Poetry Friday: The Final Days of School

I put the following poem into my students’ fifth grade yearbook. The irony is that on the last day of school, which was two days ago, we DID do the chant greeting of “1-2-3-4, C’mon _____ Hit the Floor.” However, it wasn’t done with pep and many kids didn’t chant anything at all. [...]

WN ENTRY: Kids on Leashes

Ralph Fletcher gives young writers 11 tips for things to collect in their writer’s notebooks. Fletcher encourages writers to notice the world around them and write about it. Here’s what I observed/noticed this evening.
I felt the droplets of rain touch my feverish skin as I left Duane Reade with my plastic bag chock-full [...]

change.

Funny, I logged on to make this post & Stacey used a similar title for her last post.  Change must be on our brains!
I’m realizing that one of the facts of life is simply:  People Change.   What we stand for at one point in our lives will evolve over time.  Our defining personality traits shift [...]

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I asked my students how they’ve changed as writers from the beginning of the year until now. Here’s what a few of them said:
In the beginning of the year I was terrible; all I did was rush. Now I’m an amazing writer. My writing flows and creates a sense of [...]

Timelines and Writer’s Notebooks

I divided my kids up into ten groups today, printed out my Google Class Calendar, and asked them to work with a partner to organize and illustrate a month of the year. We put all of the pieces together into one long timeline that spans 15 feet at the back of my classroom! [...]

Acrostic Poetry

I did quite a bit with acrostic poetry this year since a huge pet peeve of mine is watching kids write meaningless acrostic poems in their writer’s notebooks just for the sake of writing a poem. Many kids don’t know what a true acrostic poem looks like, which is why I feel we need [...]

The Rules of Writing Poetry

One of my students, Allandra, just e-mailed me this morning. (She’s also a co-author of DEAL WITH IT! Powerful Words from Smart, Young Women. I’m not sure what prompted her note to me, but she decided to send me a list of “rules” for writing poetry. I’ve never had a list [...]

Kids 12-19 Can Build A Writing Portfolio Online

I just noticed that you can also get published online with Scholastic’s WRITE IT Website. Submissions must be from children between ages 12 – 19.

Poetry Friday (almost)

I wrote a poem from my wn entry:  special place.  I saved it for Poetry Friday (and then missed it from the pure chaos of the day!). 
Everyday Special
This place is full of
little living
ice cold drinks, savory meals, sweet desserts
kind words, sorting-it-out tears
genuine giggles and belly-bustin’ bellows
daily devotions, big dreams, making plans
prayers.
All adding up to growing [...]

Writing with Writers

I found a great section of Scholastic’s Website entitled “Writing with Writers,” which is a place devoted to helping kids learn how to write better by taking a workshop with a published author.
The writing genres that can be explored on this site are:
* Biography Writing
[...]

Poetry Friday

This poem makes me happy that it’s finally summertime!
Sea Joy
When I go down by the sandy shore
I can think of nothing I want more
Than to live by the blooming blue sea
As the seagulls flutter round about me
I can run about – when the tide is out
With the wind and the sand and the sea all [...]

“An overuse of craft is cr*p!”

Author Lester Laminack taught a course I took at Teachers College during the 2006 Summer Institute on the Teaching of Writing. He said, “There’s only a letter or two that separates the word craft from cr*p.” He paused. “Therefore, an overuse of craft is crap!” Everyone in the room busted out [...]

Lester Laminack

Next Monday (less than 5 days away), I will be introducing Lester Laminack.  I’m excited (and nervous) about this honor.  However, I’ve been thinking — What will I say to give a worthy introduction?  I’m at a loss, so I’ve been searching some websites & will put together a draft.  These sites are worth a [...]

Ruth’s WN Entry: A Special Relative

Fletcher suggests writing about a brother, sister, or special relative. Remember: think small. Focus on one aspect of that person, or one experience you had with him or her.
“Go get the stink blown off of you,” Mom would say, pushing us out the door.  Jeff and I would jump off the back step and take [...]

Ruth’s WN Entry: Special Place

Today’s WN Entry comes from Ralph Fletcher’s Website.
THE CHARGE:
Special place: special room, attic nook, inside of a tree, scary closet. You might start by quickly sketching a map of a house full of memories. Mark those rooms where something important happened to you.
Stacey challenged a wn entry for a special place.  Ali challenged a scrapbook [...]

Stacey’s WN Entry: A Special Relative

Fletcher suggests writing about a brother, sister, or special relative. Remember: think small. Focus on one aspect of that person, or one experience you had with him or her.
Both of my grandfathers passed away in the year prior to my Bat Mitzvah. Each of these men were special to me. However, I was exceedingly closer [...]

Lunch Box Poetry

I had an idea in the shower this morning (the place of many wonderful thoughts).
When I have kids I think I’m going to put a poem into their lunch box every day of the school year when they’re in elementary school in order to foster love of poetry.
One way to make [...]

Poetry Friday: Valerie Worth Poems

Some lovely small poems by Valerie Worth:
chairs
Chairs
Seem
To
Sit
Down
On
Themselves, almost as if
They were people,
Some fat, some thin;
Settled comfortably
On their own seats,
Some even stretch out their arms
To
Rest.
pail
A new pail,
Straight, tight
Brushed to a cold
Silver shine,
Soon learns
Other ways:
Once filled with
Oats or ashes,
Grayed by rain,
Its handle
Bent, its
Bottom dented,
Grown peaceful
And plain
It becomes
A real pail.
pie
After the yellow-white
Pie dough is rolled out
Flat, and picked [...]

Stacey’s WN Entry: Special Place

Today’s WN Entry comes from Ralph Fletcher’s Website.
THE CHARGE:
Special place: special room, attic nook, inside of a tree, scary closet. You might start by quickly sketching a map of a house full of memories. Mark those rooms where something important happened to you.
My parents’ living room was bare when I was a little girl. [...]

Stacey’s WN Entry: Artifact

Today’s WN entry comes from Ralph Fletcher’s Tips for Young Writers: Write about an artifact (arrowhead, ring, antique, etc.). Important objects in our lives often provide excellent material to write about.
My yellow lab Sirius lays on my bed without moving. His fur is soft and he allows me to pet him without flinching. [...]

Ruth’s WN Entry: Artifact

Today’s WN entry comes from Ralph Fletcher’s Tips for Young Writers: Write about an artifact (arrowhead, ring, antique, etc.). Important objects in our lives often provide excellent material to write about.
I’m not sure how important they are in my life, and I’m not sure how much of an artifact they are, but something that I [...]

Fletcher’s Tips for Young Writers

Ralph Fletcher recently added more tips for children on his “Tips for Young Writers” Page, which is a collection of ideas for getting started on writing notebook entries, information on how to revise your writing, and information about getting published.
I’m proposing trying out one of Ralph’s Tips every day for the next few days to [...]

Summer Vacation Literacy Activites

ReadWriteThink, a partnership between IRA and NCTE, launched a brand new section of their website today, which focuses on summer literacy activities for children. The activities are broken down into three clusters, K-2, 3-5, and 6-8.

Independent Writing Projects

I’m debating as to whether or not I should assign independent writing projects to my students before the end of the school year (which ends on 6/27). Part of me sees the importance of this and thinks that if I do not assign an independent writing project to them now, then they probably won’t [...]