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Packing the Classroom: a List Poem

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, list poem, school, Sharing our Notebooks, summer writing, The Poem Farm on May 19, 2015| 18 Comments »

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

Twenty-eight years of teaching,
Three years in the same classroom,
Relocation notification from B-hall to A-hall.
5,878 steps
Boxes, bins, games,
VCR tapes, cassette tapes,
masking tape, Scotch tape,
scissors, glue,
hot glue gun, glue sticks,
paint, paint, paint, paintbrushes.
Two sets of Encyclopedias!
Books, books, books!
Boxcar Children, Magic Tree House,
Harry Potter (fills a whole box)
Professional books: Aimee Buckner, Ralph Fletcher,
Donalyn Miller, and Georgia Heard.
Yellow, pink, blue sticky notes: thumbs up!
The Easy button,
our sacred writing bell,
pillows, a blanket,
two painted author’s chairs.
Pencils, pens, erasers, markers, crayons,
Letters, cards, “I Love you, Mrs. Simon”
“Your (never you’re) the best teacher ever!”
Mugs, vases, photos,
stories, memories,
voices of many children,
the heart of one teacher.

My poet friend, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and blogging friend, Kimberley Moran, have teamed up on Sharing our Notebooks to get us ready for summer writing. Head over there and see my post about found/black-out poetry. You are welcome to contribute a Try This as well. Here’s the link to Amy’s Google doc.

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Celebrating Digital Connections

Posted in Blogging, Celebration Saturday, Digital Learning, Teaching, Writing on May 17, 2015| 7 Comments »

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

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Today I am combining posts, Celebration Saturday and DigiLit Sunday. This was a weird week because my students sporadically attended class due to all the end-of-the year stuff. This was my last official week with my students. This next week with be half days, splash days, awards days. I’ll spend time packing my room to move to another classroom. Such a bittersweet time of year, saying goodbye and taking inventory.

What I want to celebrate is connections.

Connections to the Community: Our 6th grade gifted students created a display at our local museum showing the wonders of Iberia Parish in art and poetry.

Mr. Al art and poems on display at the Bayou Teche Museum.

Connections to the World: On Monday, the local newspaper featured the 6th grade project and invited everyone to view the YouTube video.

Connections to parents: Some teachers hesitate to use Facebook to connect with parents. I am not friends with all of my parents, but the ones I am connected to appreciate and celebrate our connection. I’ve never had a parent abuse this venue.

Connections with other educators: I am not on Twitter much. I find it a bit overwhelming. But I have a small community of educators who tweet with each other. When someone tags my name, I feel delighted. The notification comes in on my phone. Like a text between friends.

Connections through blogging: Some days I don’t feel like writing. But knowing there is an audience waiting, I push myself to sit in the chair and “Just Do It.” Someone is always there to read, comment, and connect.

Cathy Mere and Julie Johnson led a Digital Makers Playground. The classes are over, but the connections continue. I’ve borrowed Carolyn Carr’s graphic she made about all the ways she connects digitally.

Digital Connections by Carolyn Carr

Connect with others about Digital Literacy:

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May Funk

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged end of year, teaching, touching lives on May 12, 2015| 18 Comments »

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

I’ve been in a funk for the last few days, and I’m not sure why.

It could be that the temperatures are warmer, so it’s time to turn on the A/C and close the windows.

Maybe it was the book I was reading. All the Bright Places drew me in. I was reading anytime I had a few moments to grab. I was taken in by Finch and Violet and then… Well I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say the end could put one in a funk.

The weeds were bugging me, so on Saturday, I got after them. Weeding, mulching, making my front yard look nice. The funk was still there.

This is not the kind of funk that makes me cry. Actually, on the outside I’ve been keeping a pretty cheery disposition. Until Sunday. My choir director and friend said, “You must be happy that school is almost out.”

No. Not at all. Then I ranted about all the things I hate about the end of the school year. But the biggest, glaring thing for me was I will miss my kids. Some of my students will return to me next year. Some will not. These last few weeks are full of activities that draw my students away from my class. This is the time of year I become well aware that I am not a regular teacher. Between field trips and reward activities, game days, splash days, award days, I fall to the bottom of the totem pole. And I’m in a funk about it. There is nothing to be done, so I need to just let it go and enjoy the time we do have with each other.

This weekend a former student got in touch with me through Facebook. She messaged me, and we started a conversation about what we were both doing now. She’s a wife, mother, a personal chef and fitness instructor. She wrote, “I know this is gushy but you were such a strong part of my childhood because I was so close to the school and church and you were such a strong, caring teacher. I have told my children about you on numerous occasions. If you ever wonder how you have touched the lives of your students– you give such warmth and caring and belief. I am so glad God called you to teach and that you were part of my life! And I am so grateful that I can tell you that now.” Tears. Heartbeat. Breathe. Funk lifted.

