Celebrate Turn #18

Each week Ruth Ayres extends an invitation to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week.  

This was the BEST week of summer...so far!  So many great events to celebrate, but I will start with family first.

Ethan's last stroke as a high school golfer was a tap-in.

My son finished his high school golf career at regionals this week.  Although the team did not advance, he played his best round of the season.  And on the same course where he made his hole-in-one!  So proud that he saved his best for his last match.  I have been watching him play since he was eight years old, and I will miss following him and that little white ball. 

My daughter passed her last two tests for her teaching license this week.  Plus, she will be hired Monday, pending board approval, as a third grade teacher!  I can't wait to start having teaching conversations with her and help her get her classroom ready!

Here we are with Margaret using an
image to create a collaborative poem
before she sent them to write their own.

I spent this past week writing poetry with high ability students at our SPARK camp.  One day we Skyped with Margaret Simon where we wrote haiku poems using mentor texts from Linda Baie.  In one little room in southern Indiana, my students had three teachers from three different states teaching them about poetry!  Collaboration at its best!  

Read her post about our visit here. 

On Thursday, my older group Skyped with Laura Purdie Salas.  Prior to her visit, I used the lesson about writing word play poems from her website.  The students were able to share some of their work with her, as well as learn about her writing life.   You can read my post about both visits and read my students' poems here.     




And then next week, I travel to Warsaw, Indiana for more summer learning at the All Write Summer Conference, catching up with some blogging friends, and meeting some other bloggers in person for the first time.  Another great week ahead for me!

I hope you have a great week and find many celebrations along the way!

My First Poetry Friday

Happy Poetry Friday!

This week's poetry round-up is hosted by
Jama's Alphabet Soup

I have never written a Poetry Friday post, but since I have been immersed in poetry this week, I had to share.  To learn more about Poetry Friday click here.)

I have spent this week working with our high ability kids in our corporation.  SPARK Camp (Super Powered Activities to Recharge Kids) is a great way for kids to work on projects which spark their interests and minds.  

The last two summers I have offered a writing session.  This year it was poetry.  I felt a little inadequate or boring because other sessions were using hour of coding, Rube Goldberg, 3-D printer, Augmented Reality, spheros and ollies and I used...a notebook and a pencil.

To enrich my session with technology, I decided we would Skype and create a "book" using Google slides.  On Wednesday, my younger group Skyped with Maragaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche.  Please visit her blog to read more about our visit.  I decided to use haiku with the younger group because I thought it would be an easier form that could be finished in three days.  We collaboratively wrote a haiku with Margaret, and then they set off to write their own using an image about a summer day.

The last two days we completed the Google slides.  Below are two examples from the collection:  Sparks - A Haiku Collection.  

These two poems happen to be about something they observed during our walk in our nature center.

Then on Thursday, my older group Skyped with Laura Purdie Salas.  I used her word play poem lesson on her website.   After a collaborative effort of writing one together, my writers chose their topics and and went to work exploring the thoughts and feelings of their word. They also published using Google slides in Summer Voices:  A Collection of Poems.  

This week was amazing!  My students and I were privileged to be taught by these three (including Linda's contribution of haiku) wonderful writers!  I hope this camp has SPARKed their interest in poetry!

Writing Camp

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

Summer has not fully begun for me yet.  The first two weeks I worked with struggling readers at our first annual Summer Reading Camp.  This camp was for elementary aged kids, and after teaching 6th graders all year, I have fully enjoyed my time with them.

Today we started our SPARK Camp (Super Powered Activities to Recharge Kids) for our high ability kids.  I am teaching a poetry session - something I love to write but feel so inadequate doing so!  Tomorrow we have a Skype visit lined up with Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche, and I am so excited about that!

My group of second and third graders are working on haiku poems.  I used mentor texts from Loree Griffin Burns and Liz Garton Scanlon.  I even showed them one I wrote last night in bed....thank goodness I remembered it, because I did not write it down!

An area of our town is being occupied by the 17 year cicadas.  I took a few pictures and decided to write a haiku about one of them.

say farewell to spring

a cicada serenade

ushers in summer

Here is a collaborative poem my second group wrote today using a word play idea from Laura Purdie Salas.

 Popsicle

Popsicle is a messy word.

It 

drips

down my hands

like a leaky faucet

making my fingers sticky.

Reminds me 

of  summer days.

Who's Responsible?

This is a series of blog posts I hope to write over the summer to reflect on my first year as a 6th grade middle school language arts teacher.  Teaching is hard.  Reflecting on teaching is even harder.  Reflecting points out my mistakes and flaws, but encourages change; it highlights my successes, but motivates me to become better.

I am in a quandary, a dilemma, a state of confusion.  Hopefully writing about it will help me to think through the situation and find some answers.

As a first year middle school language arts teacher, I felt adapting was fairly easy, with one exception - the lack of effort or the lack of responsibility of students completing assignments on time.  It was common to have 20-25 students out of 100 to have missing assignments or late work.  In other classes, that number was even higher.  Regardless of the subject area, it was a common problem throughout the entire grade level.

I have read many articles and blog posts about teachers teaching responsibility and about assessing the learning or growth.  Unfortunately, reading them has left me with more questions than answers.

I know some of my students will not go on to college, but will be searching for jobs right out high school.  Being responsible is important in the workplace.  If they cannot be responsible now, how will they be 8 to 10 years from now?  Will they arrive for work on time?  Will they complete a task given to them?  These questions concern me and cause me to reflect on how I handled late or missing work.

