24th Line of the 2018 Progressive Poem

Welcome to the 24th line of the 2018 Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem! Thank you, Irene Latham, for this (now beloved) yearly tradition!

In Heidi's "pre-progressive poem pre-poetry month poetry friday round-up" post she assigned us the task of jotting some thoughts after the first line went live and then hiding them from ourselves until it was time for our line.

Here's what I wrote:

Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.

Nature
spring
hope
gardening
POV the plant/seed?
internal rhyme/assonance

How very...thoughtful and...detailed of me! (NOT.)

Here's what I know now. We've got a seed named Jasmine (Jas for short) who has awakened on a moonlit night. She's playful, inviting Moon to a game with her and Owl. Jasmine first twines herself around Owl's toes, then around a trellis provided thoughtfully by Sky. In line 13, Jasmine and Owl headed for Lee Bennett Hopkins' birthday party. As Jasmine twines, she is writing a poem (or singing a song?). As for poetic moves, we have

• internal rhyme/assonance (nestled/bed) & (nestled/stretched) in the first line 
• internal rhyme/assonance in line 3 (blooming/moonlight) 
• fun compound words: stardrops, moonbeams, and starsong
• a concrete line that actually twines
• alliteration ("wiggled a wink")
• scientific truth (there really is twining poet's jasmine -- "Queen of Garden Vines, Poet’s jasmine (J. officinale) has long captured gardeners’ hearts with its vigorous habit and heavenly fragrance")
• a bit of dialogue, and 
• several poets have chosen to leave their lines open at the end.

As I write on 4/22, awaiting Amy's line on 4/23, I wonder if she'll move the poem ahead by adding to/explaining more about the game, the birthday party, or Jasmine's poem. Or will she surprise me?!?! (She surprised me.)

Cue several hours of brainstorming and doodling, hair-pulling and thesaurus-consulting.

And now, without further ado, here is the poem, with my version of stanzas and my line added. (Kiesha, feel free to add punctuation to the end of my line if you need it to make yours work):

Nestled in her cozy bed, a seed stretched.
Oh, what wonderful dreams she had!

Blooming in midnight moonlight, dancing with
the pulse of a thousand stars, sweet Jasmine
invented a game.
"Moon?" she called across warm honeyed air.
"I'm sad you're alone; come join Owl and me.
We're feasting on stardrops, we'll share them with you."

"Come find me," Moon called, hiding behind a cloud.

Secure in gentle talons' embrace, Jasmine rose
and set. She split, twining up Owl's toes, pale
moonbeams sliding in between, Whoosh, Jasmine goes.
Owl flew Jasmine between clouds and moon to Lee's party!
Moon, that wily bright balloon, was NOT alone.

                                               Jas grinned,

                                                        stretched,

                                                               reached,

                                                                 wrapped

                                                             a new,

                                   around          tender

                                             rootlet

a trellis Sky held out to her, made of braided wind and song.
Her green melody line twisted and clung. 

Because she was twining poet's jasmine, she
wiggled a wink back at Moon, and began her poem.
Her whispered words floated on a puff of wind,
filled with light and starsong. "Revelers, lean in –
let's add to this merriment a game that grows
wordgifts for Lee. He's a man who knows
selection, collection, and wisely advising

These blogs are where the poem's been, and where it's going:

1 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass
2 Jane at Raincity Librarian
3 Laura at Writing the World for Kids
4 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
5 Jan at bookseedstudio
6 Irene at Live Your Poem
7 Linda at TeacherDance
8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem
9 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
10 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
11 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales
12 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
13 Linda at A Word Edgewise
14 Heidi at my juicy little universe
15 Donna at Mainely Write
16 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle
17 Ruth at There is no such thing as a Godforsaken town
18 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
19 Michelle at Michelle Kogan
20 Linda at Write Time
21 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
22 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
23 Amy at The Poem Farm
24 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
25 Kiesha at Whispers from the Ridge
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Buffy at Buffy's Blog
28 Kat at Kat's Whiskers
29 April at Teaching Authors
30 Doraine at Dori Reads

Easier Said Than Done

Treat people the way you want to be treated.  ~The Golden Rule

Easier Said Than Done

Learn to treat

yourself with kindness, because other people

might not. Believe the

truth contained in your heart. Get out of your own way

and become the person you

were meant to be. If you want

to, you can fix what’s broken. You can be the one to

make sure every injury will be

treated.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Persona

Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.  ~Einstein

Persona 

I’m interested in everything.

