“The miracle is this: The more we share, the more we have.”
~ Leonard Nimoy ~
Last week, I shared Jacqueline Woodson’s heart-breaking Each Kindness (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2012) with a fourth-grade class to begin a series of lessons on theme. As I read these words, “This is what kindness does, Ms. Albert said. Each little thing we do goes out, like a ripple, into the world,” the image sending Slice of Life posts out into the world came into my mind. There’s an important difference, though. When you share a Slice of Life post, the ripples of kindness return to you in wonderful and surprising ways.
I wrote my first March Slice of Life Challenge post without much forethought to what a month of blogging EVERY DAY would entail. I certainly didn’t have a plan. I know that I NEVER anticipated the way my posts would ripple back to me.
Through this warm, supportive community, I’ve made so many friends I’m afraid if I start to mention you all, I’ll forget someone. When I was NCTE’s national convention last November, I don’t think there was a single session when I didn’t sit with a friend made through Slice of Life or blogging. The truth is, the kindness sent out by this community is overwhelming. Thank you to all of you who have influenced me and helped me grow as a teacher, writer, and human being.
Bruce Coville wrote in his poem, “Ripples” that
“Words and gestures ripple outward,
What shores they reach we cannot name.”
I can’t wait to see where this year’s ripples take us. Happy Slicing, everyone!
Thank you to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, and Beth for this space for teachers and others to share their stories each day during the month of March and on Tuesdays throughout the year. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.
At the beginning of the month, Michelle Barnes shared a terrific interview with David Elliot on her blog, Today’s Little Ditty. David challenged readers to write a “letter poem to a bird, animal, or other object of our choice.” I have been thinking about this challenge all month, but couldn’t decide what or whom to write to until today when a friend shared a link to this video on Facebook.
I was hooked. After watching the video several times, scrolling through the other photos posted on this site, and, as David suggested, doing some research, I drafted this letter poem to Mr. and Mrs. Eagle.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Eagle,
The world has snatched the privacy of your tree-top aerie;
While on a clutch of eggs you brood,
to our TV screens we’re glued.
We marvel at your fortitude, braving wind and snow in solitude,
to tend your unborn chicks with care
one hundred feet up in the air.
Taking turns to hunt and fish, you bring your mate a tasty dish.
Now it’s your shift on the nest;
roll those eggs, then get some rest.
We’ll be watching all month long, waiting to hear your newborns’ song.
Thank you, Michelle and David, for this challenge! Please be sure to visit Michelle’s blog to read more letter poems, and don’t forget to visit Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe for the Poetry Friday Round Up.
My colleagues and I have been busy teaching and revising informational writing units of study. We’ve been concerned, though, about having enough good mentor texts for our Kindergarten through second grade students to emulate. A traditional five-paragraph essay is NOT our goal, yet an organizational structure is needed so they don’t write pages and pages of random facts. This week I found two informational texts with unique structures that will be inspiring mentor texts for young writers.
Why Do Birds Sing? (Penguin Young Readers, 2004) by Joan Holub and illustrated by Anna DiVito is a question-and-answer book. Holub anticipates any question kids might have about birds, then responds with brief, informative answers. DiVito’s cartoon-like illustrations are paired with color photos that provide close up views of many familiar species.
This book is a terrific mentor text. Children have many questions about subjects they’re interested in, and this question-and-answer structure is a perfect way for them to organize their research findings. Text features in Why Do Birds Sing? are limited to photographs and labels, but the photos have been thoughtfully chosen to illustrate and/or support the information being presented.
Holub and DiVito have also teamed up to create Why Do Dogs Bark?, Why Do Cats Meow?, and others that answer these urgent questions that all kids ask.
Caterpillars, by Marilyn Singer (EarlyLight Books, 2011) is a fact-filled book lavishly illustrated with close-up color photographs of both familiar and unfamiliar caterpillars. What I really love about this book, though, is its unique structure. Poet Singer (who was recently awarded the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children) begins the book with a poem introducing caterpillars. Here is the first stanza:
Caterpillars smooth,
Caterpillars hairy.
Munching in a giant bunch,
Lunching solitary.
The poem is followed by a page devoted to elaborating each line, providing young readers with all sorts of interesting facts. Each page is also filled with gorgeous color photographs showing examples of the species or behavior described in the text. There is also a quiz, a matching game (caterpillar-to-moth/butterfly), glossary, resource list, index, and more.
