WIHWT: Green Angel

Are there books or texts you desperately want to teach, to introduce, yet never find the right moment? The place in the curriculum, scope and sequence, where a text resides permanently in outlier territory? Green Angel is one such novel for me. This Wish I Had Written That, authored by one of my favorite writers, Alice Hoffman, tells a powerful story of loss, identity, and regrowth. It’s short, only 116 small pages, and is one of those stories that still leaves me aching and in awe over the human spirit. Some say it’s a parable for the events of 9/11, and while that may be the case, it’s themes lend themselves to catastrophe and devastation over time and space.

Some guiding questions:

Closely read the colophon: Describe the structure of the text, and question why the writer requested this. (Buy a copy of the book or review on Amazon to understand this lens–do not want to impede on its copyright laws.)

Closely read the introduction–who is speaking? What are they telling us, and in what timing? Why did the writer use this pacing?

Heart

This is how it happened I once believed that life was a gift. I thought whatever I wanted I would someday possess. Is that greed, or only youth? Is it hope or stupidity? As far as I was concerned the future was a book I could write to suit myself, chapter after chapter of good fortune. All was right with the world, and my place in it was assured, or so I thought then. I had no idea that all stories unfold like white flowers, petal by petal, each in its own time and season, dependent on circumstance and fate. The future is something no one can foretell. My family had always lived on the ridgetop above the village in a county where days were sunny and warm. At twilight, dusk wove across the meadows like a dream of the next day to come. People said we were blessed, and maybe that was true. My father was honest and strong. My mother collected blue jay feathers, preferring them to her pearls. My little sister, Aurora, was as wild as she was beautiful.

Hoffman, Alice (2010-02-01). Green Angel (Kindle Locations 11-19). Scholastic Inc.. Kindle Edition.

There are multiple themes to discuss. Keep in mind not to steer students’ thinking to ONE big idea–there are multiple discussion points.

“Or that the book is a commentary on the value of our memories. All rich books have several themes. When a teacher predetermines “the” theme, the teacher also predetermines the students’ thinking. So what do I mean when I say I want students to generate their own thinking? Let’s return to The Giver, for example. Before reading the novel, I would have told my students that there were several large ideas imbedded in the text and that their job as they read would be to identify one or more of them and to track the development of the ideas. After reading a few chapters, I would schedule a day for the class to revisit their reading. Instead of assigning a theme to track, I might put them in small groups and ask them, “What’s worth talking about in this chapter? What big ideas are beginning to emerge?” ”

Gallagher, Kelly (2015-02-28). In the Best Interest of Students: Staying True to What Works in the ELA Classroom (Kindle Locations 2873-2879). Stenhouse Publishers. Kindle Edition.

I highly recommend this secondary-level novel if you’re doing any teaching discussing and considering loss, identity, destruction, regrowth, sibling and family relationships, etc. Add informational texts from 9/11, and use StoryCorp and This I Believe to hear real narratives. It’s an opportunity to compare how the writer crafts a narrative to tell a ‘true’ story, and how truth, fact, and opinion often live together.

Ah, what a wonderful world with so many stories to tell…

Postscript: Writing opportunities–

*Write a brief analysis of how the writer introduces the main character, and how this supports style/craft.

*Write a quick narrative introducing the story from the sister’s point of view.

*Write a news report of the events.

*Write a perspective from the attackers’ point of view.

Suggested Standards:

Key Ideas and Details:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

Craft and Structure:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.6
Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.

WIHWT: Red Rising

This Wish I Had Written That (WIHWT) post is about my own connections to reading. In 2009, I participated in my first Puget Sound Writing Project, via the National Writing Project. One of the requirements (or labor of love in my case) is a full-blow lesson, complete with all the lesson-y trimmings. I created, from scratch, an original lesson I titled Voices from the Grave, in order to serve the wonky 8th grade curriculum in my district: social studies does World History/Ancient Civilizations, and since I taught an 8th grade Humanities at the time, wanted to serve multiple standards. I had never heard the term ‘role playing’ but that is essentially what the unit is: you draw a character from Ancient Rome, be it a Proctor, Legate, even Obstetrix and Emperors. There were slaves, legionnaires, gladiators, eques–all types and manners of rank, privilege, jobs, and avocations. There is even a mosaic artist. The purpose of the unit is multi-layered: by immersing oneself in an ancient world, and seeing life through the eyes of the past, we can deeply learn about culture, politics, and society as well as learn content (academic and content language/knowledge). Some of the best work I’ve ever read was from a struggling student who became a legionnaire: down to his hob-nailed boots and a description of his death. He became this foot soldier, and I know he will never forget the transference of skills and knowledge: soldiers move nations, for the generals and the emperors.

