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Art Heals

Posted in Gifted Education, Teaching, Writing, tagged art, NCTE, parent death, Picasso on September 23, 2014| 11 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

My little Emily is an artist. She is a fragile leaf fluttering in the wind. She blew through the classroom Monday quietly creating. I read aloud the book Emily’s Blue Period by Cathleen Daly. In this story, the character Emily is sad about her parents’ divorce. She uses art to express her feelings. That is how my Emily expressed her feelings. It was her first day back at school following the death of her mother.

I don’t want to become an expert at this, but Emily is helping me discover the best way to handle the death of a child’s parent. Be present. Be flexible. Let the child lead you to what she needs. Do not deny the death. Talk about it. Let the other students express their love. Be patient. Cry. Hope.

This is the collage project she created on her own. She gathered different papers from my box for journal decorating. She patiently used a ruler to make smaller and smaller crosses, nesting them together. The final cross is covered in black yarn glued in a swirl.

Emily needed space. She needed art. She needed freedom. I think I heard her singing.

I am posting my schedule for NCTE. Please join me if you are there.

NCTE Schedule:

Thursday, Nov. 20th from 4:30-6:00 PM: Elementary Section Get Together: I will receive the 2014 Donald Graves award for the teaching of writing, an amazing honor. Read about it here.

Friday, Nov. 21st from 12:30-1:45, I am presenting with colleagues from the National Writing Project: From Poetry To Picture Books To Polemics: We Write and We Teach Writing: A Story of Cross-curricular, Cross grade-level Collaboration Among National Writing Project Teachers.

Saturday, Nov. 22nd Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life dinner. I can’t wait to meet my virtual friends face to face.

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Colors of the Wind

Posted in Books, Teaching, tagged Colors of the Wind, George Mendoza, J.L.Powers, nonfiction, Peter Reynolds, picture books, The Dot on September 17, 2014| 5 Comments »

Join in the fun of nonfiction picture books at Kid Lit Frenzy.

I am determined this year to get more nonfiction and more reading aloud into my daily class time. This new book about the life of George Mendoza by J.L.Powers helped me inspire my students for their dot painting on Dot Day. (See Tuesday’s post.)

By the time George Mendoza was 15, he was legally blind. But George’s blindness was unique. He didn’t totally lose his sight. His condition caused him to see colors in an unusual way, like a kaleidoscope. This true story is inspirational on many counts. George became an Olympic athlete, setting world records as a blind runner. Later, he took up painting. A priest once told him to paint what he sees. The book is full of George Mendoza’s amazing, colorful paintings.

I paired this book with Peter Reynold’s book The Dot which tells the story of Vashti becoming an artist. Through both of these books, my students could see that anyone can be an artist. All you have to do is try. Both George and Vashti’s stories waved a creative magic wand over my students. They were primed and ready to make their own mark.

Colors of the Wind is written for an early reader. The sentence structure and word choice are easy to read. Some sentences are repeated throughout. An early reader would enjoy being able to read the words as well as look at the colorful images. As a read aloud for older students, I included the back matter, the last two pages that tell the whole story. Whichever part you read, this book will fascinate the inner artist.

“Sometimes, George uses paintbrushes. But most days, he fingerpaints, using heavy work gloves with gobs and gobs of paint.”

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International Dot Day

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged Creativity, International Dot Day, Peter Reynolds, The Dot Day Song on September 16, 2014| 12 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Oh, how my students love Dot Day! Do you celebrate? Peter Reynolds is the brilliant creator of this amazing, phenomenal day. This year 1.7 million have registered to participate. That’s a lot of dots!

I wore my Dot Day skirt. We read The Dot (again) and watched The Dot video. This year a new song was released by Emily Dale. What a catchy tune! We sang along and kept singing as we made our dots. There is nothing more fun than painting on a Monday. My students experimented with mixing colors. They tried out new designs. Not one of them said they didn’t know what to draw. I love that about Dot Day. Vashti shows us that even a jab of a pencil is worthy.

You can still celebrate Dot Day. The official day is Sept. 15th but Peter tells us that it is Sept. 15th-ish. I say any day could be Dot Day. Make your mark. Make it matter.

Many resources are available on FableVision.

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Using Piktochart

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Teaching, tagged hurricanes, Piktograph, student motivation, Wonder on September 14, 2014| 6 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

I enjoy trying out new apps online but not as much as my students do. On Friday morning I had meetings, and my students had French class and hearing testing, so we were running behind in whole class time. Not the best atmosphere for teaching a new skill. (Did I mention it was Friday?) I was determined to have something new to write about today for DigiLit Sunday, so with only half an hour left for our class time, I showed them Piktochart.

Last week’s Wonder theme was Hurricanes, so for this first try at an infographic, I suggested they work on hurricanes. We brainstormed information we could find: categories, safety tips, cost of hurricane damage, and location. I paired off my kids, but with an odd number, I told Vannisa I would work with her. I sat next to her at the computer and watched her go to work.

