Reflections on the Teche

Digital Learning Day

February 6, 2013 by margaretsmn

Today was National Digital Learning Day. We celebrated by making Name videos.

One of my students recently brought in a baby name book in order to select meaningful character names for a story she is writing. The students were playing around with the book looking up their own name meanings when a flash of an idea hit me. Let’s make word clouds and videos about our names! So we headed to the library so that each child could have a computer to use.

Wordle made by Kaylie

We used two websites: Wordle and Animoto.
First they made the Wordle. We took a screen shot of it and pasted it into Paint. There we saved the file as a JPEG.

On Animoto, students can make a 30 second video for free. The trouble I ran into at one of my schools was the Flash player wasn’t updated. Our good ole librarian came to the rescue and helped us update. To allow students to have an account on Animoto, the student used my gmail account by adding a plus sign and then their own name. That way I get the email about the video they created and they get free use of the site.

I will share two name videos with you. One was made using PowerPoint.

Open

And another used Animoto:

Vannisa's One of a kind Name.

Tara at A Teaching Life is hosting Poetry Friday.

Posted in Digital Learning, Poetry Friday, Teaching | Tagged Animoto, names, Wordle | 7 Comments »

Am I up to the Challenge?

February 5, 2013 by margaretsmn

Join the Tuesday Slice of Life

Last year I started following the Two Writing Teachers blog written by Ruth Ayres and Stacey Shubitz, coauthors of Day by Day: Refining Writing Workshop Through 180 Days of Reflective Practice. Each week they host a blog round-up called “The Slice of Life.” If you regularly read my blog, you have seen the logo on every Tuesday post. What’s so nice about the Slice of Life is you can write about anything. And it keeps me blogging at least once a week. Well, in March comes the big Slice of Life Challenge…blog every day, all 31, in the month of March. Can I do that? Can my students do that?

I think we can, I think we can…

On Sunday, The Two Writing Teachers had a guest post by a teacher, Amanda Cornwell, who listed Ten Tips for Creating an Electronic SOLC for your Students. Amanda teaches middle school students. I teach elementary, yet most of the tips still apply.

I teach multiple grades in gifted, so my students are at different levels not only in ability, but also in their motivation to write. This year I’ve used kidblog.org with all of my students. It has been a safe place for them to write and respond and has provided a community of writers among my students who go to different schools. But the kidblog is private. I am considering opening a public blog for the March challenge, so other students and teachers can read my students’ posts. Please leave a comment if you would be interested in partnering up our classes for reading and commenting.

Here are my Ten Tips for Slicing about your life:

1. Think about writing all day long. There are many seeds out there on your way to school, in your dreams, and even in your conversations with your students. After the Super Bowl blackout, there were many comments and questions among my students that could have led to a SOL story about “What do you think happened?”

2. Turn off the inner critic. This is as hard for me as anything. But every time I talk to a fellow writer, I hear this message again and again, “Trust your voice.”

3. Start with an image. Images lead to description. Description leads to connection. There you go, a Slice of Life story.

4. Try different genres. Write an acrostic poem or the opening scene for a short story. Write about the last time your grandmother made gumbo or a short research piece about why cats’ claws are retractable.

5. Write together. When my students write, I write. We call it “sacred writing time.” I set the timer and no one speaks or gets up, or even sharpens a pencil.

6. Be realistic and set attainable goals. We are going to be out of school for Spring Break the last week of March, so I may set the goal at 16 days which is the number of days we will be in school that month.

7. Encourage each other. One of my students called commenting, “a compliment sandwich.” I like that. Start and end with a positive comment with a criticycle inside. Criticycle is critique with a little sweetness.

8. Prizes: Last year I bought all my students who participated in the challenge a pack of decorative sticky notes and a blank book. I will probably consider another similar practical gift as well as lots of high fives and way to gos!

9. Share your writing. In addition to typing into a blog post, my students enjoy sharing their writing. They like to hear me read as well. They encourage me and give me advice. I will continue to provide sharing time.

10. Celebrate. I am stealing this from Amanda. She had a picnic and reading to celebrate along with certificates signed by the principal. I like this idea. We may have to host a Slice of Life Author’s Chair when we invite parents and guests to come and hear our writing.

