Nature Journal - American International School

Acrostics

2010-06-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

Acrostics serve any topic with great structural readiness, since the "spine word" resonates through the poem. The spine word is set vertically and lines of a poem spill out of the letters. To counteract a humdrum attitude reared on the exotic close-ups of the TV nature documentary or ecotour, students pretended to be blind. With a partner, they took turns blind folding themselves and describing their local environment. Here is what it's like "Being Blind":
(Acrostics published anonymously by grade; photos by Kiernan Sullivan)

Blades of grass are
Emerging from the ground
Into
New hands above the
Ground where they will

Be
Lifted even further
Into the air until they are
No longer visible from
Destroyed patch of earth.
(7th Grade)

Being blind
Equals...
Icky, mossy, rough stuff
Nothing makes sense anymore...
Ground, stump, tree, plant

Beautiful, I bet, that is
Loving the feeling of rocks and moss
I just can't figure out what is rough, tall, and edgy
No one can help me
Doomed to fall on that spikey plant...
(7th Grade)

Be strong
Entering your senses
Into your mind
Nothing can harm you
Going to the fullest

Being in ways apart
Lending your gifts
In your sights nothing
No colors to be be found
Do become strong
(7th Grade)

Beautiful branches all around
Every single leaf, so crunchy
I can only feel
Nothing I can see
Guessing each organism I swiftly wisper.

Before I fell, so clumsy
Long walks, the grass is humid.
I felt the flowers, and smelled.
Notice how hot the day was
Don't doubt your senses.
(7th Grade)

Blind in the woods
Eagerly looking for my partner
Inside my mind I'm thinking I will fall
No sight for help
Grabbing onto objects I find

Blurting out my partner's name
Laughing as I bump into people
In fear of falling down a hill
Nowhere to go
Dying to take the blindfold off
(9th Grade)

Bearing the idea of Paulo guiding me blind-folded
Every single one of my senses kicked in.
Into four senses my body was guided
Not easy to do so,
Going to try anyway.

Bursting adrenaline flows as I feel what my eyes can't see.
Lowering my body then stretching to feel what's around me.
I do not use my sense of taste too often,
Nobody would taste something they can't see.
Dirt was the only thing my tongue could taste.
(9th Grade)

Bumping into
Everything
In front of me.
No sense of sight.
Girls screaming,

Boys teasing,
Little do I know what about.
I feel rough bark,
Nutty grounds, but only see
Dark.
(9th Grade)

Beauty is in
Everything I touch.
It's hard to feel my way
Not knowing where I'll
Go next.

Branches surround me, I feel
Long ones and short ones. They
Intertwine, leaving me with
No choice but to go
Down, crawling under them.
(10th Grade)

Break into pieces, it's too dry
Eucalyptus tree felt soft
I felt like walking on the moon
Not dry leaves, but grass
Ground felt soft

Barks of dogs everywhere
Leaves were dry
It's dirty
No insects are flying around
Dry season is close
(11th Grade)

Breathing heavier, for my senses are working stronger,
Everything comes into my ears more intensely.
Immersed in thought, where am I?
No idea where I am, lost, how can I figure out where I walk?
Go on walking, like guided by the wind, walk, walk, and don't stop.

Being on top of the world, that is how I feel,
Look through the eyes of your soul,
Insightful images fill your head, you wonder,
No need for sight, just for feeling,
Do tell me, where am I?
(11th Grade)

Tanka

2010-05-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

Japanese poet and critic Masaoka Shiki created the term tanka in the early twentieth century for his statement that poetry should be renewed and modernized. Until then, poems of this nature had been referred to as waka literally "song" or "poem." Tanka consists of 5 lines following a 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic pattern. Tanka is a much older form of Japanese poetry than haiku.