First she chose a template that she liked. The template had a circle graph. We discussed what kind of information would fit in a circle graph. We found a web site showing the number of hurricanes that occurred within each month of the 6 months of hurricane season from 1988-present. Together we worked on the data chart. Here we quickly had to figure out what data went where. Vannisa was more skilled than me.

The short time that Vannisa and I were working together I was fascinated by how quickly and easily she jumped right in to the app. She was motivated to find more information. She kept saying, “Look at this,” and “I love this,” and “Let’s find more information.”

Matthew stayed late in class because he decided to make an infographic on Houdini. He is a bit obsessed with magic and just finished a biography of Houdini. When I told him he could use the Piktochart to make his reader response on the book, he hugged me.

I can’t promise hugs, but I know your students will be motivated by Piktograph. I plan to introduce it to another group of students this week. I look forward to seeing what they will do and how much fun learning can be.

If you have a digital literacy post, link up!

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14 Cows and 9/11

Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged 14 Cows for America, diamante poems, Sept. 11th on September 12, 2014| 5 Comments »

Renee at No Water River is hosting the round up today. Click here to join in.

In the past I have avoided the subject of the tragic Sept. 11th with my young elementary students. Yesterday, fellow blogger Holly Mueller posted about using the book 14 Cows for America to teach empathy on Sept. 11th. So I looked in our school library first thing in the morning, and she had the book. I took it as a sign. There was also an accompanying YouTube video about the story of the 14 Cows. I showed the video and read the book aloud. I have to admit I was fighting back tears the whole time. This day affects me deeply as I am sure it does many of you.

Following the read aloud, I asked my students to write for a few minutes. I was amazed by the profound nature of their writing. They can all be found on our class kidblog, but I wanted to share a few.

Point of View

Looking at a plane,

directly in front of you,

coming closer, closer, closer,

finally, you run. But you’re too late.

It has already hit. Shards of glass graze your skin,

you’re blinded by dust. Finally, you’re out.

You wipe your eyes and see…nothing.

Fire, smoke, and debris are where you just were.

The other tower, just south of the first, is hit.

The first collapses, and you know anyone inside is gone.

–Matthew

Cows are the grass that sways.
Cows are the roads we drive on.
Cows are the great buildings standing tall.
Cows are the stars in the sky.
Cows are life.

–Vannisa

Hope

passion,desperate

loving,wishing,believing

It is in you.

Wonder.

–Tyler

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Observation

Posted in Gifted Education, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged Natasha Trethewey, poetry analysis, teacher evaluation, TPCASTT on September 9, 2014| 9 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

I think I may be crazy, but I’ve decided to try a new strategy for my formal observation. This is the observation that is announced. My principal and I met for our pre-observation interview on Friday. I told her that I had never taught this skill before. She said, “Oh, we usually advise that you don’t do that, but I’m sure you can handle it.” What was I thinking?

In pre-AP training this summer, I learned about a strategy for poetry analysis called TP-CASTT. Then when I was perusing the Guidebooks for the state curriculum, I found it was used for advanced fourth grade. I have gifted 5th and 6th graders, so this should be right on target for them. We are going to analyze Natasha Trethewey’s poem, Providence. I can relate to this poem because I was a child living in Jackson, Ms in 1969 when Hurricane Camille struck the Gulf Coast. I think adding in my personal experience as well as my passion for Natasha Trethewey’s poem will come through in this lesson.

I also searched online and found a great graphic organizer on Read, Write, Think. I plan to use this organizer to help us collect our thoughts. I have the poem ready on ActiveInspire to project on the Promethean, barring no computer tech problems.

So, what am I worried about? I got this, right?

I will probably lose some sleep worrying about my evaluation. I will give my students a little lecture about behavior before my principal comes in; however, lively conversation with student interaction is actually a good thing on the rubric. I can be sure my students will be engaged.

So cross your fingers and say a little prayer because I am probably in the midst of this lesson as you read this post. I am preaching to myself, “Evaluation is a good thing. You are a good teacher. Be calm and teach on!”

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Blogging Fever

Posted in Blogging, Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Teaching, Writing, tagged Kidblog, student blogging on September 7, 2014| 14 Comments »

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

My students have gotten the blogging fever. I did not expect this and am silently cheering. I am sharing our kidblog site with a colleague whose students are also posting. Also, two former students who are now in middle school are joining in. The site is getting lots of activity.

On my simple rubric for kidblog, my students have four requirements, each worth 10 points: Post 3 times, GUMS (Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, Spelling), 3 comments, and comments must be thoughtful and constructive. Here are the highlights:

1. Lots of posts! What are you reading? Slice of Life stories. Poetry Friday. My students are writing a lot. This must be good for them. I have seen great strides in just these first three weeks of school. They are adding details. They feel like their writing matters. They are using sentence structure and humor to make their writing more interesting.

2. I am using their posts to teach grammar, either in whole group or one on one. This is working. My students are realizing that grammar matters to the reader. They are noticing when other writers are not following grammar rules.

3. Sharing and caring! My students are getting to know the other students posting on our blog. They are relating, connecting, wondering.

How do I turn this activity into data? In this day of data-driven instruction, I want to find a way to track and analyze the progress of my students. I know it’s happening, but how do I prove it? I welcome your responses.

