Reflections on the Teche

DigiLitSunday: Podcasts with a Purpose

November 13, 2016 by margaretsmn

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

I find myself choosing topic words for DigiLitSunday that are current struggles of my own. This week I was faced with a decision about my students’ podcasts. They were written and recorded, but the technology department would not open Soundcloud as a venue for online publishing. I asked myself, “Then what was the purpose of all that work?”

My teaching philosophy leans heavily on purpose. I feel students need to have authentic learning experiences. We listened to podcasts, discussed the elements, and wrote scripts based on research. In order to fully experience production, though, the podcasts needed an audience.

I turned to YouTube. In order to make the sound recording work for YouTube, we had to design a video using Movie Maker. This added another step to the process. We had to select images, load them into the Movie Maker app, and add the sound, playing over and over to make sure the images matched the words.

For this step with most of my students, I worked one on one which took time and patience, so I questioned its purpose. I gave it back to the kids. This step was important to them. One student was excited to share the video with her sister who is away at college. I tweeted out one podcast on Friday and received a response from a literacy coach who plans to share it with a 3rd grade classroom.

I believe it is important to model for our students authentic learning experiences and navigating the digital world. It’s a scary place out there. If my students begin in a safe place, perhaps they will become confident and responsible digital citizens.

Please consider following my YouTube channel (margaretsmn) as well as our class Twitter account (@MrsSimonsSea).

Today I am featuring Madison’s podcast on Barn Owls. Madison becomes a teen barn owl in this podcast. What you can’t see is how she “flaps her wings” when she says her part.

To join the digital literacy conversation today, please leave a link below.

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education | Tagged purpose, student podcasting | 2 Comments »

Celebration Saturday

November 12, 2016 by margaretsmn

Find more celebration posts at Ruth’s blog.

Celebrate #1: He bought me roses. The beauty of a single rose is enough to take my breath away. Something so small and simple is really a sign of the hope. I need that hope this week.

Celebrate #2: NCTE is coming! I leave on Thursday and will be meeting up with many friends. I celebrate that I am co-moderating two panels. I will also be involved with 2 roundtable discussions. But most of all, I will be surrounded by like-minded people who want the best for their students.

My NCTE schedule:

Sat., 8 AM: F.21 We See Their Faces: How Historical Fiction Advocates for Empathy, Diversity, and Social Change B311

Sat., 9:30 G.12 Writing for a Better World: Poetry Response to World Events B210

Sat., 1:15 I.27 Authentic Voice in a Digital World: Using Technology in Our Literate Lives B215

Sunday, 1:30 N.20 Teachers as Writers: Practices and Possibilities (an NCTE Roundtable Session) b206

Celebrate #3: Class Twitter account: @MrsSimonsSea. My students are excited to have their very own Twitter account. I look forward to exploring ways we can connect with authors and other classrooms. If you have a class account, please follow us. Our first Tweet was a 4th grade student’s podcast about the importance of pets.

#studentpodcasts @MargaretGSimon Gifted student created a podcast about the importance of pets. https://t.co/qgA3gc4cJI @hayhurst3

— Mrs. Simon's Sea (@MrsSimonsSea) November 11, 2016

Jenn Hayhurst tweeted back.

pic.twitter.com/9MO5Gh2Dg7

— Jenn Hayhurst (@hayhurst3) November 11, 2016

I can’t wait to share this with Andrew on Monday. I celebrate online connections and building student confidence with social media.

Please come back tomorrow for DigiLitSunday! Our topic this week is “Purpose.”