The world is full of ideas and wonders that

blow my mind. I can

make amazing connections, be

the one who sees what others cannot, be counted

on to be the one who does

not take a statement for granted – the one who is not

afraid to question (but also who does not necessarily

think before I put my opinion out there). However, you can count

on me to understand that everything

I do or say matters, and that

admitting my mistake counts.

I have a keen sense of humor, and although I cannot

necessarily

time my jokes accurately, I keep trying. My best might be

the Poetry Friday ant rap. That definitely counted.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Advice to Writers

Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins. ~Sharon Creech (Walk Two Moons)

Advice to Writers

Writing well is more than just words on a page. Don’t

be satisfied with your first draft. Be the one to judge

your own writing with a

critical eye. Man

up (or woman up) -- work on revising and editing until

you’ve

walked

through your piece at least two

times. If you’re writing about stars and moons,

get your facts straight. Don’t write “in

his

shoes” if what you really mean is moccasins.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Reciprocal

When you live happy, you are happy.  ~Layann

Reciprocal

The Sparkly Unicorn Award is given when

you notice someone being amazing. You

get as much joy giving it as receiving it. The sculpture will live

on the recipient’s desk for the rest of the day, making them happy

every time they look at it. You made their day, so you

are

also happy.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2017

Late last fall, we spent a morning messing around with plaster of paris. We made discs and ornaments and pendants and other assorted creations, which we decorated with glitter, ribbon, sequins, shells, etc. One of the creations was given to me -- a disc with edges dripping glitter and a Unicorn Horn Shell jutting up out of its center. Weeks later, on a day when someone did something totally awesome that needed a spotlight, I dubbed the disc+shell The Sparkly Unicorn Award, and I bestowed the award upon the awesome child. I allowed them to keep the award on their desk for the rest of the day (getting glitter all over someone else's work for once). Since then, students have begun bestowing the award upon each other, and one girl especially (the one who dances and draws through "Luminosity") has become our Lead Noticer of Other People's Awesomeness. She has given the award more times in the last few weeks than I have since last fall. It's one thing to BE awesome, but it's another kind of awesome to shine a light on others.

This class. I think I'm already starting to miss them.

Tabatha has this week's Poetry Friday roundup at her blog, The Opposite of Indifference, which is what I would say my poem and post is all about this week!

Positivity

At least I tried.  ~Hugh MacLeod

Positivity

A smile is at

the heart of all that is good, and it is the least

I can do. Every single day I am a success because I can say, “I

came, I smiled, I tried.”

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Persevere

This is your life. Do what you love and do it often.  ~The Holstee Manifesto

Persevere

Hard work. This

is

how you make your

dreams come true. Your life

is yours to mold like clay. Do

not wait for someone else to decide what

you

will be. Find what you love

most in life and

make it happen. Do

not be afraid to follow your dream as far as it

takes you. Just don’t forget to return home often.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Keen Observer

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Keen Observer

Unless

you

bother to watch for hawks, unless you try

to

find a preying mantis hiding in the garden, you do

not know that there is something

beyond

what

is obvious and easy. You

have

to stop assuming that you have already

seen it all, mastered

it all. You

must become a keen observer or you will

never

grow.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Cookies

We measure minds by their stature. It would be better to estimate them by their beauty.  ~Joseph Joubert 

Cookies

Remember the time we

decorated cookies? There was no unit of measure

for our joy that day. Who minds

learning by

mixing icing and food coloring to make their

cookie’s stature

more massive (and of course, more beautiful)? It

was about way more than just the cookies, though. Who would

believe that such a diverse group could be

unified at Christmas? No better

way than to

share a 34-year cookie decorating tradition. Don’t under-estimate

the power of cookies to overcome differences. Let them

heal the world by

their sweetness and by their

beauty.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Growth Mindset

Super heroes are made, but heroes are born.  ~Antonio (in 365 Days of Wonder)

Growth Mindset

Think of seeds: what will someday be super

starts small. Those who will someday become heroes

often have no inkling that their tiny lives are

about to be made

into something not just big, but

mighty enough for them to become heroes.