I am excited about this challenge. Won’t you join me?

Posted in Slice of Life, Teaching | Tagged Slice of Life Challenge, student writing | 8 Comments »

Calm before the Storm

February 2, 2013 by margaretsmn

When my students write, I write. When we were playing with idioms the other day, I wrote this poem about my dog Charlie, who in all other respects is the perfect dog. For an interview with me and Charlie, go to Coffee with a Canine.

Charlie when he’s calm.

Calm Before the Storm

In the middle of the night
when all the doors are locked,
the lights are off, the scent
of dinner lingers in the air,
we sleep soundly, softly snoring.

Before the first lightning flashes,
before the sound of rolling thunder,
and well before the alarm clock rings,
Charlie whimpers, then cries,
and suddenly, an all out frightening bark
wakens the whole house.

Sure as the groundhog predicts
the coming of spring, lightning strikes,
the rain falls, thunder booms.
The storm is here.

Posted in Poetry, Teaching | Tagged dogs, idioms, poetry | Leave a Comment »

Idiom Poems

February 1, 2013 by margaretsmn

April at Teaching Authors is hosting today.

This week I introduced the new book, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, to my students. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick was first published in 1984 by Chris Van Allsburg. The book included black and white illustrations with only a title and a caption. The story was up to your own imagination. The illustrations have been used as writing prompts for years. The new book features stories written by well-known middle grade writers. Or, as Lemony Snicket would like us to believe, they were all written secretly by Harris Burdick himself. Whatever you believe, the book is a magical collection of model stories.

We read together a story written by Jon Scieszka, “Under the Rug.” In this story, the narrator’s grandmother speaks in idioms. We all laughed together at Grandma, “All that glitters is not gold. Beware the calm before the storm. Those pants make you look fat.” After our discussion, I asked the students to select their favorite idiom and write about it. I wish you could hear the playful sibling rivalry in Brooklyn’s voice when she read her poem, “Back Seat Driver.”

Bossy, bossy
Coach, coach
Telling me what to do
Move over here,
Go over there
He might just get hit with a shoe.

Such a backseat driver,
If I do say so myself,
Only a big brother thing
I wonder if his head goes ding
Whenever something falls from above
like a 2×4 shelf.

Posted in Poetry Friday | Tagged Chris Van Allsburg, Harris Burdick, idioms | 9 Comments »

Outside Salzburg

January 29, 2013 by margaretsmn

John Gibson, artist

My parents went on a trip to Austria in March of 2004. On the train from Salzburg to Innsbruck, they took a photograph of this scene. My father did this pointillist drawing for his first in a series of Christmas cards. It proved to be one of the hardest to write about. The experience for them was magical, but when I think of this area of the world “Sound of Music” comes to mind. “The hills are alive…” and escaping Nazis. This scene is unblemished, yet the history scarred. Here is my attempt to capture this dichotomy.

Outside Salzburg
May we all find peace, joy, and hope in Christ’s love.

From the train, snow-covered hills beckon
outside Salzburg. The whistle echoes.
Trees stand tall and barren.
Weary travelers stare in wonder.

Somewhere in the distance,
a child is torn from his mother’s arms,
a beggar reaches out with empty hands,
Somewhere, a woman grieves for her lost lover.

But here– on the road to Innsbruck–
a church glistens on the smooth,
unblemished snow, calling out
Let
there
be
peace.

Join the Tuesday Slice of Life

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life | Tagged Christmas cards, John Gibson, poetry, Salzburg Austria | 6 Comments »

Fair Play

January 25, 2013 by margaretsmn

Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference is hosting today.

I subscribe to Poets and Writers The Time is Now writing prompts. This week the poetry prompt intrigued me.

“Choose any word from the dictionary and read its definitions. Write a poem using only the language of these definitions. Try repeating them in different combinations and using line break to create unexpected phrases. Experiment with how far you can push the limits of the language you’re working with. Use the word you’ve chosen as the title of the poem.”

