Celebrate Turn #16

I am so grateful to Ruth Ayres for inviting us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week.

This week I celebrate accomplishments!

Last weekend I celebrated my second graduation in three weeks.  

My daughter graduated the first of May from our local university, and my son graduated from high school last week.  It is hard to believe we have reached this turn in our lives.  

Looking ahead, Megan was hired as the freshman basketball coach and had her first interview last Thursday.  Ethan signs up for classes from our local university in just a few weeks. I am proud of what they have accomplished as young adults, and look forward to what lies ahead.

This week I am also teaching a reading camp for struggling readers.  After teaching 6th graders this year, it has been fun spending time with 2nd graders again. Our accomplishment for the first four days - they all correctly spelled the word "very" in their writing - this has been a struggle.

Summer has arrived and there are so many things I want to accomplish - books to read, conferences to attend, words to write, units to plan, weight to lose.  

So summer, just go slow please, because I have much to do!

Have a great week and may you have many celebrations along the way!

Every Moment Matters

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life.  Read more slices or add you own here.

Since our commencement ceremony last Friday, I have been in the reflective mode.  Here is my post yesterday about "seeing greatness."  Today I am reflecting upon the words spoken from the teacher of the year during his speech:

"Every moment matters.  

Every moment has led up to where you are today."

I have heard many times, 

"You matter"

"Words matter"

"Stories matter"

"All reading matters"

But "every moment matters"

Hearing these words led to more reflection about my teaching this year.  Have I done enough?  Have I reached certain students?  Have I made every moment matter?  

On the last day school before I handed a particular student his report card, I looked him the eyes and said, "If you had worked as hard all year as you did these last three weeks, this piece of paper would look much different."  

He decided he would give me his best...the last three weeks of school.  He showed me he could think critically, write in complete sentences, and give me his best effort.  But it was a little too late.  Did I make every moment matter?  Could I have done more to motivate this student?  

We had several students suspended the last several days of school because of behavior. Did I make every moment matter?  Did I give them the tools they needed to change their behavior?  Could I have done more to keep them on the right track?

Many more incidents come to mind, and I could easily see these situations as failures.  Instead, I choose to see them as ways to reflect and improve my teaching.

Every moment of a school year leads up to the day my students leave my classroom.  I think I will always question my practices, my decisions, and my instruction.  I think that is what good teachers do.

But I know these students are the ones I will think about all summer and wonder, did I make every moment matter?

Seeing Greatness

My first class of students graduated Friday night.  Last week I attended the awards ceremony and listened carefully as names of my former students were called to be recognized as outstanding students, scholarship recipients, and special award winners.  Every class has students who excel in the classroom.  There are also students who achieve greatness, but in ways which many people do not pay much attention to this time of year.  Sitting in the auditorium Friday night made me realize that greatness is not the awards and scholarships or what many people perceive, but greatness is how they see themselves.

I watched a special needs student accept his diploma.  He is fighting a much bigger battle than his cognitive disability.  He is fighting for his life while sadly losing a battle with cancer.  I hope he sees his greatness.

I watched a young soon-to-be mother cradle her stomach as she smiled for her picture.  She went through a terrible tragedy her junior year, but she finished school and made getting an education a priority for her and her unborn child.  I hope she sees her greatness.

I watched a young man raise his hands in the air in celebration.  He chose a wrong path - a path of drugs and alcohol which ultimately cost him a relationship with his family.  I hope he sees his greatness.

None of these students were at the top of their class.  But they achieved a greatness of their own.  And that greatness deserves to be recognized too.  I congratulate all of my former students and leave them with this:

"Greatness lies not in what people perceive, 

but in what you, yourself believe." ~Leigh Anne Eck

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday! What Are You Reading?  Be sure and stop by to participate or see what others are reading and recommending this week.

This is my last week of school, so my world has been a little crazy.  I did mange to get two books read along with 100 essays...but I guess that doesn't count!

What I Read this Week

A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord

Cynthia Lord writes another touching middle grade novel about a friendship between Lily, a girl from a small-town in Maine, and Salma, a migrant worker.

I come from a small Indiana town which welcomes many migrant workers during the summer and early fall.  I think my students will love the lessons about true friendship and finding a place in which to belong.

