Join in the fun of celebrating on Saturday, a blog round-up at Discover. Play. Build.
Beginning with Monday, this was a great week for poetry writing success. Using the field trip notes from last Friday, Monday’s quest was to complete and revise our poems and post them on the class kidblog. One of my newest students had success with this poem:
My dangling trumpet flower
is like a golden trumpet,
big yellow bell,
and a fluffy bridal gown.
My dangling trumpet flower
is a hummingbird’s favorite snack
with the most delicious flavor
of a big slice of cake.
And the student comment, “I like this poem very much. I like that you made it very specific and beautiful. I also like that you put similes and metaphors in your poem.” Both students are fourth graders who are just stretching out their writers’ wings.
On Wednesday, I used a new lesson I adapted from a conversation I had with Ava Haymon, Louisiana poet laureate. The structure of repetition worked well. I posted a few on my blog for Poetry Friday and got this email from their teacher, “I shared your blog with the sixth graders today. Jack and Ethan were beaming when they saw their poems. THANK YOU so much for giving them that feeling. The vice principal wants them to read the poems during the announcements next week.” Celebration, indeed!
Mayor Hilda Curry talks with our 6th grade students about their service project.
On Friday, three of my students and I led the school in a Walk for St. Jude. A teacher’s child lost her life to cancer last month, and the response to do something to honor Kamryn was amazing! Students could purchase a t-shirt, a button, and a color page of a star along with the donation for the walk. I’m not sure how much we raised in dollars yet, but we raised awareness and felt pride in giving back to St. Jude. Before the walk, the skies were dark and cloudy; however, just in time, our angel Kamryn swept the clouds away to show us the sun.
Kamryn’s best friend Amanda was interviewed by the newspaper.
The button and Kamryn’s picture on my t-shirt.
The official St. Jude Give Thanks Walk is today. You can still donate to support my walk on my page.
Publishing students’ poetry is so rewarding for the teacher. I need to remember to find more ways to showcase my students’ writing. Thank you for giving me a reminder!
I got an email from a mom this morning thanking me. Gives everyone a charge!
What a great week! I love the student poems. Their work as 4th graders is extraordinary! They should be very proud of their writing. And what a lovely tribute to Kamryn. I am sure she was watching with a smile on her face and possibly a tear of gratitude in her eyes. Have a great week!
What an inspiring way to honor the memory of a departed friend. Those students will never forget that walk to raise money and honor Kamryn.
The happy note of poetry followed by a touching story of honoring Kamryn made this post powerful.