Poetry Friday -- Autumn

Autumn

by Linda Pastan

I want to mention
summer ending
without meaning the death
of somebody loved

or even the death
of the trees.
Today in the market
I heard a mother say

Look at the pumpkins,
it's finally autumn!
And the child didn't think
of the death of her mother

which is due before her own
but tasted the sound
of the words on her clumsy tongue:
pumpkin; autumn.

Let the eye enlarge
with all it beholds.
I want to celebrate
color, how one red leaf

flickers like a match
held to a dry branch,
and the whole world goes up
in orange and gold.

Amy has the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Poem Farm. I'll be at the Ohio Casting for Recovery retreat all weekend, so I'll catch up with your posts (hopefully) at some point next week.

If you would like to make a donation to Casting for Recovery, Orvis is matching all donations until September 23. Secure donations can be made here. You can designate the Ohio retreat (or your state's retreat).

Happy Fall! Happy Friday! Happy Poetry!

Mix It Up!

Mix it Up!
by Hervé Tullet
Chronicle Books, September 16, 2014
review copy purchased for my class library

Even fifth graders LOVE Hervé Tullet's Press Here, a book that seems magically interactive.

In Mix it Up, readers will explore color mixing without ever getting their fingers dirty. By following the directions in the book, colors are made to appear, disappear, smear, drip, blend, lighten and darken.

Fun stuff!

Circle, Square, Moose

Circle, Square, Moose
by Kelly Bingham
illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Greenwillow Books, September 23, 2014
review copy provided by the publisher

Did you love Z is for Moose? Moose disrupted Zebra's presentation of the alphabet in that book. He's back, this time causing problems in a shape book.

Zebra comes to the rescue to extract Moose from the shape book, but that doesn't go so well.

Leave it to Moose to patch up his friendship with Zebra AND end the book with a rhyme.

Want to hear Paul O. Zelinsky speak? Come to the Dublin Literacy Conference on February 21, 2015! Consider presenting about your literacy best practices!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Visit Teach Mentor Texts for the link up for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

With the beginning of the school year, I haven't been reading much at all. But I have read a few things this week that I thought I'd share.

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen will be released in early October. It is a must read in my opinion.  I shared it with my 3rd graders this week and it was quite a hit. And the conversation around it was fabulous!  These 2 are brilliant, as always!

I discovered this nonfiction picture book, Moses: The True Story of an Elephant Baby, at Cover to Cover. It is a great story of a baby elephant with a bit about the importance of protecting elephants from poachers.  It is a little long but I think it is easily accessible to 2nd and 3rd graders. 

I have been hearing lots about Little Elliot, Big City and finally had a chance to read it yesterday.  I loved this book!  I loved the story, the characters and the illustrations. I haven't paid much attention to Caldecott possibilities but it would make me happy if this book won an award. 

I was thrilled to get a review copy of Princess in Black by Shannon Hale. I love anything by Shannon Hale and this looked perfect for 3rd graders. It is a simple chapter book (think Mercy Watson) about a princess who is all pink and proper on the outside but is really the Princess in Black who fights monsters.  I didn't get to read the whole thing before a student took it.....Hopefully I'll get it back soon!

Kicking Off Genius Hour

Last spring, during our morning Genius Hour time, one of my students had a small container with her when she entered the classroom. I asked her what she had and she said happily, "My Acorn Cap Collection. I am going to run a workshop this morning teaching people about them."  She proceeded to gather magnifying glasses, markers paper and sticky notes. She quickly made a sign and invited people to the table to learn about ways to observe acorn caps.  It was quite a popular spot in the room that morning and I thought, "This is what Genius Hour should look like every day!"

This year, as I thought about Genius Hour, I knew I wanted to change it a bit from last year. Last year,  students found areas of interest and spent time learning about those and sometimes creating things to share their learning.  I wanted it to be playful and purposeful.  But I wanted it to be more for this year and this Acorn Cap workshop gave me some ideas.

This year, we are changing the name of Genius Hour to "Wonder Workshop". We have Reading Workshop and Writing Workshop and Math Workshop so having a Wonder Workshop makes sense. Our students know what a workshop is and they know their role in learning in a workshop.  And a Wonder Workshop seems to make sense to 8 year olds.  This will be a time that we explore those things we wonder about each day.

This year, when I think about Genius Hour/Wonder Workshop, I wanted it to be a combination of so many things.  I love the Genius Hour movement and I also love the possibilities around Maker Space and Passion Time. I wanted to create a time that made sense for 8 year olds, where they could explore and learn. I wanted a place where they could sometimes be the learner and sometimes be the teacher. I wanted a place where anything was possible and where kids were in charge of their own learning.

To kick off Wonder Workshop, each child is creating a workshop for the class. We spent time talking about those things they love, things they are good at, things they want to teach others about.  So, every day, for 2 weeks, we are learning from each other.  For homework last week, kids prepared 10 minute mini-workshops on a topic of their choice.  For 2 weeks, kids are rotating to workshops, learning from every other child in the classroom.  So far we've learned:

• how to play guitar
• how to make fortune tellers
• how to braid hair
• about the sea
• how to make clay animals
• how to make puzzles

And these are just a few of the things we've learned about!

As students share, the audience members are jotting down new things they are learning and questions they have. They are also jotting down things they want to try.  I am hoping that we are setting the stage for a Wonder Workshop that has us thinking about the following questions.

• What do we know? 
• What can we teach each other? 
• What can we learn from and with each other? 
• What are you interested in/good at now?  
• What might we be interested in later in the year?

There have been some added perks. The idea of  "research" is already being discussed as something far more than finding the right answer.  Students are seeing themselves in various roles and the variety of the presentations will give us things to build on when it comes to writing and communication for much of the year.  They've also built a community around learning that I can see grow each day by listening into the questions they ask of each presenter.  Each child is not only discovering new interests, but they are also discovering things about their classmates.

I'm excited to move forward with the idea of a Wonder Workshop after spending a few weeks exploring our interests and learning from and with each other.   I imagine much of workshop will be a continuation of some of these workshops at first--kids are already wanting to try out and build on the things they are learning.  Just as with any workshop during the first few weeks of school, I am listening in, observing, and thinking about how we might build on the amazing things that kids are already doing!

Poetry Friday -- Cherry Tomatoes

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CHERRY TOMATOES
by Anne Higgins

Suddenly it is August again, so hot,
breathless heat.
I sit on the ground
in the garden of Carmel,
picking ripe cherry tomatoes
and eating them.
They are so ripe that the skin is split,
so warm and sweet
from the attentions of the sun,
the juice bursts in my mouth,
an ecstatic taste,
and I feel that I am in the mouth of summer,
sloshing in the saliva of August.
Hummingbirds halo me there,
in the great green silence,
and my own bursting heart
splits me with life.

First, there are the plants with no fruit. We wait and wait for the first green marbles to ripen.

Then, suddenly, there are so many that we just about can't eat them all. I consume them carelessly, by the handful. 

Now that the end of the productive season is in sight, I am back to savoring every one.

Such is life, no? The longing, the time of plenty, the loss.

Happy Friday -- enjoy a tomato today, and head over to Renee's place at No Water River for the roundup.

Life-Changing

My new favorite commuter audio experience is the NPR TED Radio Hour. In classic NPR style, a set of 4-6 TED talks on the same theme are excerpted, contextualized by interviews with the speakers, and interspersed with perfect musical bites (like they do in the show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me). TED talks. Through my ears. Perfect. (I use this not-free but highly-rated podcast app.)

And the thing is, every (EVERY) episode I've listened to so far has been life-changing. That both makes me want to listen more, and afraid if I listen again it won't happen!

In the show, Growing Up, which AJ and I listened to as we island-hopped across Lake Champlain from Vermont to New York last summer, and which is the show that hooked me, Gever Tulley's segment made me sure that I would do Genius Hour.

I played a portion of Margaret Heffernan's segment from the show, Making Mistakes, to my math class to emphasize the importance of the mathematical practice of talking and listening before I asked them to form groups comprised of not a single classmate they'd worked with the day before on a complicated place value problem we were trying to solve.

In Simply Happy, Matt Killingsworth's segment confirmed for me that I am on the right path with my "Trout a Day" project.

Sugata Mitra's segments in Unstoppable Learning changed my math lesson from a demonstration of how decimal expanded notation works, followed by a variety of practice, to a challenge to my students to figure out three different ways to show decimal expanded notation by using the activities I had curated for them. (Best. Math lesson. Ever.)

Last week, in our study of characters, my students read nonfiction books featuring an animal hero. This week, I will play Diana Nyad's segment from Champions while I model note taking. My students will chart and then write about the ways two or more characters (from the books they've read, our read alouds, and/or this audio segment) are the same and different.

As soon as my monthly credit at Audible rolls in, I'm going to dive into David Mitchell's newest book, The Bone Clocks. But you can be sure that one or two days a week, I'll be putting that one on hold so that I can catch up with my NPR TED Radio Hour episode!

Nuts to You

"Nuts to you" might have been what I was saying on Saturday when the class cold hit me so hard there was nothing I could do but lie in bed and create a mountain of soggy kleenex on the floor beside me. When I felt better enough to sit up for some soup and hot tea with honey and lemon (and more than a small splash of Old Charter), I picked up this recent library reserve and within 20 pages was laughing out loud and thanking my class for sharing the germs that stopped me from doing anything more than sitting up in bed reading:

Nuts to You 
by Lynne Rae Perkins
Greenwillow Books, 2014

This story was ostensibly told by a squirrel to the author. That may or may not be the factual truth, but since it's a rollicking good story, let's just go with that. Like another favorite Perkins title, As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth (my gushing review here), there are interruptions by the (human) author, footnotes, and illustrations that clearly demonstrate that Perkins has done her fair share of squirrel-watching.

The story begins when the grey squirrel Jed is carried away by a hawk, manages to trick the hawk into dropping him, and lands fairly softly on a dog and then in a pile of leaves. (Journey #1) Luckily, his friend TsTs sees where he lands and sets off with another squirrel friend, Chai, to find him. (Journey #2) Along the way, they discover that the rumblings they've been hearing are a crew of humans who are clearing the trees from the "buzzpath" (power lines). And the crew is headed right to their home grove. After they find Jed, they have to get back and warn their friends and family. (Journey #3) Convincing squirrels to do anything as organized as run away from a danger they cannot yet see is as easy as herding cats (apparently). But Jed and friends manage. (Journey #4)

Fun stuff. Perfect middle grade (grades 3-5) novel. Will be a fabulous read aloud.

You're welcome.

Open a World of Possible --A Wonderful Gift from Scholastic

I was honored to be asked to contribute a piece to Open a World of Possible published recently by Scholastic.  It is a FREE ebook that collects the stories of readers. As a reader, it is a great read--love hearing from other readers about their unique reading lives. As a teacher, it opens so many possibilities for the classroom.

Years ago, I happened upon a book of celebrities sharing the stories of their reading lives. I forget what it was called and I forget most of the specifics but I know that I used many excerpts with students as we thought about our own lives as readers.  I've lost the book and haven't been able to find anything like it. So when I found out Scholastic would be creating a collection of readers' stories, I was thrilled. This book far exceeded any expectations I had for it.

Open a World of Possible has come at the perfect time--the beginning of a new school year.  Building a community of readers is such an important part of our work. And I find that for that to happen, students need to begin to build their own identity as readers.  I want them to know themselves as readers and to live their lives as a reader, both in and out of school.  For them to become lifelong readers, they need to see themselves as unique readers.

I spend much of the first several weeks of school having conversations around our reading lives. I share my life and stories I've discovered from others. Open a World of Possible is a great resource for expanding this conversation in classrooms.

I love the quote that goes along with Scholastic's publication. It ends with these words:

Finding the right book at the right time can light an emotional spark within children that motivates them to read more, understand more, and read joyfully. When that happens, the world opens. Everything becomes possible.

I love the book and have marked several excerpts to use with students now and throughout the year. Every story will start an amazing conversation and give our students new ways to think about their lives as readers.

I am also sharing some of the student videos on the World of Possible site.  The kids in the videos talk about favorite books, places they love to read, etc. Great 30 second clips to continue this conversation.

Scholastic has invitations to join the online conversation around this book and your stories about reading. You can join at:

Facebook  
Twitter: @Scholastic and @ScholasticTeach
Instagram:@ScholasticInc
Pinterest

This is a must read for all readers!

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Scholastic's mission is built on helping children learn to read and love to read. We believe that independent reading is a critical
part of children's learning and growth. With support from teachers, parents, and schools, children choose from Scholastic
the books they want to read, and discover the pleasure and power of reading. Finding the right book at the right time can
light an emotional spark within children that motivates them to read more, understand more, and read joyfully.
When that happens, the world opens. Everything becomes possible. - See more at: http://www.scholastic.com/worldofpossible/#sthash.PgxldLg8.dpuf

Scholastic's mission is built on helping children learn to read and love to read. We believe that independent reading is a critical
part of children's learning and growth. With support from teachers, parents, and schools, children choose from Scholastic
the books they want to read, and discover the pleasure and power of reading. Finding the right book at the right time can
light an emotional spark within children that motivates them to read more, understand more, and read joyfully.
When that happens, the world opens. Everything becomes possible. - See more at: http://www.scholastic.com/worldofpossible/#sthash.PgxldLg8.dpuf

Poetry Friday -- Wonder

Wonder Eye from Wikimedia Commons

WONDER

5:30 in the morning
I'm walking along
in the dark neighborhood
my brain already full of the day ahead
not paying the kind of attention
that will keep me from
stumbling into a skunk
by accident
when I look up
and see a very large dog
in the park
that resolves into a fawn
whose sibling and mother are across the street
not quite hidden in the shadows of the front yard
and it's as if the plug was pulled
and my brain is empty of everything
except the here
and the now.

I continue walking slowly down the sidewalk
toward the fawn
who bobs its head
looking at me
assessing my threat level
until suddenly its tail flags and it
floats silently
across the street to its family
on impossibly thin legs and tiny feet
and I struggle to keep the wonder
hold the moment
stop the everyday thoughts from flooding back in
but the pure animal focus
is gone.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2014



Laura has the Poetry Friday Roundup today at Author Amok.