Twitter Mosaic Mug

My good friend Karen (www.talkworthy.blogspot.com) popped over the other day with the best gift!  Check this out--my very own personalized Twitter Mosaic mug.  As you can see, it has my name and then the photos/avatars of all of the people I follow.  I LOVE THIS!  So many faces of people I learn from and think with. What a great thing.  I am so excited about this gift. If you have a Twitter friend who you need to buy a gift for, I am sure this one would be a hit!  Actually, if you visit this twittermosaic site and type in your user name, you will find LOTS OF fun things you can buy!  A pretty fun gift idea, I think.

A Vision for School Libraries

I followed a conversation this week about libraries.  Two people who really have me thinking about literacy these days and about libraries. In a post this week, Doug Johnson shared his thinking on the roles of libraries with the changes in the ways we get information. In his post, he says:

The question our team was to help answer was supposed to be: How can the MS/HS library program and facilities be improved to support student learning and achieve the ISB Vision for Learning?

But somehow it changed in a meeting with school officials this afternoon to: Does a school need a library when information can be accessed from the classroom using Internet connected laptops?

The new question is uncomfortable, messy, and incredibly important and not restricted by any means to one particular school. It is one to which all library people need a clear and compelling answer.

As a school librarian, this is an uncomfortable question. But it is one worth thinking about.  What is the new vision for libraries with things changing so quickly.  And he didn't give us an answer--instead he asked for others' thoughts.

In response to Doug Johnson's question about libraries, David Warlick responded on his blog.  Such a smart answer.  Warlick gives us a lot to think about.  But the one part I keep coming back to is his ending:

...if the library might come to be seen more as a workshop where information isn’t so much a product, as it is a raw material (a “Kinko's for kids,” if you will), then it may remain not only viable, but an essential institution.

In my classroom, I always tried for a coffee-shop feel. I believed that the feel of people gathering to chat about books with people they liked, to have smart discussions and to learn with friends was what I was going for.  It helped me create the environment that I wanted.  I have a similar vision for the library. But now, I have this new vision of a "Kinko's for Kids" to add to my coffee shop vision. I love Kinko's--like a playground of fun tools to help you create what you have in mind.   And I love the idea of it even more than a coffee shop vision by itself.  Can you imagine a Kinko's and a coffee shop coming together? A coffee-shop feel. But with all the tools you need right at your fingertips. A great place to get together with friends to think, talk, learn and create.  I guess I always had creation in my vision but this "Kinko's for kids" idea gives me a better vision for what it is we might be trying to create.

SMARTBOARDS in the Reading/Writing Workshop-Thoughts and Questions

So, I have been thinking a lot about Smartboards/Interactive Whiteboards. They seem to be all the talk these days and I am loving learning about all of the new tools available. We have a Promethean Board at our school and I used it in the library for a week a while ago.  It was very fun and I loved lots about it.  The kids were totally engaged, of course! I could see so many possibilities after playing with it for a bit. I would love to have one for my classroom and for my family room--it is quite impressive. A little addicting, actually.  I can see why it is all the talk these days.

The thing is, I have spent lots of time online searching for great uses of the Interactive Whiteboard.  I think there are pretty amazing things that can be done with it to support literacy, especially in Reading/Writing Workshops.  I can also see huge possibilities for early literacy in general.  There must be people out there doing lots with interactive writing, shared reading, revision, etc.   But most of the samples and things that I am finding are pretty traditional things--a more interactive whole-class chalkboard, I guess.

So many literacy teachers have been looking for the same types of things--clips of Interactive Whiteboards being used in ways to support the way we know kids use reading and writing.

I visited a friend's classroom who did some great things with book previewing (She should  start her own blog so she can write about what she is doing with the board--hint, hint..).  Several teachers in our school are using it in very smart ways.  But the examples I find that really match what I understand about literacy development are not that easy to find.

When we visited our daughter's orthodontist a few weeks ago, I noticed that he has a very cool (small)  Smartboard in his office. He used it to show us our daughter's x-ray, to jot things down and play with the x-ray a bit.  It was very fun to see it being used. But I left there thinking hard about the size of the boards that I am seeing in schools. 

I loved the size of the Smartboard in the office--it was about the size of a 40 inch TV.  I started thinking about all that I could do with a board THAT size in class. I could use it as I do the easel--for minilessons, in small group work, kids could use it in booktalks, etc.  After seeing that small board in the orthodontist's office, I started to think of so many possibilities. I know that they are also possible with the larger board but a different size invites different work, I think.  The possibilities I imagined with the large interactive board focused more on whole group things and limited a bit of the way I thought about its uses.

So, here is what I am wondering--

Why aren't more of the Reading/Writing Workshop people out there writing about ways they use the boards to support literacy development?  How can we somehow collect great clips and posts of great uses of this tool in Reading/Writing Workshops?  I imagine it is out there but, why can't I find these samples easily? Am I looking in the wrong places?

Are Interactive Whiteboards for schools only available in the larger size? Has anyone invented a SMARTEASEL yet?  If so, where can I get one and how much are they? I have seen the tables but would love to find a SMARTEASEL.  Is there one out there?  

Does the size of the Interactive Whiteboard that I am seeing in most classrooms invite more whole class teaching because of the size? Or are lots of people using it with small groups, book talks, etc. I can see huge implications for student-led booktalks and am hoping to do more with that next year.

If anyone knows of sites or blogs that focus on Interactive Whiteboards in Reading/Writing Workshop or have answers to any (or all) of my questions, please let me know. I am fascinated with this tool and see huge possibilities. It seems that for people using this tool well, it is just embedded in all that they do, so they don't mention it much.  It is just an invisible part of their teaching just as all of the tools are.  But I am one who learns and thinks from seeing good teaching and I would love to find more clips/posts that show these possibilities in the Reading-Writing Workshop. I would love to find a place where Reading/Writing workshop teachers can go to see the ways in which people are using these.  (I know the National Writing Project is doing some great things with tech in general in lots of places.)  

