Poetry Contest

Vote on the poll for your favorite poem.

Poem #1

Silent but lively
another place
just for me
glistening and soft like fabric
talking to sea life like it's my second language

A world doused by water
with the radiant life under the sea
bright like the heavens
bubbles pop and squeak
the current moves ever so lightly

Calm but life taking
waves crash and bash
yin and yang in perfect harmony
living in this place is carefree
just the right place for
destiny

Breathtaking to see
more beautiful than Angelina Jolie

flying faster than a bee
more weightless than space itself
that's what living in the sea means to me

Poem #2

So much adversity
Weighing me down
My heart aches all over
But here; I seek immunity
Under the water, I am wispy
Free, floating

Perched on this underwater ledge,
Feeling the cold current,
I ponder our divergence
Seeking release from the sorrow

Glowing, warm, waves of light
Ripple beyond the water
Mimicking a giggle and grin,
Conflicting my descent,
Encouraging me to return

Inevitably, waves crack,
Staining the life above with turmoil.
Cold, grips my heart
And the weight recaptures me
Even the peace of the water
Can’t make the damage recede
Unwillingly, I resurface for air

Persistent in my pursuit,
I return to the depths
Until nightfall; a final resurfacing
Finds pale moonlight
Casting hope on the shore

I see love and reach
Yet, it is too far
Unable to see me
Unwilling to hear me
Dictating isolation

What's Important?

This week we worked on most important word summaries with non-fiction.  As we read a piece of non-fiction text, we chose the most important word or phrase from each paragraph.  Then we use those words to help us construct a summary of the text.  This strategy was a bit challenging and awkward at first, but once we got it, it proved to really help us understand what we were reading.  Finding only one word or phrase is challenging at first and the students really had to talk it out with each other to be sure they had the correct and most important one. 

After practicing this, we used this strategy as we took the October Tungsten test.  One of the articles was on symbiosis which is a concept that we are not entirely familiar with, making this month's test challenging.  Students were required to use the summarization strategy before they answered the questions for that part of the test.  This seemed to help.  Many students kept their scores in range of where they were last time or rose them--both a great sign for a test as challenging as this month's was.  Take some time to look over your child's Tungsten with them and discuss their answer selections--both right and wrong.  Ask them to explain how/why they answered the way they did.  If you need a reminder, the web address is linked to this post--all you have to do is click on the post title and it will take you straight there.  I will place it in Places to Investigate links too.  Your child should know their user name and password.  If not, please let me know and I will e-mail it to you.

assessments.edisonlearning.com

I am so proud of the work I see each and every day from your children.  They are so ready and willing to stand up to whatever challenge I give them.  In fact, it is so obvious that they come to school everyday hoping to be challenged.  Thank you for all you do to support them.  I hope you have had time to check out the student blogs to the right.  The kids work hard and really want to be heard.  The best way to show them they have been heard is by offering them feedback to grow from.  Ask them questions and share what they are doing with your family, friends and neighbors.  All of their work has been self motivated with the exception of the literary histories and that proves how much they want to be heard.

For next week, be on the look out for our first poetry challenge.  George has challenged me to write a poem about underwater.  I will be posting both of our poems on the class site for voting.  They will be anonymous, so you won't know whose is whose.  May the best writer win.  Make sure you read them and vote.

Read over the weekend.  Don't forget your reading goals! 

Field Trip

We had a great time and learned a lot more about St. Louis and its history; especially how the Civil War impacted the city.  On a restroom detour, we saw this poster in the window that looked just like Alea, so she posed next to it.  Tell us what you think, does this look like Alea or not?

Welcome to Conferences

Your student will be leading you through their progress so far this year.  These are some points they should be discussing with you:

• What is your reading goal and what progress have you made towards achieving it?
• What have you learned about revising your writing?  How is it different from editing?
• How does previewing a text help you?
• What strategy can you use to help you summarize a text?
• How they have used their blog so far and their plans for the blog.

Good is not Enough

A long, long, long time ago, I too was in Middle School.  Around 7th and 8th grade, I was inspired to write poetry.  This became what I would do in class when I was supposed to take notes, what I would do at home when I was supposed to do homework and, well, what I would do.  I have several journals filled with poems from then until now. 

Those journals are rarely cracked open.  I use them to introduce myself to the kids at the beginning of the year, but I do not let students read them.  I guess you would say I am a bit guarded.  Well, the kids asked why, and I couldn't answer this.  I've thought about it and thought about it.  Recently, the answer hit me~ I've never revised my poems.  As I was planning for our revision lesson, I was wishing I had some student work that hadn't been revised, so I began to look for some poems in my journals that we could use.

I have to admit I was a bit sick as I pulled that first poem up this morning.  Twenty plus 12-13 year olds were not only about to read my work, but they were going to critique it.  I could only imagine how similar each student must feel each time they share a piece of their writing.

I did not tell them that the writing was mine, but they figured it out when I did not tell them who the author was.  They liked the poems and had a hard time at first looking at them critically.  Once I reassured them that my feelings would not be hurt (and made the first change myself) the kids took off.   You can check out their work by clicking here.  The kids want to have a little contest, so please take the poll on our blog that will help us measure which block you think revised best.

After all of their hard work, the poems are no longer mine.  It is now OUR poem and it is a hundred times better.  I am proud of this writing now.  Today we all learned.  I learned to put myself out there a little, just like I ask the kids to and the kids learned to revise.  They saw the value in their changes and discovered the fun in playing with words, organization, verb tense, repetition and rhythm.  Now, they need to use these skills in all of their writing. 

Our literary history paper guidelines will be finalized tomorrow and an official due date assigned.  I expect that students will spend time with their writing, practicing their new revision skills.  We will take class time on Monday to work on this, so they can get some help, but I still expect time on task at home.  It took us an hour to revise one poem, and there were many of us working on it.  Tuesday will be Tungsten and Wednesday is the field trip to the History Museum. 

We hope to see you later next week for conferences.  Please call the 7th grade office to set up your appointment time if you haven't already.  The number is 953-7532.