Brown bird nest I see
The signs of life I perceive
In the ground it was
Abandoned bird nest is now
I shall say where the bird is?
(10th grade)

Cracking, faded leaves
Strewn on the powdery ground.
Wind blows through them all,
Arising whispers and sighs;
Distant echoes of last breaths.
(10th grade)

Green and lush meadow
trees are reaching for the sky
eyes peer from the shrubs
a rustle of twigs within
a bird's call sounds above you.
(11th grade)

Birds chirp above trees
Dragonflies around my knees
Revealing wisdom
Of her appealing allure
For her beauty is puzzling.
(11th grade)

On top of a tree
Millions of animals live
Maybe a termite
Or even small, chanting birds?
All around the tree they dwell
(7th grade)

moo moo the cows say
hungry hungry for mangos
food food they yell
MOO MOO they get louder
eating eating the mangos
(7th grade)

The palm tree stood tall
Fronds swaying ever gently
The wind then freezes
A hollow sound comes from deep
As the woodpecker comes home.
(7th grade)

something beautiful
masked by a total darkness
yes is the river
full of life but not happy
at the end this is our fault
(9th grade)

Eucalyptus trees,
you're a new canvas for me.
Your colors singing
a melody; I hear it.
It highly lifts our spirits.
(9th grade)

Odes (to local species or natural objects)

2010-04-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

"Ode to a Butterfly" - 7th Grade

They came
into this world
as a creature
that just liked love and peace.
But they weren't always like that!
They used to be
Big
Scary
And also attacked

"Ode to Bamboo" - 7th Grade

bamboo can grow
as tall as a school.
I'm stunned at its strongness
at its tallness
at the way it stands

"Ode to a Yellow Leaf" - 9th Grade

It has no other color
but yellow.
It has no other properties.
It's just a leaf.
It has the simple
form of
a leaf.
For, it is
just a leaf.
It is a dead leaf.
A yellow leaf.

"Ode to a Cloud" - 9th Grade

You are
the elements chameleon
life's energy,
never disappearing
only changing your face,
like an actor
changes masks.
Quench my thirst,
open my pores,
freeze my toes,
float my boat,
fog my glass,
slip my slide.

"Ode to a Little Yellow Flower" - 7th Grade

On the vines
You grew taller
Than
Any
Buy yet
The human came
And sat her
Big butt upon
Your shining
Face,
And how saw many were
To see something
So pure
Put to waste by
A need
To sit.

"Ode to the Sun" - 7th Grade

Sometimes one thing
Or one person
May hold a world together
And while they're doing so,
People don't notice
We won't survive
Without you.

"Ode to The Tree" - 7th Grade

The tree that
Stood so solid
And was there for
So
Much time
It's deathly
Look
Of
Sadness,
The tree who drank
So much
water
And knew that it
Would some day die.
Its hard
Foundation
That looked
so strong and
Sturdy like

"Ode to a Vine" - 9th Grade

Out of a vine
Comes a heart
Long and lush with green
Lonely
Covering the whole trunk,
Taking life from it
Without a word

"Ode to a Hard Worker" - 9th Grade

nobody goes alone
and they all become one
together.
When danger,
around their colony,
becomes grave,
they all stand up
to defend
what they worked
so hard in

"Ode to Clouds" - 9th Grade

Covering the day
With their strange forms.
When the sunset comes
Bright colors are all over you
Pink,
Orange,
Red and blue.
Those are the colors that are in you.

"Ode to a Rock" - 10th Grade

Rock the first resource to build
our
first house,
a rock that David used against
Goliath,
why shouldn't your importance
be recognized?
Your silence speaks
for
you

"Ode to Bees" - 10th Grade

Working
Together
And dancing
Making sweet honey,
Nectar of life.
Tiny metropolis
Of miniature workers
Growing,
Expanding.

"Ode to the Pine Tree" - 10th Grade

Shades of green
And brown
Shield
The mighty
Pine
From harm.
Among all the trees
Pine prevails,
Stands tallest,
Imposing
yet fragrant.
December
Arrives
The pine's only weakness

"Ode to the Rain" - 11th Grade

All earth,
All sky,
At rest,
The night
fell, crying
Beauty of
Water
Of time and sky.