Please share!

Poetry Friday -- In Translation

After the rain
A colorful slide is
made by sunlight

雨の後
カラフルなスライド
日光によって作られます

* * * * * * *

Rain falls
7 colors
appear

* * * * * * *

River of 7 colors
Appear after rain.
In the blue sky it
Never ends.
Before it fades,
On the 7 colors let's take a
Walk in the beautiful sight.

* * * * * * *

雨の後に
７つの色
橋が来ます

After rain
the bridge with
7 colors
is coming

* * * * * * *

Colorful half-circle
Is in front of me.
Can I
Climb on it?

カラフルな半円
私の前 にあります。
排除してください
それの上に登ります？




One of my fourth graders used SIDE BY SIDE (a 2009 Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts that features poetry -- in the original language and translated into English -- inspired by art from around the world) as her mentor text for her poetry collection. She wrote some of her poems in Japanese and translated them to English, and she wrote some in English and translated them to Japanese. She struggled with the fact that her English acrostic was no longer an acrostic in Japanese, and her Japanese haiku was no longer a haiku in English. But she learned that such is the nature of translation. The online translator that I used to get the Japanese for her poems was also problematic. The three I've included aren't exactly as she wrote them, and the two I didn't include simply didn't mean the same thing as her poems.

Kelly Polark has the round up this week.

Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli

I am always looking for books that support new readers.  HIGHER! HIGHER! by Leslie Patricelli is a new one that I found that does just that. In this colorful picture book, is having a great time on a swing. As many kids do, she asks to be pushed "Higher! Higher!"  On several pages of the book, the words "Higher! Higher!" are the only two words that accompany the illustration.  With each push, the little girl goes higher and higher--past trees, buildings and more.  Near the end of the book, the words on each page change just a bit.  There are still only 2 very predictable words on each page (thanks to the pictures) but they are a bit different from the rest of the book. 

This is the perfect book for new readers. The pictures tell a great story on their own. They are bright colored and cheerful. This is a story that lots of kids can relate to and the simple text is perfect for new readers. 

The 2nd International Cookbook for Kids

I cannot seem to keep good cookbooks in the library at our school. Kids love them. I shouldn't be surprised. My 9 year old is a huge fan of any cooking show she can find on TV. She is also one who checks out cookbooks often. Even though she doesn't make much from the cookbooks yet, she spends lots of time reading about how to make different dishes.

I was thrilled to get a copy of THE 2nd INTERNATIONAL COOKBOOK FOR KIDS from Marshall Cavendish a while back.  My 9 year old got her hands on it and I just found it in her room again! She had trouble giving this one up.  

I can see why she loves this cookbook. The first International Cookbook for Kids by Matthew Locricchio focused on cooking from China, France, Italy, and Mexico. This 2nd book focuses on cooking of Grece, India, Thailand and Brazil.

This is a well-done cookbook and one that I could see using myself.  The recipes are not easy--they are pretty complicated dishes that don't look like they would necessarily show up in a kids' cookbook.  But the author makes the recipes very accessible to kids who are serious about cooking.  The information is very detailed with instructions on how to cut things embedded right into the recipe. Most recipes have a large photo showing the final dish.   Several categories are included--appetizers, salads, noodles, vegetables, potatoes, main dishes, desserts, etc. There are also sections on safety, cooking terms and utensils. 

For children who are serious about cooking or who are interested in foods from these countries, this is a great book with a huge amount of information along with lots of great recipes.

The Fiesta Dress: A Quinceanera Tale

I just received a review copy of THE FIESTA DRESS: A QUINCEANERA TALE by Caren McNelly McCormack and published by Marshall Cavendish.  I love this book and am excited to add a copy to our school library.

THE FIESTA DRESS is the story about Lola, the baby of the family who gets lots of attention. But on the day of her older sister's quinceanera, no one seems to notice her.  Everyone is too busy getting ready for the big event.  But when Lola accidentally lets out the family dog, who then steals the sash from the quinceanera dress, everyone notices her. Lola ends up saving the day and it is a great fiesta!

There is lots to like about this book. Although it is about the preparations for a quinceanera, all kids can relate to the story of a girl who is just not getting enough attention on a sibling's big day.   There are Spanish words embedded throughout the text with a glossary at the end that defines them. The author weaves in some of the traditions of this celebration throughout the story.

A great new picture book! This is just one of the great new picture books that Marshall Cavendish has out this spring.

READ IT, DON'T EAT IT! by Ian Schoenherr

I am not usually a big fan of books that obviously teach a lesson. But I really like this new book READ IT, DON'T EAT IT by Ian Schoenher that teaches young children how to take care of a book. Even though the lesson is a bit obvious, it is very well done and it is a great, supportive book for new readers.

In this book, animal characters teach us the ways to take care of the books we borrow from classrooms and libraries. Each page, gives us a tip on taking care of books such as "Find someplace else to sneeze."  and "Be careful with it at the pool." Each rule is accompanied by a colorful picture of an animal demonstrating the tip.  The text is large and simple and there is much rhyme and rhythm to the book. 

I can see this as a great book to start the year with for K-1 students next year in the library. It will be a fun way to start a conversation about library books and the library.  I can also see this as a great book for K-1 classrooms.  The text is predictable enough for new readers to be able to read on their own--the picture supports are great.

21st Century Thinking-My Blog Visits

The end of the year always seems crazy and  I haven't had much time lately to read, visit blogs, and reflect on my teaching.  As the year starts to wind down, things are slowing down a bit and I find myself thinking ahead to the next school year. Where do I want my thinking to go and what do I want to be thinking about over the summer?  This is my newest list of things that have me thinking in terms of 21st Century learning. So many smart people out there doing amazing things. So happy that they are all willing to share so much. 