You cannot know the good you will do. It is enough that you are

born.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Endeavor

Do or do not. There is no try.  ~Yoda (Star Wars)

Endeavor

Whatever I do

with my life or

my life’s work, I will do

it not

because I want praise, but because there

is

a problem that needs to be solved. There is no

way of knowing if I’ll completely fix it, but I’ll roll up my sleeves and try.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

That Feeling You Get When You Solve a Hard Math Problem

Have you had a kindness? Pass it on.  ~Henry Burton

That Feeling You Get When You Solve a Hard Math Problem

The numbers click in place like a combination lock. You have

cracked the code, you

have mastered the challenge! The problem had

you cornered, but it was decimals that gave you a

way out. A mathematical kindness

was bestowed by the universe: a “Pass

Go Collect $100” card, and it

gives you the joy and energy to carry on.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

A couple of my students had a great day in math this past week. (One was the future astronomer from Day Two's poem.) We were working on irregular volume and they got to the challenge problem -- making an irregular figure with a total target volume of 325 cubic units...with the additional self-imposed challenge of not using a 1 in their answer. So, for example, they didn't allow themselves this solution: 10x(3x10) + 5x(5x1). They were stumped at the end of math class, but later, at the end of the day, grabbed their papers out of the pile and kept working while we waited for the buses to be called. The student who gave me this quote asked, "Can we use decimals?" I answered, "Why not?!" and he promptly found a solution: 10x(3x10) + .25x(10x10).

So there's that amazing feeling you get when you solve a hard math problem, but there's also that amazing feeling you get when you have a birthday and the entire Poetry Friday community sends out best wishes! Add mine to the cascade:

Happy Birthday to the Grand Master of Children's Poetry, 

Lee Bennett Hopkins!!

Robyn has the Poetry Friday roundup and the birthday party this week at Life on the Deckle Edge.

Tenacity

You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.  ~ André Gide

Tenacity

You are the one who gets the job done. You

don’t wait to be told what to do, you can

find the work and you can do it. This is also true: you are never

the kind to sit on the shore. You cross

to the other side even if you have to paddle across what feels like the

ocean.

You paddle until

you know where you are going. You paddle until you

see the sun coming up to light your way, until you have

a clear view, until you have the

courage

to

lose

all the burdens you carry and set your sight

on the new path that starts at the distant edge of

the

barely visible shore.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Confidence

Always do what you are afraid to do.  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Confidence

You will not always

be sure, but don’t let that stop you. Do

the brave thing. Do the right thing. Do what

will make the world a better place and you

will be one of the ones who are

not afraid

of what the world asks you to

do.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Luminosity

When it is dark, be the one who turns on the light.  ~Joseph (in 365 Days of Wonder)

Luminosity

I hear music even when

you can’t. It

calls me to dance, tickles my feet, is

a beam of light when all the world is dark.

My pen calls me, too. Calls me to be

the

one

with a new way to see, the one who

finds beauty, the one who turns

lines on

paper into the

vision that amplifies the world with ever more light.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Teamwork

It's good to be important, but it's more important to be nice.  ~Anthony’s Grandmother

Teamwork

Your team surrounds you. It’s

the day of the big game and it feels good

to

be

geared up and ready to play. It’s important

to remember that you have to play as a team, but

if you get the chance to make a big play, it’s

nothing that makes you more

important

than any of the other players. No matter what, you have to

always be

humble and just plain nice.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Congratulations to our school's dodgeball team, the elementary champions for the second year in a row!

Indomitable

Just keep swimming no matter how hard the current is.  ~Ava (365 Days of Wonder)

Indomitable

I will fight for what is just. 

I will keep 

swimming

upstream against hate and discrimination. No

matter

how long the battle, no matter how

hard

the fight, I will do my best to change the

current

way the world is.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Springtime

Life is short. Make it amazing.  ~Hugh MacLeod 

Springtime

Springtime, and life

returns in a green haze of leafbuds. The seasonal burst of life is

short-

lived, but the surprise of the splashy daffodils will make

it

all the more amazing.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

My Favorite Subject is Science

The miracle is not to fly in the air or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.  

~ Chinese Proverb

My Favorite Subject is Science

Photosynthesis is the

miracle

inside plants. Our planet changing from season to season is

not

any less miraculous. And to

learn that planes fly

not because of the engine but in

response to the

lift of the air

under the wings -- amazing! Food chain or

food web – both work elegantly to

balance life in the wild. Walk,

run, stand, sleep: your heart beats on.

The

water

cycle, symbiosis, sound waves – more miracles asking nothing but

that we pay attention to

this walk

we have been given on

the

earth.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Some process notes about this (crazy) project...

