetry?
- Length of poem
- Rhyming words
- Conventional use of punctuations

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1) Poetry is an expression of ideas.

2) Essential traits:
- rhyme / rhythm
- a certain style (e.g., figure of speech)
- mood
- theme
- economical use of words (condensed text unlike prose)

3) Non essential traits:
- no need for stanzas
- no need for rhyme

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Similarities of the 2 poems
- Have structure and rhyming words

Differences of the 2 poems
- one shorter than the other
- 'Love that boy' is more child-like hence easier to understand and relate to
- 'Stopping by the woods can be simple in form and language, yet it captures complex emotions and ideas compared to 'love that boy'

2. Essential traits
concise & structured
written in stanzas
forms of figurative language (vivid imagery)
evoke emotions of readers

3. Non-essentials traits
rhythm
punctuation
repetition

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1. Define what you think is a poetry.
Poetry is a text form which creatively expresses an idea based on a theme without structure.

2. Essential qualities of poetry
-expressing an idea based on a theme
-sentences lacks structure
-free verse, but also depending on the topic of the poem
-imaginative words being used about emotions, feelings
-poems have rhyme/ rhythm but not all.

Non-essential qualities of poetry
- not necessary to rhyme
- stanzas

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Differences:
The Red Wheelbarrow
- follows a more fixed structure

Street Music
- has a more random structure
- appeals more to the senses
- writer uses spacing between letters to bring the reader's attention to certain words
- quite unconventional, does not start on the left

Similarities:
Both poems create vivid images in the reader's mind.
Both poems bring out the writer's own style.

1. In one sentence, define what you think poetry is.
It is a personal form of self-expression of ideas and feelings.

2. What are some essential traits of poetry?
- express intense feelings or highlight certain events
- a form of self-expression
- brings across an important message that the writer wants to convey
- word choice is always intentional to bring across the intended message

3. What are some non-essential traits of poetry?
- it does not necessarily need to rhyme or have a rhythm
- possibility of looking disjointed, does not need to be in a stanza

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1. Poetry is a creative collection of words that give personal insight into a subject matter.

2. Essential traits of poetry: rhythm of the words within the line(s), structure within the poem, drawing from personal experience, giving insights into a subject matter

3. Non-essential traits of poetry: rhyming words

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Essential Characteristics:
1) Words
2) Subject matter/Theme
3) Literary devices
4) Evokes thoughts and feelings in readers

Non-essential Characteristics:
1) Punctuation
2) Stanzas
3) Rhymes

Definition: Poetry uses words to convey a central idea and evokes imagination and feelings that could include punctuation, stanzas and rhymes.

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1. Poetry is a vehicle in which a person expresses himself based on a theme or idea.
2.Essential traits: rhythm, descriptions, a rhythmic flow. There is also deliberate word choice to convey feelings and ideas.
3. Non-essential: rhythming words

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1. Poetry is writing that can have rhyme, rhythm, imagery and metaphors which is used to convey the author’s feelings or a story.

2. Having stanzas, imagery, metaphors, structured text and evokes feelings

3. Rhythm, rhyme