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the way that new tools are changing the Writing Workshop. What does it mean to be a writer today?  Kim at Always Learning has a great post where she shares their work in Reading/Writing Workshop.  How do we best meet the needs of today's students? She describes a unit focused on digital literacy. Such a smart way to expand our thinking about workshop.

As I continue to think about what it means to be a writer these days, I continue to search for great mentors for students.  Pieces to read, listen to and watch so that we can talk a bit about craft and creation in our minilessons. If you have not had a chance to visit the Parkway Digital Film Festival video page, it is filled with amazing projects by students of all ages.  The variety and quality are amazing.  I love the whole idea of a film festival as a way to get a community sharing student projects.  But even if you aren't interested in the idea of a film festival, the site is a great resource of pieces by students.  The other video that I LOVE from Parkway is one called "Behind the Scenes" which takes us behind the scenes of students getting ready for the film festival-creating the films that they will enter. This is such a great film about 21st Century Learning and the idea that it is all so much more than technology integration. A great piece that shares the process of the kids' work.

The Longfellow Ten is also a great resource that shares examples of stopmotion film--mostly related to literary terms and science concepts.  Great examples for students.

Another new favorite site for students is East K-8 Book Reporters. On this site, students do a great job of booktalking a variety of books on video. A great way to preview books and a great format for student creation. 

I need to spend lots more time with this great compilation of ways to use your pocket video cameras in the classroom called THIRTY-NINE INTERESTING WAYS TO USE YOUR POCKET VIDEO CAMERA IN THE CLASSROOM. With these small cameras being so reasonably priced, I am loving the ideas of all of the different ways to use them.  This slide show of ideas will keep me from getting in a rut--so many great ideas!

As always, Kim Cofino at Always Learning  gives us something to think about in her recent post, "It's Not Just a Tool:  Technology as Environment".  In this post, she invites us to think with her about the difference between tool and environment and how that might be different for our students.  A smart post worth thinking about.

"Eight Habits of Highly Effective 21st Century Teachers" by Andrew Churches was a good one to read.  An interesting list to look at and to use as a guide for reflection.  A great article sharing IDEO's Ten Tips for Creating a 21st Century Classroom Experience

includes tips like creating from relevance, creating an environment that raises lots of questions by students and more. 10 tips worth reflecting on.

I was fascinated by Jenny at Elementary, My Dear, or Far From It description of their new report cards and the inclusion of Patterns of Thinking as they think about student progress.  I think progress reports are always difficult as it is so hard to share all that we know about our students. But this seems like an exciting way to move forward in our communication with parents.

This-n-That

What I Love About Procrastination (at Indexed)

My Favorite Combination of Truth and Snarkiness (It's Not All Flowers and Sausages)

Rhubarb Cobbler *swoon* (from Smitten Kitchen)

A belated Cinco de Mayo greeting (at LOLdogs)

Poetry Friday -- Speaking of Contraries

from WEST-RUNNING BROOK
by Robert Frost

'Speaking of contraries, see how the brook
In that white wave runs counter to itself.
It is from that in water we were from
Long, long before we were from any creature.
Here we, in our impatience of the steps,
Get back to the beginning of beginnings,
The stream of everything that runs away.
Some say existence like a Pirouot
And Pirouette, forever in one place,
Stands still and dances, but it runs away,
It seriously, sadly, runs away
To fill the abyss' void with emptiness.
It flows beside us in this water brook,
But it flows over us. It flows between us
To separate us for a panic moment.
It flows between us, over us, and with us.
And it is time, strength, tone, light, life and love-
And even substance lapsing unsubstantial;
The universal cataract of death
That spends to nothingness -- and unresisted,
Save by some strange resistance in itself,
Not just a swerving, but a throwing back,
As if regret were in it and were sacred.
It has this throwing backward on itself
So that the fall of most of it is always
Raising a little, sending up a little.
Our life runs down in sending up the clock.
The brook runs down in sending up our life.
The sun runs down in sending up the brook.
And there is something sending up the sun.
It is this backward motion toward the source,
Against the stream, that most we see ourselves in,
The tribute of the current to the source.
It is from this in nature we are from.
It is most us.'



The whole poem is here. The round up this week is at Picture Book of the Day.

The Pain and the Great One Chapter Books

Friend or Fiend? with the Pain & the Great One

by Judy Blume

illustrated by James Stevenson

Random House, May 12, 2009

review copy received at IRA-Phoenix

best for grades 2-4

How did I miss this new(er) series by Judy Blume? This is the fourth one!

There's lots to love about this book. It starts with a one paragraph introduction of each of the characters (The Pain -- Jake the first grade brother, and The Great One -- Abigail the third grade sister). 

Each chapter can stand alone as a short story -- great for guided reading groups, literature circles, or mentor texts. But some of the chapters are linked in fun ways, like the ones in this book that featured Fluzzy the cat in some way. (There's even a chapter from the point of view of Fluzzy!)

The chapters are sometimes told from the point of view of The Pain, and sometimes from the point of view of The Great One. You can tell by the picture at the beginning of the chapter. 

Problems and solutions are very clear in these short chapter-stories. There is sibling rivalry, mean cousins who make siblings grateful, conflicts between friends, the embarrassment of mistakes made in public (at school), mean neighborhood children who bring the best out in The Great One, and a chocolate ice cream cone that winds up smushed on The Pain's forehead that actually solves more problems than it causes!

Teacher Appreciation Day

Teacher Appreciation Day is when the high schooler whose youngest brother is in fourth grade comes back and chats with me during bus duty, breathlessly telling me that he is going to be a photojournalist, that he has "grown a brain" since I had him in fourth and fifth grades, that he only shaves for dances and other special occasions.

Teacher Appreciation Day is sitting down in the teachers' lounge with a first grade teacher who was in my fourth grade class.

Teacher Appreciation Day is seeing a student make her idea come to being: a play she wrote based on the book HACHIKO WAITS being practiced on the stage in preparation for performance for the whole grade level.