In about mid-March, each of the thirty 5th graders in my class chose a quote from the classroom quote books or the stack of GapingVoid (gapingvoid.com) cartoon-quotes I printed and laminated a few years ago.

Before the end of March, I typed each quote (vertically and right-justified) in its own document.

On the drive from Ohio to Colorado and back during spring break the last week of March, I fiddled around with most of the quotes and wound up with about 10 poems that felt mostly ready. I panicked a bit because I realized that I wouldn't be able to write a poem about each child using the quotes they'd chosen. So I made a sheet with all the names and a brainstorm list of all the topics we've studied so far this year. Whew! There are at least as many topics as students! Some of the poems will wind up being more about the child who chose the quote than others, but all of them taken together will be a record of our year together this year.

In answer to Diane's question from yesterday's comments about how I actually go about drafting the Golden Shovels: As I mentioned, I have the quote written vertically and right-justified. I write into those end words, going for as much enjambment as possible. I am trying to write a poem that's not necessarily on the topic of the quote so that the quote and poem together are a little bit surprising. I think I'll be doing a better job with this in upcoming poems where I won't try to write about the child who gave me the quote. I'll be choosing a quote and writing a poem on a topic from our classroom. Stay tuned. We'll see how that goes! Beyond that, there's lots of staring into space, starting and stopping, retyping the quote again below the first draft and trying another draft (and another), and a nice dose of mystery and magic and surprise!

Keep Your Promises -- this quote came from the child who gave me the 30 days 30 students 30 poems challenge. Seemed only right for him to go first!

Astronomical Passions -- the child who chose this quote aspires to be an astronomer.

Legos -- this original quote was written by a Lego-maniac.

Walt Didn't Say This, But He Would Approve -- my Everything Disney girl wrote this original quote. It was fun to work the Disney-ness in!

100% Authentically ME! -- if you knew this girl, you would understand how perfectly this poem captures her spirit. She beamed when I showed it to her!

My Favorite Subject is Science -- I'm not sure if the guy who chose this quote would agree that science is his favorite subject, but it's definitely a favorite for most students in my class. It's such a perfect age for beginning to learn about the way things work on this beautiful planet (and in this amazing solar system) of ours.

Amy has this week's Poetry Friday Roundup at The Poem Farm.

100% Authentically ME!

Just be who you want to be, not what others want to see.  ~Unknown

100% Authentically ME!

I am me. Perfect just

the way I am. I will not be

someone who

changes the way I look at the world because of what you

say or do. I want

to

always be

the one who tells the truth, not

without a smile, but also not just repeating what

others

say. I want

to be authentic, to

show you all the truths I see.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Walt Didn't Say This, But He Would Approve

If you have a life, why not live it!  ~Lexie

Walt Didn't Say This, But He Would Approve

If

you

wish upon a star you will have

a

life

filled not with the why

but the why not.

Grab life by the mouse ears and live

it!

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Legos

We are strong as one, but we are stronger together.  ~Brennan

Legos

Like Legos, we

stick together. We are

not just strong,

we are as creative as

the wildest imagination. Like Legos, you start with one

but

you end with something surprising and new. We

really are

stronger

together.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Astronomical Passions

Invite others to wonder with you.  ~Austin Kleon

Astronomical Passions

Black holes! Galaxies! Space! The Universe will invite

you to be awed and amazed. Find others

with the same astronomical passions to

marvel at, to wonder

about, and to investigate with

you.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Keep Your Promises

Make your life a masterpiece. Imagine no limitations on what you can be, have, or do.  ~Brian Tracy

Keep Your Promises

I accept your challenge. I will make 

a poem using each of your 

quotes. A snapshot of your life 

in fifth grade, the collection will not be a 

masterpiece 

and I imagine 

no 

one will appreciate the poems as much as you. The limitations 

I have put on 

myself with these poems will show you that what 

you 

challenge yourself to do can 

be 

done. You have 

to keep your promises. There is no either/or: 

do what you said you would do.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

Poetry Month 2018

This year's class -- The Hahn Squad -- loves to find patterns.
They have found patterns in the date
(one of our favorites all year, a Squad Member's birthday, was 3/6/18...3x6=18),
in recurring themes in our read alouds (the desire for invisibility),
and in the lucky coincidence that there are 30 days in April and 30 students in our class.

