Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Teaching’ Category

Slice of Life: Perfectionism

Posted in Gifted Education, Teaching, Writing, tagged , , on March 5, 2024| 10 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

I teach gifted kids in two elementary schools. A friend of mine sent me a message on Instagram to follow “the gifted perspective.” I could immediately connect to the posts. Especially when she defined perfectionism. “Gifted individuals have a level of self-introspection. Maybe they’re hyper aware of their knowledge, or of their learning, or of their differences between them and others. This can lead to perfectionism.”

My 2nd grade student is usually so excited to learn something new. I went to a workshop a few weeks ago at our arts council and was gifted a bag of supplies and a lesson plan on landscapes. I pulled up a landscape painting onto the smart board and started asking him questions about it.

I’m not sure when things fell apart, but he had a hard time identifying things in the painting that I had assumed he would know, animals, foreground, background, landforms, plow. The more questions I asked, the more shut down he became. Then I asked him to write a few sentences to describe the painting. He froze.

I thought to myself that surely he knew how to write a few sentences. Where was the breakdown? Did I even look at the grade level suggestion for this lesson?

Perspective helps. As I’ve processed this exchange, I’ve realized I was battling against a perfectionism wall. I managed to realize this before he melted into tears. I said, “Relax. This is just for you in your journal. It doesn’t have to be perfect.” We had a little more success with the second painting. And I didn’t ask him to write.

Perfectionism Elfchen

Writing
is hard
when you’re seven
try too hard to please
Teacher

Margaret Simon, daily elfchen
The Cornell  Farm by Edward Hicks

Read Full Post »

Slice of Life: Safe Space for Writing

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged , , on February 27, 2024| 7 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

Having a safe space to imagine and dream and (re)invent yourself is the first step to being happy and successful, whatever road you choose to pursue.

Ashley Bryan, We Rise We Resist We Raise Our Voices foreword

Hope, a mark of hope, a small piece of washi tape from a student now in my notebook reminding me that I am in a safe space.

Creating a safe space for writers is my top goal as an ELA teacher. When I hear a student read aloud their most fresh and vulnerable words, I am honored. Sometimes they don’t want to share; however, they will hand me their notebook to read. They are watching my eyes for the glow of adoration. I do adore what they write. They are confident children. I need to remember, though, that they are children. They need my validation. My words of encouragement. A sign of hope.

A mark of hope
a place to be
A dream to dream
a road to see
you see in me
a hand with a gift
a mark of hope
a place to be

Margaret Simon, draft
Playing with washi tape shapes in my notebook.

Read Full Post »

Poetry Friday: Let’s Talk about Prompts

Posted in Creativity, Gifted Education, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on February 9, 2024| 16 Comments »

Carol Varsalona is gathering poets today at Beyond Literacy Link.

Where do your prompts come from? Are you inspired to write without them or do you need a little push? Inspiration? Motivation?

I’ve been participating in The Stafford Challenge as well as Laura Shovan’s 12th Annual February Challenge, so I should not complain about needing or wanting a prompt for writing. My complaint, I suppose, is that there are too many prompts, too many things to write about. How do I choose the one? Not to mention, how do I keep up with it all?

I am lucky to be teaching ELA to different groups of children. We begin each class time with notebook writing. My students are loving this quiet, sacred writing time. I recently bought a collection of washi tapes and throw them out on the table for their use. My students are making color-coded pages, drawing, and writing, and embracing their creativity. They inspire me every day.

My student Sadie inspired this notebook poem. She came in singing. My heart drawing became a love poem I didn’t know was inside of me. The surprise of writing is addictive.

Dreams in my heart fly over the waves crashing onto the shore of your love. I am yours. You hold me like sea glass, soft and crystal, a gem, a gift from a broken world.

Margaret Simon, draft

Here is a page from Marifaye’s notebook. I marvel at her patience to write in two colors. She loves writing acrostics. Her notebook pages are beautifully created. She inspires me. She inspires her classmates. Maybe she will inspire you.

Notebook page by Marifaye

Read Full Post »

Spiritual Journey: Love Is

Posted in Spiritual Growth, Teaching, tagged , , , on February 1, 2024| 5 Comments »

Patricia Franz is hosting this month’s Spiritual Thursday with the topic of “Love is”. I decided to create a collaborative poem with my students. I teach gifted kids at 2 schools in grades 2-6. I wrote their statements in my notebook in the order they gave them to me. It worked like a miracle without changing any words. (The reference to washi tape is due to the fact we are using it in our daily notebook practice.)

Love is
washi, washi, washi tape,
family, friends, teacher,
arts and crafts,
having fun. (A)
The heart of all. (JR)

The heart of a human being
when you have kindness in your heart. (J)

Spending time with friends and family. (C)

Love is
beautiful. (S)

Love is a priceless
treasure, like nothing
else in this world. (M)

Something we need, want, and have. (M)

Love is
a melody.
It could be chaotic
or the greatest
song you have heard. (A)

Love is
companionship between
one another. The thought
that someone
would always be there
for you.
This is what love is. (K)

Collaborative poem by Avalyn, John-Robert, James, Carson, Sadie, Max, Marifaye, Adelyn, Kailyn

The great wisdom of children amazes me every day.

