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DigiLitSunday: Focus

Posted in Digital Learning, Teaching, Writing, tagged focus, Irene Latham, mission statement, student podcasting on November 6, 2016| 13 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

A friend once told me that I have an artist’s mind, random and all over the place. While it was a nice way to put it, what she was really telling me was I lack focus. I’ve always hopped from project to project, idea to idea. It’s difficult for me to stay tuned in to one thing for any length of time.

Last weekend I had a chat with Irene Latham on the steps of the State Museum at the Louisiana Book Festival. We were talking about conferences. She said she realized she could be a conference junkie but questioned whether that would serve her mission. Her mission? Yes, Irene has a mission statement. Don’t we all? She wrote about how to find your own mission statement in her post on Smack Dab in the Middle.

The first question, “Who do you admire?” reminded me of a process my friend Kimberley talked about; Find the person who is doing what you want to do and find out how they got there. In other words, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

When creating a mission statement, I had to consider my personality type. I really care what people think of me. It’s a fault, except that it keeps me behaving in ways that are kind and thoughtful. I want others to respect me, so I respect them. Not a bad way to be. It’s tough when I chew on an incident for a long time. I’m not good at letting things go.

What does this all have to do with digital literacy and teaching? In creating a mission statement, a focus for my life, I see clearly that I want to empower others to be the best they can be. I want to bring creativity into the world. Through my teaching and writing, I can be both wind and wings.

My students worked all week on their podcasts. They created scripts from their research and collaborated on making something creative and new. Yet, the learning curve was high. I wasn’t sure we could meet it. I am still waiting on tech help from our district department; however, the glitches didn’t really bother the kids. They understand that’s all part of making something new in this digital world.

When I reflect on the projects we do in my class, I realize the ones that encourage the strongest focus are ones that are highly creative, honor choice, and are student-driven. My classroom mission statement is not that different from my personal mission statement. Margaret and Mrs. Simon walk hand in hand to find their focus and meaning in this world.

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Poetry Friday: Contests

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged Irene Latham, LA Writes, Louisiana Book Festival, NCTE on November 4, 2016| 11 Comments »

Poetry Friday is with Laura at Writing the World for Kids

Do you enter contests? I don’t. But I pretty much insist that my kids do. I even will go so far as to write it as a goal on their IEP. At the end of the school year last year, most of my students entered a piece of writing into our state writing contest, LA Writes. I was pleased to hear in September that three of them had placed. The awards ceremony was last Saturday at the Louisiana Book Festival at the State Museum in Baton Rouge. When Madison came to the microphone to read her poem, she introduced herself as “the author.” What a thrill for this writing teacher to hear her describe herself as an author.

Madison shows off her first place medal.

Madison wrote her first place poem after Irene Latham’s “Tree for All.” In May, we had a Skype visit with Irene. She wrote about my students’ poems here.

I secretly wished that Irene was there to hear Madison read. Sometime wishes do come true. Irene was at the Book Festival. We met up later in the day. She presented in the Children’s Storytelling Tent and guess who walked by?

Madison meets her author hero, Irene Latham.

Reef for All

after Irene Latham’s “Tree for All”

Sharks feast on my citizens;
my restaurant never closes.

Eels hide in my caves;
my shelters provide homes.

Sea worms play peek-a-boo in my tubes;
my tubes allow all ages.

Fish hide in my caves;
my cradle caves are cozy for new fins.

No sea animal can resist my charm:
I am a coral reef.

Madison

Tree for All (in Dear Wandering Wildebeests)

Giraffes feast on my leafy crown;

my buffet never closes.

Rhinos doze beneath my broad branches;

my umbrella selters and shades.

Baboons scramble up and down my trunk;

my playground delights all ages.

Owls nest in my hidden knothole;

my cradle cozies brand-new wings.

Skinks sleep in my thick, spotted bark;

my camouflage keeps them safe.

Safari ants trail along my roots;

my roadways help build a city.

No grassland beast can resist my charms;

I am a wild bush willow tree.

– Irene Latham

Contests make us feel famous. They give students an opportunity to shine. Thanks to Irene for being such a beautiful role model to budding author, Madison.

I will be presenting with Irene and some other awesome poets at NCTE 2016 in Atlanta:Sat., 9:30 G.12 Writing for a Better World: Poetry Response to World Events B210

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Heart to Heart

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged Georgia Heard, Good to Great, heart maps on October 21, 2016| 6 Comments »

Poetry Friday is with Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect

https://twitter.com/MargaretGSimon/status/789264438255820801

What a joy to join Georgia Heard on the Good to Great (#G2Great) chat Thursday night! Georgia sent me a copy of her latest book a few weeks ago. I was so excited to see that three of my students’ heart maps were included.