Teacher Appreciation Day is an email from a former parent who still checks my (pathetically maintained) classroom website to see what's going on in fourth grade and who writes with periodic book chat and recommendations.

Teacher Appreciation is a Minnie Mouse watch in the mail from a family whose children I had 19 and 13 years ago. They long ago moved many states away, but we have continued to exchange Christmas cards all these years. The watch was a "gift of time" in recognition of my 10 year celebration.

Teacher Appreciation is hearing from our school librarian about her daughter, who was in my 5th grade class, now a voracious reader that had to be teased and tickled along back then, who is graduating from college and entering the Peace Corps this fall.

Teacher Appreciation doesn't just happen on a certain designated day in May. It's all the little things that let me know that what I have done with my life for the past 20+ years has made a difference -- small differences in the moment, and lasting differences that have changed lives.

April Mosaic

I'm 120 days into the Project 365 challenge on Flickr, and I'm still having fun! 

In June, when I'm halfway through the year, I think it will be fun to pull together some of the small themes that have emerged: the cat, blooms, pictures out my classroom window, food pics.

Carrying my camera with me at all times has continued to change the way I look at and interact with the world. We stopped and watched the geese with their nest in the median of a shopping center parking lot, and I took pictures until Papa Goose came at me with his neck out, hissing. I didn't get a shot of Lynn's wine glass at our book club dinner because the waiter brought our food and the moment was gone, but I lost myself in the red of the wine and the way it was sparkling in the afternoon sun.

It may or may not be related to this photo project, but I'm starting to use my writer's notebook again -- capturing "snapshots" in words -- and it's good to get back to that.

  

Poetry Friday -- 21st Century Thinking

Earbud
by Bill Holm

Earbud--a tiny marble sheathed in foam
to wear like an interior earring so you
can enjoy private noises wherever you go,
protected from any sudden silence.

(the rest of the poem is here)


This poem got me thinking about all of the 21st Century gadgets we can't live without, but which create barriers that separate us from other real, live human beings.

The round up this week is at Allegro.

(Photo credit: "Earbud love 2" by Dano)

Poetry Month -- Zorgamazoo

Zorgamazoo
by Robert Paul Weston
illustrated by Victor Rivas
Penguin Young Readers Group, 2008

Yes, I know I already reviewed this book. That was before I read it aloud to my fourth graders. That was before it was selected for the short list of the E.B. White Read Aloud Awards. That was before I heard the author reading the first couple of chapters on his blog. (You can read the first chapter here, and the Zorgamazoo website is here.)

I'd like to end the 2009 National Poetry Month by encouraging the ABC Booksellers who are voting for the winner of the E.B. White Read Aloud Award to choose Zorgamazoo, and by encouraging every teacher of grades 3-6 to read this book aloud.

You've never read anything like it (283 pages of rhyming verse) but it won't take long at all for you to see how fun it is to read aloud (it positively lends itself to dramatic expression). Your students might start off as slightly reluctant listeners, but it won't take long at all for them to be drawn into the story, to notice the irony of Morty becoming a hero by winning the hero lottery rather than doing something heroic, to predict why all the creatures are imprisoned on the moon by Dullbert Hohummer, the Third, and to cheer when it's time for read aloud every day.

Happy Poetry Month 2009! It's been great fun!

Poetry Month -- all the small poems and fourteen more

all the small poems and fourteen more
by Valerie Worth
illustrated by Natalie Babbitt
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994

Are you ready for Poem in Your Pocket Day tomorrow? If not, grab this classic and open to any page to find a small poem just right for tucking in your pocket to share with anyone who will listen!

Here's a perfect one to celebrate those wildflowers which have been appearing in our lawn the last couple of weeks, and which so many of us have such a hard time loving:

dandelion

Out of
Green space,
A sun:
Bright for
A day, burning
Away to
A husk, a
Cratered moon:

Burst
In a week
To dust:
Seeding
The infinite
Lawn with
Its starry
Smithereens.

Poetry Month -- Basketball

Hoop Kings
by Charles R. Smith
Candlewick Press, 2004








Hoop Queens
by Charles R. Smith
Candlewick Press, 2003








I don't know much about basketball, but I do know that these two books pass the test with the sports fans (mostly boys) in my classroom. They are pulled in by the famous players, the bold colors, and the action photography. Once they're hooked, they find poems of many forms, including rhyming, free verse, acrostic, and rap.

Here's part of Sheryl Swoopes' poem, "All That:"

The Point Leader
Stat Line Feeder,
last-second
shot-making
OT Buzzer-Beater.
The Board Snatcher
Bullet Pass Catcher,
charging hard
through-the-lane
coming-right-at-ya.
The Lane Spinner
championship Winner,
coast to coast
off-the-glass
finger-roll finisher.

Poetry Month -- Imaginary Menagerie

Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures
by Julie Larios
illustrated by Julie Paschkis
Harcourt, 2008

Sometimes you just have to be patient and know that the right books will find the right readers eventually. IMAGINARY MENAGERIE has been in my poetry collection the whole school year, but last Friday it was "discovered."

Two girls chose it for Poetry Friday and asked to read a poem without telling us the title to see if we could guess what it was about. Many of the students guessed. Can you?


How can a beast speak
with a stone tongue,
with a stone throat?
My mouth is a rainspout. I screech. I shout.
How can a beast fly
with stone wings?
I fly when the bells ring and the hunchback is home.
Does a stone beast sleep
in a stone nest?
I am on guard. I never rest.


Did you guess Gargoyle? If you did, you were right!

I think we'll come back to this poem next week. When we wrote acrostics, we made the rule that you couldn't use your "key word," your vertical word, anywhere in the poem. The poem had to be about that word without using it. That's exactly what Julie Larios does in each of these poems. That's exactly what we want our young writers to do when we ask them to, "Show; don't tell."