I tried the exercise myself with varied results. I tried it with my elementary gifted students. At first I was worried. It took a while for them to even choose a word. My favorite came from a third grader. I’m not sure how much of the original definition became a part of her poem, but I loved her play with language.

Fair

People say you’re the fairest of them all.
Of course they say that in fairy tales,
you know,
when a fairy comes to help the fair lady.
She’s not that fair.
She is wicked. She is cruel.
The real fairest of them all
comes to help, to defeat
that so-called fair queen.
That’s why they say
you’re only fair
in fairy tales.

–Vannisa

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching | Tagged fairy tales, Poetry prompts, The Time is Now | 7 Comments »

The Blessing of Reaching a Goal

January 22, 2013 by margaretsmn

Join the Tuesday Slice of Life

“If you raise your children to feel that they can accomplish any goal or task they decide upon, you will have succeeded as a parent and you will have given your children the greatest of all blessings.”
Brian Tracy

I have raised three daughters. I am so proud of all three of them, but this weekend, I was especially proud of my middle daughter, Katherine. Growing up, Katherine played the usual sports: softball, volleyball, and soccer, but in high school, she injured her ankle and was unable to do sports. I never expected that she would be the first daughter to run a half-marathon. I talked to her about her experience and asked her to write about it. So, today, my guest blogger is my amazing daughter Katherine.

I knew I wanted to try to run something more significant than a 10K (6.2 miles), but needed something that would motivate me to really do it and not give up. My friends had done Team in Training, and I knew someone who worked there, and they said it was a great program, so I joined.

My entire journey with TNT was met with numerous obstacles when trying to find time to train and raise the money: vacation, new puppy, shorter days, rainy weather, iron deficiency….

My best run was definitely the 8 mile run with Dad over Christmas. We ran around town, and he told me stories the entire time, distracting me from the monotonous motion of continuous movement. He kept me talking, reassuring me that if I could talk, I could run a few more miles. This was the longest I’d ever run continuously.

The weather was horrible the two weeks leading up to the race. The Saturday before the race, however, was a beautiful day- sunny and low 70’s. I got out and ran 10 miles, stopping for water every 2 miles or so. It wasn’t a continuous run, and it wasn’t a very fast one, so I was still a bit discouraged.

I went into race weekend knowing that I hadn’t been as dedicated as I’d liked to have been, but I knew I had trained as much as I could with life going on and that I raised past my goal for LLS. I was excited but very nervous, not knowing how much I would be able to run on Sunday morning. LLS does an Inspiration Pasta Dinner the night before the race where we all get together, carbo-load and reconnect with the mission of TNT. The main speaker of the night, Jay, got up to speak about his connection to LLS and Team in Training. He was going to run the half-marathon the next day as well. He began speaking and a slideshow came up, showing images of a young red-headed girl. He spoke about his daughter Kayla, who was diagnosed with ALM Leukemia at 17 years old. He talked about her aggressive chemo treatments, her pain, her hair loss and his shaving his head for her. During her second round of chemo, she was feeling much better. Everyone in the room who did not know Jay thought this would be a story of healing. However, Jay then revealed that Kayla lost her battle with cancer in September of 2010. He has been running with Team in Training since, raising over $9000 in 2.5 years for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There was not a dry eye in the room, and he received a standing ovation.

I woke up Sunday morning with shaking hands and put my running clothes on. I told myself that I just needed to pass the finish line. I hoped to maintain my training pace, 11:07, and finish between 2.5 and 2.75 hours. I had to run for over 2.5 hours straight!! The day was beautiful (but cold) and the energy was insane. Through the first 2 miles I was emotional, realizing how beautiful this day was and how lucky I was to be running this race, on this day, for this cause. Mile 3 and 4 were tough to get through, knowing I had so much more running to do. Once I got to miles 7, 8, and 9, I felt unstoppable. I was killing my pace and didn’t feel like I was dying. Once I got around mile 10, I was loosing steam. I approached a water station and grabbed a cup, stopping to drink it because I can’t drink and run. I didn’t know if I could make the next 3.1 miles running. Then I saw Jay. He ran past me with Kayla’s name across his shirt and photos of her on a poster hanging from his back. This was just the inspiration I needed, and I kept going. I finished with an average pace of 10:56 per mile and a time of 2 hours and 26 minutes. Absolutely one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Posted in Slice of Life | Tagged half-marathon, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Team in Training | 3 Comments »