So, here are the questions I am wrangling with and trying to answer so that I do not find myself in the same situation as last year.

Should students be penalized for late work?  If so, what should the penalty or consequence be?

Is learning the only significant outcome of the assignment?

Is it fair to those students who turn in work on time to give full credit to students who consistently turn in work late?  Is it fair to allow extra time?

If I do accept late work, should there be a time limit for turning in late work?

Am I enabling irresponsibility for not setting higher expectations?

Is it my job to teach responsibility when parents fail to do so?

I would love to have your insight on this situation.  My colleagues and I are discussing possible solutions to our problem, but I am just unsure of the right answer.

How do you handle late or missing work?

Celebrate Turn #17

I am so grateful to Ruth Ayres for inviting us to share and celebrate events, big or small, from our week.  I quickly wrote this post today, because I am off to the pool.  Please excuse the rambling thoughts, as I try to capture this moment as best I could.

Today I celebrate the struggle.

The last two weeks, I have been working at our Summer Reading Camp, an interventions program for struggling readers.  When the email came calling for teachers to participate in the program, I jumped at the chance to work with elementary students again.  

The camp is winding down, and Friday was our last instructional day.  I struggled with my plans for Friday.  The days were becoming too routine, they were tired, and they were getting bored.  (I mean it is summer break you know!) 

At the last minute I changed everything I was going to do.  Earlier in the week I read Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco, so I decided to read My Rotten Readheaded Older Brother, another book by her.  After I read the second one, they each wrote about something they were good at.  I was completely winging the lesson, and surprisingly it was leading into something much better.

At the end of the morning, I had some extra time and thought, "Great, now what am I going to do?"  So I did what many teachers do in this situation.  I looked in my box of read-alouds and pulled out another one:  Exclamation Mark! 

I love this book for many reasons, but today it put an "exclamation mark" on our last day of learning.  (Monday, our real last day, is a fun day!)

After reading the book, I told them, "Today, we read about a sister who always wanted to do something better than her brother.  She wanted to be good at something that he wasn't good at.  I know reading is not always easy for you, but look at what you wrote about today.  Each one of you is good at something:  playing sports, playing video games, and dancing ballet.  Not everyone is good at reading, or writing, or math.  But YOU are good something.   Sometimes, we are like the exclamation mark - we just have to find a way to make our mark."

Yesterday, I struggled with my plans for my struggling students.  It wasn't what I had planned, but ended up being one of the one best days we had together.  

Sometimes we have to go through the struggle in order to celebrate.

Yes, He Did!

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

Pomp and Circumstance begins,

and the audience stands as the graduates enter the auditorium.

I swallow the lump in my throat 

and squeeze away the tears I am sure will come

as I watch for him to walk in.

Just two hours ago 

he left the house with his friends

dressed in his graduation attire:

khaki pants, blue oxford shirt, Beatles tie, dress shoes and green gown.

There he is - marching in with his white gowned counterpart.

but wait...

that can't be him.

No...

he didn't.

Surely...

he didn't...

Yes, he did!

This picture was taken at our house after graduation.
Read here for the original story about Ethan's shoes.

Needless to say, 

the tears never came!

Maybe he knew just how to

keep his momma from crying.

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.

What I Read This Week

The Missing Pieces of Me by Jean Van Leeuwen

Weezie is a ten year old who just cannot please her momma.  No matter what she does, it is not right or it is not good enough.  Her momma has kept the identity of Weezie's father from her, and Weezie thinks that if she could just find him, things would be better.  Or would it?

I can see middle grade readers connecting with Weezie through her sense of adventure, her desire to be loved, and her need to find all of the pieces which make up who she really is.

Honey by Sarah Weeks

Secrets are a terrible thing to live with, especially when you live in a small town and everyone knows the secret but you.  Melody's life has always been just her and her dad, and it has been a good life.  One day she hears her dad on the phone call someone "Honey," and it appears that everyone in town knows about Honey - except Melody.  Melody becomes determined to find out just who Honey is and in the end, finds a sweet surprise.  

This was the first novel I had read by Sarah Weeks, and I see why she is so well-liked.  With only 160 pages, I can see this being one of those books I book talk in the beginning of the year to jumpstart my students' reading.

How to Speak Dolphin by Ginny Rorby

This book was my favorite of the week.  The author has woven autism and animal rights into a beautiful story which I think many of my students will enjoy.  

Lily is the main caretaker of her little brother, Adam, who has autism.  Because of this, she has few friends and little time for herself.  To try and find Adam the help he needs, their dad enrolls Adam in a dolphin-assisted therapy program.  While Adam participates in the program, Lily begins to see the downfall of keeping dolphins in captivity and eventually becomes pulled between finding help for her brother and giving Nori, the dolphin, her freedom.

If You're Reading This by Trent Reedy

As I was reading this book, I could hear the country songs The Boys of Fall and If You're Reading This being played at the same time.  Mike is a high school student who wants to play football (against his mother's wishes) while coming to grips with the death of his father who was a soldier in Afghanistan,  Through a series of letters and videos, Mike's dad gives him "life" missions and helps him understand that his own dreams are important.  I really want to recommend this to my 6th graders, but I feel it is more for grades 8-10.  

On My Reading Radar

Happy Reading!

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?