February | 2017 | Reflections on the Teche

Archive for February, 2017

#TenFoundWords: A February Poetry Project

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged #tenfoundwords, Laura Shovan on February 7, 2017| 11 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for the Slice of Life Challenge.

Today marks post #1000 on my blog. Wow! This has happened one word at a time, one post at a time. When I started this blog nearly 5 years ago, I had no idea where this writing journey would lead. I have a wonderful community of friends through my connections with various weekly memes. Slice of Life was one of the first communities I joined. I appreciate all of you who read my musings. Here’s to the next thousand!

Through Poetry Friday, I connected with Laura Shovan. This year marks her 5th annual poem-a-day writing challenge for February, her birthday month. This year she’s hosting it on Facebook in a closed group. The theme is ten found words from current news articles. I check the morning post, copy the ten chosen words into a Google doc, and work on my poem whenever I have a chance throughout the day. At first, I didn’t want to have this much interaction with the daily news, but each article has been different. Not only am I reading poems, practicing writing, building community, I am also learning some amazing stuff.

On February 4th, the article was from earthsky.org, and I learned about the change in the moon’s orbit. Fascinating and certainly not an article I would normally have read. Sometimes the article informs the poetry, but more often the poems come from that inner poet, the one who surprises me constantly.

The axis turns
one rotation at a time
keeping in balance
this ancient path
tilting toward unity.

The gods knew this truth
when they painted pictures
in the night sky.

Our bodies want to return
to balance and knowing
and wandering; we look for a leader,
a shaman, a yogi master.

Analyze the words
of Langston, or Maya,
or Martin, and you’ll
see a common axis,
a dream that crept into each heart.

Spin around.
Face the stars.
Reach out.
Dream on.

–Margaret Simon

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DigiLitSunday: Visual Vocabulary

Posted in Digital Learning, Teaching, Writing, tagged Tagul, vocabulary on February 5, 2017| 16 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

I hate to admit it, but I have not been the best at teaching vocabulary. I’ve tried all kinds of methods from word lists to word walls, but I am still met with groans from kids when I say Vocabulary. This year I’ve been using a workbook. This goes against my whole philosophy of teaching, so please don’t tell my students. This workbook provides an authentic text, so the words are in context. We also work with synonyms and antonyms and always a writing piece. But like most work with Vocabulary in the title, my students think drudgery.

It is time for a change. I have been intrigued by Carol Varsalona’s word clouds. I tweeted a question to her. Turns out it was our mutual friend Holly who introduced Tagul to Carol.

YES it was Holly who mentioned it. Got my collection moving for #poetry in action, Holly & Margaret.#OLW pic.twitter.com/ZqF7xQcciH

— Carol Varsalona (@cvarsalona) February 3, 2017

This leads me to an idea I will be trying this week with my students (crossing fingers the app works in our network). I took one of our vocabulary words from last week, essence, and typed it into Thesaurus.com. I opened Tagul and typed in a dozen synonyms. Then I looked for a shape that would help define the word. I chose a water droplet because water is the essence of our bodies. The image shares common synonyms as well as makes this vocabulary work more motivating.

In what ways are you digitizing vocabulary work? Share your ideas on your blog and link below.

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Celebrate Handprints and Hearts

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gifted Education, tagged Beautiful Hands, David Sheldrick Wildlife Preserve, service learning on February 4, 2017| 12 Comments »

Find more celebration posts at Ruth’s blog.

This week the flu made its way through my students. I, thankfully, have remained healthy. Today, I want to celebrate my student Andrew and his initiatives. Before Christmas he became interested in the plight of orphaned elephants. We read a Scholastic Scope magazine article that pointed to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Preserve. Andrew wanted to raise funds to adopt an orphaned elephant at the preserve. The adoption fee is $50 a year. He decided to sell posters to classmates. I ordered Vista Print posters of a baby elephant picture from my trip to Tanzania, Africa.

Before the Christmas break, Andrew presented to his fourth grade classmates. He raised about $32. After Christmas break, he decided to present to third grade classes. He raised the remaining funds he needed. He crafted a letter to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Preserve explaining the project and selecting Malima as the baby elephant he wants to sponsor. This video broke our hearts. Andrew and I both already feel and love and affection for Malima.

