Friday, January 31, 2014

Chalk-A-Bration January 2014

Welcome to the first Chalk-A-Bration of the year!

I had the pleasure of spending time in four different classrooms this week chalking poems. Yeah! How lucky am I? I visited, read poetry and assisted students in writing collaborative poems together in a unique activity. Here is the breakdown of my visits:

With each group I began by reading poetry appropriate to their grade level. 

Then students wrote in a small group, a pair or independently, a line of poetry about themselves. 

I wrote a title to their poem and students taped their lines to the title. 

When we had a finished product, students shared or I shared the poem with the rest of the class.

Here are some samples of the finished poems we created!

Kindergarten--A Classroom Collaboration. 


First Grade--A Classroom Collaboration.

Second Grade--Small Group Collaborations




Fourth Grade--Small Group Collaborations



Be sure to check out the chalkers in the comments below! I have blog posts here, there and everywhere today so I may not get back to round them up. Give those classrooms and chalkers some comment love by visiting their link. 

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Sunshine Award!

Just before the New Year Franki Sibberson at A Year of Reading nominated me for the Sunshine Award. I had literally just read about someone else receiving this award on that same day and was so surprised by the nomination. Thank you Franki, it definitely brought sunshine to me on what was a cold and cloudy day in Michigan! (And now I just found out that Linda Baie nominated me too, from Teacherdance. Now I have to adapt my list of nominees)!

Here's a little info on the Sunshine Award:
This is a way for bloggers to get to know each other and one of the cool things about it is that there are limitless "winners"! The Sunshine award gives others an opportunity to learn more about me as a blogger and then, in turn, I will send sunshine the way of 11 other amazing bloggers for you to get to know! Here are the "official" rules:
  1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger.
  2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
  3. Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.
  4. List 11 bloggers. They should be bloggers you believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love!
  5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated. (You cannot nominate the blogger who nominated you.
Let's Begin!

Here are 11 random facts about me!

  1. I can play trumpet and piano.
  2. I have never been on an airplane.
  3. I got married when I was 19.
  4. I started out as a Music Therapy major, switched to Speech and Language Pathology and then landed on Education.
  5. Both my parents were teachers.
  6. I started blogging in 2010 after a challenge by Stacey Shubitz that she was completely unaware of until recently.
  7. I love camping.
  8. I am more of a writer than a reader. I really need to get better at being an avid reader of all things and not just professional texts.
  9. I never saw myself as a writer until recently. 
  10. I started writing poetry in 2011, before then it was sparse if ever.
  11. I love all things art. I wish I had more formal art training but for now I am a self taught mediocre artist. 



Here are the answers to the 11 questions from Franki!

What is the best thing that happened to you this week?
I got to go for a run for the first time in three months outside in the snow. I know this may sound crazy but I love running in the snow! 
What is your favorite book of 2013?
Forest Has a Song by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Which TV shows do you watch regularly?
Not really anything regularly. I don't have cable.
What is the thing you are most excited about for 2014?
I am most excited about going to NCTE for the first time in several years. I
haven't been to Washington D.C. since I was a kid!
Do you have any pets?
Yes. One dog and a tank full of fish!
Is your favorite meal breakfast, lunch or dinner? Why?
I love dinner. I suppose because it is the only meal I eat with my family all at the
same time. 
What’s was a favorite childhood book?
The Little Golden Book of Words. My dad read it to me every night for as long as
I can remember when I was small. 
Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?
I try not to but this year seems to be an exception. I have several challenges on
my plate.
What’s a favorite movie?
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
What’s one thing you love to do when you have free time?
Write
Who is an author you’d love to meet?
Mary Ellen Giacobbe


I am nominating the following amazing bloggers in no particular order!

Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
Beth at Tiny Readers




Here are the questions for these lucky 11 friends!


  1. Where did you grow up?
  2. Who was your best friend growing up? What did they teach you?
  3. Who was the most influential teacher in your life?
  4. What is the best thing you've ever written? What was it about?
  5. What do you want to be when you "grow up?"
  6. When was the last time you wrote someone a letter?
  7. Where would you love to vacation?
  8. What is a your best family tradition?
  9. Do you collect anything? What?
  10. Did you ever learn to play an instrument?
  11. Who would you like to meet and what is one thing you would ask them?