Whenever I think of Love is, I turn to the well-known verse from Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians: “Love is patient. Love is kind.” I think we can measure our love by this verse. How are we doing with our patience, kindness, envy, anger? I also wonder how I am doing with loving myself. If I believe that there is a God-light in me, then I must nurture it. I must turn inward each day to check in. Am I loving myself?

I’ve adopted a daily practice of writing small poems. The Stafford Challenge inspired me to use a quote each day to jump-start my writing. Here is a quote followed by an elfchen poem:

When you say ‘yes’ to others, make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself. (Paulo Coelho)

Yes
makes sounds
like the ocean
drawing me to love
Myself

Margaret Simon, daily elfchen

How are you giving love to others while also making time to love yourself?

Photo by Ave Calvar Martinez on Pexels.com

Read Full Post »

Poetry Friday: Writing Practice

Posted in being mamére, Gifted Education, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged , , on January 19, 2024| 22 Comments »

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Robyn Hood Black’s Life on the Deckle Edge

In the new year, I’ve returned to a daily notebook practice with my students. Little did I know the Stafford Challenge would appear and reaffirm my commitment. I adopted this practice years ago after an NCTE panel I coordinated which included Naomi Shihab Nye. We talked about William Stafford’s daily writing, and I adapted the steps to fit with my young students. For whatever reason (maybe Covid) I haven’t been leading my students to write daily in their notebooks. Now I’m reminded of the importance of a daily writing practice. These first few days of the Stafford Challenge, I have opened up more and more on the blank page and worried less about perfection.

Notebook page on Thursday, our first day of school all week.

Our notebook steps:

  1. Date
  2. Quote
  3. What’s Up
  4. Poem-ish

Pretend Play Elfchen

Pretend
no script
Play echoes life.
Their light, my delight
–Shine!

Margaret Simon, draft

Read Full Post »

This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Come Prepared

Posted in Teaching, This Photo Wants to be a Poem, tagged , , , on January 10, 2024| 17 Comments »

Backpack and pencils, photo by Margaret Simon

Back to school after winter break I noticed my student’s backpack and his surfeit supply of pencils and clean, pointy eraser heads. He was prepared! I’m not sure this arrangement with his initials on each pencil and eraser was done by him, his mother, or his grandmother, but it made me chuckle and think back to the days of raising my children. They were lucky to find clean clothes to wear.

I admire anyone who can be this organized. I struggle with being organized. It’s a goal for every year, and every year I fail. What does this photo recall for you? Please leave a small poem in the comments and encourage other writers with your responses.

Pencils
stand ready
for another year
of thinking, writing, erasing
Surfeit*

Margaret Simon, draft

Read Full Post »

Slice of Life: 100 Days of Notebooking

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching, Writing, tagged , on January 9, 2024| 8 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

We officially went back to school on Monday after a full two-week break, but because of an unpredictable weather system, we dismissed early, so I did not see all of my students. In a way I wasn’t ready for a full day. The early release helped me get a grip on what I need to get done this week. It was as though the train I was on came to a full stop in the middle of the journey. Pause. Think. Plan.

I made the decision to lean back on a reliable and time proven way to start our class: 100 Days of Notebooking. I recall a few years ago after attending NCTE, I received the gift of this idea from Michelle Haseltine. I still follow her on Instagram, and she is still notebooking. With my first group of kids on Monday, I introduced the idea.

I leaned back on William Stafford’s writing habit with these 4 steps:

  • Date
  • Quote of the Day
  • What’s up?
  • Poem-ish

That’s it, a simple format that seems to work every time. I set the timer for 10 minutes and we write…together. Creative freedom is my only goal. I hope getting back to this practice gives me, as well as my students, time to express themselves, a time for pause and peace (my OLW).

For my poem-ish, I wrote an elfchen. These are so fun to write. See the process here.

“When you say ‘yes’ to others, make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself.”  Paulo Coelho

Yes
makes sound
like the ocean
drawing me to love
Myself.

Margaret Simon, draft

Read Full Post »

Slice of Life: Star of Wonder

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged , , , on December 26, 2023| 9 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

Georgia Heard won the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry. She and Rebecca Kai Dotlich wrote Welcome to the Wonder House, an anthology of poems of wonder. At NCTE in November, I attended Georgia’s workshop. She had us group together to write a collaborative poem based on the question, “What does wonder mean to you?” I shared that workshop here.

I took this question and created a door decoration for my classroom at Coteau (one of my two schools) inviting teachers and students to add a star. My student John-Robert presented the idea to his classmates, and they added stars to the door. On Friday, our last day before winter break, John-Robert gathered all the stars and create a found poem.

The Word Wonder 

Could it mean dreams?
Could it mean eternity?
Could it mean imagination?
Could it mean caring?
Could it mean hope?
Could it mean earth?
Could it mean sight?
Could it mean beyond?
Could it mean love?

