2A
|
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2022
|
APPEAL TRIBUNE
Encourage kids to
discover poetry
Address: P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309
Phone: 503-399-6773
Fax: 503-399-6706
Email: sanews@salem.gannett.com
Jim Hawkins
Willamette Connections
Academy
“I think that I shall never see, a poem
as lovely as a tree!” Renowned poet
Joyce Kilmer’s words are so inspiring
for budding young poets across Oregon
this spring.
This is a perfect time of year for par-
ents to nurture a love of poetry in their
children. Nicer weather offers opportu-
nities for kids to write outdoors and
take inspiration from the world around
them.
I started writing poetry as a kid and
continued through high school. My
passion for the subject led me to even-
tually earn a Master’s Degree in English
Literature. Dr. Seuss and other rhyming
books under his umbrella were my in-
spiration.
While I don’t write poems anymore, I
still adore Dr. Seuss and we read many
of his children’s books in our classes.
My second graders and I have a great
time with poetry. I think it’s conta-
gious. Having fun with language is a
wonderful motivator for kids to read
and write.
The benefits of reading are many. I
believe that when reading poetry is en-
joyable for children, their reading skills
improve. It also supports brain devel-
opment and assists in building a child’s
vocabulary.
If your child is hesitant to read poet-
ry, remind them of the lullabies and
fairytales they liked when they were lit-
tle. Here are a few more ideas to foster
an appreciation of poetry in your child.
Read aloud
Share your love of poetry by reading
aloud with your child before bedtime,
emphasizing the sounds and rhymes.
Afterward, try discussing the selection
with your student.
Instead of jumping into Shake-
speare, try humorous poetry, or works
matching your kid’s interests such as
superheroes. Leave poetry books around
the house and download special apps to
make reading more accessible.
Your student will write and recite po-
etry with your encouragement, especial-
ly if they see you writing poetry as well.
Certain formats and prompts work bet-
ter for novice poets to get their creativity
flowing.
Explore different types
Try cultivating your child’s love of this
literary art form by exposing them to the
many different types of poetry. Free
verse could be a great starting point be-
cause it is what we call open form, mean-
ing it doesn’t need to abide by a certain
set of rules.
Haiku is another great type of poetry
to explore. Haiku has three lines and a
strict number of syllables in each — five,
then seven, then five. Haikus rarely
rhyme, frequently use metaphors, and
children may appreciate the emphasis
on nature.
Acrostic is a particularly fun form of
poetry because of its structure, taking
the first letter of each line to spell out a
word. For example, S-P-R-I-N-G, Smells,
Play, Running, Invigorating, New, Gar-
den. Suggest your child attempt acrostic
poems using names of family members
or pets.
Wordsmith
Offer your child different ways to
change words into poetry and watch the
magic happen! Make it a game using re-
frigerator word magnets so your child
can write impromptu poetry, or cut out
phrases from old magazines for them to
arrange in new poetic narratives.
With blackout poetry, select the text
from an old book or newspaper, scan and
circle words for a possible poem, then re-
dact out all the remaining words with a
pencil or Sharpie. Transforming the re-
maining words into poetry will be an ex-
citing challenge for your student.
Teen tales
Web site: www.SilvertonAppeal.com
Staff
News Director
Don Currie
503-399-6655
dcurrie@statesmanjournal.com
Advertising
Westsmb@gannett.com
Classifieds: call 503-399-6789
Retail: call 503-399-6602
Legal: call 503-399-6789
Missed Delivery?
Call: 800-452-2511
Hours: until 7 p.m. Wednesdays;
until 3 p.m. other weekdays
To Subscribe
Call: 800-452-2511
$21 per year for home delivery
$22 per year for motor delivery
$30.10 per year mail delivery in Oregon
$38.13 per year mail delivery outside Oregon
Deadlines
News: 4 p.m. Thursday
Letters: 4 p.m. Thursday
Obituaries: 11 a.m. Friday
Display Advertising: 4 p.m. Wednesday
Legals: 3 p.m. Wednesday
Classifieds: 4 p.m. Friday
News Tips
The Appeal Tribune encourages suggestions
for local stories. Email the newsroom, submit
letters to the editor and send announcements
to sanews@salem.gannett.com
or call 503-399-6773.
Main Statesman Journal publication
Suggested monthly rates:
Monday-Sunday: $22, $20 with EZ Pay
Monday-Saturday: $17.50, $16 with EZ Pay
Wednesday-Sunday: $18, $16 with EZ Pay
Monday-Friday: $17.50, $16 with EZ Pay
Sunday and Wednesday: $14, $12 with EZ Pay
Sunday only: $14, $12 with EZ Pay
To report delivery problems or subscribe, call
800-452-2511
To Place an Ad
Published every Wednesday by the Statesman Journal, P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309.
USPS 469-860, Postmaster: Send address changes to Appeal Tribune, P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309.
PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID: Salem, OR and additional offices.
Send letters to the editor and news releases to sanews@salem.gannett.com.
I have a teenager and know that ex-
pressing yourself can be tough at that
age. Poetry is a great way for them to
process their emotions.
High schoolers today turn to technol-
ogy instead of poetry books on library
shelves. If this sounds like your kiddo,
encourage them to explore age-appro-
priate podcasts and YouTube videos that
explore this literary world. Other ave-
nues for teens to learn about and share
poetry include TikTok, Twitter, Snap-
chat and Pinterest.
If your teen isn't usually interested in
poetry, try Instapoetry, where users
combine short free-verse poems with
symbolic images.
Blast the music
Kids might not realize that musical
lyrics are a form of poetry. Your child
could write funny new words for a cur-
rent song, or turn a poem they wrote into
a rap.
Whether it’s National Poetry Month
or throughout the year, anytime kids are
getting creative with their reading and
writing is a good thing. If your child em-
braces some of my suggestions, I bet that
pretty soon they’ll be a poet and not even
know it!
Resources for families
h poets.org/poems-kids
h poets.org/poetry-teens
h rhymezone.com
h teenink.com/poetry
h poetryfoundation.org/learn/chil-
dren
h poetryfoundation.org/learn/teens
Jim Hawkins is an elementary school
teacher at Willamette Connections
Academy. To learn more about Willam-
ette
Connections
Academy
visit
www.WillametteConnectionsAcademy-
.com or call (800) 382-6010.
Yellow Napkins encouraging conversation
Yellow napkins campaign
encouraging conversations
on disabilities
“We want the Yellow Napkin Project to
give people bite-sized bits of
information they can use to interact
more positively with people with
disabilities and ultimately build more
inclusive and accessible communities.”
Em Chan
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
If you’re at some restaurants across Salem, your
food or drink might be accompanied by a unique yel-
low napkin. Before you toss it, take a second look: the
napkins are a part of an effort to educate folks for De-
velopmental Disabilities Awareness Month.
The Yellow Napkins Project, a campaign orchestrat-
ed by non-profit Shangri-La in partnership with Co-
lumbia Bank, seeks to encourage folks to strike up a
conversation about disabilities in the comfortable
space of food and drinks.
“We’ve been dreaming of this project for several
years,” said Ashley Erb, director of community engage-
ment for Shangri-La. “We wanted to do something a
little outside of the norm in terms of how people re-
ceive education … I think people are most receptive
when they’re doing something they love — so, eating!
— so we thought what if we could have folks have this
conversation over wine, and be more open to getting
info that way.”
Shangri-La is a nonprofit dedicated to helping folks
with disabilities “achieve their potential,” according to
their website. The organization has offices in Salem
and Eugene.
Conversation piece
These napkins are a bright yellow and have one of
five possible awareness points outlined on them.
The five topics are drawn from the most common
topics folks have around disabilities, including: as-
sumptions of the capabilities of the disabled, bound-
aries with people’s mobility devices, outdated lan-
Public Notices
PUBLIC
POLICY NOTICES
Public Notices are published by the Statesman Journal and
available online at w w w .S ta te s m a n J o u r n a l.c o m . The
Statesman Journal lobby is open Monday - Friday from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can reach them by phone at 503-399-6789.
In order to receive a quote for a public notice you must
e-mail your copy to SJLegals@StatesmanJournal.com , and
our Legal Clerk will return a proposal with cost, publication
date(s), and a preview of the ad.
