What I See

I think I may have said in a previous post that I use Facebook as a big part of my PLN.   One of the groups that I follow is the Centurions of 2011: 111 Books by January, 2012.  I know - it's out of date - but it works and they just kept going.  

Anyway, tonight I saw a post that led me to stop by Mrs. McGriff's blog and her July list.  This was her FB post: "

Didn't read the quantity I hoped for in July, but the quality was outstanding!

When I clicked the link, Mrs. McGriff had read 24 books!!  That's quantity in my book!  I'm going to be vigilant and see how many she reads in August...

But what I really wanted to share was this poem that is on Mrs. McGriff's About Me page.  I love this idea, and maybe I would use it as a model for my students to follow in my classroom if I was teaching ELA.


What I See

I see a room
where students overflow with words,
where books are passed from mind to mind
and writing spills across every page.

I see students
who devour book–
poetry and stories,
biographies and memoirs,
how-to guides adn graphic novels,
magazines and websites–
who read during every spare moment.

I see students
eager to take about what they read:
to questions and challenge deeper truths,
to connect with the spaces in their lives.
They invite their friends and family
to read and talk, to celebrate books
at Survivor Book Club.

I see students
who discover that writing has meaning for their lives,
who discover that words have power to challenge injustices
and change their lives.

I see students
who share their writing–
entering contests,
submitting works to magazines and websites,
giving gifts of writing,
plastering the school with their words–
who are not afraid to be heard.

I see a community
where we are free
to share our words,
to think new thoughts,
to try and fail, then try again.

I see colleagues
who value time together–
to share ideas and build on successes,
to share problems and brainstorm solutions,
to read and research together–
who continually seek to stretch beyond
and make ourselves better.

I see my life
where reading, writing, teaching
come together
to point the way.


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Lovely, right?  Would you use this model in your ELA classroom?  Maybe this would be a great back to school activity - set the stage for a great year!

 

Summer Readin'

Summer's here and I've been a reading fool!  I miss reading so much during the school year.

And since most of what I've read has been kids', I'm linking up with Teach Mentor Texts for the weekly linky:

Coincidentally, the books I read last week are all about immigration.  I didn't plan it; it just happened.  Weird.

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan is written in verse.  In it,  Kasienka and her mother immigrate to London from Poland.  Her mother is convinced that she will be able to find Kasienka's father and reunite their family.  With her mother completely focused on her own problems, Kasienka is left to try to fit in with her new classmates with no one to talk with.  Her escape is the school pool.  When she's in the water, her problems seem to float away - at least for the moment.

The Weight of Water is a coming-of-age story that deftly handles issues of immigration, alienation, and first love.  I love novels-in-verse like this one (and so do my kids) because they are quick and easy to get lost in.  Sarah Crossan writes Kasienka's story concisely but with compassion for a young girl's determination to figure out where she belongs. 

Here I Am by Patty Kim is a picture book about a little boy and his family who moves from his home to a busy American city.  This wordless picture book follows the boy through his first months in his new home - full of new sounds, sights, and a language he doesn't understand.  His isolation is apparent in the pencil and watercolor sketches.  As is his journey into acceptance and love in his new home!  Lovely - and anyone who knows me, knows I love the challenge of a wordless book for my students.  I can't wait to get a copy of Here I Am when it is release later this summer!

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai many people have already read.  I am late to the bandwagon on this one, but it was just as good as I expected!  This 2012 Newbury Honor book follows Ha as she and her family must leave the only home they've ever known - Saigon.  Beautifully written - like The Weight of Water - in verse, I know that I will reread this one time and again.  I can't wait to recommend this to my class next year!  (How's that for positive thinking!)

Ivan's Great Fall: Poetry for Summer and Autumn from Great Poets and Writers of the Past by Vanita Oelschlager I reviewed yesterday here.  Great poetry picture book.


Here's a peek at what I'm reading next:

I'm also reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.  I have no idea how I missed it when it came out?!?!  Loving it so far!  I can't wait to get my hands on the new one!

What are you reading?  Have you read any of these great books?

Looking Forward

Whew!  It's h-o-t, hot here!

And it's going to stay hot and humid for most of the week.

Welcome, summer.

I am the first to admit I am not a fan of being hot.  Give me a nice sunny, 75 degree day with a cool breeze and I am content.  So I guess this week, I'll stay inside and read!  Nothing better!

Funny enough, I just found a book that I love - and it's all about fall!

Ivan's Great Fall is a cute little picture book that I can't wait to share with my {future} class on the first day of school.  Ivan is a little boy who loves summer!  He loves the long days full of adventure, baseball, and fun - and he's not looking forward to fall.

This story is a great read aloud for the first days of school.  I think kids and teachers alike all relate with Ivan's love of the freedom that comes with summer.

But the best aspect of this book is the format.  With the exception of the beginning and the end of the story, the rest is quotes from famous poets.  Super creative!  Everyone from William Blake to Emily Bronte to Ernest Lawrence Thayer is quoted.  Not in entirety, but enough to move the story along.  Each page tells of an adventure Ivan enjoys.

Every year, my kids write poetry books.  This would be a great book to revisit at the beginning of the unit.  I can totally see my kids writing a similar book on a topic they love and using the more contemporary poems by poets they love - Sara Holbrook, Shel Silverstein, Judith Viorst to name a few.

from A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein

If you haven't read these authors, do so.  They are great!

What a great way for kids to explore poetry with a purpose!




What are your favorite kids' poets?  More importantly, is there room for poetry in the CCSS?

Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It

Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It

False Apology Poems

by Gail Carson Levine

Matthew Cordell (illustrator)

March 2012

From the book:

"This Is Just to Say

If you're looking

for an nice

happy book

put this one down 

and run away 

quickly

Forgive me

sweetness

and good cheer

are boring

Inspired by William Carlos Williams’s famous poem ”This Is Just to Say,” Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine delivers a wickedly funny collection of her own false apology poems, imagining how tricksters really feel about the mischief they make. Matthew Cordell’s clever and playful line art lightheartedly captures the spirit of the poetry. This is the perfect book for anyone who’s ever apologized . . . and not really meant it."

Each year my 5th graders complete a poetry book.  But at my school, they have done all the formula poems (haiku, cinquain, etc.) in third grade, so I just focus on word choice, figurative language and playing with English.  By the end of the unit (done in April - National Poetry Month), each student has written over a dozen poems and created a cover page which I bind into a keepsake book.  And every year, the best poems are by students who don't get a lot of chance to feel successful!  It's a huge hit.

FORGIVE ME, I MEANT TO DO IT is a great addition to that unit.  The poems I love best are from the point of view of a literary character, like this one:

 This Is Just to Say

I have shortened 

my nose

with your saw

because

honestly

telling lies

is so much fun

Forgive me

I don't care

about becoming

a real boy

Super clever, right?  I know!

I love, love, love the pencil drawings that go with each poem, but the best part of the whole book is the cleverly place Introduction in which Ms. Levine persuades readers to become writers of their own false apology poems!  And isn't that what we all strive for?  Genius.

Buy it now at Barnes & Noble