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Celebrating Learning Communities

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gifted Education, Teaching, Writing, tagged birthdays, games, heroes, project based learning on August 29, 2015| 6 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

Last week I celebrated the hard work of planning a new learning community, our 6th grade enrichment project. We call these special Wednesdays, “WOW” as in “Way out Wednesdays,” and this week was WOW! We have an amazing group of students who enthusiastically mingled and became fast friends. One of our teachers had the brilliant idea of grouping them by what they like to do (computer, art, writing a play, building/crafting), and these groups built their own super hero. One group did a Powerpoint, another a play. The art group created a poster, and the craft group built a costume. This was one of those situations a teacher dreams about. All the students on task and completely self-directed. I celebrate this new learning community and have high expectations for the products they will create.

Super Hero costume: Cop Copter!

My classes are becoming places of safety, learning, and fun. Yesterday we celebrated two birthdays. It delights me that the wish that my students have for their birthday celebrations is the apple peeler. I have an old turn style apple peeler. They each get a turn to peel their own apples. Kielan brought in cookies to share. She created a scavenger hunt that included book titles. And she chose a poetry writing activity from Laura Purdie Salas’s book Catch Your Breath. This is what I call a literary birthday celebration.

While every other day of the week is focused on reading and writing, Fridays are fun! In my other classroom (I teach at two schools), we celebrated completing the week’s assignments with game day. Don’t tell my students, but the games are all educational. They don’t know that. They just think it’s fun. As it should be!

Game Day: Building with the game Brain Builders, challenging and fun!

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Celebrating Hard Work

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gifted Education, Writing, tagged gifted education, hard work on August 22, 2015| 7 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

This was the second week of school here in South Louisiana. We started the hard work of teaching and learning. I celebrate that my students and I began the process of reading and writing together. Having my students move from recreational reading to reading for meaning is not an easy task. While I want them to have free reading time, and I’m determined to build this into our time together, I also want them to become critical readers. This is hard work. We will find value in this hard work together.

I celebrate the hard work of my daughter, Maggie. She is a public defender in a nearby parish. This week she had a trial, only her second one. She worked long hours and talked through the case with her father and grandmother and, while I didn’t understand all the lingo, I enjoyed this hard and gratifying work. In the end, the prosecuter dismissed the case. Maggie received lots of kudos from her colleagues. My mother-in-law is so proud when she gets calls from others in the business saying what an impressive lawyer Maggie is. There can be joy in hard work when you care about the work you do, and Maggie is one of the most caring people I know.

I celebrate the hard work of my gifted team. We will be starting our 6th grade enrichment project this week. We are all putting in extra time to research and prepare. This year we are planning to participate in the Unsung Hero Project by the Lowell Milken Foundation. This is an amazing project, and I look forward to instilling the joy of discovery and the satisfaction of hard work with our students this year.

What hard work are you celebrating today?

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DigiLit Sunday: Graphic Intelligence

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Teaching, tagged Bloom's taxonomy, Creativity, graphic intelligence, writing about reading on August 9, 2015| 6 Comments »

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I don’t think Sunday morning is the time to launch into a research project, but when I typed “Graphic Intelligence” into the title line, I wondered, “Is this a real thing?” A quick search in Google turned up a book with the title, “Graphic Intelligence: Possibilities for Assessment and Instruction” by Barrie Bennett. Looks like this is a book all about graphic organizers from the least complex to the most.

My use of the term is not related to graphic organizers. What I am questioning early this morning is the presence of an intelligence for graphics. Not the use of a graphic organizer. In my field of gifted education, I am always trying to think outside the box, away from constraints like graphic organizers and more toward creativity. Creative problem solving leads students to deeper thinking at a higher intelligence level. The revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy puts Creativity on the top rung. Create means to put elements together to form a coherent whole; reorganize into a new pattern or structure.

As I continue to explore writing about reading with an online group of teachers, I decided to try out using Canva to express my thoughts. Canva is a poster-making app. The site provides numurous images (many of which cost $1 to use). You can also upload your own image. I decided to use simple images and arrows. I don’t think my canva is a particulary brilliant construction, but I noted during the process that I had to synthesize my thoughts about the characters.

