Amy Ludwig Vanderwater | Reflections on the Teche

Posts Tagged ‘Amy Ludwig Vanderwater’

NPM16 #15 Poetry Friday

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged abecedarian, Amy Ludwig Vanderwater on April 15, 2016| 12 Comments »

Poetry Friday round-up with Michelle at Today’s Little Ditty

This month as I go through poetry every day with my students, inevitably favorite forms emerge. From her blog, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater introduced my students (and me) to the abecedarian form. One by one my students are trying this out. I have said it’s a very challenging form. Some rise to a challenge.

Kaiden has risen to this challenge not only using the form, but also repeating the word wonder. When he got stuck on a letter, he searched a list of Shakespeare words.

All the time wondering
Batty in the night for wonder
Can’t get any sleep from wondering
Dying to quench my thirst for wonder
Enclosing myself in books of wonder
Fascinated by wonder
Going insane from wonder
How did it become this way
I have no idea
Judged because of my wild hair from wondering too much
Kindling the fire of wonder
Loving every drop of wonder
Mourning without wonder
Not having any time for doing work because of wonder
Oblivious of all my dirty and messy ways
Prowling the library for wonder
Quivering without wonder
Rest is impossible with all this wonder
Sleep I can’t
Tearing up books
Unfortunately, I am addicted to wonder
Vigorously turning pages
Withering with out wonder
Xhaling because my wonder is filled
Zzz’s I can finally catch

–Kaiden, 5th grade

Earlier in the week we danced with paintbrushes, making watercolor abstract paintings while listening to music. One selection led some of us artist/poets to think of water (rain). It’s been raining every morning for the last few days. I wrote a more playful poem while my 5th grader, Tobie, is thinking deeply and writing serious poems.

Tobie’s painting of water

As I sit intently
listening to the music that played
I thought of how there were many others
much more
than you could even imagine

Before you think
of planets in space
imagine drops of water in a sea
grains of sand on a beach
every blade of grass in a lawn
every second before dawn

–Tobie, 5th grade

Rainy Day

Rainy Day by Margaret Simon

Popping in puddles
painting balloons.
Sprinkles bubble.
Wet air
Wet hair.
I don’t care.
Let’s play anyway.

–Margaret Simon

Follow the Progressive Poem to Matt Forrest’s Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme

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NPM16 #10 Found Poem

Posted in Poetry, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, found poem, NaPoWriMo, National Poetry Month, wonder poems, Wonderopolis on April 10, 2016| 4 Comments »

Also inspired by Amy, quick watercolor in the sketchbook.

The kidlitoshpere is wildly growing with poems. Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is writing daily to wonders from Wonderopolis. I found a poem in her post, How Sweet is Honeysuckle?

The line “Words live on like echoes” came from Barry Lane’s song “Sammy Miller” from Force Field for Good.

I wrote two poems today,
one from an open window with honeysuckle
and rhyme, but this time the poem
felt not ready to be shared.

Words live on like echoes…

I need to let a poem sit
read words over and over
Trust the feeling,
Move on.

Words live on like echoes…

Poems make me happy.
Poems make me sing.
I pretend to be a mother hummingbird.
I like the sounds of words.

Words live on like echoes…

Poems make me fall in love
with hummingbirds. I want to
plant a garden of milkweed,
trumpet honeysuckle,
& love poems
for you.

Words live on like echoes.

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DigiLit Sunday: TheEdCollabGathering & Poem #3

Posted in Digital Learning, Poetry, Teaching, Writing, tagged #imagepoems, #TheEdCollabGathering, Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Kate Roberts, Linda Hoyt, Maggie B Roberts, Mary Howard, Wonderopolis on April 3, 2016| 11 Comments »

Poem-a-day #3, lune by Margaret Simon, image poems

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Yesterday was a glorious day to spend outside. But inside there was a valuable video conference, free PD in PJs at The Educator Collaborative. So many rock stars in the education field all in one place. I couldn’t pass it up, so after a walk with my dog, I came inside to watch and learn.

Some of my online friends were there, too. I saw their Tweets. I’ve invited them to reflect on this conference as well, so I am hoping we will have other DigiLit link-ups today.

The first hang-out presentation that I watched was #PoetryLove with JoEllen McCarthy, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Janet Wong, Alan Katz, Kim Doele & Members of the Poetry Club. I enjoyed hearing some poems read aloud and the talk around how poetry has a place in the curriculum all year long. Amy is writing a poem a day to Wonders from Wonderopolis. My students love Wonderopolis, and I will show them Amy’s work this week as we begin our own poem a day writing projects.