Poetry Month: What Can You Do With An Old Red Shoe?

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH AN OLD RED SHOE by Anna Alter is not a poetry book. But a poem introduces each page.  This book is "a green activity book about reuse".  Each 2 page spread starts out with a short poem--often a rhyming poem--one that tells the story of something that happened so that something can no longer be used for its original intent.  For example, one flip flop gets lost, a shirt gets tattered, and crayons get worn out from use.  

Following each poem is a question such as "What can you do with bits of old crayon?"

The rest of the two-page spread gives us instructions (with adorable illustrations) on something to make in order to reuse the item. We learn to make a planter from an old shoe, a pillow from an old t-shirt and more.

I love a lot about this book. It has great examples of how-to writing. Step by step instructions written with details and illustrated too. I also like the predictable format.  The idea that a poem can start each page by setting up the story is a fun one and I think kids could try this in their own writing.

A book that isn't quite a poetry book, but one that uses poems in an innovative way. And I love the message about reusing objects.  At the end of the book are more ways you can support reuse and recycling as well as hand-sewing tips.

Poetry Month -- Omnibeasts

Omnibeasts: Animal Poems and Paintings
by Douglas Florian
Harcourt, 2004

A. It wouldn't be National Poetry Month without Douglas Florian.

B. It's time to get ready for Poem in Your Pocket Day.

C. OMNIBEASTS has 44 short animal poems, each one perfect for carrying in your pocket.

My classroom copy of this book has no less than 6 sticky notes flagging student favorites. Here's one of my favorites, which, coincidentally, features a pocket:

The Kangaroo

The kangaroo loves to leap,
Into the air it zooms,
While baby's fast asleep
Inside its kangaroom.

Poetry Friday -- 15 Words or Less

The little orange fur-ball

stuck in a cage,

the little orange fur-ball

sleeping in a rage.

***

The cat is tiny

all bright and gold

while it lays in its 

cage.

***

The Game

The game 

where the

fluffy

cat stares

with 

vicious thoughts

and the dog

lies

relaxed...

***

I stare at you

you stare back.

When my 

owner comes

you get 

kicked out.

***

The cat looks at me.

I wag my 

tail.

I think he is

my friend.

***

Ruff Ruff

Meow Meow

Cat scratched --

"OW"

***

The cage is strong

and

tough it is

black like the 

black night sky

***

the cat is

small

while the dog is

huge

the cage is

big

the cage is 

open

***

Last Friday, when I told my students that I was going to hear both J. Patrick Lewis and Kay Ryan, the Poet Laureate of the U.S., speak, we had a great discussion about who the Poet Laureate is and what they do in that job. My students decided that they might like to grow up and become poets because, "poets get to break the rules and not use punctuation and capitalization if they don't want to (a discussion we had last week), and then you could become the "head poet" for all of the United States!!!"

We have Achievement tests this week and next. The schedule changes leave us with odd little scraps of time in the day that are perfect for introducing some short forms of poetry and starting our poetry writing unit. 

After I modeled writing a 15 Words or Less poem inspired by another photo and explained my choices of line breaks and repetition of phrases, I put this picture of our cat, Willie Morris, and our friends' dog, Ruby, up on the TV and turned the students loose to write without any explanation of the picture. The students whose poems I'm sharing today wrote them in about 5 minutes!! The variety in these poems is really fun -- the cat, the dog, even the cage!

The story behind the photo is that Willie Morris has taken over Ruby's den. (Ruby was spending the weekend with us.) In fact, when Ruby visits, she has to follow all of Willie's rules. Ruby really really wants to be friends with Will, but he thinks it's more fun to make a big dog do whatever he decides he wants the dog to do. Will has been known to back Ruby into the bedroom and onto her dog bed and refuse to even let her look at him until he was ready!  Isn't it amazing that some of the students captured that attitude in their poems without even knowing the story?!  

For the rest of the month, we'll explore more short forms of poetry -- haiku, limericks, couplets, and acrostics. I'll share some of the students' poems and the picture that was their prompt.

We still need just a couple of Poetry Friday hosts between now and August (see schedule in the sidebar). If you're interested, leave a note in the comments. The round up today is at Under the Covers.

Mentor Texts--My goals for summer

As I have been working with K-5 students, I have been thinking about what it means when we think about creating in a 21st Century world?

I have always been committed to a Reading/Writing Workshop and know the power of books and text for readers and writers to grow. I know that having mentor texts when writing is critical.  But, with the new tools and the new formats for creation, finding mentor pieces for our students becomes a little bit of a challenge.

One of the things I know is that before we can ask kids to create a slide show or a video or a Public Service Announcement, they need lots of experience watching these.  And they also need to learn how to "watch like a writer".  To look at mentor clips and think about what makes them effective. What things did this writer/creator do that you might try?

I remember avoiding PowerPoint when working with teachers for a long time. I loved the flexibility of my transparencies and hadn't seen anyone use it in a way that worked for me.  Then I watched Katie Wood Ray use a PowerPoint in a talk and I was inspired.  She had created something that could work for me.  I used her as a mentor--thinking about what she had done as a PowerPoint creator, that was different from the others I'd seen. What had she done that I could learn from?  I had a vision that made the move to PowerPoint worth it.

As a writing teacher, I know the power of mentors and mentor texts, of keeping a writers' notebook and of writing myself.  If I am going to invite students to create videos, slide shows, etc. I know that having gone through the process myself will be critical. And I know that helping students find mentors that match their needs will be key.

So, my summer goals are two-fold. First, I want to create my own "notebook" of creations. I feel like I need to play with these new tools and collect samples of things I do authentically with the newer tools--What do I photograph and why? When do I send a video of the kids to my parents? How do I use Keynote when I work with teachers?  What am I interested in and how do different tools help me collect, create and communicate?