I questioned how Georgia could write a whole book about heart maps. But this book is a gem. In each section, not only do we get another idea for another type of heart map, twenty in all, but we also get a list of writing ideas and mentor texts. A side bar on each template asks questions to lead the student to his own heart.

I used the wish heart map this week with 6th graders. These students are embarking on a yearlong project. As we begin this journey, my colleagues and I wanted them to explore deeply a problem they see in the world. The heart maps were a way to visually get them to the “heart” of the matter. Some students went straight to writing. This student’s wish map became a list poem of wishes.

I usually write with my students, so why not make heart maps? The students rotated to me 4 times, so I have 4 hearts. Each one is different. Some are completely visual, but two of them became poems.

My wish heart maps

I Wish

I wish I could draw love
into the world.
Blow it freely
like a dandelion seed
to fertilize lives
with empathy.

We wish on falling stars,
on rainbows,
pennies thrown in the fountain.
There’s the obligatory pull
of wishbone, a tug between my brother and me.
If I win this time,
can I send this wish to you?
Will it come true?

–Margaret Simon

Thank you, Georgia Heard, for leading me, as well as countless children, to our hearts.

https://twitter.com/MargaretGSimon/status/789263683641802752

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A New Genre of Literature

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged fantasy, genre, lucid dreams, Warrior Cats on October 11, 2016| 8 Comments »

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

The air is turning cooler, and the leaves are changing color. Satsumas are ripening on our satsuma tree. They are so heavy the branches are dragging on the ground. And when I take Charlie out at six in the morning, it’s dark, very dark, and the sun doesn’t rise until we are almost home. All these signs should have made me realize that the first nine weeks of school is ending.

Each grading period, I ask my students to revisit all the books they have read and select one to present to their classmates. This is a fun activity for them. I also want to make it a learning activity, so we talk about elements to include: title, author, genre, tone, characters, setting, plot…

Madison was excited about her book trailer. Animoto was her choice and she carefully selected pictures, music, and background. When I looked at her finished product, I noticed that she had identified the genre of the Warrior Cat series as realistic fiction. This gave me pause. Maybe she just didn’t have a clear understanding of genres.

I started a private discussion with Madison that I’m afraid made her cry. I was confused about her tears. She just kept repeating, “It’s the point of view of the cats.”

I finally realized that to her the story was very real. By then a few other classmates had joined into the conversation. Jacob recalled that they had learned about lucid dreams. He said, “It’s like that lucid dream when you feel like you are really doing all those things.”

Ding! The Aha bell rang. I told Madison that it was OK that she feels like the story is real. The author writes as if everything is real, like a lucid dream.

The next thing I knew, Madison had created a new genre, the lucid book. At this point she excitedly went back to her video and changed the genre to lucid. I did not correct her this time. Some things are best left to the imagination of children.

To see Madison’s Animoto book trailer, click here.

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DigiLitSunday: Mentors

Posted in Digital Learning, Teaching, Writing, tagged mentors, PowToon, students as mentors on October 9, 2016| 4 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Mentors are teachers who have a specialized experience in a certain area and can pass on that knowledge to someone else. An effective mentor builds a level of trust by being authentic and understanding.

In my classroom, I invite all kinds of mentors from the students themselves to professional authors. One day we may watch a video of Naomi Shihab Nye, while the next I am projecting a student mentor text. It doesn’t matter where the mentor comes from as long as the writing is real, accessible, and pushes the level of my students foreword.

This week my students were working on end-of-the-nine-weeks (yes, it’s here already) book presentations. I allow the students to choose which technology platform to use. They will use Animoto, Emaze, Prezi, Powtoon, etc. My sixth graders love Powtoon. It’s my least favorite because I just can’t figure it out.

Emily was working on her project, and she was having a blast. She was taking screenshots of the Google doodle and making the computer automatically type the text in. The presentation looks like it is happening right before your eyes. At one point, she called out, “Kaiden, I need help.” Kaiden rushed over to show her how to do what it was she wanted to do. On the spot mentorship.

I do not have to be the expert in the room. I can call on expert authors, speakers, or colleagues. Most of all, I can call on my students. They are the experts for each other. And that is just the way I like it.

Please add your link below.

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Light a Sparkler!