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Teaching, Writing | Tagged celebration, roses, student podcasting, Twitter | 9 Comments »

The Heart of Small Things

November 11, 2016 by margaretsmn

Poetry Friday is with Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup

When I consider
feathers on a mourning dove
I know love

When I consider
chimes ring for an evening breeze
I know love

When I consider
roses he bought just-because
I know love

When I consider
pages that breathe a true life
I know love

When I consider small things
I am whole & here

–Margaret Simon

(Haiku sonnet on the opening line of Shakespeare’s Sonnet XV)

Posted in Poetry Friday | Tagged haiku, sonnet | 17 Comments »

Slice of a Swing

November 8, 2016 by margaretsmn

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

My three daughters lined up on the swing with Isabel, our weenie dog, and Sammy, the three-legged cat, on the first day of school. My husband built the swing of heavy cypress, and it hung in the breezeway between the house and the carport. The picture was taken in 1997 and took some time for me to find. (I got lost in the trip down memory lane through albums of photos.) I remembered that we took the first day of school picture every year on this cypress swing outside our back door. Digging through the photos, I only found two. The second one was taken in 1998, and Maggie had outgrown first-day-of-school photos, so it was only the younger two. (And Izzy and Sammy, of course)

Fast forward almost 20 years. The swing has been sitting in our carport ever since we moved to this house 12 years ago. We’ve just never found the right spot for it. Our cats have enjoyed finding a dry spot to hang out, and we’ve used it to hold various things that tend to land in a carport. It gathered dirt and leaves while the paint peeled.

A few weeks ago, our oldest daughter bought a house with her boyfriend. They are engaged to be married this spring. Their new house has a nice front porch just begging for a cypress swing. So Jeff spent a few weekends cleaning, sanding, and painting the infamous swing.

On Sunday, we loaded it into his truck to deliver to its new home.

To me, this is a right of passage, of sorts. The next generation is making their way into this world. The swing has many more years left in it. Solid, strong, and safe… like our family.

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged cypress swing, family | 8 Comments »

DigiLitSunday: Focus

November 6, 2016 by margaretsmn

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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.

Post your link below:

Posted in Digital Learning, Teaching, Writing | Tagged focus, Irene Latham, mission statement, student podcasting | 13 Comments »

Celebrating Organic October

November 5, 2016 by margaretsmn

Find more celebration posts at Ruth’s blog.

October came to an end this week. Why does this make me sentimental? Maybe it’s the smell of sugarcane fields burning, or the taste of satsumas, or kids in costumes, but this time of year makes me think about the past, about time, about celebrations.

The sun rises as I drive to school each day. I took this picture out of my car window. Next week the time will change and I won’t see the sun rise this way for a while. Stopping to capture beauty…

My students worked all week on their podcasts. What fun! We were challenged by technology and with cooperation. I celebrate that they came together to support each other. When I figure out how to make the podcasts public, I will post them. They wrote about everything from Halloween to mythological creatures and homework. I celebrate the strength of their writing. They were motivated to write for an authentic audience.

On my morning walk, I came to this overgrown shrub (or is it a tree?). I don’t know what it is, but the bright yellow flowers attracted my focus.

A weird organic fall phenomenon is webs in the grass. They were dotting a field and sparkling with dew. Who made this? How tiny a creature?

All of these photos were taken this week on my iPhone. I never tire of photographing grandmother oak. Here the fog is rising from the bayou silhouetting her expansive girth. Nature nurtures the fall air, and I celebrate her gifts.

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Writing | Tagged fall, nature, student podcasting | 10 Comments »

Poetry Friday: Contests

November 4, 2016 by margaretsmn

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

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing | Tagged Irene Latham, LA Writes, Louisiana Book Festival, NCTE | 11 Comments »

Familiarity

November 1, 2016 by margaretsmn

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

Kim Douillard is a fine photographer. She blogs here at Thinking through my Lens. She posts a weekly photo challenge with a single word. I don’t often take the challenge, but this time the word familiar interested me. I started thinking about the root of this word. I was surprised to find an odd connection to Halloween:

familiar
A low-ranking demon given to a witch by the Devil for the purpose of strengthening the witch’s power. In medieval times familiars were commonly thought to be animals such as cats, dogs, rabbits and toads. In shamanism, a familiar is a spirit who protects a shaman from illness and unfriendly forces and is also known as a totemic animal, guardian spirit, power animal, or tutelary spirit.

Bill, our male outside cat, often whines at the back door. And what he wants isn’t food. He wants Charlie, my dog and his familiar, to come outside. Bill rubs and rubs on Charlie. Charlie, in turn, humps Bill. These are signs of animal affection. Bill is our familiar, our guardian cat, ready to fight the evil spirits of birds and squirrels and raccoons who wander into the protective area.