LEGAL/PUBLIC NOTICE DEADLINES
All Legals Deadline @ 1:00 p.m. on all days listed below:
***All Deadlines are subject to change when there is a
Holiday.
The Silverton Appeal Tribune is a one day a week
(Wednesday) only publication
• Wednesday publication deadlines the Wednesday prior
LEGAL/PUBLIC NOTICE RATES
Silverton Appeal Tribune:
• Wednesdays only - $12.15/per inch/per time
• Online Fee - $21.00 per time
• Affidavit Fee - $10.00 per Affidavit requested
Ashley Erb
Director of community engagement for Shangri-La
Ankeny Vineyards’ wines shown with yellow napkins.
SHANGRI-LA OREGON
guage, invisible disabilities and eye contact during
communication.
“We picked the info this year because the topic on
them are ones we most commonly see when out in the
community,” Erb said. “In our work, so often, we see
community members unsure about how to interact
with people with disabilities or even how to refer to a
person in the disability community.
“We want the Yellow Napkin Project to give people
bite-sized bits of information they can use to interact
more positively with people with disabilities and ulti-
mately build more inclusive and accessible communi-
ties,” Erb continued.
The first point is “don’t assume people with disabil-
ities are incapable,” which stems from folks having
preconceived ideas of how to help. Erb said it’s always
best to just ask the person how to help.
The second point is “a person’s mobility device like
a wheelchair, walker or cane is part of their personal
space.” How moving, touching or interacting with
these devices should be avoided since they are essen-
tial items.
The third point, and one of the biggest in the cam-
paign, is around the language to refer to people with
disabilities, specifically in avoiding outdated language
like crippled, challenged and handicapped, among
others.
“When we’re out in the community while tabling
and talking about people’s experiences with folks with
disabilities, they’ll pause and hesitate — almost phys-
ically see them grappling with that terminology to
use,” Erb said. “That’s why we thought to give people
the terminology that’s preferred and remove that hesi-
tation.”
Point four, which is how some folks may have “in-
visible” disabilities, and not to assume or look down on
those individuals’ requests for accommodations.
“We should be open to providing those accommo-
dations when asked for them,” Erb said.
For folks with visible disabilities, point five is most
relevant as it outlines that people chatting with folks
with disabilities should give eye contact to the person
and not their companion or aid. Even with disabilities,
these folks are capable and should be addressed di-
rectly, with their support person stepping in only if
necessary.
“Folks serviced by Shangri-La are typically sup-
ported with another person, so we commonly see a
cashier at the store or a doctor talk to the support rath-
er than the person themself,” Erb said. “They should be
talking to the person first and the support can jump in
if necessary. When people have traits that are uncom-
fortable, they’ll talk and look to the support instead,
assuming the person with disabilities is incapable, but
that’s not it.”
With all the information printed on these small
square napkins, Erb acknowledges that they do not
completely encompass nor get close to fully explaining
the topic.
“We’re aware you can only fit so much on a napkin,”
Erb said.
“The topic is big and complex so one person will see
it one way while others will see it another. We try to
present a global look, but recognize we can’t represent
every outlook but having that conversation in general
is better than getting it all on a napkin.”
Bringing the community together
About 2,500 napkins, with 500 of each topic point,
were distributed to small businesses across Salem for
the pilot launch.
“We wanted to start small in our mind, since 2,500
seems like a lot,” Erb said. “But we had more interest
from businesses than napkins and hope to grow (in the
following years). We are so glad to have so many small
businesses want to be included.”
Small businesses who are partnering in passing out
yellow napkins include On Any Sundae, Peace Love
Pretzals, Rolling Bagels, Ratchet Brewery, Cozzie’s NY
Deli, The Easy Otter, Ankeny Vineyards, Joe Mocha
and Redgate Winery.
Napkins will be distributed at these businesses pe-
riodically throughout the month while napkin supplies
last, Erb said.
For more information about the efforts of Shangri-
La, check out their website, shangrilaoregon.org, or
their Facebook page.
Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman
Journal.
You
can
reach
her
at
echan@statesmanjournal.com, follow her on Twitter
@catchuptoemily or see what she’s eating on Insta-
gram @sikfanmei.ah.