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, tagged 15 Words or Less, Laura Purdie Salas on September 23, 2016| 12 Comments »

Poetry Friday is with Catherine at Reading to the Core.

I am a big fan of poet Laura Purdie Salas. Every Thursday she posts an image and invites her readers to write a poem in 15 words or less. I love this challenge. Her post yesterday reminded me of sparklers. I left the computer, made coffee, and these words came into my head. Then last night’s Good2Great chat (#G2Great) was about Dreaming Big. This is what my Big Dream is all about: lighting that fire of passion in my students.

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DigiLitSunday: Learning from Each Other

Posted in Blogging, Digital Learning, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged Slice of Life, student blogging on September 18, 2016| 5 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Lani watches a video about solar storms on Wonderopolis.

Yesterday I made the biggest mistake of my life. I went outside in a big, fat LIGHTNING STORM! I almost got struck by lightning too! (Kids, just don’t make my life choices.) It all started in Breaux Bridge…

I went to Dixie RV ”Super Store” to shop for a vacation RV. Out of the crystal blue sky fell a raindrop. It started drizzling. (I don’t know How it was possible, when all the clouds were pearly white.)

In a matter of SECONDS it started raining in like the flood was back. The ditches were filling up in 0.2 seconds. Then, the lightning started acting like stupid Angry Birds and I was the little Piggie with a phone as an egg. To make matters worse, Dixie RV has to be rich and have golf carts to ride around in the windy rain. While the rain was blowing in my face I noticed a tragedy. My phone was getting wet! I screamed in my mind so loud that I am sure everyone heard me.

I got out of the golf cart and a lighting strike was about 2 inches from meeting my face! I screamed to the gods and cried of scaredness. Hey! You would cry too! Guarantee!!! That experience has taught me a very important lesson: NEVER GO OUT IN A LIGHTNING STORM! BAD IDEA!!!!

Slice of Life by Lani (5th grade)

Every week my students write a Slice of Life on our class kidblog site, Mrs. Simon’s Sea. With digital tools such as grammarly, edit, copy, paste, etc., they can successfully post a small piece of their lives. Some of my students, like Lani, write these with ease. Lani sees the drama in everyday life.

I used the above slice as a mentor text this week. I wanted my students to notice how a small moment can be big. I wanted them to identify craft moves to emulate. So I asked them, “What do you notice?” We made a list.

All caps used to show emphasis.
exaggeration (hyperbole) that creates interest.
paragraph structure
ellipses…
parenthetical statement (adds voice)
imagery “crystal blue sky” and “pearly white clouds”
simile (metaphor)

Madison tried it out.

Two NIGHTS ago there was a LITERAL LIGHTNING STORM!!!! It all started on my way to Olive Garden…..

We were just on the highway out of my cousins trailer park and when I was looking out of the window and then there was huge flash of lightning and another and they scared me, but, atleast they stayed in the clouds!

After a few minutes, when I was looking out of the front window, there was a HUGE flash of lightning and I practically jumped out of my seat, and since the sky was so black that you couldn’t see the clouds, I was really scared!(It was scary since you couldn’t see where the lightning was going to come from.)

Slice of Life by Madison (3rd grade)

Drafting and revising a weekly slice gives my students practice in writing long about a small moment, a chance to try out craft moves, and a platform for their own voice. For me, when my students compose digitally, I am able to easily grab mentor texts for lessons. I can hold up my students as examples. I can shine a light on good writing.

Join the conversation by leaving your link.

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#DigiLitSunday: Reflections

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Teaching, tagged Dr. Mary Howard, reflective practice, Voxer on September 11, 2016| 13 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

I consider myself a reflective person. I have participated in many professional development opportunities that are built upon self-reflection, the National Writing Project, National Boards for Professional Teaching Standards, and NCTE Donald Graves Award for teaching writing. Each of these organizations or awards requires self-reflection around the teaching of literacy.

Voxer is another way that I am a reflective teacher. I am involved in three chats at the moment, and each one encourages me to reflect on myself as a writer, a teacher, and a person.

This week Donna Donner asked a question on the Good to Great Voxer chat about self-assessment, and I began to question my ability to pass on this reflective mindset to my students.

Dr. Mary Howard (@DrMaryHoward) in her response to Donna had some great points about self-reflection of students.

Ask students “What did you learn about yourself as a reader, writer, listener, researcher…?”
Students should reflect outwardly: with a teacher in conferring or with another student in turn and talk.
Focus must remain on the learner.
Not a task, but a mindset.
The teacher must be self-reflective to help students be self-reflective.