I switch from Humanities to ELA, and the the Box of Destiny was born: become a Greek god/goddess, and present in original voice “your” story. This novel is replete with Greek/Roman influences, and its plot structure hangs on a hierarchal, archetypal mythic proportions. To see an 8th grade girl transform herself into Athena or misunderstood Medusa is truly sublime.

Good stuff.

“Matched me with a little girl. I tried to kill her softly … but she wouldn’t die.” Pollux grunts something and claps me on the shoulder. He tries a sour chuckle. “We’ve got it raw, but at least we’re not Reds, you register?”

Brown, Pierce (2014-01-28). Red Rising (The Red Rising Trilogy, Book 1) (p. 371). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Now: combine all of that, a hefty nod to Hunger Games, and a flawed hero, and you have one of the best monomythic tales: Red Rising. I just finished it, and began its sequel, Golden Sun. The potential for rich conversations about class, wealth, power, human nature, politics, love and war. And how legends are created, and destroyed. Just looking at through the lens of lies and control would be enough.

He ignores me. “They heard her song and they call her Persephone already.” I flinch and look over at him. No. That is not her name. She is not their symbol. She doesn’t belong to these brigands with trumped-up names. “Her name is Eo,” I sneer. “And she belongs to Lykos.” “She belongs to her people now, Darrow. And they remember the old tales of a goddess stolen from her family by the god of death. Yet even when she was stolen, death could not forever keep her. She was the Maiden, the goddess of spring destined to return after each winter. Beauty incarnate can touch life even from the grave; that’s how they think of your wife.”

Brown, Pierce (2014-01-28). Red Rising (The Red Rising Trilogy, Book 1) (p. 64). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Questions of trust: from our most personal relationships to our relationships with government and institutions. After reading this novel, I wish I was teaching 8th grade (it does have some implied references to some grittier concepts). I would pair it with Voices from the Grave, and add the element of power and control. And a lot more questions.

Back to the mines.

Media Festival: Go West, Teacher! (Part 2)

This is a follow-up to Part 1 of “Go West, Teacher!” One of my burning questions is a ‘Now and Then’ sort of game — what do we do now, and what did folks do back then to (fill in the blank)? Many of these will be treated in a constructivist model, with the questions posed as writing about what students’ experiences are now, and then constructing and inquiring about the past. Any suggestions for constructing meaning and thinking are welcome.

How did the Europeans construct their ‘new world?’ What ideals should they have left behind, and what values and technologies help them survive? (What IF they had left some of their values behind and embraced the indigenous cultures’ values instead–how might our country be different?)

1692 Salem Witch Trials

‘The Crucible” by Arthur Miller

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

How did people find someone to date?

When Flirtation Cards Were All The Rage

Handkerchief Flirting

What did people read for fun?

Washington Irving

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820)

The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne – maybe just close reading excerpts, and let them have all the fun in high school?

Edgar Allan Poe (b. 1809)

The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes –though published in 1906, it harkens back to earlier times.

The Emergence of Popular Culture in Colonial America

American Folklore

American Fairy Tales by L. Frank Baum

Her Stories: African Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales –Virginia Hamilton

…and I basically bought out the collection of Laurie Halse Anderson.

Who wrote, and why? How were items published? How was freedom of speech manifested and protected then?

*Note to self: research into literary period timelines…

*Note to self: re-read Sarah Vowell’s The Wordy Shipmates

How are the Amendments interpreted now?

Bill of Rights

What were forms of entertainment?

How were gender roles defined, and why?

1747 John Greenwood (Amerian colonial era artist, 1727-1792) The Greenwood-Lee Family MFA (2) — The Greenwood-Lee Family

By the time of the Revolution, historian Jane Carson writes, second to their dolls, the “favorite toy of little girls” was the tea set, sold in Williamsburg shops. This toy offered the colonial girl an opportunity to play at the enormously popular adult pastime, the tea ceremony, which had captivated Americans from the wealthiest to the lower classes. So popular had tea services and daily rituals surrounding the consumption of the beverage become that a survey of estate inventories in New York from 1742 through 1768 shows that wealthy and lowly estates in cities as well as in rural areas included the essentials: teapots, cups, saucers, and teaspoons. The boycott of tea called in response to the Townshend Act of 1767 did not alter the behavior of many colonials, and even those who gave up tea continued their tea ceremonies by substituting chocolate or coffee.