I could have used the well-used and time-tested Venn Diagram to compare the female characters. But if I give my students this tool, they don’t have to think beyond the comparison aspects. If I ask them to define characters in a new way using a graphic of their own making, I have now added the element of creativity to the assignment.

When I start working with my students in the next few weeks, I will show them the graphics I have made for response to reading. I hope to encourage and motivate them to try creative graphics to represent their thoughts about reading.

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DigiLit Challenge #3: Transformation

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Writing, tagged #clmooc, digital literacy, tagxedo, transformation on June 7, 2015| 5 Comments »

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As I thought about this week’s challenge, the word transformation kept popping into my head. I am constantly amazed at how transformative digital writing can be. Digital tools can make our ordinary words seem extraordinary.

When I was in high school many years ago, my parents bought me an SLR camera. I wanted to be a photographer for the yearbook. My high school had a dark room, and I learned how to develop film and create photographs. The process was long from taking the picture to rolling the film into the canister, to selecting the negative, then placing the paper in three different bins of chemicals and hanging it out to dry. I loved this process. I loved discovering what my hands had created. The art of photography has totally transformed. With our phones and a computer we can easily produce and share photographs.

Writing has transformed, too. Even the youngest students can produce and publish their writing. I use Kidblogs with my students. The format of typing onto a screen and watching your words become an image is exciting and motivating.

Our school year ended a few weeks ago. The mother of one of my students texted me that he had discovered graphic novels. He was so excited about the story of Percy Jackson that he asked if he could blog about the book. Jacob left me as a first grader writing 50-75 words at best in his blog posts. His post about Percy Jackson was 317 words! This is transformative!

One day my mom decided that we should go to a library so we did. Then we went to a new library. It had so many books and movies. And I got 7 books because I am 7 years old. I got 2 Percy Jackson books.They are graphic novels. That means they look like
comic books. Ok forget every thing I said. Let’s just focus on what the book is about. (Read the post here.)

I invite you to think about digital literacies and transformation. Tag me in your posts (@MargaretGibsonSimon on Facebook, @MargaretGSimon on Twitter). Use #digilitchallenge.

A site I enjoy playing with is Tagxedo. It creates word clouds in shapes. I used a poem I wrote about chickens in the yard. This process transforms the poem into an image. The words are read differently. The original poem is here.

Don’t forget to sign up for CLMOOC beginning June 18th. “CLMOOC is a collaborative, knowledge-building and sharing experience open to anyone interested in making, playing, and learning together about the educational framework known as Connected Learning.” Click on the image to sign up.

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Trying on Other Poets’ Clothes

Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Writing, tagged Georgia Heard, List poems, Naomi Shihab Nye on May 8, 2015| 9 Comments »

Michelle is hosting today at Today’s Little Ditty!

Poets are some of my favorite people. I want to be one, so sometimes I try on their clothes. I shared this confession with my students. One of my poet-heroes, Laura Shovan, tried on Naomi Shihab Nye’s list poem, Words in my Pillow, that you can find in Georgia Heard’s collection Falling Down the Page. I shared Naomi’s poem as well as Laura’s with my students.

My students are smart kids who are really stubborn about wanting to break the mold, but I told them, “This is the form we are trying on today.” When the third student asked about breaking the form, I turned to them and said, “What did I say?”

“We are trying this one on today!” Sometimes when you try on another poet’s form, it is confining and doesn’t fit at all. Not this one. I was surprised at how well this poem fit.

Words in my Bathroom

I keep words in my bathroom,
Words that keep me clean.

SOAP
TOWEL
SHAMPOO

No one sees them
Until I put them on,
But I know they’re there.

BATHROBE
FACE CREAM
BODY WASH
HAND SOAP
LEFTOVER CLOTHING
TOILET PAPER

TOILET is in there.
BATHTUB is in there.

The words wish they were something else
When I’m not looking.
This TOWEL and that RACK
like being together.
CANDLES brighten up my bathroom
TOILET yells NO
in my bathroom.