I want to pay more attention to this thing I do naturally. How did I become a reflective teacher? What steps can I offer my students toward more active self-reflection? I believe, like Mary, that it needs to be more than a task (a checklist). It must become part of the fabric of being a life-long learner. Self-reflection done well has the potential to change the way students think about themselves and about their responsibility to their own learning.

Please join the conversation and leave your link below.

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Poetry Friday: Students Look for Hidden Poems

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, tagged Naomi Shihab Nye, poem about poetry on September 9, 2016| 15 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up is with Amy at The Poem Farm.

Naomi Shihab Nye visited our classroom this week. We watched her video of Valentine for Ernest Mann. Showing the video made it feel like she was right there with us having a conversation. Then we read the poem again and again, talking about it at length. This poem can start a classroom controversy over whether or not skunks are really beautiful.

I asked my students to re-read the poem again and find some words that speak to them and try out their own poem. I shared my poem. (posted here)

Sometimes poetry magic happens. It happened for Lani. She sat quietly with her notebook for a while and came to me to share this poem. She was proud that she wrote the poem from the point of view of the poem. I think she caught the golden fish on the first try.

You can try to look for me
and I won’t be there
I won’t be in a drawer or
in your pocket. I won’t be
on a shiny plate ready to
share. Since you can’t order
me like you order a
Big Mac at McDonalds
You will have to search for
me like archeologists search
for bones. It will take a
while to find me and
it won’t be easy if
I’m in your hair or in
a skunk’s eyes. You
just have to look. I can
be anywhere from the
outside to inside your home.
The most likely place that
I will be is in the back
of your mind, ready to
happen and be shared.

–Lani, 5th grade (after Naomi Shihab Nye’s Valentine for Ernest Mann)

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DigiLitSunday and Celebrating all in one

Posted in Blogging, Celebration Saturday, Digital Learning, Teaching, tagged #clmooc, Animoto, research, snail mail, Wonderopolis on September 4, 2016| 10 Comments »

Find more celebration posts at Ruth’s blog.

I missed the Saturday Celebration post, so I am double-dipping today.

I want to celebrate good old-fashioned snail mail. This week I received the invitation to my daughter’s wedding (coming up very soon on Oct. 1st), a #clmooc postcard from Karen Fasimpaur (she tells me she lived and taught in Tanzania?!), and a poetry exchange card from Joy Acey (make that 2 cards from Joy: the heart and the zebras.)

I celebrate the connections I have made through this blogging adventure that encourages me daily.

Today is #DigiLitSunday. I tweeted out the topic of #motivation. This year is my tenth year teaching young gifted students. I have redefined my role of teacher from someone who imparts knowledge to someone who motivates learning. My students are way smarter than I am when it comes to a measurement of intelligence. I am ineffective if I stand before them and tell them what to do. It just doesn’t work.

I have learned the art of motivation. And technology has been right beside me. I love Animoto for its immediate access to cool designs and background music for video production. I turned to Animoto this week to motivate my students to explore Wonders on Wonderopolis and to practice creating a thesis statement.

My students were motivated by choice as well. Many of them find interest areas through their reading. I Survived has become a favorite series. Andrew wanted to know more about tsunamis after reading I Survived the Japanese Tsunami. He watched videos, read a Wonderopolis post, and then branched out to search further questions.

https://animoto.com/play/n3d0IBO9cYPBika3Qvpsbw

Kaiden was inspired to learn about club foot from the book The War that Saved my Life.

https://animoto.com/play/Zg4LoPd9OK0ic8DUZw003w

Some students were motivated by watching each other’s videos. Jacob decided to research earthquakes after seeing Andrew’s video about tsunamis. (Andrew and Jacob attend different schools, but they keep in touch on our Kidblog site.)

https://animoto.com/play/1HeO0cLG9UzW2zyqIqT0Ow

Motivation can come from me, the teacher, from other students, or from books, and even from conversations. I went to Tanzania, Africa this summer and was chatting with Lynzee about the giraffes I saw. She wanted to know why giraffes have such long necks. Wonderopolis answered her question. Here is her video.

https://animoto.com/play/tDObOEEkWmOjbf1162Gzew

Obviously, I had a hard time choosing which video to share with you. Another cool aspect of teaching with choice and technology is the variety of projects that are produced. My students can now learn from each other as we post each video on our Kidblog site.

Please share your motivating #DigiLitSunday posts here.

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