In the Best Interest of Students - Staying True to What 

Works in the ELA Classroom by Kelly Gallagher

Last summer I had the privilege to hear Kelly Gallagher speak at the All Write conference in Warsaw, Indiana.  I was so excited to return to school and start some of the ideas I learned.

This book picked up where that conference left off. He explains the strengths and weaknesses of the CCSS and reminds teachers what they need to do in their classroom which is in the best interest of students.  

As I was reading the book, I immediately went back to school and had my students start a writing activity that he discussed.  So his ideas are ones that can be implemented - today!  If you teach ELA in grades 6 - 12, I strongly encourage you to add this to your PD summer read list.  I don't think you will be disappointed.

Happy Reading!

Celebrate Turn #15

I am ever so grateful to Ruth Ayres for inviting us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week.

Today I celebrate chaos.

I have five more school days left before summer break.  With that comes all of the end-of-the-year messiness.  You know what I am talking about - essays to grade, report cards, awards, end-of-the-year assessments and reports, inventories, tasks that need to be finalized or planned for the beginning of next year.  Add to that the craziness of middle school students and I am living in chaos.

I also have a high school graduation to plan.  My son graduates next Friday night.  I think I am ready mentally, but I know I am not ready physically.  I still have a house to clean and last minute arrangements to finish.  This coming week, I know, will be chaotic.

But through the chaos comes celebration. 

beginnings

endings

growth

memories

success

dreams

smiles

and

tears

Have a great week and may you have many celebrations along the way.

Finally...

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life.  Read more slices or add you own here.

A year ago this week was when I began thinking about not only changing grade levels, but also changing schools.  Although it was not an easy decision, the biggest enticement for me was teaching language arts and sharing my passion for reading and writing to four times as many students.  How much better could it get, right?

Well, little did I know exactly what kind of a challenge motivating middle school students to read would be.

I quickly found out that middle school students not only do not have as much time to read, but many do not even like to read.  I think many felt it was not "cool" to read, and image is everything to this age group.  I set out to change that.

I would give book talks and have them tweet about books.  I even exposed my reading life on my classroom door.  But I still could not spark that passion.  I was usually pretty successful at motivating my 4th grade students to read, and I became frustrated by my lack of success.  I was pretty confident I could change that, but I knew it would take the right book.

Finally...after almost an entire year has passed, I found the book that has ignited reading in my classroom.  Our social studies teacher came down the other day with the book in his hands and asked, "What is the deal with this book?  Everyone is reading it!"

I smiled and replied, "I know!  Isn't it great?"

The book is Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman, and it is about social media and the implications of making a poor decision.  I had to order three additional copies, making it a total of five, and I still don't have enough to fulfill the demand.  I even have several students who bought the book and are sharing them with students as well.

This book is timely.  This book is relevant to middle school students.  This book was what my students were looking for....finally!  

Childhood Scars - A Zip Ode

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life.  Read more slices or add you own here.

Although poetry month is officially over, I still want to remain in the poetry playground.  I am teaching a poetry session this summer during an academic camp we have for our high ability students.  I still need to write poems to use as mentor texts.  Tara and Michelle both had zip odes on their blogs, and I knew this was one I wanted to try.  

A zip ode is a five line poem and each line is a number in the zip code.  My zip code is 47591.  Here is my attempt.

Head under her pillow

A stream of tears saturates her dreams.

Knowing her childhood is scarred,

She prays their loud voices will stop, and wonders

Why?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 5/4

Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday! What Are You Reading?  Be sure and stop by to participate or see what others are reading and recommending this week.

It has been such a long time since I have written a IMWAYR post.  I need to start making this a habit.

Last week I finished up the Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer Nielsen.  I read all three books in less than a month, but I don't know what took me so long to get started!

These three books take the reader on a journey filled with adventure, danger, trickery and even love.  The plot is full of unexpected twists and turns and by the end, comes full circle.  Jennifer Nielsen is a masterful storyteller.

I typically am not a fan of fantasy, but I absolutely devoured The False Prince.  Then, I couldn't wait to read the other two.  One good thing about reading an entire series after they are published, is that I don't have to wait for the next one to come out.  I loved this trilogy and have already started recommending it to my students.

This week on my reading radar:

Happy Reading!

Celebrate Turn #14

I am ever so grateful to Ruth Ayres for inviting us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week. 