Caterpillars, which was named a National Science Teachers Association Outstanding Trade Book for Science in 2012, is listed by the publisher as being appropriate for K-2 students. But I think older students would also enjoy Singer’s informative, accessible writing style and have fun creating their own poem to organize their informational writing.
Both of these books are excellent mentors for a whole class book on a single topic, or for individuals writing about a topic of their choice. Best of all, they are engaging nonfiction texts that can be enjoyed as read-alouds or as independent reading by all elementary age students.
Don’t forget to visit Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers to find out what other people have been reading lately. Thanks, Jen and Kellee, for hosting!
I returned from NCTE last November energized by all the informative and inspiring sessions I attended. The Two Writing Teacher’s presentation, “Tools to Build a Culture of Writing Through Story,” was chock full of achievable ideas to promote writing. In her portion of the session, Dana Murphy shared her experience hosting a Family Writing Night. I knew this was an event I wanted to hold at my school. (You can access Dana’s presentation slides here.)
My building administrators thought having a Family Writing Night was a great idea and gave me their support. The PTO provided funds for journals, pens, door prizes and refreshments.
Dana emphasized that in order for Family Writing Night to be a success, you had to spread the word. In addition to having announcements on Twitter and in the school and PTO e-newsletters, old-fashioned hard copies went home in backpacks. Canva was a great tool to create posters, flyers, even door prize tickets! Classroom teachers were extremely supportive and reminded students daily about the event.
To get an idea of how many people to expect, I created a Google Form and asked people to let me know if they were coming. But I made it clear that whether they responded or not, everyone was welcome. I heard from about twenty people. So you can imagine my surprise when over sixty people turned out in near-zero temperatures!
Everyone chose a notebook and pen, then filled out a door prize ticket. When people were settled, I took Dana’s advice to “fill the room with beautiful words” and began the evening with a read aloud. John Rocco’s Blizzard (Disney-Hyperion, 2014) is my favorite new book, so I started the evening by reading Rocco’s boyhood memory of the Blizzard of 1978. (I also thought this might spark some weather-related stories; we’ve had a little snow lately!)
Writing Process bulletin board adapted from Dana’s presentation.
Then I talked very briefly about the the benefits of writing daily and the recursive nature of the writing process. I stressed that the goal of Family Writing Night, indeed any family writing time, was to have fun sharing memories and ideas. I reminded parents how important it is that they encourage kids to write without inhibitions, and not censor themselves because they may not know the exact spelling of a word or the best way to phrase a sentence. Editing is the final step. The most important thing is to get their thoughts down and keep writing daily. Just like athletes, writers develop fluency and build their writing muscles by writing.
I also encouraged parents to let kids to write about events and topics that are important and meaningful to them. To demonstrate that this could be anything, I shared Ralph Fletcher’s “Squished Squirrel Poem.” I had suggested that people bring photos of family vacations or other memorable events to get their writing started. As Ralph Fletcher says, “Memories are like a fountain no writer can live without.”
Then, everyone wrote. It was so gratifying to see more than sixty moms, dads, brothers, and sisters all writing! They wrote about tropical vacations, afternoons at the ball park, their pets, and more.
After about fifteen minutes, I encouraged everyone to share their writing with their families. Dana had shared some commenting prompts, such as asking a question or “tell how the writing made you feel,” which I had available as a handout. These got the writers going for another ten minutes or so.
Time really does fly when you’re having fun! I was amazed at how quickly the hour went by. Soon it was time to draw the winners of the door prizes.
Parents were effusive with their thanks and appreciation for the opportunity to come out and write with their children. Many wanted to know when the next Family Writing Night would be, and one mom asked if we could do this monthly! But the best feedback came from a third grader who told me, “I can’t wait to get home to finish my story!”
Thank you, Dana, for inspiring this wonderful evening. Thank you also to Stacey, Tara, Betsy, Anna, and Beth for sharing your terrific ideas at NCTE. As always, thank you for this space to share our stories each Tuesday. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.
Leroy Ninker Saddles Up (Candlewick Press, 2014) by Kate DiCamillo
Mercy Watson was a staple in my first grade classroom, so I was excited to learn that Leroy Ninker was back with his own adventure. Leroy has repented his thieving ways is now a man with a dream. Inspired by the westerns he watches while working at the Bijou Drive-In Theater, he dreams of being a cowboy. The Bijou’s ticket seller, Beatrice Leapaleoni, encourages Leroy to follow that dream. She urges him to wrestle fate to the ground and get himself a horse.