To read some of the many student blog posts, click here.
Please link up your own digital literacy post with Mr. Linky.

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Dialogue Poem

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged dialogue poem, Kim Douillard, photography on September 5, 2014| 10 Comments »

Laura at Author Amok has the Poetry Friday round up today.

I enjoy good photography. I also think photos make good prompts for writing. Kim Douillard posted two photos from the beach on her site “Thinking through my Lens.” They were taken minutes apart, and during that small space of time, the sun set and turned the sky orange. She asked her blog audience what the two photographs may be saying to each other. I posted them side by side on the board in the classroom and suggested students write a conversation or dialogue poem. I imagined the following conversation.

photo by Kim Douillard, all rights reserved.

The Hang Glider Speaks to the Sandpiper
A lone sandpiper
steps into the clouds,
reflected sky on serous sand.
I hear the echo of his call,
“Come wade with me.
The sand is cool
between your toes.
Come take a walk with me.”

A lone hang glider
flies in the sunset,
warm rays guide him on.
The silence of the sky speaks,
“Up here, where the air is thin and light,
you can fly like a kite–free–
Come up here with me.”
–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved.

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Thumbprint

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday, Teaching, tagged Eve Merriam, fingerprints, Wonderopolis on August 29, 2014| 13 Comments »

Join the Poetry Friday Round-up.

My favorite librarian, Jone, has the round up today at Check it Out. Go check it out!

Inspired by a post from Linda Baie (who blogs at Teacher Dance) about using Eve Merriam’s poem Thumbprint at the beginning of the school year, I designed this week’s Wonder around fingerprints. We read this article on Wonderopolis. I asked students to select four vocabulary words from the Wonder Words. Then we watched this Prezi about annotating Eve Merriam’s Thumbprint. Then using the chosen words, we wrote our own poems. I also passes around an ink pad so my students could place their thumbprint on the journal page. I taught this lesson twice during the day to two groups of students, so I had the added advantage of writing two poems. Here’s mine.

Fingerprint

I own
a God-given design,
uniquely mine,
a painting of swirls
and whorls
imprinting me
on this page.
I own
an invisible touch,
a latent path
left on a note
from me to you,
this fingerkiss.

–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved

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Hair in My Eyes

Posted in Gifted Education, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged hair style, model for students, Slice of Life on August 26, 2014| 6 Comments »

Join the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Challenge.

Now that school is in full swing, I am writing my Slice of Life story with the purpose of modeling for my students. We talked about what a Slice of Life story is by analyzing my post last week about the snake. The board was full of things they noticed, such as having a climax and resolution (Whoa, high five!) A few of you wrote great comments that I could use to teach about making connections in your comments.

Yesterday I read a comment on my Poetry Friday post from Bridget Magee, “Margaret, this poem and the animation are both amazing! I love the lines:’an ornament hanging on a tree,
a bronze clasp pen for my lapel.’ It reminds me of when my oldest daughter was about 5 or 6 (she’s 17 now) and she used to love to walk the neighborhood collecting cicada exoskeletons until one day she pulled one of the tree and the fella was still in there! SHE just about jumped out of her own skin!” This comment models specific feedback and also making a personal connection. I explained to my students that writers like to know people are connecting to what they write. Thank you all for helping me teach valuable lessons about writing and blogging.

You can read some of my students’ SOL stories on our kidblog site. Feel free to leave comments.

This week’s Slice of Life:

My hair has become a problem. This summer (I can’t even remember exactly why) I grew out my bangs. For years I have had short bangs. As they grew out some, I was drying them off to the side, and my husband said to me, “I like your hair. It makes you look younger.” Exactly what any woman loves to hear, right?

On my next scheduled haircut, I told my stylist, “Jeff likes it, so we need to keep growing it out.”

Then the next visit (I schedule my haircuts six weeks apart), I had had enough of the headbands, so I told her to cut it. Keep the bangs long. In fact, I texted a friend to send a picture of her hair, cut in a cute short pixie style. “That’s what I want.”

“Your hair is not going to be straight unless you use a straight iron,” said Gale. Other than using a blow dryer, I do not own or use any other tools on my hair. Gale cut and styled it with the straight iron, knowing full well I would not do this.

My husband goes to the same hair salon. He walked in the next week and announced that he loved my hair. That was a first for Gale, so she was thrilled.

This weekend my husband and I went out dancing which is one of our favorite things to do together. In August the heat is such that no AC can keep up with it, much less when there are warm bodies dancing. The dance hall had placed huge fans around the dance floor. Every time we danced past one of these fans, Woosh! my hair blew across my face. My husband could tell I was getting really annoyed by this.

When we were riding home, he said, “I like your hair even when it’s flying in your face.” I guess I’m stuck with these annoying bangs for a little while longer.

Selfies: old hair style on the left, new on the right.

For this Slice, I am modeling how you can write a story about anything. Some of my students have a hard time thinking of something to write about. Using my own writing to model, I can share stories of my life and teach them that anything, even your hair style, can become a Slice of Life story.

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