My friends the words
know better than I do
what makes me feel good.
–Tobie

Words under the Couch Cushions

I keep words under the couch cushions.
Words that make me cool.

HANDSOME
BLACK
STYLISH

No one sees them until
I put them on.
But I know what’s in there.

REMOTE
TOYS
PAPER
FEATHERS

WHITE SOCK is in there.
GOOGLY EYES are in there.

The words make a PUPPET
when I am not looking.

TISSUE
GUM
CARD

My friends the words know how to fluff a cushion
better than I do.
But I love them.
–Jacob

Words in my Closet

There are words in my closet that say “you’re chic!”
OLD NAVY
GAP
JUSTICE
“No one sees them until I put them on, but I know what’s in there–”
SILK
SPARKELS
POLKA-DOTS
RHINESTONES
“DENIM”
FLOWERS
SHOES are in there.
EXTRA LACES are in there.
The words choose my outfits.
I’m just not around when they do.
This SHIRT those SHORTS Already pieced together.

NEON colors brighten up my closet.
LSU shirts shout “GO TIGERS” in my closet.

My friends the words
know me the best.
–Emily

Words in my Journal

I keep words in my journal.
Words that dance from
my thoughts to the page.

BUZZY
PATIENCE
BOUQUETS

No one sees them
like LOVE LETTERS I hide in a box,
but I know what’s in there.

PURPLE
SKY
VICTORY
UMBRELLA

STARLINGS flit in there.
Even DILLY-DALLY trots a page.

The words make poems together
when I’m not looking.

LAKE
MAZE
WONDER
RUSH

My friends the words know better than I do
how to sing songs.

–Margaret Simon

This form fit reluctant poets as well as confident ones. Laura Shovan is posting student poems, too, from a writer in residence program. Check them out here.

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Magical Mentors

Posted in Gifted Education, Slice of Life, tagged gifted education, magic, Magic Matt, mentorships, Michael Dardant on May 5, 2015| 16 Comments »

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

Magic Mike and Magic Matt

I received my masters in gifted education in 1999. I have been teaching gifted students for the last eight years, but only this year was I able to put into practice the idea of using mentors. In a chapter titled “The Role of Gifted Personnel in Counseling the Gifted” by Joyce Van Tassel-Braska and Lee Baska, the writers include mentorships as a strategy for addressing the special affective needs of gifted children, needs such as “understanding one’s differences, yet recognizing one’s similarities to others and developing skills in areas that will nurture both cognitive and affective development.”

What they do not say is how the mentor relationship is as rewarding to the mentor as to the mentee. I have had the privilege of offering a mentorship to my 5th grade student Matthew who dubbed himself “Magic Matt” years ago. I just happen to know the family of a famous magician in New Orleans, Michael Dardant. Michael visited with Matthew for the first time back in February. I wrote about it here.

A magical package arrives.

Since then, Michael has emailed with Matthew and sent a package of magical stuff. When Michael contacted me to say he was coming by for another visit, I was thrilled. On Wednesday last week, he personally delivered a magician’s jacket to Matthew. And once again taught Matthew a few tricks. As a bystander learning the slights, I am still in awe. Even knowing how they are done, I could not possible execute the trick. There is a talent in the slight of hand, the patter, and even the stance of the magician.

After witnessing again the power of mentorship, I told Michael by text, “You have become someone’s hero.” I can feel Michael’s passion about magic and his increasing interest in this relationship.

Matthew performed for the Mother’s Day program at school on Friday. He was a featured performer on the sidewalk outside a local gallery for Art Walk on Saturday night. He is well on his way to following Michael’s footsteps. I do not have a crystal ball to predict the future, but I am convinced that mentorships work. (And wearing a red jacket helps.)

Matthew amazes children and adults with his slight of hand and card tricks.

Michael is on his way to the world championships of magic in Italy this summer. Watch his promotional video (He has a hilarious Cajun accent.) and consider supporting his trip.