Leroy does just that. He meets Maybelline, a big horse with a loud whinny, and it’s love at first sight. Silliness ensues, but as in all Kate DiCamillo stories, love overcomes all obstacles. Leroy and Maybelline even end up on Deckawoo Drive for breakfast with Mercy Watson. On the menu? Hot buttered toast, of course.
Leroy Ninker Saddles Up is a perfect read aloud for first or second grade. Mercy Watson fans will enjoy reading Leroy’s adventure with Maybelline on their own. This book is filled with sage advice (“Be a straightforward communicator,” Patty LeMarque tells Leroy.) and self-discovery (Leroy “never imagined he could string so many words together at once.”) But most of all it is a book filled with love, “word after beautiful word…”
Somehow I missed the debut of You Are (Not) Small (Two Lions, 2014) by Anna Kang and illustrated by Christopher Weyant, last summer. Thankfully, it won the Geisel Award last Monday, so when I saw it at the library over the weekend, I recognized it and brought it home.
Using just a handful of words, Kang’s text and Weyant’s illustrations work together to convey important lessons on differences and perspective. These concepts work on many levels, giving this book wide appeal. Younger readers will easily understand the literal meaning of these differences, and older readers will be able to infer a deeper meaning. Everyone will love that when the characters finally do find common ground, they celebrate by sharing a meal. After all, everyone loves to eat!
In classic picture book fashion, the final page presents a new possibility, opening the door for children to create their own You Are (Not)… story.
Don’t forget to visit Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers to find out what other people have been reading lately. Thanks, Jen and Kellee, for hosting!
It’s been snowing for much of the past week, wreaking havoc with assessment schedules, mid-year goal meetings, and learning in general. On the other hand, I have had plenty of time to read, which is always a good thing.
John Rocco’s Blizzard (Disney-Hyperion, 2014) has been out since October, but I didn’t read it until last week. Rocco was ten when the Blizzard of ’78 buried most of southern New England under forty inches of snow. This picture book memoir is an adventure story that all kids will love, whether or not they’ve experienced record-setting snow storms. But as I reread this wonderful story, I realized that this book is a great mentor text, one that will inspire kids to write about their own epic weather adventures.
The simplicity of Rocco’s language is deceiving. He has done a terrific job choosing just the right word and detail to truly bring this story to life. When John and his sister finally get outside after the snow stops, they realize that walking is “like trying to move through white quicksand.” When John makes his list of necessities before he heads to the store, “candy bar” is the only starred item. And when he returns from his adventure, he tells his family about his “perilous journey.”
Rocco’s word choice also make this book a good choice for an activity like one Lynne Dorfman and Diane Dougherty describe in their recent book, Grammar Matters: Lessons, Tips, and Conversations; Using Mentor Texts, K-6 (Stenhouse, 2014, a must-read for any K-6 teacher). They suggest gathering nouns and the active verbs they’re paired with to spur kids thinking about replacing worn-out words with more vivid choices. Also, Rocco’s uncluttered declarative sentences are perfect for introducing compound and complex sentences. There is even a great example of parallel structure, beginning when John realizes that “I was the only one who had memorized the survival guide.”
Thevisual humor of Rocco’s illustrations and his ingenious use of text features give Blizzard an added depth of meaning. The passing days of the week are each spelled out in clever ways that blend into the scenes. “Tuesday,” for example, is spelled out by a squirrel scurrying across the roof. The old-fashioned cash register totals $19.78, and there are clues about John’s fascination with frozen landscapes scattered throughout the book. The fold-out map of John’s trek to the store is a wonder, and I can imagine some kids spending lots of time poring over this winter wonderland.
Blizzardbelongs in every K-3 classroom library, and I can imagine 4th and 5th graders who will love it, too. First and foremost, read this book for the wonderful story that it is. Then go back and take a closer look. You and your students will be richly rewarded. I can’t wait to share this book with my students, if it ever stops snowing!
Thank you to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, and Beth for this space for teachers and others to share their stories each Tuesday. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.
Why do we love fantasies? Psychologists have all sorts of explanations about confronting our fears safely, etc., But sometimes it’s simply that a story comes along that just pulls us in and we escape into that world.
The ability to write such a story is a true gift, a form of magic itself. Charis Cotter has this gift. Her latest book, The Swallow: A Ghost Story (Tundra Books: 2014), is the story of two lonely girls, both of whom introduce themselves by saying they don’t fit in. Polly is eager to be friends with Rose, the new girl next door. Rose, on the other hand, is reluctant to get involved with “one of the dreadful Lacey children who live next door.”