What could wonder mean? 

If it could talk, what would it say?
Would it wonder things ?
Would it have dreams ?
And would it be like you and me?

The word wonder

Could it mean heart?
Could it mean curious?
Could it mean beginning?
Could it mean endless?
Could it mean questions?
Could it mean change?
Could it mean wonder?
Could it mean me?
Could it mean brightness?

What could wonder mean?

Could it mean all these things?
Wonder would be me and you, wouldn’t it?
It would truly be and belong to you and me
While it makes all our dreams come true.

Wonder–the hope of something new,
the feeling of awe and curiosity like seeing
a breath-taking sunset. I find wonder
in the depths of the ocean
and in my imagination
and fantasies.

Collaborative-found poem by Coteau Elementary (compiled by John-Robert, 6th grade)
After John-Robert wrote the poem, he clustered all the responses together into a new design, a new poem, a poem of Wonder.

I hope your winter holidays are filled with joy and wonder.

Read Full Post »

Poetry Friday: Healing Poetry

Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry, Teaching, tagged , , on December 9, 2023| 15 Comments »

Have you ever had that student? The one who sits in the back of the class, holds herself in tight, rarely, if ever, raises her hand to share a poem with the class. The closet poet.

That’s not me because I believe in writing with my students and sharing my vulnerable poet self so they feel safe sharing theirs. And most of the time, it helps. I’ll share, then the shy ones will look at me with their longing eyes asking “Is it OK?” They know that poetry is a little piece of themselves. It’s bleeding on paper as someone famous said.

I wasn’t going to post for Poetry Friday. Life is just so full of family and busy that I can’t get caught up. But when I read A’s poem, I felt compelled to share it and how she came to write it.

I presented Irene Latham’s poem “Peace” from Dictionary for a Better World. Irene shared it in her newsletter here. This poem came at the perfect time in my lesson planning because we talked about symbolism this week. Irene so effectively used chocolate as a symbol of peace. There were so many wonderful craft moves to notice. Then I set my students loose to write. I invited them to create their own metaphor for peace and to borrow the phrase, “If only”.

A’s words both broke my heart and then healed it. At the age of 10, she expresses her internal life of anxiety and hope in a mature way. And yes, there were tears. I am privileged to be her teacher, her friend.


From the Tide, To the Moon (A letter from a friend to a friend)

If only we all
could just look up in the sky
and see that things aren’t that bad.
We aren’t that different.
We’re all human.

If only the stars could join us
and show us peace in the world.

If the moon could tell the tide
to think for itself.
To flow on its own.

And when you tell me
when to make decisions,
me when to make a choice
and what choice I should make,
think about how different we are
from the tide and the moon.

You aren’t the moon, 
So beautiful that we stare up at it.
I am not the tide,
That flows without ecstasy.

Not a moment of freedom.
No justice for the torrent.
Leave me be.
Leave me to my space.
Leave me to my freedom.

But don’t leave me…
My friend.

Adelyn, 5th grade

Read Full Post »

Poetry Friday: Pantoum Practice

Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged , on November 17, 2023| 9 Comments »

Irene Latham has the roundup today.

This week my students and I practiced writing pantoums using a prompt from Pádraig Ó Tuama of On Being. He guides us through line by line to write about an ordinary object. I used the prompts to write for This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Just a Rock.

I warned my kids who are 4th and 5th graders that this form would be a challenge. Not all of them were ready and willing and that’s OK when we are creating our own poems. I wanted to share a few because the prompted lines work in a unique way so that each student (and myself) felt a sense of a successful poem.

Kailyn loves candy and has written a fantasy story that takes place in Kind Candy Kingdom. This is her pantoum poem.

Yummy candy I see,
A candy shop is your home. 
At the mall I beg my mom, 
then my brother takes you from me : (

A candy shop home seems nice! 
When you are with me I feel happiness and joy…
you being taken from me. 
It tastes sweet but sometimes sour.

You fill me with joy and happiness,
the sounds of crinkling wrappers. 
When I put you in my mouth, you are sweet and sour,
tingling on my tongue. 

The crinkling wrappers from kids inside,
at the mall I beg my mom.
Tingling on my tongue, 
Yummy candy I see.

Kailyn, 5th grade

In my classroom, I have a collection of Flair pens. My students are allowed to choose from them to write. When Avalyn’s mother gave me a gift card to Target, I bought a set of scented flairs. She wrote a pantoum praise poem for her scented pens.

Scented pens can squiggle on the page
In a poem in my notebook
These scented pens are extraordinary on the inside
If there is a blank page, these pens can make it colorful

In a poem in my notebook
When I make colorful marks on the page, it’s inspiring
If there is a blank page, these pens can make it colorful
But really these markers are flowers

When I make colorful marks on the page, it’s inspiring
O’ my non-smelly pens
But really these markers are flowers
As my hands hold the pen like an extraordinary trophy

O’ my non-smelly pens
These scented pens are extraordinary on the inside
As my hands hold the pen like an extraordinary trophy
Scented pens can squiggle on the page

Avalyn, 4th grade

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »