A Year of Reading

Monday, April 08, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.8

Wikimedia Commons photo by Alchemist-hp

This is the Wikimedia Commons photo of the year for 2011. It is "a view of the lake Bondhus in Norway. In the background a view of the Bondhus Glacier as a part of the Folgefonna Glacier."

ROWBOAT'S LAMENT

I'm moored
both fore
and aft,

tethered
to prevent
my escape across the lake.

Or is it to protect me from
the coming
storm?

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

From Kevin (Meandering Minds)

I hunger for the clouds
heavy with rain
hovering over the lake
where we used to swim under the full moon.

If I could,
I would reach up and grab us both a handful
so that we could once again chew on the past,
letting memories dribble down our chins
as raindrops falling in spring
before flowers bloom ...

instead, we worry about the rumble of thunder
in the distance
and find ourselves fretting
about what the clouds might bring.

©Kevin Hodgson, 2013

The podcast of his poem is here.

And this: "I took some lines from the poems I have been writing here, and over with Bud the Teacher, and created this found poem: ReDiscovered Lines." (A bit of his process for creating this video is here.)

From Linda (TeacherDance):

The reflections
soon to be muddied
in his mind.
Storm coming!

I look for answers
in the rhyme;
there is no time.
The storm is coming.

Mirror in the water-
clear, now churning.
Still, in this moment
I am yearning.

Storm is here.

From Carol (Carol's Corner):

"Closer"

skymeetswatermeetssky

in bluegraygreenwhiteworld

wherecliffmeetslakemeetscliff

andlightmeetsshadowmeets

darkmeetslightmeetsdark

thelinesbetween

heavenandearth

areblurred

andperhaps

wearecloser

toheaven

thanwewillever

know.

This week, I think I'll follow the same pattern of media I choose as last week -- Monday: Picture of the Year, Tuesday: Featured Picture (new category), Wednesday: Video, Thursday: Famous Art, Friday: Audio, Saturday: Potluck, Sunday: Animation.

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Each day in April, I will feature media from the Wikimedia Commons ("a database of 16,565,065 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute") along with bits and pieces of my brainstorming and both unfinished and finished poems.

I will be using the media to inspire my poetry, but I am going to invite my students to use my daily media picks to inspire any original creation: poems, stories, comics, music, videos, sculptures, drawings...anything!

You are invited to join the fun, too! Leave a link to your creation in the comments and I'll add it to that day's post. I'll add pictures of my students' work throughout the month as well.

Sunday, April 07, 2013

Reading Teachers Running Post

I posted on Reading Teachers Running about the lessons I've learned after spending 6ish weeks recovering from a concussion. 6 weeks with no exercise and very little reading. If you are interested, you can read the post here.

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.7

By ru:user:NikolayS (ru:Файл:Lockstitch.gif) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0, GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The very last category in the Featured Pictures section of Wikimedia Commons is Animations. This animation of a sewing machine completing a lockstitch opened the door on a flood of memories of my mother, her little black Singer sewing machine, and all of the clothes she made for me and my dolls.

In my notebook, I jotted:

me by the front door

Easter Dress

daisies, yellow sash, folded socks, white patent leather shoes

eighth inch buttons on Barbie's clothes

patterns--tissue--pins--pinking shears

(It was at about this point that I started crying, and I didn't stop until my poem was done. Who knew that the animation of a sewing machine's stitch could unleash such a flood of memories?)

precision, measured

constant

love

And here's my poem:

A MOTHER'S LOVE

A mother's love:

measured in yards

of fabric on the dining room table

and rows of eighth inch

doll clothes buttons.

A mother's love:

tissue-patterned

with traditions and rituals,

lockstitching the seams

of son-daughter-husband-family.

A mother's love:

made from scratch,

sturdy and functional, but embellished

with rick rack and sequins

and pearl head snaps.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):

We work in conjunction,

you and I,

collaborators on this intricate design.

As you step up,

I move down;

as you dance in,

I shuffle out.

We shift gears in lock-step,

sewing together this family

with threads from the tapestry

of our own parents' history ...

genetics as the glue that binds.

©Kevin Hodgson, 2013

From Carol (Carol's Corner)

"Sewing Lesson"
Grandma Grace
detrains
in a stunning
cardinal red wool coat.
"She made it herself,"
my mother says.
"I didn't inherit the sewing gene,
But she can teach you to sew."

At the fabric store
we sit on high stools
perusing the willowy brunette models
in wide swirling skirts
that spin across the pages
of the Butterick and Simplicity catalogues.
I imagine twirling through the halls
at James Madison Elementary School
my own wide spinning skirt.

Grandma Grace commandeers
the dining room table
and we pin rustling paper patterns
to colorful cotton cloth.
My grandmother exhorts me
to cut carefully
makes me re-pin
more than once.
I draw blood and
Grandma Grace
dabs my finger
with a tissue wadded
from her apron pocket.

And then we are ready for the machine.
I practice on scraps of cloth
until my grandmother declares
me ready to assemble the pieces
of my gorgeous swirling skirt.
It is hard to make straight seams
and I become well-acquainted
with the seam ripper.
Zippers are harder still.

And then my dress is done.
I model from my runway
on the dining room table
disappointed that
the chubby little girl
in the straight cotton shift
with the resewn seams
and crooked zipper
looks nothing like
those willowy brunette models
in their beautiful swirling skirts.

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Saturday, April 06, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.6

I'm going to be in the fly fishing shop at our new Cabela's store today for the Ladies' Spring Day Out event from 9-1:00 talking to folks about Casting for Recovery. I have been involved with Casting for Recovery since 2005, when I was a participant. I have written about it many times here on the blog. Use the search box ("Casting for Recovery") to find these posts, if the spirit moves you. And if you want, you can even "like" the Ohio CFR Facebook Page!

One of my favorite fishing memories happened in Maine when I treated myself to a trip to L.L. Bean's Women's Fly Fishing School. After I completed the classes, I fished on several rivers in Maine before returning home. One was much like the picture above, and although I wasn't dressed like that pre-1920's fisherwoman, I was standing on a large boulder, fishing alone. Alone, but not alone. A flock of cedar waxwings crowded the bank, chasing after the fly I was casting. I was having no luck with the fish, so I just stood quietly to enjoy the birds. When I had been still for a few minutes, one of the birds perched on the tip of my fly rod! My favorite fly fishing catch of all time!! Here's a haiku about that day:

RIVERBANK IN MAINE

Cedar waxwings flocked,
curious about my casts.
Calm fly rod: bird perch.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):

"There's some metaphor at work here,"
the first whispered to the other,
who lounged against the rotting log,
watching, waiting, wondering.
"Oh," the second replied, handing the first
a sandwich she had made for them to savor
while she fished solo from the rock,
"and what is that?"
The first took a thoughtful bite, and leaned back,
eyes scanning the sky
as the sound of the line from her pole
zinged its way into his mind.
"I don't rightly know," he admitted,
"but surely there is a metaphor swimming in that river."
The second nodded,
"And if anyone will catch it,
it will be her."
The two men sat up now, dazzled by her expertise
as she pulled and twisted the pole,
the lure sliding and slinking along the water's surface,
guiding the fish towards her
through some unspoken magic that neither the fish
nor the men,
nor even the father who had once taught her,
could even begin to fathom,
and then, as was her want, she let them all go,
set them loose,
so she could walk home alone, and free,
without their thoughts and talk crowding her head.

©Kevin Hodgson, 2013

Podcast of Kevin's poem here

From Cathy Mere (Merely Day by Day):

THE DESTINATION

Tiny stones
reach across the water,
spaced close enough
to see the possibility
of the unexplored,
yet distanced,
to make the crossing
difficult.

I poise myself
upon the first,
trying desperately
to balance,
extend,
step,
hoping to cross,
safely.

For a time I steady myself
between the two rocks,
finally pushing
to the next,
it wiggles
back and forth,
I am unsure I will stand
strong.

Water rushes,
reminding me to be
cautious,
vigilant,
stone after stone
I slowly cross the water,
until I reach my
destination.

©Cathy Mere, 2013

From Carol (at Carol's Corner...and be sure you click on the link to her blog to read about her process for this poem):

"Cathedral"
Sunday.
Not for her
a steepled sanctuary
hard wooden pews
raging orations
Hymns from the burgundy
robed choir
mixing in a smoky haze
with yesterday's gossip.

Instead
she hikes her skirt
and climbs a rock pulpit
to worship
in a cathedral
of rushing water.
River choir
sings glory hallelujah
As she casts her line
And lifts her heart
heavenward.

(c) Carol Wilcox, 2013

From Steve (inside the dog):

Fly Fishing: a haibun
Balanced upon a cold rock, she considers her options. Surrounding her, the rush of meltwater, the balm of balsams, the persistence of granite, and the fullness of time. Perched starkly above the translucent surface, she imagines the murky world of trout below -- their hungers, their desires. Each moment contains a lingering delight and a plunge. The door opens through the deep eddy of understanding, and an unsteady step into the swirling waters.

a hand-tied midge arcs
toward icy trout-waters --
craving of ripples

© Steve Peterson

You might have noticed that there is no attribution for this picture. That's because it's in the Public Domain. Here's what Wikimedia Commons had to say about public domain as it relates to this photo:

"This Canadian work is in the public domain in Canada because its copyright has expired due to one of the following:

1. it was subject to Crown copyright and was first published more than 50 years ago, or

it was not subject to Crown copyright, and

2. it is a photograph that was created prior to January 1, 1949, or

3. the creator died more than 50 years ago.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923.

Public domain works must be out of copyright in both the United States and in the source country of the work in order to be hosted on the Commons. If the work is not a U.S. work, the file must have an additional copyright tag indicating the copyright status in the source country."

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Friday, April 05, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.5

Wikimedia Commons Photo by The National Park Service

Along with pictures, there are sound files on Wikimedia Commons. I can't figure out how to download and embed them here, so you 'll have to click on this link to listen to wolves howling.

The photo above is of an eleven-member wolf pack in winter, in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, taken by the National Park Service.

I won't share my process for this poem. It was wordy and officious and moralistic. At some point, I told myself to live up to my reputation for writing sparsely.

US AND THEM

divide

plow

whack

pave

build

mine

pollute

wild

howl

pack

brave

single

file

commute

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) left this beauty in the comments:

I ride the back of the pack -
my paws wobbly along the edge of the path,
as I raise up my voice
to harmonize and synchronize
and synthesize the tones of the leaders,
our echoing songs shifting among the hills
as winter arrives, and I vow, once again,
to survive.

©Kevin Hodgson, 2013

Listen to Kevin read his poem with the sound of the wolves in the background on Vocaroo.

Carol (Carol's Corner) takes the idea of the wolf pack to the playground at recess:

"Middle School Recess Duty"

Full-coated
eighth grade
he wolves
point noses skyward
and howl passion
at shapely
she wolf
beauties
preening themselves
in the sun
by the jungle gym

while sixth and seventh grade wolves
crawl on their bellies
whimpering
acquiescence.

(c) Carol Wilcox

If you have a minute, go back to yesterday's post and check out the poems Carol and Kevin wrote based on the image of the sculpture "Le Silence."

All of the posts so far can be found here. At some point I'm going to have to write a post or an article for Choice Literacy about how this project has already impacted my classroom.

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Thursday, April 04, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.4

Wikimedia Commons: Le Silence by Antoine-Augustin Préault

Wikimedia Commons has lots of famous art to explore. I saw a plaster cast of this sculpture by Antoine-Augustin Préault at the Art Institute of Chicago last month. The title is Le Silence. It is a carving on the tomb of Jacob Roblés and can be found in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Today's poem arrived as I as ironing a pair of slacks. Isn't that how creativity often works? You quit trying so hard and...boom. There it is.

LE SILENCE

On the days I long for silence
remind me, please
of giggles.

On the days we pass in silence
remind me, please
of finishing each other's sentences.

On the days that seem filled with silence
remind me, please
of chickadees.

On the nights I hear only silence
remind me, please
to listen for the music of the spheres.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind) left this in the comments:

Shhhh,
she said,
as I raised my voice to protest
yet again the unfairness of it all
as if my words could change this stone barrier
when I know now that what I
needed was
silence.

©Kevin Hodgson, 2013

And Carol (Carol's Corner) wrote this wistful beauty:

"Shhhh…"

Shhhhh…

Let us not speak

of pools at summer's end

dropped ice cream cones

jeans that used to fit.

Neither will we speak of

birthday cards not mailed

library books overdue

friendships left untended.

And of course there will be no talk of

toddlers now adults

nests that echo emptiness

forgetful parents

And please do not bring up

Bubbles burst

Broken promises

Dashed dreams.

We will not speak of these.

Shhhhh…

If you have a minute, go back to yesterday's post and check out the responses from Carol (not to be missed) and Lisa (I've got a new "career" :-).

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.3

Before we get too far along in the month, I'd like to explain where I got the idea for this project. Or at least trace back to some of the seed ideas that led to it.

1. BLOGGING
When you put your ideas an opinions out there into the world several times a week for 7+ years, you think hard about the way you use others' work based on the ways you hope others are using yours.

2. POETRY FRIDAY
Most every blogger who participates in Poetry Friday is very mindful about getting permission to share another poet's whole poems, or else they post a part of a poem and link to another site (or the book) where the rest can be found. I've never been turned down when I emailed a poet to ask for permission to use a poem on our blog. All were thrilled to be asked.

3. STUDENTS AND COPYING
Teachers and librarians have made it crystal clear to students that copying others' work is very very bad. And it is. We don't want them to copy others' homework or others' answers on math tests. But children overgeneralize our adult finger-shaking and believe that if they put a red umbrella in their story, then any other child in the class who puts a red umbrella in their story is copying, which is very very bad. Parody feels to children like it, too, should be illegal. It seems too much like copying.

And yet I see my students (taught, sometimes, to do this by other teachers) dragging images to their computer desktop to use without attribution in their projects...without a second thought about copying. It seems like it's just easier to ban all kinds of copying than it is to explore the fine lines of sharing and remixing ideas and to take the time to ask for permission or cite attribution.

With this project, I want to

raise awareness of the resources that are available and freely offered for use/reuse
model attribution etiquette
promote the spirit of creative collaboration

The graphic I created as the logo for this project? I found the image by doing a Google search of "Creative Commons," then I narrowed my search by choosing "Images," and then (MOST IMPORTANT STEP) I went up to the OPTIONS icon (looks like a grey gear at the top right of the page) and chose "Advanced Search." From there, I scrolled clear to the bottom and chose "Usage Rights --> (drop down) Free to Use or Share." The image I selected for my logo is in the Public Domain. I inserted it into a Word document, repeatedly typed the title of the project so that it would wrap around the image, played around with the fonts until I got it to look the way I wanted, took a screen shot and voila! My logo was born! I made something new by combining my ideas with the freely shared ideas of others.

Today, I'm thinking about this quote

"Welcome to a new world

where collaboration rules."

which came from this video on the Creative Commons website: Wanna Work Together? (Go watch the video. I'll wait...)

THE RULES OF COLLABORATION

1. Share ideas.
2. Create with joy.
3. Work together.
4. Don't destroy.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

(First day of school after break...brain drain...that's the best I can do right now...maybe I'll come back later with something more inspired...or maybe not...)

Here's a sweet little "almost haiku" from Lisa (Steps and Staircases):

Well said, as always--
Mary Lee, monitor and guide
of Internet hallways!

From Carol (Carol's Corner), after a looooonnnggg day of work, this brilliant Abcedarian, which I'm thinking I'll make into a poster for my classroom motto:

"ABC's of Collaboration"

Avail yourself of every opportunity

Because you never know when

Coming together could lead to creation.

Delight in differences

Engage in each other’s possibilities

Feel free to make mistakes.

Give up the need to be right and

Humble yourself to others’

Intelligence and imagination.

Just be ready for surprises.

Know that there will be conflict

Laugh a lot.

Make miracles together

Never quit listening asking sharing believing

Open your eyes and your heart

Plan a little, play more.

Quiet the inner doubter

Resist the need to be right

Stay open to surprises

Take time to laugh.

Up the ante.

View the world through new eyes

Wonder at what might be possible

Excite yourself about others’ ideas

You never know when your

zeal might reap rewards.

If you have a minute, go back to yesterday's post and check out some of the fire-breathing poems that Carol, Linda and Kevin wrote!

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

New Professional Book: Assessment in Perspective

So, last month, I begged for an advanced copy of Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan's new book ASSESSMENT IN PERSPECTIVE: FOCUSING ON THE READER BEHIND THE NUMBERS. Tammy and Clare are good friends who I have known for years and I have been very excited about their work in assessment. I had no time to read the book when it arrived, so I thought I'd just skim through it until I had time a week or so later. Well, you can imagine how that went. I ended up reading it cover to cover in less than 24 hours. Then I told everyone I knew about it. It is that kind of a book.

I love assessment. I believe good instruction is based on assessment. I love to look at data, to dig into my students' work looking for patterns to help me teach well. However, I am becoming a little alarmed at the ways we, as a country, have been talking about data and assessment during the last few years. I have been worried that we have been talking more about numbers, than about children.

So, you can imagine how happy I was when I first heard the title and subtitle of this book! Perfect! And the cover photo made me even happier. A teacher and a child reading together--that is assessment!

This is a book that speaks to teachers today. It reminds us to keep our eye on the reader but it does not discount the tremendous stress and mandates we are all dealing with when it comes to assessment. Tammy and Clare have figured out how to help teachers stay grounded with good literacy practice through this time. In this book, they share their story.

The most important thing about this book is that it focuses on children and on authentic assessments every day. It acknowledges that some assessments just don't give us information but they are part of a mandate. It acknowledges that one number doesn't tell a whole story. And it acknowledges that students have a key role in their assessment. So many important points in this one book.

I am excited about the conversations this book will start as it is purchased for school book talks. Chapter 1 is called, "Moving Beyond Numbers: Finding the Stories of Our Readers". In this chapter, the authors are honest about their own experiences with assessments-times things went well and times they didn't. They acknowledge the fact that NCLB has caused many of us to "focus more on administering assessments, reporting quantitative data, and accountability, and less on understanding the assessments we are using and the type of information they can provide about our readers. Many of us have been so busy trying to implement an assessment plan that little time is left to use it to understand out students."

And they remind us that it is what we DO with the data and assessments that matter....because "Assessment and Instruction are Inseparable."

I cannot possibly share every important thing this book says or every line I underlined. What I can tell you is that this book made me happy. Happy because it is the conversation we need to be having right now. It is the conversation that is about teacher agency and teacher decision making. It is the conversation about the story behind the reader. It is the conversation that will get us back to what we, as teachers, know assessment is really all about.

This is not a quick read (yes, I read it quickly but I'll read it again:-). It is also not a book you'll want to read alone. Trust me, you will want to talk about this book.

Data-driven instruction is a reality teachers everywhere are living with. And it is not a bad reality. I don't know one teacher who believes we should not be using assessment to inform our instruction. But sometimes we lose sight of the child behind the numbers. This book is a about assessment, about our students' stories and about teacher agency--things that matter to all of us.

A must read for sure!
(The book should be available this week from Stenhouse. In the meantime, you can preview the whole book online!)

Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations.2

Wikimedia Commons Featured Picture by Lilly_M

Another section to explore on Wikimedia Commons is the featured pictures. I found this fire-breather in the category "People."

Here's what I jotted in my writer's notebook throughout the day as I thought about this image:

bad breath
anger (teacher?)
dragon
transformation
(I like the almost-rhyme of dragon/transformation)
circus act
remember to breathe OUT!
what's the story abt the diamonds vs. frogs and toads out of one's mouth?
fairy tale? superpower?

And here's the beginning of a draft of a poem inspired by the fire-breather:

FAIRY TALE MIX-UP

Shouldn't the dragon
have gotten the fire?
The sword to the prince
and for me, the lyre?

I fear for the princess
'cause I've seen the witch
____________________
________________ switch.

DRAFT © Mary Lee Hahn, 2013

If you have a minute, go back to yesterday's post and check out the TWO poems Carol Wilcox wrote! Cathy Mere left a quickie in the comments that I moved up into the post, too.

If you make a fire-breather creation, let me know and I'll include it in today's post!

From Kevin at Kevin's Meandering Mind:

Breathing fire
as thoughts
as imagination runs amok
inside my mind
even as the outside calm exterior of my eyes
permeates what others think they know of me
while inside,
something else altogether begins to spark
unseen.

© Kevin Hodgson, 2013

From Linda at TeacherDance:

I'm sorry to have responded
so heatedly to your game.
I never meant to sear you
with my blast of words aflame.

© Linda Baie, 2013

From Carol at Carol's Corner:

"Rage"

The flame

that smolders

deep within

sparks

then blazes

Your words

red-hot irons

that singe

char

incinerate

my heart

And I wonder

Does

the rage

that burns within

scorch your soul

like it does mine?

(c) Carol Wilcox, 2013

Katie (Archaeofrog Photography) wrote a book spine poem inspired by this image:

Knights of the kitchen table,
How to train your dragon:
Out of darkness ...
The fire within =
Holes
Out of the dust &
The City of Ember.
Absolutely Normal Chaos.
Dragons don't cook pizza.

(Check out the photo here)

The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is

"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."

Monday, April 01, 2013

April: Upcoming Children's and Professional Books

It looks like April is another great month for new books! Some great new books by favorite authors and some others I am just totally excited about! Here are the children's and professional books I am looking forward to in April! In my opinion, these ares some of the "must haves" of April.