Second, I want to keep my eye out for quality mentor pieces.  When we expand our definition of author, the questions are the same. I want a collection of clips and pieces that I can use with students as they begin to think about their own creations.  These clips and pieces seem a bit more difficult to find than the books and writing pieces I share with students.  As a teacher, it is the same thinking but different tools. 

Whether my kids are creating poetry or a video Public Service Announcements, the questions are the same--they all revolve around looking at quality work and asking yourself:

 What decisions did this author make in order to create this piece? What makes it effective?

The specifics might be different but I imagine we'll still look at solid leads, word choice, organization--those traits of writing that we know so well. But we will also look at the tech decisions-which might be considered the craft. Why did the author decide on the background music? How does the length of transitions impact the meaning?

When I look at clips with this lens, it is interesting what I find.  The kids are discovering so many things about creation just by watching quality clips and thinking about the decisions made in the creation.

These are two clips I've found this week to begin my collection.  I don't know if I'll ever use them but they'll be in my toolbox:

In this Public Service Announcement encouraging people to get a flu shot, the camera work and the slow motion works to create the drama needed to get the message across. I can envision lots of talk about timing, persuasion, etc. after students watch this.

And I love this clip from Wesley Fryer--"Go Green! Go Electric!". A great clip to show kids that informs viewers--done by kids. The combination of narration and visuals works well and I want to make sure I have lots of examples of pieces by kids.  

I imagine, as with any inquiry, once I share a few of these, the students will find many in their worlds and begin to watch with the eyes of a creator.  These will just begin the conversation. As I continue to reflect on the goals for our students and the definitions of 21st Century Literacies, looking critically and learning from mentor pieces seems key in the process of creation.  

Poetry Month: A Poetry Book For Adults

I don't spend a lot of money on poetry books for myself. I enjoy poetry but I am not one to sit down with an entire book of poems. I have a few but I am picky about the ones I choose to own. One of my very favorites is TEN POEMS TO LAST A LIFETIME by Roger Housden. I picked this up years ago when I was at a conference and I have gone back to it several times since. I love the whole concept of the books and the ways that the poems were chosen.

In the introduction to this book (which alone is worth every penny that you pay for the entire book), Housden says, "Surely, if something, anything is to sustain your attention, your passion, over a lifetime, it must have the capacity to reveal layers of meaning and value in ever-fresh and unexpected ways."

These are poems that you want to keep coming back to. There are poems by Billy Collins, Naomis Shihab Nye, Mary Oliver and others. Each poem is followed by an essay by the author in which he reflects on the poem and the meaning it has for him.

This is one of the Ten Poems series and this is my favorite:-)

Welcome New Blog

Welcome Julie at Raising Readers and Writers to the Kidlitosphere!  She just started her blog and already has some great posts.  Take a minute to visit!

Poetry Month -- A Classic

Good Books, Good Times!
selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
illustrated by Harvey Stevenson
Harper Collins Publishers, 1990

While Inner Chimes (my recent review here) is my favorite children's book of poetry about poetry and writing poetry, GOOD BOOKS, GOOD TIMES! is my favorite children's book of poetry about books and reading.

On Poetry Friday, early in the year, this is the book I can hand to a reluctant and/or struggling reader, who is guaranteed to find at least one poem (and usually more) that s/he can read. It's quite subversive (pardon the pun) to give such a reader a book about the joys of reading, to trick them into reciting words they don't believe yet, but probably will by the end of fourth grade with me and my room full of books.

Here's one that's often recited on Poetry Friday:

I MET A DRAGON FACE TO FACE
by Jack Prelutsky

I met a dragon face to face
the year when I was ten,
I took a trip to outer space,
I braved a pirates' den,
I wrestled with a wicked troll,
and fought a great white shark,
I trailed a rabbit down a hole,
I hunted for a snark.

I stowed aboard a submarine,
I opened magic doors,
I traveled in a time machine,
and searched for dinosaurs,
I climbed atop a giant's head,
I found a pot of gold,
I did all this in books I read
when I was ten years old.

Poetry Month: Songs for Young Children

There has not been much talk of songs during National Poetry Month. I have found that so many of my students buy into poetry when they realize that songs are often a form of poetry.  So today, to celebrate National Poetry Month I wanted to share some great song videos I have found online.  These are great fun for children to listen to and to watch. But I am also thinking that with programs like Animationish and others that are available, I can see kids creating animated videos and art like this to go with favorite songs.  Can you imagine how this can tie into Garageband?  I think the possibilities are endless.  But, just as importantly, these songs are FUN! A great joyful way to celebrate words with our students. Enjoy!  

Some of my favorite songs and sites:

The Elephant Song (and all of the others by Eric Herman)

Rain, Rain Go Away!

ABC Song

Super Simple Songs (a site with lots of great songs and videos)

Five Little Monkeys

Another Book I Could Read a Million Times

I have found one more book that I think I could read a million times. If you haven't read One Giant Leap by Robert Burleigh, I would highly recommend it. This book just came out and is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of our first trip to the moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldridge were the first to step on the moon. This book tells about the trip from the time the Eagle took off to the time the astronauts landed. The book captures the power of the trip and the emotions of the astronauts well.

Mike Wimmer's illustrations are amazing. Most are dark as the moon would have looked when they landed. The details show so many things about the trip and the feel of the illustrations matches the feel of the world when the astronauts stepped out on the moon.

The language in the book is one that makes it a perfect read aloud. Yesterday, I read it to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes and they were glued. Not much of a sound from any group that I read it to. And kids this age take space travel for granted. But somehow the author and illustrator helped them relive the excitement of the moment in this book.

Following the read aloud, many of the kids found the original film of the moon landing on the internet. They watched and were excited to see what they had just read about and to hear Neil Armstrong's actual voice saying, "One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind." (On a side note, kids had heard spinoffs of this famous quote on Spongebob and other shows and had no idea what the origin of the quote was...) Within minutes they found information on Neil Armstrong, clips of the trip, information on more recent space travel news.