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Chalkabration Cinco Style

Posted in Chalk-a-bration, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged chalk poetry, cinquain, Read Write Think on May 1, 2015| 8 Comments »

Join the roundup at Space City Scribes

Join the Chalk-a-bration at Betsy Hubbard’s site Teaching Young Writers.

What is Chalk-a-bration? The brain child of Betsy Hubbard of the Two Writing Teachers. The last day of the month is dedicated to chalking poems. And what better way to end National Poetry Month! My students have been looking forward to this day for months. (We were on spring break for the last day of March.) Now it is May Day, and we decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo early with cinquain poems.

Read, Write, Think is a go-to site for me for all sorts of literacy lessons and fabulous student interactives. We pulled up the Theme Poems student interactive. Together as a class, we chose a shape, brainstormed words, and wrote a cinquain. Then it was outside time, playing with words, shapes, chalk, and shadows. Enjoy!

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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 »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

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

Link up your DigiLit Sunday posts.

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Be the Boss of your Words

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged Laura Purdie Salas, poetry, student writing on April 10, 2015| 14 Comments »

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

I had a wonderful mentor years ago who said that good writers are the ones who give themselves the most permissions. In her recent e-newsletter Salas Snippets, Laura Purdie Salas says this about student writers, “When kids write, they are the boss. Whether they’re writing a free verse poem or a five-paragraph essay, they have the power.” I want to show my students that they have the power over their words. I want to show them that they have permission to be who they truly are when they write.

During National Poetry Month, I make poetry an integral part of my classroom. My students become immersed in words in verse with rhythm and expression. I have a huge collection of poetry books. For their April poetry project, I have asked my students to select three books to read. They are finding themselves in these poems. They are being inspired by poets.

I had a discussion with Erin about the book Water Rolls, Water Rises by Pat Mora. She waved over the pages and repeated the words with awe and wonder in her voice. She told me she loved so many of the words, like golden, glimmering, shining. She was falling in love with the language. This is what poetry offers, every time.

I gave Jacob some ideas for writing a poem. He didn’t take any of them. When I walked over to see what he had typed, I read this first line, “Isn’t it sad when your memories are happy and you want to do it again?” Whoa! His words stopped me in my tracks. I sat next to him and asked him to tell me some of the memories he wanted to keep. He went back to last week, then to his first birthday party, then to being in the womb. Jacob needed to be the boss of his words because his words are amazing. He has the wisdom and spirit of a poet at age seven. What a privilege to watch!

Isn’t it sad when your memories are happy,
and you want to do it again?

I want to catch Easter eggs again with my cousin.
I want to stick my face in the cake again.
I want to go back in my mommy’s tummy again
because I want to get close to her all the time.
I love my memories!

Another activity that has my students singing poems is Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s poetry month project. Each of my two student groups have tried to guess a song/poem match. Both guesses were wrong, but we had a great time working on them. We counted syllables, sang the song choices, consulted YouTube for tunes, and sang Amy’s poems through multiple times before recording and sending our SoundClouds to her. Please go over to her site, The Poem Farm, to hear her sing and our guesses. I wrote to Amy that I admired her braveness in recording her voice singing acapella. She responded that being brave helps others be brave. With that, I encourage you and your students to be brave and send a SoundCloud guess to Amy.

Join the roundup with Laura Purdie Salas!

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Let’s Keep Writing!

Posted in Digital Learning, Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged #DigiPoetry, Irene Latham, Laura Shovan on March 31, 2015| 15 Comments »

SOL #31

Here I am on the last day of March! I wrote 31 slices of life and joined a community of teacher writers at Two Writing Teachers. What a wonderful month of writing!

My students wrote daily, too. Together we learned:

Writing daily connects you to your life. You see things differently.
Writing daily can be fun!
Writing daily can be hard!
Writing daily leads to new understandings.
Writing daily means taking a deep breath and diving into the deep water.
Writing daily is a practice that will last your lifetime.
Writing daily gives life new meaning.
Writing daily makes a difference.

Some of us in the TWT community are not ready to stop writing daily. We are committing (but not promising) to contribute in some way to National Poetry Month through digital poetry, personal poems, student poems, writing activities, reflections on poetry, etc. We will use the hashtag #DigiPoetry on Twitter. Please join us for more fun and fabulous poetry.

I will be posting on Laura Shovan’s site, Author Amok, on April 6th for her series “What are you Wearing?” I will also add a line to Irene Latham’s Progressive Poem on April 12th. Lots going on in the Kidlitosphere in April.

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In a Nutshell

Posted in Digital Learning, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged #DigiPoetry, digital literacy, Nutshell, writing on March 29, 2015| 11 Comments »

SOL #29

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Try the Nutshell app.