"Ode to Sunset" - 11th Grade

Once more,
And open the door,
To yet another night.
End.
End the day,
Finish it this way,
For none other is as good.

"Ode to Guaria morada" - 11th Grade

Although you are known by different names
your form and color do not change.
Capture the attention of many eyes
You're in good taste,
You pick the perfect colors
Your years do not go
More and more beautiful.

"Ode to a Banana Tree" - 11th Grade

Big broad leaves
sprout up everywhere
off the strait
stem
umbrella over me
protection from the storm

Cinquain Poetry

2009-09-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

Cinquains (or Five-Lined Poems) are characterized by precise use of imagery and an economy of language. "There is a laborious effect for momentary attainment, tersely terminated by the wholly unanticipated."

Cinquains follow an accentual and syllabic pattern of the iambic foot. Accumulation of energy in lines one through four followed by the inevitable collapse in "the turn" before the fifth line. Titles are not casual but function as active “sixth lines,” conveying important meaning to the poem.

Adelaide Crapsey's "Triad" with /'s representing syllable breaks.

Title TRIAD Syllables
Line 1 These / be 2
Line 2 Three / si/lent / things: 4
Line 3 The / fall/ing / snow… / the / hour 6
Line 4 Be/fore / the / dawn… / the / mouth / of / one 8
Line 5 Just / dead 2

TRIAD

These be
Three silent things:
The falling snow...the hour
Before dawn...the mouth of one
Just dead.

Anonymous Cinquain Entries from American International School (Grades 7th - 11th)

THE LIFE OF BAMBOO

So tall
Moving around
All talking with the wind
Maybe they will make a cabana
Then...silence.

(9th Grade)

CITY

The smoke
Flows across the
Field, it doesn't fight
It just advances forward and
Draws in.

(8th Grade)

THE NATURE WALK

It starts
With a mango
It ends with the cow happy
I don't know why but it is happy
Cow pie

(7th Grade)

COWS

The beast
Creeps up to me
It extends its tongue...I
Give him a red mango that is
Rotten.

(9th Grade)

HORNED BEAST

Look out,
Ravenous cows,
Await for you to come
Morosely they are awaiting, for
Mangoes.

(11th Grade)

WHERE ANIMALS DIE

Pasture
Is horrible
Cows look disappointed...
Killing animals as a job?
Not rare...

(7th Grade)

POISON

Deadly snake
Why do we judge;
Your style is not our judgement.
You live to survive, we live to criticize
No more.

(11th Grade)

HUGE CLOUDS

Those were
big, white, weird clouds
They swam on the blue sky
Looked as the big dreams of the child
Rain came.

(8th Grade)

On Earth Day AIS Students say....

2008-06-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

Earth Day is a name used for 2 different observances both held annually during spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere. Celebrated on April 22 in the northern hemisphere, it is intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the earth's environment. (6th Grade)

For me, if I lived alone, I would turn off all the energy in my house to let earth rest a bit. Even if I'm the only one that is doing it...the next thing I would do is go out to a mountain and just sit by a river and rest and try touch nature a little bit more. (11th Grade)

I think that earth day will really change the earth someday because more and more people are getting to know what's happening in the earth today. (7th Grade)

If I were in charge of Earth Day, I would first announce for everyone to dress up in nature colors and possibly wear leaves... (10th Grade)

...kids wouldn't go to school. And everybody wouldn't use electricity and people can go to parks and enjoy our earth with its nature and environment. (6th Grade)

Amongst the awareness creating activites held every year on Earth Day are peaceful protest to vouch for change in legislature in benefit of the enviornment or simply show how much they care about nature. (10th Grade)

Earth day has no central government behind it, but there is thousands of people at work on the environment to keep it nicely in school and parks on this day. (12th grade)

In Earth day we celebrate that we have a lot of natural resources that make our lives easier. People around the world get together to honor everything Earth gives us. (6th Grade)