Andrew is one of those rare kids who wants to inspire and make a difference. In January when preparing to choose our One Little Word, I read aloud the book Beautiful Hands. The production of this book has a heartwarming story. Kathryn Otoshi worked with Bret Baumgarten who was diagnosed with cancer to design this book from something he would say to his own children, “What will you do with your beautiful hands today?”

The artwork was created all with handprints and fingerprints, even a dog print from Bret’s dog.

“My hope that this story empowers love, creativity, compassion, and a

connection to you and yours, in the fulfilling and remarkable way it has for me”

~ Bret Baumgarten, 1970–2014

I think Bret would be proud to know what Andrew did with his inspiring words. Andrew wanted to read the book to his sister’s first grade class and do a hand printing activity with them. Some of Andrew’s gifted classmates helped him. I was impressed with how smoothly the whole activity went. I was not sure because we had to paint all the kids’ hands and help them print. Andrew had selected some Valentine quotes for the kids to copy into their hand painted cards. This creative service activity was a positive experience for all of us.

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Poetry Friday: What if?

Posted in Writing on February 3, 2017| 21 Comments »

Poetry Friday is with Penny at Penny and her Jots.

This week, I’m thinking about Naomi Shihab Nye’s bucket and how we need to share our buckets with each other. I shared her poem from Here We Go with my students.

from BLUE BUCKET
by Naomi Shihab Nye

What if, instead of war,
we shared our buckets
of wind and worry?
Tell me the story
you carry there,
steeping in old pain
and future hope,
rich with fragrant
savory spices,
ginger, turmeric,
tarragon, find me
a spoon in one
of your pockets,
even if we don’t
speak the same language…

maybe
you hold my bucket
a while, see what
the handle feels like,
and I hold yours,
and maybe both buckets
are empty and
we trade them forever…

We talked about what it means to carry someone else’s bucket. We talked about serious topics and playful ones. Then we wrote What if poems. I want to share a few with you today.

What if
the whole world
was listening, waiting
for the next word?

What if
you didn’t
know what
to say
but you say
it all?

What if
I speak
worldwide but
few hear me?

What if
you knew
what to say,
but you didn’t
say it at all?

What if
I speak
privately,
but lots of
people hear me?

by Noah, 5th grade

A Bucket Of Glitter

What if,
I could carry around a
bucket of glitter?
If I found someone without glitter,
I would sprinkle some on them,
What if I could carry around a
bucket of glitter?

by Lynzee, 2nd grade

What if-
I was the leader of the U.S.A
I would treat people fair
like how air lets us live,
live to spread joy and happiness.
I would give money
Maybe a little honey because it’s sweet
like people.

by Andrew, 4th grade

Today, I am wishing you a bucket of glitter to spread, a little honey to sweeten your day, and lots of poetry because poetry is where wisdom lies.

kindness-glitter

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Spiritual Journey Thursday: Rise

Posted in Spiritual Growth, tagged Leigh Anne Eck, OLW, Rise on February 2, 2017| 9 Comments »

Finding spiritual journey fellows on the internet is such a wonderful gift. We are gathering each month on the first Thursday to blog together. Today, you may link up and read more posts at Leigh Anne Eck’s site Turn.

The theme of our posts today is Leigh Anne’s One Little Word, Rise. I love this word. Simple, one syllable, and yet full of hope and love and light. I immediately think of a spiritual I would sing with kids “Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory, Glory.”

This week I presented my students with the Maya Angelou poem, “Still I Rise.” What did they think of this old African American woman laughing out loud on the video and saying she dances like she has diamonds on her thighs? When you place her words in the context of her life and the Civil RIghts Movement, they resonate.
“You may trod me in the very dirt.
But still, like dust, I rise.”

Maya Angelou speaks of the human spirit, the spirit that is guided by and held in the hands of God. I wonder if I have that kind of spirit. Preparing to teach about another Civil Rights hero, Fannie Lou Hammer, I read poem after poem about her being trod in the dirt, over and over, and still she rose. She didn’t give up. I am humbled by her resilience.

Looking to these heroes who turned against adversity and prejudice and pain, and led their friends to Rise, I feel an obligation, a resolve to be strong and resilient. I cannot do that without being willing to be humble and kind and to turn my heart to the love of God.