Kim Doele shared how she leads a Poetry Club at her school and writes grants to get visiting poets to her school. Here is her post on hosting a poet at your school.

Catherine Flynn captured Mary Howard’s three power conditions that lead to deep reading.

Mary Howard repeated often that passion is important to reading. If we don’t have a passion for what we are reading, we will not be able to do deep thinking.

“Passion drives the deep thinking bus.” –Dr. Mary Howard

Joining Dr. Mary Howard was Linda Hoyt who discussed the importance of read aloud in every grade level. I loved how some Tweeters were capturing quotes in fancy backgrounds. The above Tweet was created by Leah O’Donnell.

Leah also captured her reflection about Kate Roberts and Maggie B Roberts’ closing session.

Notes from Leah O’Donnell

I used the notepad on my computer to capture thoughts.

After the closing session, I went to Walmart to buy a sketchbook to make a demonstration notebook. What a practical idea! Kate and Maggie have a video about this teaching tool on their website here.

This rich conference went on in my kitchen, my living room, and in my bedroom. It went wherever my laptop would go. I ate lunch, folded clothes, and took notes and notes. I will go back to the archived sessions that I didn’t see. Thanks to Chris Lehman and his fabulous team for this free and amazing video series.

If you have written a post reflecting on the Ed Collaborative Gathering or on any aspect of digital literacy, link up below. Please read and comment on other posts.

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SOL16 #15 She Gave me a Rock

Posted in Poetry, Slice of Life, Teaching, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Today's Little Ditty on March 15, 2016| 12 Comments »

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

Over at Today’s Little Ditty, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes interviewed Amy Ludwig VanDerwater who set out a challenge this month to write about small things. We wrote our poems on Friday and I posted some student poems here.

When my kids write, I write. I looked at my desk for inspiration and found the rock. We had decided to do something nice for teachers, so Emily brought in rocks. My students wrote inspirational words on the rocks and gave them out to teachers. This was a Halloween treat, so this rock has been sitting on my desk for a while. I think it was supposed to go to the art teacher, but whatever, there it sat…and inspired this prose poem in me.

She gave me a rock,
a smooth small stone
on which she wrote a quote
from a book about a boy who was bullied.

If you have a choice
of being right or being kind,
be kind.

Thirteen words to turn
my attention everyday
to the world
of choices, that choice
within myself to be kind.

I take her small kindness
into my hand and wonder
about the river bank
the stone lived in before,
a place where violent waves
smoothed rock.

I wonder
about the larger truth:
Can violence smooth out
the edges and leave behind
kind?

–Margaret Simon

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SOL16: #12 Celebrating Chalkabration

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Chalk-a-bration, Poetry, Slice of Life, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, chalk poetry, marbleized paper, Today's Little Ditty on March 12, 2016| 13 Comments »

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

Chalkabration is a favorite in my class, but we haven’t done it in a while. This great way to write and share poetry was created by Betsy Hubbard, one of the Two Writing Teachers’ Team. It usually falls on the last day of the month. I like to have something special happen on Fridays as a reward for a week of hard work. My students have been writing every day. They are reading and working hard, so yesterday I brought in chalk and art paper.

First we had to write poems. On Michelle Barnes’ site Today’s Little Ditty, she interviewed one of our favorite poets, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, about her new book Every Day Birds. Last year we Skyped with Amy on the day she had received the proofs for this book. We had an exclusive sneak peek at the book. Amy’s Ditty of the Month Challenge is to write about something small. (And I just happen to have a treasure box full.)

After we wrote and shared our poems, my students used Sharpie markers to write out their poems on art paper. Here comes the fun part. Into a bucket of water, we scraped chalk, placed the paper in and Viola! marbleized paper! We used Prang Freart Large Drawing Chalk.

Here is a collection of chalked poems.

Bell by Emily

Pencil by Kaiden

I Can’t Breathe by Kielan

Seashell by Erin

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

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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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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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Celebration Saturday

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gifted Education, Writing, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, Shining Light Foundation, Sing that Poem, student leadership, The Poem Farm, young musicians, Zydeco on April 25, 2015| 5 Comments »

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

This morning, I’ve been cleaning and doing chores like kitty litter and laundry. My hands smell like bleach. I kinda like the smell, tingly clean, but I should’ve worn gloves. As I swept the kitchen floor, what else was there to do but reflect on my week. Do I really have anything to celebrate? The list got longer and longer.

The logo for SCBWI is a kite. I set out my kite last weekend. I found out it needs a few repairs, but it may fly one day. I have hope. The Houston conference gave me hope, but I also connected with other writers on this journey and that is what I celebrate today: Connections. I wrote about the conference for Slice of Life Tuesday.

