Billy Collins' Poetry continues to inspire me. The following Collins Poem, "Earthling" was published in The Apple That Astonished Paris. It resonated with me yesterday since I spent a great deal of time working with one of my colleagues to further plan out our Solar System Unit. It's definitely a teaching tool (i.e., when we… Continue reading Poetry Friday Is Here! (Please scroll down to submit your poem using Mr. Linky.)
Month: November 2007
Personal Essay Rubric
Using the rubric I created for the personal narrative unit of study as a skeleton, I created a personal essay rubric a few days ago. I tweaked it with Kate yesterday afternoon and this is what I came up with for my kids. Again, there's a row so that each student can self-assess their writing… Continue reading Personal Essay Rubric
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21st Century Literacies (NCTE’s Nov. 2007 Council Chronicle)
If you blog, then you know that websites are no longer the sole way to get information out into the world. We're living in a Web 2.0 World. Today we have blogs, wikis, podcasts, and many other tools that allow us to not only communicate, but to collaborate with others around the globe. Ruth and… Continue reading 21st Century Literacies (NCTE’s Nov. 2007 Council Chronicle)
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Creating Folders for “Patches of Thought”
During my first year of teaching I attended a Calendar Day hosted by the TCRWP where I got the idea for creating portable folders for my students to use in Writing Workshop to assist them with collecting "patches of thought" for each of their subordinate ideas during the personal essay unit of study. Though Lucy… Continue reading Creating Folders for “Patches of Thought”
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WNW: Noticing Our Surroundings OR Other “Stuff”
Welcome to Writer's Notebook Wednesday! Today you can share your response to Stacey's charge, or you can share something else. It doesn't really matter what you share . . . the important thing is that you do, indeed, share. Looking forward to reading your words. Ruth's entry here. Stacey's entry here. Your entry . .… Continue reading WNW: Noticing Our Surroundings OR Other “Stuff”
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ruth’s wn entry: merry & bright.
So I've been noticing stuff in my everyday world and wondering what to develop for WNW. It occurred to me on Monday night that I should write about the Christmas lights that have filled my home. So I've been doing a lot of writing in the air in preparation for today's entry. I pushed my… Continue reading ruth’s wn entry: merry & bright.
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play with words + help end world hunger.
Click on the picture below to play a vocabulary game. For each word you get correct, United Nations will donate 10 grains of rice to help end world hunger.
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Take Note of What Surrounds You
My students have been doing a lot of noticing in Writing Workshop since we began our Personal Essay Unit of Study last week. Hence, I created this Motivational Poster (of sorts) online. I hope it inspires you to notice what surrounds you this week and to write about it. Here's a potential charge for :… Continue reading Take Note of What Surrounds You
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Customized Spelling Lists
I've been grading my students' personal narratives this morning using the rubric I created last month. That being said, I decided not to just grade their personal narratives, but also to use them as a way to create lists of misspelled words so that I can differentiate their weekly spelling lists. My colleague Kate gives… Continue reading Customized Spelling Lists
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Gifts from the Heart
On November 14th I received funding, through DonorsChoose, for the "Writing Gift Center" I blogged about in October. I was delighted that someone who didn't know me or my students was inspired by this proposal to donate the funds so that my students could have the supplies they needed to jazz-up their writing and give… Continue reading Gifts from the Heart
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ruth’s wn entry: thanksgiving thoughts.
Edited: I posted & then read Stacey's entry from today. Strange that we both wrote poems. Stranger still that we have a similar line. Strange in a cool way, though. So thankful for friendship. 🙂 So I'm waiting for some paint to dry on a canvas and I'm thinking about all the things I'm grateful for in my life. And this thinking… Continue reading ruth’s wn entry: thanksgiving thoughts.
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Thanksgiving: A List Poem
On this day, I am thankful for so many things. I figured I'd create a list poem, with my ideas clustered in stanzas, of what I am thankful for. (I decided not to use ending punctuation for this poem.) Freedom Being an American The right to practice my own religion Driving where I want, when… Continue reading Thanksgiving: A List Poem