It isn't often that a nonfiction picture book can capture history so clearly and so powerfully. Often, I read aloud a picture book and kids learn but this one actually allows the children who take space travel for granted, to feel the excitement and thrill of the day. For the astronauts who lived it and for the world who watched.

Poetry Month -- Acrostics

Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic
by Stephen Schnur
illustrated by Leslie Evans
Clarion Books, 1999

I've written before about my pet peeve with acrostics: most teachers allow children to write a word vertically down their page, write a word that starts with each of the letters, and call it a poem. In my mind, a poem needs to say something, not just be a list of words. That's why Stephen Schnur's Alphabet Acrostic books have been key mentor texts in my classroom for modeling acrostics that say something.

Interestingly, Stephen Schnur does not think of himself as a poet. I learned this when he was featured at Miss Rumphius' Poetry Makers series this month.

"Though some have called my acrostic books poetry, I think of them as word play, as solutions to problems of verbal geometry."

Verbal geometry. I like that. Maybe that's what all of poetry is, after all. Schnur gives himself an additional challenge in his four seasonal acrostic books by making them alphabet books as well.

Here is one of my favorite spring acrostics by Stephen Schnur:

Green leaves overhead, a
Rug of green underfoot,
And the air between
Sweet with the green
Smell of spring.

Poetry Saturday: J. Patrick Lewis and Kay Ryan

I had just about the best poetry day ever yesterday! It started at Cover to Cover bookstore with Tim Bowers and J.Patrick Lewis for the launch of their book, FIRST DOG. We heard the story of how talent and timing and luck resulted in the right book at the right...nay, the PERFECT time. FIRST DOG, written by Lewis and one of his daughters (talent), was originally about an all-American mutt who travels the world trying to find his ancestry. When Obama promised his daughters that they could have a dog when they moved to the White House, the manuscript just happened to be in the hands of Pat's editor (timing) when the publisher wished out loud that they had a dog book for this occasion. Tim Bowers, who also lives in central Ohio and who has been friends with Pat for a dozen or more years (Pat and Tim have often wished they could work together, but authors are not often allowed the luxury of picking their illustrator) and who has become somewhat well-known for his dog illustrations, was chosen as the illustrator. (luck, but also talent, and timing: "It's about TIME we got to work together!!") FIRST DOG takes the reader around the world as he looks for the right home. In the course of his travels, he meets dogs of the breeds that originated in various countries and wonders if he could live there with them. (Information about each breed is on the endpapers.) Ultimately, he finds his way back home to the U.S. and notices an article in a newspaper about the search for a dog for the White House. He trots on over to the back door of the White House, and is greeted by two children (seen only from the knees down to the spangly sparkly tennis shoes) who ask their dad if they can keep him. Can you guess what dad says? First Dog by J. Patrick Lewis and Beth Zappitello illustrated by Tim Bowers Sleeping Bear Press in stores April 15, 2009 First Dog bonus tracks: an original First Dog poem by J. Patrick Lewis here, and another by Rebecca Kai Dotlich here. Stay tuned for a YouTube video of Pat reading FIRST DOG to an audience of dogs! Edited to add: the video is up HERE! I had to leave Cover to Cover before the party ended, which was before even half of the autographing line had snake past the signing table. Lucky for me, the staff at CTC and Pat and Tim were understanding and accommodating, so my copy of FIRST DOG and my stack of not-yet-signed-by-Pat poetry books from my classroom collection were waiting for me later in the afternoon. Why the rush? Kay Ryan, Poet Laureate of the United States of America, was speaking at Columbus State Community College!! About the position of Poet Laureate, from the Library of Congress website:

"The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress serves as the nation's official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry."

You might remember that I have a collection of four volumes signed by Poet Laureates -- Billy Collins (from before he was Laureate), Ted Kooser (who was signing at NCTE a few years ago), and two given to me by the best big brother in the world: Richard Eberhart (Laureate in the year of my birth), and Robert Frost (THE Robert Frost!!!). Kay Ryan, whose wit and rhyme and word play I adore, is my fifth Poet Laureate autograph. Ryan's talk was a poetry reading with commentary -- sometimes before the poem, sometimes after, sometimes during. She read each poem twice. She says (and I totally agree) the first reading of a poem is just to find out, "Do I want to read this poem?" The second reading is really the first reading. In her keynote, she gave us a few Key Notes: "You must write what you can at that time." Not very grand, she says, but meant to convey urgency and the acceptance of your work in the moment. (Good advice for living, as well as writing.) She also said that although her writing is very personal -- she writes because something is worrying her -- she is always aware that her writing must be accessible to the public as well. Here's my favorite poem by Kay Ryan, one I loved before she was named Poet Laureate: Turtle Who would be a turtle who could help it? A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet, She can ill afford the chances she must take In rowing toward the grasses that she eats. (the rest is here) You can hear Kay Ryan reading "Turtle" and commenting on her best rhyme ever ("a four-oared" and "afford") in this podcast with Billy Collins and Garrison Keillor. Ryan reads first, so if you only have time for a bit, you'll get to hear her. But if you listen to the whole thing, you'll get to hear her talk a bit more about her Key Note that the poet must attend to her/his reader.

Poetry Month -- Inner Chimes

Inner Chimes: Poems on Poetry
selected by Bobbye S. Goldstein
illustrations by Jane Breskin Zalben
Boyds Mills Press, 1992

I shared a poem from this book with my class yesterday -- "Take a Word Like Cat" by Karla Kuskin. We've been exploring the truth that one often must read a poem more than once for it to make sense. Here is the beginning and ending of Kuskin's poem:

Take a word like cat
And build around it;
A fur room over here
A long meow
Floating from the chimney like a smoke tail.
Draw with words.
Balance them like blocks.
.
.
.
When everything is perfect in its place
Step back to view the home
That you have built of words around your word.
It is a poem.