Polly and Rose each narrate their own version of events, and as the book opens, their stories parallel each other. Polly hates having so many brothers and sisters and having to “share everything until there’s nothing left for me. Rose feels she’s “bewitched” because no one, not her parents, teachers or classmates, pays any attention to her. But as Polly and Rose’s friendship deepens, their stories, and their mysteries, become intertwined. Ultimately, they both learn that it’s much easier to face our fears with a friend at our side.
I don’t want to give anything away about the ghost in the title. What I do want to tell you is that this is a beautifully written testament to the power of love and friendship.
Love and friendship are also at the heart of Angelica Banks new book, Finding Serendipity. (Henry Holt, 2015; Review copy from NetGalley, available February 3, 2015) Summer vacation is just beginning, and Tuesday McGillicuddy is can’t wait for her mother, world-famous author Serendipity Smith, to finish the final adventure of Vivienne Small, a fairy-like creature who lives in the Peppermint Forest and plots “ingenious ways [to] outsmart her archrival, the monstrous Carsten Mothwood.”
Tuesday is worried, though when her mother doesn’t come home for dinner. When she wakes up late at night and realizes Serendipity still isn’t home, she resolves to find her mother. Sitting at her mother’s typewriter trying to find the end of Vivienne’s story, Tuesday begins to write. As she writes her story, a mysterious silver thread begins to spool itself out from the words and wraps itself around Tuesday. Soon, she and her dog, Baxterr, are swept out the window and up into the sky.
Middle grade readers will be swept right along with them. The adventure that follows includes a mysterious fog-filled land, a wise Librarian, near-drownings, and pirates. Along the way, Tuesday learns about being brave and staying true to her friends and herself.
Finding Serendipity is really a love letter to the magic of writing. Angelica Banks (aka Australian authors Heather Rose and Danielle Wood) has created a world where “stories have a power of their own” that take readers and writers on amazing adventures. Readers will discover that writing “might appear to be magical, but the magic comes from nowhere but within you.”
Both of these books do what fantasy does best: expand our horizons and help us see the world in a new way. Both are terrific choices for read-alouds or indpendent reading.
Don’t forget to visit Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers to find out what other people have been reading lately. Thanks, Jen and Kellee, for hosting!
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia (Millbrook Press, 2015; available February 1st) Review copy provided by NetGalley
Plastic bags are ubiquitous the world over, but in Isatou Ceesay’s village in Gambia they are causing serious problems. Goats eat them, then become ill when they can’t digest them. Water collects in the piles of discarded bags, giving mosquitoes pools for breeding. Isatou comes up with a plan to recycle the bags by crocheting them into purses. Not only is the village clean again, but the purses provide income for the villagers.
Isatou Ceesay is an inspiring role model, and Miranda Paul has done an excellent job making her story accessible to young readers. One Plastic Bag clearly explains the problems caused by discarded plastic bags. Not only will children everywhere be motivated to recycle bags, they’ll be inspired to think outside the box when searching for solutions to problems. Elizabeth Zunon’s collage illustrations, which include pieces of plastic bags, complement the text perfectly.An Author’s Note includes how Paul came to write One Plastic Bag, as well as a map, timeline, pronunciation guide, and a list of books for further reading.
One Plastic Bag has its own website where you can meet Isatou Ceesay, Miranda Paul, Elizabeth Zunon, and others. You can also learn more at Julie Danielson’s lovely blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, which featured an extensive selection of Elizabeth Zunon’s artwork for One Plastic Bag back in November.
The Red Bicycle: The Extraordinary Story of One Ordinary Bicycle (CitizenKid, division of Kids Can Press, 2015; available March 1st) Review copy provided by NetGalley
Jude Isabella and Simone Shin’s “extraordinary story of one ordinary bicycle” is a perfect book to pair with One Plastic Bag. Young Leo has worked hard and saved his money to buy a bicycle. He rides “Big Red” everywhere and takes such good care of it that even after a few years, it “looks almost brand new.” The problem is that Leo has outgrown his beloved bike, and wants to make sure its new owner will love it as much as he has. The owner of the local bike shop tells Leo about an organization that is collecting bicycles to ship to villages in Africa. Leo gets Big Red ready for its trip across the ocean, shown on a map by a dotted red line. When Big Red arrives in Burkina Faso, Alisetta is excited to get such a beautiful bike. The whole village cheers her on as she joyously learns to ride her new bicycle. Big Red makes life easier for Alisetta and her family by helping them get their sorghum crop to market. After Big Red is damaged in an accident, it’s recycled again. Now an ambulance, Big Red gets health workers to remote villages and sick patients to clinics where they get the care they need.