I would hand out T-shirts with random Earth sayings like "Tree-hugger" or "Recycle" to spread some Earth day spirit. (8th Grade)

..the main change I would make to the celebration; instead of only hearing how nature is being destroyed we should interact with nature, really appreciate its beauty. (10th Grade)

Nature vs. Non-Nature, Nature Values & Spirituality in Nature

2008-04-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

Let this be the day
where everything that is out of place
be removed away
for the animals' and our own sake (10th grade)

So hot I could barely hear
bugs whispering for the temperature (11th grade)

"Nature" is whatever is not made by human fingers (7th grade)

"Nature" is anything that has occured or appeared without the intervention of humans (10th grade)

I think "Nature" is everything because everything is made out of something people took from Nature...now Nature is destroying the world because we didn't use it how we should have (6th grade)

"Not Nature" is a memory of our ancient past and a hope to acheive the goal of preserving it (10th grade)

I think that everything around us is "Nature," even chemicals and contaminants (8th grade)

I think humans should be considered "Nature" and also our buildings. It's like when ants build an ant nest, it's a building helping them survive. So then it's not humans destroying Nature, its Nature destroying Nature (7th grade)

Humans are not "Nature" because they didn't come from the ground
(8th grade)

Humans can be part of "Nature"...if they donate part of their time to help the environment (8th grade)

I don't think humans are "Nature" because we examine Nature ourselves
(6th grade)

It's important to distinguish between "Nature" and "Not Nature" because you have to know how to treat Nature and how to treat things that are not Nature (7th grade)

"Nature" and "Not Nature" have many different boundaries. Some are concrete such as a jungle and the city, and others are abstract or just ideas implanted in our heads such as the artificial and the natural (8th grade)

The boundary between "Nature" and "Not Nature" cannot be made by measurement
(6th grade)

Not being able to distinguish "Nature" from "Not Nature" is good in a way because you treat everything equally and the same (8th grade)

I think humans value Nature by caring about it when it needs help (7th grade)

Valuable means not only how useful something is but also its roll of existing in the world (11th grade)

People value Nature whenever it's useful (11th grade)

Valuable means to appreciate and care for something (6th grade)

When I think of valuing something, I think of taking care of something, standing up for what I believe in, or respecting morals (8th grade)

Valuable means that losing it would have a big cost for humankind (8th grade)

Both Nature and Religion teach us how great the
world is (7th grade)

I don't think Nature and Religion will work together
because facts and beliefs are opposite (6th grade)

When humans could not find anything to protect their
inner heart, religion was developed (11th grade)

If your Religion makes laws to help Nature then that is good,
but if the tendency of man is to worship himself and Nature,
that is bad (7th grade)

An alliance between Religion and Nature would be good because
it would help in creating consciousness in people to help the
environment (8th grade)

I don't think Religion and Nature can have a balanced
relationship that will help or harm either. Both are
way too different (7th grade)

Feel the greatness of Nature and appreciate it through
Religion (10th grade)

I know that Nature and God are so much bigger than I am, all I can do is wonder, awe and feel sublime...but I also know that they make me strong and such a larger person inside (7th grade)

For people, "feeling small" is good because you feel humble and don't feel like anybody is watching everything you do and you aren't afraid to do things that most people would judge you by (8th grade)

Humans are part of Nature but sometimes we don't act like it (6th grade)

It is important to protect Nature so that is why we need to know what is "Not Nature" (6th grade)

Technically, by breathing, I am connecting to Nature (10th grade)

Watch, Detach and Consider Nature Creatively

2008-02-10T13:00:00.001-08:00

“You have to be still and quiet for these things to happen; you have to release your expectations; you have to stop thinking you already know things, or know how to categorize them, or that the world has already been explained and you know those explanations ... Approach the world as a child seeing it for the first time. Remember wonder. In a word: humility. Then things come to you as they did not when you thought you knew.” Sharon Butala, The Perfection of the Morning: An Apprenticeship in Nature (1994)