I’ve been playing around with Nutshell now that I deleted all my texts and made room on my phone. One video was inspired by the place I live. It is spring in the deep south. In my yard, the satsuma tree is blooming, along with the wisteria bush. Flowers blooming, spring warmth inspire writing. Can you write a poem to go with this video?

This week we took our 6th grade students to an old oak tree to write. On Friday I posted this poem by Darian inspired by this field trip. Nature is a wonderful place to find inspiration for writing.

What is inspiring your writing these days? Please consider joining the Digital Literacy link up today.

Last night I got a Tweet from @teachr4, Leigh Anne Eck about plans for National Poetry Month. “Are you doing any type of April poetry challenge this year on your blog?” The consensus seems to be that many of us want to continue writing daily. The subject will be poetry, ideas, student activities, and our own writing. I invite you to join a new hashtag for NPM, #DigiPoetry. That way we can all keep up with each other, connect, and support. This is not a challenge. It is an invitation.

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Wonder of an Old Oak Tree

Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry Friday, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged Mr. Al oak tree, Nature poems, student poetry on March 27, 2015| 17 Comments »

SOL #27

Join the roundup with Jone at Check it Out.

Mr. Al surrounded by children.

With our 6th grade students in the parish (district), we have been doing an enrichment Wednesday each month that we call WOW for Way Out Wednesday. This year’s theme has been wonder. One of the wonders of our area is this huge old oak tree named Mr. Al. A few years ago, Mr. Al was in the way of a planned service road next to the highway. Protesters were instrumental in getting Mr. Al moved to a safer location. He now overlooks an intersection of the highway, Highway 90 at Weeks Island Road.

This past Wednesday was a gorgeous spring day. We took the 20 students out to Mr. Al for a picnic. They sketched and wrote poetry. I coached the poetry writing with a suggestion that they look outside and write description, then look inside for a memory or inner feelings, then go outside again. Darian came to me with an idea. She was caught up on the directions, though. She told me she saw the whole area as a kingdom and Mr. Al was the king. I loved this creative response and told her, “Yes, this idea is using your imagination that is inside you.” She crafted this poem.

What a wonderful way to honor Mr. Al with writing and drawing. The time was peaceful and productive. A true gift to the students and their teachers.

A tree in the middle of nowhere,
As lonely as can be.
But the tree is not as lonely,
As the eye can see.
Ferns and flowers, moss and thorns,
Give the tree some company.

The hill is a castle,
Its rightful ruler on top.
A king greater than all kings.
King Al is protected by his guards,
The ants and spiky plants.
His loyal citizens obey his commands,
For they are the flowers,
purple, yellow, white and green.
His advisers–the fern, magnolia and evergreen,
Work together in harmony.

Long branches reach out,
As if to be holding up the sky.
Leaves more numerous than stars.

Mr.Al is a wonder of nature,
Nature of wonder .

–Darian, 6th grade

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Self-Talk

Posted in Gifted Education, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged Ann Dobie, LEH, testing on March 24, 2015| 19 Comments »

SOL #24

Pay attention to your fantasies, daydreams, and self-talk. What are they reinforcing? What purpose do they serve? Do you believe that some feelings are more “you” than others are? (The Wisdom of the Enneagram, 189)

Self-talk. Is that my enemy? I do this all the time.

We finished phase one of testing, and I read this post from one of my students.
The writing part is hard for me because I never learned how to start it or conclude it the way my class did.

I teach gifted pull-out, so she didn’t get the formula for writing.
Am I wrong not to teach the formula?

In the fall of 2014, not six months ago, I received the prestigious Donald Graves Award for the teaching of writing, and yet, I still question my methods. That is the curse of my personality type, self-talk. But I have to question, what is the real issue here?

I realize that the formulas offer comfort and confidence. While my student knew the answer to the prompt, she froze when faced with a blank page. How do you begin?

Even though I know that the best writing for my students is writing they choose, I realize that I need to provide the safety net. The additional practice in formulaic writing.

Today when I came home from school, a new magazine was waiting. The Spring edition of Cultural Vistas, a publication for the Louisiana Endowment of the Arts. My long time mentor Ann Dobie was featured in an interview by my friend and writing group colleague, Dianne Dempsey-Legnon. When I went through the Summer Institute for the National Writing Project of Acadiana in 1995, Ann was the director. This is what she said about her time as director.

It was a magical time… I have seen changes from teacher-centered to student-centered classrooms. Another monumental change is from feeding information to students to allowing them to discover it on their own which is far more dynamic and lasting. –Ann Brewster Dobie, Ph.D.

I will not give up the belief that students need to discover through writing rather than spitting back information within a set format. But I will look for ways to make my beliefs and the new reign of testing co-exist. I owe this to my students who count on me.

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