The first definition in the online dictionary for familiar is “1. Often encountered or seen: a familiar landmark. See Synonyms at common.”

This gas pump was a familiar site of my youth. Gulf was the well-known service station. My mother would pull up in our Oldsmobile station wagon with the fake wood on the sides and wait. The attendant would pump the gas, wash her windows, check the tires, and give us a piece of candy. Those were the days…

These days the presidential election campaign is heating up (or gone off the deep end, rather), but in our small town of New Iberia, politics happens on Main Street. My husband will not discuss national politics, but he can talk all day with his friend Dan who is running for Mayor Pro-Tem. Here they are at a political rally complete with signs, beer, jambalaya, and a brass band.

Thanks, Kim, for giving me a word to focus on for this Slice. What does familiar mean to you? Join the conversation with #familiar and @nwpianthology.

Posted in Slice of Life, Writing | Tagged #familiar, #nwpianthology, Kim Douillard | 14 Comments »

DigiLitSunday: Flexibility

October 30, 2016 by margaretsmn

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

The past week I have been coaching my students on a new project, podcasting.

Noah said, “But, Mrs. Simon, I don’t know how to write a podcast.”

“Neither do I,” I replied, “We’re figuring this out together. I’ve shown you two mentor texts for nonfiction, and we’ve listened to a sample podcast. Let’s see if we can figure this out.”

This is a precarious situation to put myself into, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

According to an analogy from Jenn Hayhurst @hayhurst3 (Good2Great Voxer), I am daring to get on the roller-coaster of teaching rather than the Merry-go-Round. Her comparison resonated with me and my work with gifted kids. I think they would refuse to ride the Merry-go-Round with me, but they will hop on the roller coaster and not ask questions until the ride gets rough. Then it’s scary, and they’re not sure why they got on. Where are we going? When will the ride get easier? When will we know it’s over?

Flexibility is the name of the game in my classroom. When the ride gets scary, I step next to them and ask questions. Would you like to interview a classmate? Are you interested in including the sound an owl makes?

My students are finding their own nonfiction topics. The best resource for kid-friendly nonfiction topics is Wonderopolis with almost 2000 topics, easy to read articles including videos and vocabulary. That is a starting point.

Andrew started his podcast idea at Wonderopolis reading the article, “Why do People Keep Pets?” He then read articles about bonding with cats and dogs. He decided to survey his class about their pets. Then he selected one student from his class to interview.

I downloaded Audacity, but I’m on an uphill climb trying to figure it out. Experiment. Mess up. Back up. Try again. Flexibility.

Writing the scripts themselves are a challenge because my students want to make their podcasts interesting to listen to. They want to include humor. They want to balance fun with facts. Flexible, flexible, flexible. When do I step in? When do I step back?

I want to thank my friend, Kimberley Moran, for giving me the courage to give this roller-coaster ride a chance. We’re still on board, but I think the ride will soon get thrilling, and all the hard work will be worth it.

Please add your DigiLit blog posts below:

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education | Tagged podcasts, Wonderopolis | 5 Comments »

October on the Bayou

October 25, 2016 by margaretsmn

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

Living on the bayou is a gift I don’t always remember to appreciate, but on Saturday, I announced to my husband, “It’s a gorgeous day. We have to go canoeing.”

For the first Saturday this month we had little to do. I sat outside on my deck, clean and inviting from the wedding we had a few short weeks ago, and watched my neighbors prepare for their daughter’s wedding reception. Tents and lights and tables and chairs were going up, and all I needed to do was watch. The lack of responsibility felt freeing.

Peeking through the grandmother oak to the wedding prep next door.

Jeff quickly grabbed the paddles, life jackets, and a lunchbox of two beers, and launched the canoe. This canoe has a long history, close to 50 years. The Grumman. He and his brother bought it together when they were Boy Scouts competing in canoe races.

Jeff paddles the stern, the steering part.

The bayou was slow and still, offering endless reflections. The air was a perfect 70+ degrees. I know that happiness is fleeting, but on this day in October, we grabbed hold of it, and spent some time savoring and celebrating the goodness.