On Tuesday night my husband and I attended a fund raiser for a fairly new nonprofit called the Shining Light Foundation. The organization provides financial assistant to children who have a dream. The event offered a roundup of local Cajun and Zydeco bands. I was particularly taken by a young girl playing the washboard. She has such a natural rhythm and a sense of confidence. I celebrate young talent and passion for going for it.

Chubby Carrier and students

This week our gifted sixth graders finished up their project on Wonders of Iberia Parish by painting sets for an original play. Their performance was held at our Gifted by Nature Day for all elementary students, and the three boys that I teach felt proud of the accomplishment. I can see how this experience changed them into confident leaders. I celebrate student leaders.

My students continue to enjoy singing poems with Amy Ludwig VanDerwater over at The Poem Farm. Some of them are going to the site on their own between class meetings. One of my groups created their own song this week. See if you can figure out the tune. Here is a matching form from Amy’s site. Like Amy, I will post the Soundcloud tomorrow for you to see if your guess was right.

Written by Matthew, Tyler, Noah, Jacob, and Vannisa

Tree Song

Apples fall from apple trees
Watch out! Watch out!
Syrup comes from maple trees,
Sweet, a sticky mess!

Acorns fall from old oak trees.
Squirrels eat them.
Squirrels and humans both alike
all depend on trees.

All depend on trees,
All depend on trees.
Squirrels and humans both alike
All depend on trees!

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Sing That Poem with Students

Posted in Digital Learning, Gifted Education, Poetry, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, soundcloud, The Poem Farm on April 19, 2015| 3 Comments »

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

Please use this button on your site for DigiLit Sunday posts

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is doing a unique and fun writing project on her blog, The Poem Farm. My students are huge fans. We have been checking in daily to see the new poem, to sing all the match up songs possible, count syllables, then make a guess. We have recorded our guesses on Soundcloud using my iPhone.

My students have gotten good at this. They are not in the least bit shy about singing. This week was mostly filled with more state testing. So when testing was over, and we finally had uninterrupted time together, they insisted on visiting The Poem Farm. We read Amy’s poem Memories and after quite a few fails, we decided it was the tune of “London Bridge is Falling Down.”

Writing workshop became a frenzy of experimenting with different songs, counting syllables, and writing original poems to the tunes. I was particularly fond of Emily’s because I helped her with it. She was writing about stinky feet. We googled a picture of a labeled shoe to get the proper shoe vocabulary. I talked to her about how she could personify eyelets. Finding rhymes was a challenge, too. (Rhymezone.com helped) I kept trying to describe that reeking of feet as steam. She came up with word vapor. So we made a near rhyme with vapor and garbage collector. It worked. Read the poem first to see if you can guess the tune, then listen to the Soundcloud. Thank you, Amy VanDerwater for inspiring such creativity and fun.

Do your shoes smell bad?
Do your laces stink a tad?
Can the eyelets see the dirt?
If they can, they may avert.
Does the footbed reek and vapor
like the garbage can collector?
Do your shoes smell bad?

by Emily

Link up your Digital Literacy posts below:

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World Read Aloud Skype Visit

Posted in Gifted Education, Poetry Friday, tagged Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, LitWorld, poetry forms, World Read Aloud Day on March 6, 2015| 14 Comments »

SOL #6

Join the roundup with Robyn Campbell.

World Read Aloud Day was March 4, 2015. Sponsored by LitWorld.

On Facebook my poet/friend Amy Ludwig VanDerwater posted that she had some slots left for World Read Aloud Day Skype visits. I responded, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Not long before an email came. I will not go into all that it took me logistically and technically to make this happen, but on March 4th after a few test runs, Amy called my classroom. Squeals!

Amy was incredible. She even made a snowman for us. We are in South Louisiana, and we never have snow. At first we thought it was made with cotton balls like the ones we make. No, this one was real snow complete with a mini-carrot for a nose. Amy read a snowman poem to go with her snowman gift.

My students had prepared what they wanted to share with Amy–their own poems and poetry forms. Erin shared her staircase poetry form. Here are the rules:
1. Each line has to be longer than the other.
2. Make it as long as you want.
3. Make it unique.
4. Just have fun!

Reed and Nigel shared their PsyKu form. They challenged Amy to take the plunge and write one. The rules are here, and if you follow the link, be sure to read all the poetic contributions in the comments. Some crazy Psyku going on. The phenomenon spreads.

And Emily read some of her poems aloud. Amy invited her to send some poems for her to post in her Spotlight on a Student section of her blog, The Poem Farm. (Note: Amy’s site is a wonderful resource for poetry in the classroom.)