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Wonders of Iberia Parish

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, tagged gifted education, New Iberia Tourist Center, New Iberia travel, project based learning, wonders of Iberia Parish on May 3, 2015| 6 Comments »

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Take the wonder tour of Iberia Parish. Our 6th grade gifted students culminated their year long enrichment project with a presentation of the Wonders of Iberia Parish. The video was created from a PowerPoint slide show of the 10 wonders. Students created a list of possible wonders after meeting with the director of the Iberia Parish Tourist Commission. They created a survey on Survey Monkey. To display the results, each student painted a wonder image. These images have been glued to a quilt top. They also researched and wrote a blurb for a selected wonder.

The quilt is on display at the Bayou Teche Museum on Main Street in New Iberia. The video is posted on the Iberia Parish Tourist Center website.

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Poem Movies

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Poetry, Teaching, Writing, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, critical thinking, digital literacy, poetry project, TPCASTT on April 26, 2015| 4 Comments »

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Use this button created by Leigh Anne Eck to post your Digital Poetry this month.

My students are enjoying Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s poetry month project, Sing that Poem, over at The Poem Farm. This week a group wrote their own verse to a popular tune. I posted the poem here. Here is the recording of them singing it.

I have challenged my students with a poetry project this month. For the assignment, they must read 3 poetry books, TPCASTT one poem from each book, write a reader response to each book, write an original poem using a form from one of the books, and create a video presentation of a poem. Only a few have gotten to the video presentation stage.

I talked to them about what I expected to see in the video. The design and the music would reflect the tone and theme of the poem. Design is where digital literacy comes in, to be able to evaluate the poem and represent it through image and sound is the highest level of critical thinking. It is important for me to push my gifted students to use their highest levels of thinking. Both Tyler and Tobie got it. Animoto provides enough choices that my students were able to find what they were looking for in design and music.

Tyler presents a haiku by Issa from Cool Melons Turn to Frogs. Tobie presents House by John Frank from Lend a Hand.

https://animoto.com/play/hrNlFKJcyGgAmGNmddrLIg

https://animoto.com/play/1lAA2TFxsqQ20JA0lNZvYQ?autostart=1

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Celebration Saturday

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gifted Education, Writing, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Shining Light Foundation, Sing that Poem, student leadership, The Poem Farm, young musicians, Zydeco on April 25, 2015| 5 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

This morning, I’ve been cleaning and doing chores like kitty litter and laundry. My hands smell like bleach. I kinda like the smell, tingly clean, but I should’ve worn gloves. As I swept the kitchen floor, what else was there to do but reflect on my week. Do I really have anything to celebrate? The list got longer and longer.

The logo for SCBWI is a kite. I set out my kite last weekend. I found out it needs a few repairs, but it may fly one day. I have hope. The Houston conference gave me hope, but I also connected with other writers on this journey and that is what I celebrate today: Connections. I wrote about the conference for Slice of Life Tuesday.

On Tuesday night my husband and I attended a fund raiser for a fairly new nonprofit called the Shining Light Foundation. The organization provides financial assistant to children who have a dream. The event offered a roundup of local Cajun and Zydeco bands. I was particularly taken by a young girl playing the washboard. She has such a natural rhythm and a sense of confidence. I celebrate young talent and passion for going for it.

Chubby Carrier and students

This week our gifted sixth graders finished up their project on Wonders of Iberia Parish by painting sets for an original play. Their performance was held at our Gifted by Nature Day for all elementary students, and the three boys that I teach felt proud of the accomplishment. I can see how this experience changed them into confident leaders. I celebrate student leaders.

My students continue to enjoy singing poems with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater over at The Poem Farm. Some of them are going to the site on their own between class meetings. One of my groups created their own song this week. See if you can figure out the tune. Here is a matching form from Amy’s site. Like Amy, I will post the Soundcloud tomorrow for you to see if your guess was right.

Written by Matthew, Tyler, Noah, Jacob, and Vannisa

Tree Song

Apples fall from apple trees
Watch out! Watch out!
Syrup comes from maple trees,
Sweet, a sticky mess!

Acorns fall from old oak trees.
Squirrels eat them.
Squirrels and humans both alike
all depend on trees.

All depend on trees,
All depend on trees.
Squirrels and humans both alike
All depend on trees!

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