Most of the students got lost on the second line in the first reading. Not a single child knew what to do with the ending. So we decided to read it again! We had some questions about building with words and we were trying to visualize all the cat-related imagery that Kuskin includes in the middle of the poem.

When we got to the end the second time, K just about exploded with excitement. "I get it! I get it! It's a poem about writing a poem about a cat! When the poem says balance words like blocks, that's what you do in a poem when you make short lines!"

With this new-found power to crack open a poem and understand it, K read poetry for the entire SSR time.

INNER CHIMES is one of my all-time favorite books of poetry. Poems that think about themselves, poems that explore the writing of poetry, poems that give the reader a glimpse into the poet's process...what could be better?!

Poetry Friday -- Choices

TREE
by Jane Hirschfield


It is foolish
to let a young redwood
grow next to a house.



(the rest of the poem is here and the round up this week is at Becky's Book Reviews) 

It is foolish

to let the weeds of Achievement Tests

overrun the garden of good teaching.

It is foolish

to expect the Titanic American Economy

to turn around in a space of time no wider than the Potomac River.

It is foolish

to try to convince a cat

to let his "staff" sleep until the alarm goes off in the morning.

Do you have any foolishness you'd like to share this week?

On a completely different topic:

Would you like to host Poetry Friday on your blog? The temporary round up schedule is temporarily going to remain in the sidebar here. Pick a Friday in May, June, July, or August and leave your choice in the comments. I've got dibs on July 24 -- Christmas in July. 

THE CUCKOO'S HAIKU by Michael J. Rosen

The library at our school looks out to a great courtyard. This week, there were so many new birds out there. You could see and hear them, especially in the morning. I have been thinking about rearranging a bit so that kids could spend time with the courtyard. I've picked up a few field guides that kids could use to identify some of the trees and plants that are out there.

Yesterday, I found a new book by Michael J. Rosen called THE CUCKOO'S HAIKU AND OTHER BIRDING POEMS. It is a book filled with poems about common American birds (all Haiku). The artwork is stunning and the each page give you a little "field guide" type information--some details about each bird.

I also picked up Kevin Henkes' new book BIRDS. Although this book isn't a traditional poetry book, the language is poetic and the illustrations are cheery.

I am excited to get these books out there for the kids. They are books that might turn a few of them into bird watchers and poets!

Poetry Month -- A Kick in the Head

A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms
selected by Paul Janeczko
illustrated by Chris Raschka
Scholastic, 2005

Okay, I'll freely admit it: sometimes I don't read the introductions of books when I'm supposed to -- before I read the book. Sometimes I get around to reading the introduction a lamentable four years after the book is published and discover new ways to help kids get excited about it. Yes, I'm talking about the introduction to A KICK IN THE HEAD. Here's a little piece of what I found this morning:

"Why, you may ask, do poems have rules? Why 17 syllables in a haiku? Why 14 lines in a sonnet? The answer is: rules make the writing of a poem more challenging, more exciting. Think of a game you enjoy, like baseball. Imagine how much less intriguing the game would be if there were no foul lines or no limit to the number of outs in an inning. The rules often ask, "Can you do a good job within these limits?" Knowing the rules makes poetry -- like sports -- more fun, for players and spectators alike. Robert Frost once remarked that poetry without rules would be like a tennis match without a net."

Off you go. Grab your copy of A KICK IN THE HEAD and finish reading the introduction. Then read it to your students. Then study the little pictorial clues that illustrator Chris Raschka included in the top corner of each page where the name of the form is and try to figure out how he has represented the poetry form within that clue. (And shake your head and promise never to wait four years to read the introduction of ANY book EVER AGAIN!)




(Franki recently reviewed of Janeczko and Raschka's newest poetry venture together, A FOOT IN THE MOUTH. Tomorrow Paul Janeczko will be the featured Poetry Maker at The Miss Rumphius Effect.)

RED SINGS FROM THE TREETOPS by Joyce Sidman

The fun about shopping for books at a conference, is that I often find a book because some other teacher is buying it or reading it. That is what happened last weekend. I thought I was finished shopping for books. But then I noticed RED SINGS FROM THE TREETOPS in another shopper's hands. We chatted a bit about it, she told me why she loved it and had to have it, and then pointed me in the direction of the book.

This new book is by Joyce Sidman, one of my favorites since I read THIS IS JUST TO SAY. RED SINGS FROM THE TREETOPS: A YEAR IN COLORS is a totally different kind of a book. The book takes us through the colors of the seasons. The book is divided into 4 sections--one for each season. Each page focuses on a color of that season. For example:

Green is new
in spring. Shy.
Green peeks from buds,
trembles in the breeze.

See why I had to have it? Each line is perfect. Each page can stand alone. Or the book can be read from cover to cover going through the year.

MAMA SAYS: A BOOK OF LOVE FOR MOTHERS AND SONS

Mama Says: A Book of Love for Mothers and Sons
by Rob D. Walker
illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
The Blue Sky Press (Scholastic)
April, 2009
review copy provided by the publisher

This is a book for every mother of sons and for all sons. It is perfect for Mother's Day, baby showers, graduations, birthdays, and just because it's so beautiful.

Each double page spread in the book features wisdom from a mother written in English and another language (12 in all) with a gorgeous painting by the Dillons of a mother and son in the culture that speaks that language. On the cover you see the painting of the Cherokee mother. Her wisdom is:

Mama says
Be good
Mama says
Be kind
Mama says
The rain will come
But still the sun will shine

The mothers in this book (who speak Cherokee, Russian, Amharic, Japanese, Hindi, Inuktitut, Hebrew, Korean, Arabic, Quechua, Danish and English) teach the importance of kindness, sharing, diligence, faith, courage and a willingness to always try your best -- and the paintings and translations show us that these are universal traits that all mothers teach to their sons.

This is a perfect choice for the Diversity Rocks challenge.