The Star Still Leads

January 18, 2013 by margaretsmn

Artwork by John Gibson

I attend the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, so Sunday, Jan. 6th was our feast day. For the occassion, Bishop Jake Owensby visited and preached at the service. He talked about how the wise men were not searching for a certain geographical location, but for a person. His whole sermon can be found on his blog, Pelican Anglican.

I was inspired by Bishop Jake’s words when I picked up this card from my collection. I tried to capture the idea of our continual search in this poem.

The Star Still Leads
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Wise men traveled a great distance
with a will
strong enough to carry them
over hills and dunes,
through nights of wind,
storms, and cold.
All in search of a person.

Life is a destination
recorded in scrapbooks
dated photographs,
no east, south,
west, or north,
but names, people we love,
people who sustain us in hope.

We are revealed to God,
our calloused hands curled
in prayer,
we reach up,
fervently asking
for relationship, for health, for understanding.
Asking for a star.

all rights reserved, Margaret Simon

Violet is hosting the round-up today. Check it out!

Posted in Poetry, Poetry Friday | Tagged ekphrasis, Epiphany, John Gibson | 12 Comments »

Possum

January 15, 2013 by margaretsmn

Join the Tuesday Slice of Life

The bayou creeps closer and closer. A view from our back deck.

It’s been raining a lot. Last week, we only school for two days before we had two days off due to constant rain and flooding. The water has stayed a safe distance from my house, but the bayou banks are overflowing. I think this puts my pets into hibernation mode, but the outside animals, what do they do? Where do they go to find a warm, dry place?

I am not a fan of possums usually. They upset my dog and eat the cat food. They are downright ugly. But on Saturday morning, I watched one swim across the bayou and eventually climb up on our deck. I wrote a prose poem about his visit.

I watch a possum glide in this morning on the overflowing bayou.
Days and days of rain have flooded the banks and perhaps his nest.
Foraging, this common marsupial wanders–a scavenger exposed on an overcast winter morn. Minutes later, he appears on the deck. The dog goes nuts, barking in the screeching voice of a teenager attacked by a wasp. But the possum—unfazed—doesn’t notice the commotion.
He is on a mission, his long snout waving back and forth,
back and forth. I laugh at his comic book white face and pink nose as he swaggers away, probably laughing, too.

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life | Tagged bayou, flood, possum, prose poetry | 8 Comments »

Mr. Al

January 10, 2013 by margaretsmn

Renee is hosting Poetry Friday today.

A found poem is a form of poetry using existing text and fashioning it into a poem. My students enjoy this kind of poetry because it seems easy; Just find some golden lines, put them together, and voilà, a poem!
“Poems hide in things you and others say and write. They lie buried in places where language isn’t so self-conscious as ‘real poetry’ often is. [Writing found poems] is about keeping your ears and eyes alert to the possibilities in ordinary language” (Dunning and Stafford, Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Exercises.) For a complete lesson on Found Poetry, go to Read, Write, Think.

Watercolor painting of Mr. Al by Jerome Weber

In May of 2011, an old oak tree was saved by a group of community members. At the time, I involved my students in writing letters to save the tree. It was moved with much effort and at a high cost. I pass this tree every day as I drive to school. A friend of mine is the arborist hired to care for Mr. Al. On Tuesday, the newspaper had an update on Mr. Al’s health. The title of the article was “Looking a Little Thin but OK, Mr. Al weathering it all.”

Weather forecasters predict severe storms.
One resident is not concerned.
Mr. Al, 120 years old,
is setting down roots
in his new home.

Weighing 800,000 pounds,
such a move can put significant
strain on his magnitude,
a pretty mean way to treat an old tree.

The stately oak looks thin
but this is normal for his type.
He’s catching up.

Come and sit by my roots,
invites Mr. Al,
and think the things that
an old guy thinks.
–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved