Poetry Month: Honoring L & R

Happy Poetry Month!  Three poems are posted here in celebration.  These first two are by "L," a second grade poet I had in my class several years ago...

As you can see, L had a knack for imagery, simplicity and profundity--putting words together in innovative ways.  We have a wall labeled "Poetry Place" in our classroom--a sort of 'open microphone' for anytime poetry.  I start the year with poetry on purpose.  Students experience quick success, surprise themselves and each other, smile about writing and get hooked!  I model jotting some words to capture small moments, reread my developing pieces with 'poetry reverence' (you can make almost anything sound good depending on your tone and timing) and things take off from there.  L planned to publish her small moment poetry in a book (that's why you see the edited spelling).  Tonight, I honor L, and think of the many little poets I've had the joy of working with over the years.  Where are they now?  Do they still compose poetry?

Pencils move

and stop

ceiling stares

to capture small moments

hanging there?

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Here, here!

This wall is reserved

just for you

                poets...

Post your thoughts

        your minutes 

        your imaginings.

We want to hear them.

Together we grow.

                                 

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Tonight

I am lonely

I power up and post

remembering little writers

brave, risk takers

Who have they become?

In a world so connected

it is oddly silent.

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And lastly, one of my favorites from L's twin sister R.  She wrote this after we took a "Poetry Walk."  It was the first snowy day of the season so we grabbed our clipboards and went outside to see what we could capture.

Love that kind of capturing!  Have you captured any small moments today?

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Pass a Note or Two: Making Even the Youngest Children Writers

Over the last few weeks, during several inservice sessions, I’ve shared this simple, yet keenly purposeful way to get even the youngest children writing.  Parents/teachers have raved about the idea, so I thought I’d put together a short post. 

Here’s the scene:  You’re driving and realize it’s time for dinner.  You stop at a McDonalds’ drive through.  The line is hideously long.  You, being a clever encourager of writing in all ways all days, reach for a sticky note and scrawl, “I love you.  You’re a great kid!,” passing it back to your child.

Depending on your child’s age and abilities, he may read the note or naturally ask, “What does this say?” 

“It says, ‘I love you.  You’re a great kid!’ I’d love it if you wrote one for me.”  (Since you are prepared, your child already has a canvas bag in the back next to his seat filled with books, colored pencils, pens, paper and sticky notes.)

“Here, Mom!”

You grab the scribbled note.  “Oh, this is great.  Read it to me.”

“It says, ‘You are fun!’ ”

Cue McDonald’s recording, “Today!  Try our new caramel, marshmallow encrusted latte with chocolate sauce!  Go ahead and order when you’re ready…”

Kids love writing notes back and forth and, with our lives as busy as they are, brief stops like this while traveling in the car present perfect opportunities to encourage a bit of writing.  I’ve done this with my son since he was very small and he writes sticky notes for all kinds of reasons now (actually if you refer to my Nov. 13, 2013 post, you’ll see sometimes things have gotten a bit out of hand).   In fact, he’s an avid six year old writer who views writing as just part of the stuff he does every day.  This is one strategy that helped get the writing ball rolling. 

As always, happy writing!  -Janiel

P.S. Just for fun:  Here’s a poem (Poetry Month!!) written by one of my second graders about passing notes.  Enjoy and go pass some notes!

Passing Notes
Passing notes
jokes
anything, perhaps
But when the teacher catches
I stop dead in my tracks

 

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Endless Possibilities with Educreations!

Hello!  I’m working on a keynote presentation I’ll be doing at the Gulf Coast Writing Conference this summer titled, “Why Am I Writing This?  Capitalizing on Purpose in the Writing Classroom.”  Planning to infuse some technology ideas, I came across a great example of using Educreations (a free ipad app) for sharing and celebrating writing.  http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/thanks-mrs-harris/15898072/  Here a kindergarten student* shares his intentions in his writing by simply taking a picture, recording audio, then using tools to highlight specific aspects of the piece by circling them as he discusses each one.  Not only is this a unique way to celebrate student writing, but it adds purpose since students can teach others all kinds of writing lessons.  Just think of students contemplating how their writing might influence the writing of others! There’s a powerful motivator for them to engage with their writing at  higher levels.  Educreations can be posted on the internet and shared, increasing students’ potential audience.    

*This also happens to be my son, Max :)

Here is another:   http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/favorite-holiday/15898069/ This is just me modeling another use of the app.  (It's a very basic example, using simple text from ReadWorks.org.) Students can take a photo of an excerpt from text then use the tools to highlight how they are using and elaborating on text evidence to support their opinions/arguments, while talking out how a speech or piece of writing might develop.  Obviously, a splash of fun is added by using the app, but more importantly, especially for students who are struggling, the app may support them in learning to use text evidence for a variety of purposes.  Additionally, students might photo excerpts of texts, then highlight, create annotations, and discuss portions to prepare for sharing in book clubs or for other purposes.  Excitement galore!

Educreations is more than simple to use! Students (and even non-techie adults like me) can figure it out in minutes.  There are endless ways the tool might be used and countless examples you can browse at Educreations.com.  Get an account and share it with students. They’ll undoubtedly invent new and surprising ways to use the application.

Enjoy!  I’d love to hear how you use Educreations!  Have a wonderful reading/writing/thinking week!

-Janiel

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