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Moon Journal!
that can be adapted in their own work. Some of our students have an envelope
glued to the back cover of their Moon Journals that contain ideas they have gotten after listening to another child's written piece or after experimenting with an
Art Invitation during studio tune.
Moon Journal entries result from observing life, feeling a personal response,
and determining the precise way to communicate the experience with others.
Response from teachers and peers lets students know that what they've expressed
in written language is understood and valued by others. As young writers learn
to capture the moon night after night in words, they also come to understand that
they can share their minds, their hearts, and their personal visions of the world
through their work. They learn that writers plant seeds and harvest them for
a lifetime.
W R I T I N G I N V I T A T I O N #1
I Wonder? Beginning an Inquiry Study with Poetry
Questions provide a road map for inquiry. They keep the momentum going, inspire us to keep observing, recording, and investigating, and lead us to where we
want to go next. As students patiently observe the moon and elements of nature,
subtle changes take place. The children make discoveries that inform and puzzle
them, often at the same time.
For example, students discover that the new moon is not visible. This information leads them to wonder why we don't see the moon. Is it hidden? Is it visible in
other places? Does it appear while we sleep?
Knowing the importance of questions and the part they would eventually play
in this nature study, Joni and her students began their Moon Journals by making
an initial entry of everything they wanted to know about the moon. At first the
questions were scientifically based.
How far away is the moon?
How did it get there?
* What is it made of?
Does it come out at the same time every night?
* Is it in different places in the sky?
Why does it change color, shape, and size?
* How do scientists name places on the moon?
What is on the other side of the moon?
Her students were surprised when Joni added a question of her own: Is the
moon made out of cheese? They laughed, thinking her silly, until she began composing a poem of whimsical questions about the moon. Because Joni writes frequently with her students, they were not surprised to see her experiment with a
poem on the chalkboard. The children read the poem aloud as she composed, an-
The Writing Invitations
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ticipating words and lines. When Joni became uncertain about a new line, she
played with verbal strings of rhyming words. The students called out suggestions,
and before long the poem became a cooperative piece.
Mr. Moon, I have a question
on this clear October night:
do mice and owls read bedtime stories
by your soft, glowing light?
Is the nighttime news printed
on the brilliant falling leaves,
recording your conversations
with the sycamore trees?
If I make a date to watch you
up in the night sky,
will you tell me your secrets?
You know I can't fly!
I want to know everything
you see from up above,
I want to know all about
the things that you love.
Are your friends the stars?
Is your rival the sun?
Or do you all work together
so your job is more fun?
If the only demonstration offered was of a rhyming poem, the students might
feel that they needed to make their poems rhyme too. The next step, therefore,
was to record questions that didn't rhyme but still felt like a poem.
Mr. Moon, are the clouds white rivers you cross every night?
Do your sighs make the stars twinkle and shine?
If I stand very still, will you talk to me?
Do flowers grow in your light?
Will I grow, too?
This second poem suggested a slightly different tone, colored by reflection. The
students had questions of their own, and their first entries took shape in their
journals.
1Wonder
When the moon gets dull,
who shines it?
If the moon is made out of cheese,
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Moon J o u r n a l s
when does it turn old?
When the stars get dim,
does the moon turn them to gold?
Does the moon drink from the Big and Little Dipper?
Does the moon fish with moonbeams, looking for kipper?
If it's yes, then tickle me pink,
and wash all my questions right down the sink!
Jacki,age 10
I Wonder
Is there a man on the moon?
Did the car really jump over it?
Is there water on the moon?
Is the moon made out of cheese?
Is there life on the moon?
Where do you go when there is a new moon?
Stacey, age 8
Eye in the Sky
I'm looking at the sky
in the cold night air,
The moon so high up,
and me down here.
I wonder if I
will ever travel to space,
See people from another planet
face to face?
For now
I just dream of
what I might see,
And just imagine
what those people
would think of me.
Alyson, age 10
Asking these questions helped to make the moon seem more personal to the
children and nudged them to begin thinking metaphorically about nature. They
left for home ready to make detailed factual observations but also willing to play
with their ideas and thoughts.
As you and your students begin Moon Journals or other focused nature studies, try recording your initial questions, both factual and fanciful. See what happens when you set aside time to wonder.