When I picked my one little word for 2015, I knew this TURN was coming.   

Yesterday was my daughter's college graduation ceremony.  It is hard to believe this time has come.  Where have the years gone?  It seems like yesterday we brought her home from the hospital, our fingers wrapped in her tiny little hands.  Today we watched those same hands turn her tassel.  

Megan will be a third generation teacher.  I think I have always known she would choose teaching as a career because she has that passion for learning and working with children that cannot be taught.  I truly believe she was born to teach.  

During the invocation, the pastor told the graduates, "you are standing at the edge of possibility."  What powerful words.  My daughter's world is about to turn, and I can't wait to see where it goes

Life is full of turns.  

Life is full of celebrations.

Let us remember to celebrate each one.

Life Turns - Preposition Poem

April is National Poetry Month, and I am celebrating with many other bloggers by writing and sharing poetry.  Please check out the hashtag #digipoetry on Twitter to find more poems written by  writers in our blogging community.  Please consider joining us.  Write when you can, share when you write.  It is that simple.

My April has been busy which has caused some setbacks in my writing - especially keeping up with writing poetry.  Yesterday I came across a preposition poem from Newtreemom.  If you have not been to her blog, I encourage you to do so.  She is an amazing writer.  (I also wish I knew her real name.  So if anyone does, please leave me a comment!)


A preposition poem is a poem using only prepositional phrases.  Today I wrote about life turns and the importance of having someone to share them.

with you

beside me

during the hards times

along the way

with love

between us

for now

for always

Celebrate Turn #13

I am ever so grateful to Ruth Ayres for inviting us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week.  I did not think I was going to get this post written because I am so far behind in the things-that-need-to-be-done list.  It is THAT time of year.

I am so grateful that I live in an area that has four seasons.  If I had to rank them, I would rank spring as last.  Spring is cold, rainy and so unpredictable, but we are rewarded by what comes after it.  And that is a cause for celebration.

Today I celebrate spring.

I celebrate rainy days... because the grass is green and flowers are blooming.

I celebrate tree pollen and sneezing... because the trees are no longer bare.

I celebrate helicopters (maple seeds) strewn in my yard and landscape... because the trees from which they fall provide shade in the hot summer days.

I celebrate hectic schedules...because that means the end of the school year is near.

I celebrate spring...because I know summer is on the way.

Have a great week and may you find many celebrations along the way.

Google Docs - An Invitation to Revision

Digilit Sunday

Today is the first time I have participated in Digital Learning Sunday with Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche.  I use technology in my classroom, but I would not call myself "technologically literate."  And I am certainly not comfortable sharing and writing about it.

We are coming to the end of our perseverance unit.  I love this unit for many reasons.  One, the students are reading biographies of their choice.  Two, they are learning about ways people have not given up and persevered through difficult situations. Three, they are writing their essays using Google Docs.

Google Docs naturally encourages and invites revision.  For some reason, student writers dread the revision process.  Their interpretation of revision is "writing it over."  I work hard to explain this misconception - that revision is making changes to improve their writing, and all writers revise.  Google Docs makes convincing them much easier.

As I sit beside my writers, I am amazed at how differently they view revision while keyboarding instead of writing by hand.  Revision doesn't seem to be a chore.  They examine their essays with a more critical eye, looking for ways to make their writing better because they know they do not have to laboriously rewrite it.  Revision is as simple as a few keystrokes.

I see them thinking about how they can change a verb to make their sentences stronger. Crafting well-constructed sentences is now a thoughtful process.  They are cutting and pasting sentences and even entire paragraphs to better organize their essays.  After I taught a mini lesson on complex sentences, they went back to see how they could change their sentence patterns.  They are not afraid to make changes because they now know how easy it is to make them.  They have become better writers through the use of Google Docs.

As a teacher, I like Google Docs because it automatically saves revisions, and I can view them in the revision history.  I am able go back in and look to see what changes they made throughout the writing process. Revision history lets me take a peek into their thinking, and I can see how they specifically and conscientiously made these decisions.

I am sure many teachers have been using Google Docs in their classrooms for quite some time.  For me, this was my first attempt.   As a reflective teacher,  I am always looking for ways to improve my instruction and student learning in my classroom.  I can envision how writing will be completely different next year through the use of Google Docs.  I cannot wait.