The wind blows
The grass grows

The birds chirp
The frogs blurp

This is nature
Filled with danger

Tranquil things
like tree rings (6th grade)

...some shapes that can be thought of with simple pieces that nature can make...
(6th grade)

Nature always finds a way to forgive us and recover from the harm we have caused it.
(6th grade)

Shadow of a giant tree looks like a giant hand with lots of fingers that are fighting each other...it also looks like strange creatures dancing & talking to each other in hesitation...it seems like they were all connected in one, they move in shadow, caused by wind.
(6th grade)

I just saw a truck with a lot of lumber just cut from a place. I feel sorry for those trees and animals' habitats. If I was president of Costa Rica I would put more preservation of nature. Impossible is nothing!
(6th grade)

At this moment I wonder why I don't do this more often. It's a time I'm able to get away from the busy life...it makes me love nature and appreciate it even.
(7th grade)

No matter how long I stare in awe of this tree, I'll always find a new way to imagine it in an extraordinary scence.
(7th grade)

I hear palm trees, I feel soft wind and burning sun, I smell wet dirty, I taste humidity...this wide open space makes me feel at home.
(7th grade)

I hear how the wind pushes through objects giving it a music-like sound.
(7th grade)

Lying in the grass, butterflies flying everywhere...I wish I could stay here my whole life, this is what a perfect world is called.
(7th grade)

There are two amazing trees, their leaves on top were all connected so it looked like a roof with leaves.
(7th grade)

What I've learned out here is that God can appreciate things more and see the little details that differ from a drawing or video game. If I could I would take a picture of every existing detail I see. But pictures are not the same as seeing it if only the picture looked the same as how you saw it...I wish to share my ideas with everyone.
(7th grade)

There is an underground city of ants...all is silent, all is dark, yet everything is working perfectly.
(8th grade)

Maybe if we stopped looking so hard for beauty and just enjoy what's around us, we'd find the real meaning of beauty.
(8th grade)

There are many trees that I can see, they are shaking their bodies. I can see they are accepting me to relax next to them, they are really friendly and they sound like they are making music.
(8th grade)

The flowers bloom,
the sun is gone
but the gentleness of this moment is everywhere.
The colors contrast,
the children smile
nature is officially awake.
(8th grade)

Why are these birds singing, is it a love song, an angry song, a happy song? I can't know but I can guess...What if their message was clear? Would you be willing to hear? Would you ignore it?...Would you like it if no one understood you? Would you need help? Feel desperate if you can't have anyone listen to you?
(8th grade)

...lost in this world,
I wonder why you wander off
you, the wind
(9th grade)

Nature make me feel at peace, completely at home with myself...things are simpler here...my spirit is at ease...not knowing the beings and customs, yet let in freely as if known for a lifetime.
(10th grade)

Roots on the floor
that emerge from a tree
like connecting roads
divide the world in three.
(10th grade)

Wind tears through the unclouded sky
trees move with barren trunks and flamming leaves
awaiting rebirth in passing time.
(10th grade)

It seems hard to just sit down and have your mind think of nothing. We are always thinking about something...how pleasant it is to enjoy the sound of nature. It's all so good that after a while, you don't want to think about anything, you just want to enjoy the feeling of a blank mind. Which little by little is getting filled by itself, gathering the magic of life.
(10th grade)

...we are the people that destroy to create
nature is the power that makes this world great
nature is like a circle, perfect
its continuance with no break between life and death
(11th grade)

They sing to each other, they don't have pressure, they can fly anywhere they want to go. The wind blows in the big tree as if it is still free in the forest and birds behave as if the didn't feel humans were coming.
(11th grade)

The magnetic equillibrium of two makes it more pulling, because along the bottom you also have the beauty of shade. Within slow movement the tatoo cannot take its true calling. When you have appreciation of the sun's protection, it comes to fortune the present.
(11th grade)