Readers will be inspired to help get bicycles to African villagers, and information about organizations that collect bicycles or money to transport them is included at the end of the book. Ideas for follow-up activities and facts about Burkina Faso are also included.
Both of these books will be great additions to any K-5 unit on recycling and can be used to inspire opinion writing about the importance of recycling. They will provide children with a look at daily life in Western Africa, increase theirawareness of the importance of recycling, and show them realistic ways they can get involved in these important efforts.
Don’t forget to visit Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers to find out what other people have been reading lately. Thanks, Jen and Kellee, for hosting!
My grandmother gave me my first seashell when I was about five years old. Since then, these treasures from the sea have fascinated me. My grandmother was not a sentimental person; she endured many hardships, including raising three children through the Depression, during her long life. But she was a generous person, not only with material objects, but also with her time, and especially her knowledge. An eighth-grade graduate, she nevertheless was a storehouse of information which she willingly and often shared with her family. Rachel Carson once said that “if a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.” My grandmother was this person to me.
The red helmet shell my grandmother gave me when I was five.
When she became bedridden in her late eighties, my mother, sister, cousins, and I faced the daunting task of emptying her house. Most of the shells that I had loved studying as a child became mine. I’ve shared them with my kids and my students, and I have them scattered throughout my home. An arrangement here, a basket there, a single magnificent conch on a table. I think of my grandmother every time I look at them.
So when Michelle, of Today’s Little Ditty, announced Joyce Sidman’s challenge two weeks ago to write a “Deeper Wisdom” poem, I didn’t even have to think about the subject of my poem. But I had so many ideas, and I really struggled with this. There are many earlier, very different versions. As I worked on this today, I realized that the title really should be “What Do Mollusks Know?” but that doesn’t have the same appeal, does it?
I’ve been knitting for about 15 years or so. Hats, scarves, mittens; you name it, I knit it. I love the sense of accomplishment I get from creating something soft and warm out of beautiful yarn. I don’t tackle patterns with a lot of technical stitches or color patterns, but I can adapt patterns and usually knit my way out of any messes I might get myself into.
So I was pretty frustrated over the weekend when the hat I’d spent a couple of hours knitting didn’t fit. I reread the pattern to make sure I hadn’t missed a step, but I hadn’t. The hat just didn’t fit.
What to do? I really didn’t want to tear the whole thing out, although there was no pressure to finish this hat. I decided to try making the ribbing longer, but that didn’t work.
Now I’d spent about four hours on this hat. My irritation was mounting. I knew it was time to put this project aside for a while before I made a decision about tearing everything out and starting over.
I stewed over the hat through dinner and while I cleaned the kitchen. I thought about the pattern, the yarn, adding on to the ribbing. All of these choices were guided by my knowledge and experience. I’ve spent years reading magazines, studying patterns, and talking to expert knitters. I’ve played with different weights and textures of yarn. Yet this seemingly simple hat pattern got the best of me. This fact was frustrating, but not the end of the world. I’ll tear the hat out and try again. Maybe I’ll adjust the pattern so it will fit, or maybe I’ll use a different pattern altogether. I have lots of options.
This whole experience got me thinking about what we expect of our students when we ask them to write. We expect them to make decisions about words and structures, details and sentence length. I know we think we’re supporting them and giving them the practice they need, but are we? Or has the pressure we feel to get everything done by yesterday caused us to make decisions we know aren’t in the best interest of our students?
Have we given them the time they need to pore over books, to study how authors put sentences together, and really talked with them about the power of our words? Or have we judged every word choice and sentence structure? Have we made them change their words to conform to our vision of what their writing should be like?
These questions are really a reminder to myself. I know the conditions kids need to grow and succeed. But I also need to remember what it feels like to have a vision that’s just out of reach. It may be that I need a cheerleader with an encouraging word to keep me going. Or maybe I just need time to figure it out. And that’s what kids need. They need time, lots of time, to play and experiment until they find the right combination of words that are the perfect fit for them.
Thank you to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, and Beth for this space for teachers and others to share their stories each Tuesday. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.
Reading to the Core 