f-r-e-n-z-y.

Choice Literacy featured an article a few weeks ago on open book clubs.  It didn't take long before Cheryl said she thought we should do one.  It didn't take me long (i.e. immediately) to agree.  We first considered inviting anyone who had read The Hunger Games, but thought that might limit the participation.  We wanted as many kids as possible to participate and began thinking of other books that a broader grade span of people had read.  Immediately the Skeleton Creek books came to mind.  These books have hooked in countless numbers of readers... our students, their friends, their younger siblings, other teachers.  We planned the blitz.
First, a mysterious poster appeared in the hallway inviting brave readers to a meeting.  Cheryl put the poster up almost two weeks ago, so we've endured lots of questions/harassment as to our involvement.  We tried to play it off like it wasn't us.  I'm not sure they believed that.

Next, "Joe Bush" began sending letters to our principal.  I wish I'd taken a picture of their faces!  It was great!
Finally, a special visitor pointed them to the real room for our meeting this morning...

We had 86 (!!!!!) kids show up!  We talked about our favorites parts & videos, gave away a copy of The Raven, & had them suggest names for our newly formed open book club.  We also introduced them to the new 3:15 stories.  Patrick, you are a genius.

We can't wait to do it again!  Who wouldn't love starting the day in a room filled to overflowing with kids excited to talk about books?

Swagger

Walking through the hallways this morning I was noticing how my students have grown since the beginning of the year. Middle school students are in constant flux, always changing. Seventh grade boys remind me of this poem:

Swagger

Swagger
thinks he's better,
turns his cap toward the back,
curls his lip, refuses to skip
or act like a kid.
Ever.
He's self-assured when he walks in,
full of nerve with a hint of sin,
with one hand in his pocket,
and shoulders square,
and if you don't like it, he doesn't care.
Somewhere between a strut and a stroll,
he's on a roll, his step in time
to a silent beat that says, "Bring it on,"
'cause he's all that
from his crown to his feet.

~Sara Holbrook

The poet says, "In a world of action and reaction, it seems as if words are an endangered species. More than ever we must, with relentless defiance continue to nurture our words, respect them as individuals, and handle them with care."

Sara Holbrook!

Our poetry project began this year by purchasing a copy of the anthology Seeing the Blue Between by Paul B. Janeczko for all of our 7th grade language arts students. Every week we've been focusing on a specific poet/writer's advice and selected poem. Our students have been soaking in poems everyday. Last week we were honored to host visiting poet, author, performer, and educator Sara Holbrook!

Sara worked with 7th graders on Tuesday crafting poems using extended metaphor, personification, and similes. She guided them through the art of performance poetry and prepared them for performing their poetry for family night. It was refreshing to see Sara not only share her poems, but also help students craft their own. She worked alongside them and helped them understand the "why" of poetry. We also selected 10 students to eat lunch with Sara. The students were hesistant to talk at first, but it didn't take them long to warm up and chat away! Our art teacher spent time over the past couple of weeks helping our students make paper and use it to make covers of handcrafted books. Students used these books to create collections of poems they've written all year. We were able to disply these at the family night event. We loved watching students share these special collections with their family and friends.

Wednesday morning, Sara presented vocabulary instruction to middle school teachers using her newest book High Definition. The rest of the day, she worked with 6th & 8th graders in their content area. Sixth graders used their upcoming social studies vocabulary words to write and present poems to reinforce learning in an authentic, meaningful way. Eighth graders wrote poems in their science class and presented them in class.

Favorite quotes of Sara's visit:

"words don't just lay down on the paper and behave themselves"

"the more you write, the more ideas will come up off the page"
"hear what others write... build a community of writers"
"as the boss of your own poem you get to decide how it is said"
"poetry gets us thinking about bigger ideas"
"ideas bubble up off the page as your pen flies across it"

Sara backed up everything we teach our students about writing everyday. It was a joy & honor to have her in our school for two days.