A Conference Night Poem

I'm sitting across from her.
She's tired, she's run down,
she's had enough and here I sit.
I sit with concern
as I see each crease in her eye
deepen with fatique and worry.
I care.
I wish for her.
I wish for her son.
I wish it were different.
She's tired.
She's done.
At a loss.
A sparkling tear, almost runs down
but she breathes and I grin
and we begin again.
But there are so many qualities he has going for him.
He has such a big heart.
We care for him and his success.
But it's hard
and though I'm tired
I might be run down
I am not done
and I will never stop
and I will be here everyday
showing up
for him
for you
and I will wish it
to be different.

Chalk is in the Air!

I look at a day like today and I start to see a thaw happening. Writable surfaces are once again revealing themselves. It delights me. My husband has been chopping ice on our driveway, preparing it. The sun was melting more of it, though the driveway is wet, I hope it will dry soon enough. I will need to be patient as we await another snow storm this week and freezing temps. However, I know a day like today means spring is also waiting. Waiting for its chance to be more than just a presence but a semi-permanent state.
Once it is here, I will no longer need to write my chalk poems on paper or easels. I will be able to abandon the little chalk boards in my classroom and I will be free to choose from sidewalks, driveways and parking lots anywhere (well, almost anywhere).
Let the chalketry commence, (soon anyway).

No idea why I have an affinity for chalk? I celebrate poetry the last day of each month with a chalked poem or illustration for any passerby to see. It is a fun way to celebrate poetry and playful chalk at the same time.

Chalk-A-Bration February 2014

It's here again! Chalk-A-Bration DAY! So glad you stopped by to visit and I hope you find somewhere and some way to chalk a little something today. I can hardly wait for spring chalking!


Just last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Dublin, OH for the Dublin Literacy Conference. I got to see old friends and even made some new ones too! While I was there I did a presentation on using poetry in the classroom. You might remember last month's chalk where I did a multi-leveled lesson and had the kids build a poem. Well, we did the same thing using a mentor text from George Ella Lyon and chalked our own Where I'm From poem.


If you haven't heard George Ella Lyon read Where I'm From, it is worth a listen and very inspiring. Below I have a video with Lyon doing the reading. It is quite unique.

Now onto the chalk! We started by talking literally about where we were from. Then we dug a little deeper. After listening to George Ella Lyon read where she is from, we were inspired. Those present wrote their own, Where I'm From, poem and chose their favorite line. 

Here, Tony Keefer, a new poetry friend, tapes his line onto the poem that the group built together.

Below is the completed chalk poem. 

Thankful for sadness,
mistakes and rebirth.
I'm from loving arms
I am from the connections of
friends and long stretches of
solitude.
I am from playing with
neighbors-kick-the-can
in the evening hours.
I am from warm hugs
and licking the
batter off the spoon
I am from green
meadows
I am from pizza
Friday and summer camp.



Dublin was an amazing place to visit and have the experience of chalking together. I hope you will visit the other chalkers in the comments as well as all the Poetry Friday peeps!

Poetry Friday is hosted by Anastasia at Poet! Poet!

Quick addition:
I have a question for you, do you want to order a Chalk-A-Bration t-shirt? I am in the process of trying to decide if there is enough interest for ordering. Here is a view of what the t-shirt would look like if you would like to order one online. The downfall of this is there would be a limited time to order and the cost would be $30 (no profit). The other alternative is for me to make a shirt that is less expensive but could be ordered through me, shipped to you or sold when I get the chance to meet you at a conference. Let me know your thoughts on the idea!

Back

 Front

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. 

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!

Robin at Teaching Tomorrow's Leaders
Stacey at Raising a Literate Human

Elsie at Elsie Tries Writing

Mary Lee at A Year of Reading

Amy at The Poem Farm

Margaret at Reflections on the Teche

Tara at A Teaching Life

Beth at Tiny Readers

Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
Ruth Ayres at Discover. Play. Build
Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup

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?

Chalk-A-Bration December 2013: Chalk Three Ways

Chalk-A-Bration in December? Never thought I would see myself chalking in December, but here I am! I hope you will join me through chalk, whether it be real or drawn out on your iPad! Did you know there is an app for that? I wish I had created it. Linda Baie was the first to begin chalking for Chalk-A-Bration using an app and I finally got on board when I realized sometimes you just can't chalk on a driveway covered in snow and ice. But, occasionally you can!

I was recently asked for some advice on chalking a poem. The chalker felt like her poem was too short.

Short is fine. Often I just chalk a stanza or a line from a poem. Especially when I am limited to the app version. When I am outside there are fewer limits; there's more space. I have also chalked on a chalkboard easel that I commandeered from my children. Chalking a poem is a challenge but a fun one. I hope you will join.

Since this question was posed I thought I would do three versions of chalking with the same poem. This will show some ways to make it work and make it fun!

Here is the poem in its entirety on my driveway. It was inspired by a new hobby of my husband's, penny art. He is taking old pennies, pounding them out with a hammer and putting poetic lines on them with metal stamps (this one has a Neruda quote).  The only space I had that wasn't ice covered was under my car, which worked out pretty nicely for a chalk poem in December!

Penny Jar

a well of stories

a penny holds

each year a new

each year an old

a cent for candy

a cent for tea

a coin to capture

a story key

Here is my little easel chalkboard. I chose four lines that I felt made their own poem and chalked them here.

On the app I have very little space. So I just "chalked" the title and my favorite lines. 

Get your chalk, real or virtual, write up a poem and take a photo. Post it to your blog and link it here! If you use twitter, tweet your chalk using #chalkabration!

Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

Let's Begin:

Linda joins us with a poem that is a shout-out to Chalk-A-Bration! She also offers a nice round-up of events in 2013! Be sure to go check her out at Teacherdance. 

Stacey from Raising a Literate Human is chalking for the first time today using her iPad! Take a peek at a poem for her daughter as we round the corner into 2014.

Margaret and her students are chalking out the old year with great offerings today. Find them at Reflections on the Teche.

My mother-in-law tried to brave the elements but realized once she got outside, things would change. I love this un-chalked poem!
 
Leigh Anne is joining in for some chalk fun with the app today for the first time! Go see her OLW and poem for #chalkabration over at A Day in the Life.

Robin at Teaching Tomorrow's Leaders wrote a poem and got some help from her kids this time around for Chalk-A-Bration. 

The Importance of Monitoring

I have not always been a teacher who monitors student work. I used to say things like, "I know my students." This was true, to some degree. However, I didn't know enough. What I have found is when I monitor not only do I know them, I know their next steps and I know what is sticking. I don't make assumptions about the learning. I see the learning. I keep track and have a system. If I didn't do this my lesson planning would be based on what I think is going on instead of what is truly going on with student learning.

What is monitoring?
When I monitor a piece of writing I am looking for characteristics of learning taking place. I may look for one specific thing or I may leave it general. For instance, this week I am looking for evidence of independent revision. Not necessarily whether it has been effective or not, but how many students are really trying to revise their piece. They may not be doing a great job but I want to see if I have to put more emphasis on the act of revision. Then I can get into the nitty gritty of it all. When I look for more general sources of learning I may jot down what I notice the student is doing and what I think should come next. When I go through this process it helps me to plan for small groups. Often the characteristics of student work fall into categories and I am better able to meet needs. I can look for trends in the work and decide what needs to be taught or re-taught in the whole group lesson.

I find that monitoring the work helps me to be more intentional. If you want to be clear on your expectations with students you need to know where they are in their process. Monitoring does this and will bring your teaching of writing to a new level.