Celebrate Turn #12

I am ever so grateful to Ruth Ayres for inviting us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week.

I am really late posting my celebration today.  I actually had a post ready, but this one deserves a post of its own.

I celebrate one.  

As in a hole-in-one.

As in a hole-in-one my son made today in his high school golf match.

What a day!  What a celebration!

Have a great week and may you find many celebrations along the way!

Lauren's Life Lessons

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating a place to share our Slice of Life.  Read more slices or add you own here.

I am from Indiana - a state where basketball is king.  This year basketball had a queen.

This week a young girl at the age of 19, died from a non-operable brain tumor.  She was diagnosed just a few weeks after signing to play basketball for Mount Saint Joseph.  Her dream was to play one game on a college court - and she did.

With approval from the NCAA, the basketball season was moved up two weeks so that Lauren could walk on that hardwood floor and play with her teammates while family and friends watched from the stands.  She scored the first points in this year's NCAA women's basketball season.  

But the amazing part of this story is how she became a face for children with cancer.  She raised over 2 million dollars for cancer research, knowing that she would never see the day when a cure is found.  

Lauren was a fighter and a believer.  I never knew Lauren, but I kept up with her story because I come from a basketball family.  Having a daughter who played basketball and who now coaches, this story touched my heart and broke off a small piece.  I cannot even imagine what her parents and family are going through.

Last night on Twitter, I saw a picture of "Lauren's Life Lessons" which was passed out at her visitation.  Her lessons are ones that we all can learn from.

I cannot even begin to give justice to this story.  If you wish to learn more about Lauren and her amazing short life, please watch this video here.  Warning - you will need tissues.

Meanwhile, look at these life lessons.  Which ones are speaking to you today?

Find the light in every moment!

My Hope, My Freedom - Tritina Poem

April is National Poetry Month, and I am celebrating with many other bloggers by writing and sharing poetry.  Please check out the hashtag #digipoetry on Twitter to find more poems written by  writers in our blogging community.  Please consider joining us.  Write when you can, share when you write.  It is that simple.

Today I have played with writing a Tritina, which is a ten-lined poem divided into three tercets and a single line.  The pattern looks like this:

A/B/C 
C/A/B 
B/C/A

A,B,C 

My students are reading biographies and writing literary essays on perseverance.  I have several students who are reading about Harriet Tubman, and my conversations with them led to the subject of this poem.

My Hope, My Freedom

I have been told I am nothing but a slave
with nothing to call my own, not even my freedom.
I dream under the stars at night and I hope,

because without hope
I can only be a Negro bought and sold as a slave.
But I am one who believes that freedom

is not beyond my grasp.  I desire freedom
so that my faith in man can be restored.  I hope
that none of my people will no longer be a slave.

I was born a slave, but freedom is what I hope for.

Celebrate Turn #11

I am ever so grateful to Ruth Ayres for inviting us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week.

I am arriving at that time of the school year where I have more days on my calendar with something to do than blank days.  Between my children's schedules, my schedule and my school schedule, it is going to be a busy two months.  Today I celebrate blank days where I can breathe and regroup for the next rush in my schedule.

We have 30 school days left.  Not that I am ready for this one to end, nor to say goodbye to this group of students, but I am ready to start reflecting on this year and thinking about changes for the next year.  Today I celebrate reflection.

Today I celebrate Sibling Day.  I have an older sister and a younger brother and sister.  I am so lucky to have them and to be able to share growing up and growing old together.  I am also glad that my own children have each other.  They have always been able to get along well and support each other.  Last night, Megan even wished Ethan a Happy Sibling Day ~ that made me smile.

I have many things to smile about today, including a wonderfully sunny and warm day!  Have a great week and may you find many celebrations along the way.

April is National Poetry Month, and I am celebrating with many other bloggers by writing and sharing poetry.  Please check out the hashtag #digipoetry on Twitter to find more poems written by  writers in our blogging community.  Please consider joining us.  Write when you can, share when you write.  It is that simple.

Celebrate...
the simple and the hard
through both 
we persevere.

Celebrate...
the big and the small
through both
we love.

Celebrate... 
the light and the dark 
through both
we grow.

Celebrate...
the happy and the sad
through both 
we live.