When the 30 Days, 30 Students, 30 Poems challenge was laid at my feet by an eager and earnest Squad Member, what could I do? I had to accept.

For their part, I asked each of the 30 Squad Members to chose a quote they love. I originally intended to write a personalized Golden Shovel Poem for each student using their quote as the striking line. Although some may turn out to be specific to the student who chose the quote, most will pay tribute to some part of the 2017-2018 5th Grade Hahn Squad experience.

31 Teaching Truths

Photo by Fischer Twins via Unsplash

31. Believe in magic.

Because teaching and learning are magic, aren't they? Building a classroom community from scratch every year; meeting the ever-changing, ever-shifting needs of a diverse group of learners to the very best of your ability day after day; making a kid's day; making a colleague's day; learning to be a better teacher years or decades into your career...it's all magic. And without these strong threads of magic that we weave in our classrooms, the fabric of our nation...of our democracy...would fray and shred and dissolve.

Believe in magic. Don't ever stop. So much depends on the work you do every minute of every day.

31 Teaching Truths

Photo by Fischer Twins via Unsplash

30. Celebrate your spot on your district's seniority list.

When Franki texted me that we have both made it to the front page of our district's seniority list, I had to see for myself. Sure enough, there I am: out of the thousands and thousands of certified teachers in our district, I am #15. And there she is, hired just a year later, about fifteen spots below me.

Today I'm celebrating my rise from the newest hire to one of the most seasoned teachers in the district. I celebrate all the mistakes I've made, all of the successes I've had, and all the students I've taught. Hooray for a career that began with no computers and will end with...I'm not even going to attempt to predict the changes that will continue with lightning speed in the next few years. I'm glad I had a chance to be a Whole Language teacher in the 1980s. I think those years before the intense pressure of standards and testing gave me a foundation in student-centered teaching that has served me (and my students) well. I'm glad I staunchly adhered to my generalist stance all these years. Being a generalist rather than a specialist has allowed me to be a leader in the district in math, language arts, environmental science/outdoor education, and multiage/looping.

If there are thousands of teachers between you and the front page of your district's seniority list, don't despair, and don't focus on all the years it will take you to get to the front page. Take it one class at a time, one big project at a time, one new leadership opportunity at a time, one swing of the education pendulum at a time. 

31 Teaching Truths

Photo by Fischer Twins via Unsplash

29.  Stick around -- things will change.

There's never a dull moment in education. Even if you're just along for the ride, you'll need to hold on at times. Public education is one of the most important rights of the citizens of a democracy. It's worth the time you spend working inside the system, and, if you are so moved, it's worth the time you spend working for the system.

31 Teaching Truths

Photo by Fischer Twins via Unsplash

28.  Stay in touch with former students.

The only way we can get a long view of the work we do each year with a group of students is to watch them grow up. It's thrilling to see my former students become moms (including one who has adopted a special-needs child), teachers, professional photographers, medical students, politicians, professional cyclists, and scientists. I look at my former students and I know that my work has truly made a difference.

31 Teaching Truths

Photo by Fischer Twins via Unsplash

27.  Test scores are snapshots.

A test score is a snapshot (sometimes not particularly flattering) of each of your students and of your teaching.

A test score is not an hours-long documentary that fully explores the ups and downs of the daily learning of each student and the highs and lows of your teaching over the course of a year.

Do your best to teach the learners in your class. Encourage your students to do their best on the tests. But don't forget that the results you'll get are snapshots.

31 Teaching Truths

Photo by Fischer Twins via Unsplash

26. Try something new.

The only way to keep your career alive across decades will be by trying new things. Some stick and become "the way I always," but others die off because they needed a particular group of students or a unique quirk of that year's schedule to be powerful.

#classroombookaday was new to me last year, but I think this fun and powerful routine of making time each day for a no-strings-attached picture book read aloud will stick because, well, "fun and powerful" says it all.

A few years ago I started projecting my read-alouds via Kindle. Recently, I've tried to make sure we listen to an Audible production while we read along at least once a year. This year, Refugee (by Alan Gratz) was perfect for listening to professional readers with just the right accents.

My grade level has changed up the way we do Genius Hour to better meet the needs of all of our students. We have one group that committed to doing TED talks, while three groups are cycling through 6-week sessions of makers' space, creativity challenges, and coding/technology projects. I had to let go of my classroom Genius Hour, but I think my students have gotten as much or more from this new approach.

Take a risk and try something new!