Who contributed to the dialogue?

African-American Women Writers of the 19th Century

African-American Writers/Thinkers of the 19th Century

Women Writing in 19th Century America

Female Writers 19th Century

A Time-Line of Native American Culture

Only this.

Media Festival: Go West, Teacher! (Part 1)

Change of plans! Out of the Comfort Zone! Moving away from deep skills and content knowledge for 8th grade…and into the great semi-unknown! Yes, next year excited to be teaching 7th grade Humanities in a deeply connected 1:1 environment. So, in an effort to begin to collect and curate resources, this is a start to support the social studies portion of the content.

Washington State/Pacific Northwest

New Found Land by Allan Wolf – rich study of the Lewis & Clarke told from multiple points of view

Sacagawea – PBS production

Sacagawea – Joseph Bruchec – alternating points of view

Note to self: I am planning on creating a Box of Destiny (c) role playing project for these periods…it works great for Greek Mythology and Ancient Roman citizens…

Early U.S. History

I am sketching out an enduring understanding – bear with me – the concept that though explorers ‘discover’ something, how do the indigenous people endure, or not? The essential questions: does it matter who gets ‘there’ first? What impact do the explorers (which sounds romantic) have on the discovered, and how does that influence power or loss? Teachers: if you think of a way to phrase this essential question in a clearer manner, please add your thoughts.

Years ago I read this picture book: Encounter by Jane Yolen: who loses and gains power as conquerors invade?

Do I look at early American history, or rather include in the content of early U.S. history a kaleidoscope of perspectives? Pochohantas’ story has always fascinated me…so a lot of work to be done there.

Jamestown and its archeological findings never cease to pique my curiosity, either.

A Religious Mystery is Found Buried at Jamestown

Is The American Revolutionaries: A History in Their Own Words by Milton Meltzer worth the read, or Woods Runner by Gary Paulson?

And what about the writers and artists of this time? The wide landscapes of the Hudson River School, or the earlier legacy of the Peale family?

Civil War

The tragic events of Charleston, and the taking down of the Confederate flag will be viewed and discussed. History never really leaves us, and its relevance and impact on our lives must be critically reviewed.

O Captain! My Captain! (and looking to rediscover a unit my mentor created about this piece with multiple texts…oh I know good people…!) What happens when we destroy what saves us?

And my bigger questions: texts from multiple perspectives – race, gender, nationality: the enduring understandings of our nation’s history, complicated, violent, and moving. My question to my colleagues, no matter your experience or familiarity as a teacher or with this content, but in your experience as an American – what do you think is most important?

Media Festival: Story Unit

Cueva de Las Manos

This is a exploration of early human connections and storytelling.

Signing, Singing, Speaking: How Language Evolved

Music and the Neanderthal’s Communication

The Discovery of Fire: Two Million Years of Campfire Stories

How Conversations Around Campfire Might Have Shaped Human Cognition And Culture

Campfire Tales Serve as Human Social Media

Campfire Stories May Have Lead to Early Societal Learning

When Fire Met Food, The Brains of Early Humans Grew Bigger

What kinds of stories…

In 12,000 Year Old Grave, A Shaman Shares Her Tomb with Animal Totems

Origin Myths: Definition and Examples

Myths and Legends

Origin Myths (NCSE)

Potential Writing Prompt:

Scientists have discovered many ancient graves of our earliest ancestors. These graves not only have the remains of those who died, but important artifacts that must have some significance. Create an historical fiction piece about a early human, male or female, and what happened, and what he or she was buried with. The narrator in the story might be either the one who died, or the person who buried them. Establish a relationship. Do some research to add authenticity. (You don’t want some anachronistic, meaning not of the right time. Your character was NOT buried with a cell phone.)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.3.A
Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

Postscript: For the past 3 or 4 years, I’ve done a ‘Cave of Hands’ lesson where the students create their own hands, and draw symbols of their values and culture. All the hands are cut from construction paper, and displayed on crumpled brown paper to resemble a cave. This is how we start our year. I don’t have a sample ‘handy’ but trust me — powerful stuff.

Media Festival: Fear Unit

Note: Working on curating a variety of media and text(s) for thematic units. Bear with me, this is the best place, this blog, where I can archive/collect these materials.

I am crafting and revising a ‘fear’ unit–why do we fear, what is fear’s purpose, and how do we overcome it are the essential questions.

Mean Teddies from Tyler Novo on Vimeo.

Brent Sims’ Grave Shivers from Sims Films on Vimeo.

“Brent Sims’ Grave Shivers” is a short sci-fi/horror anthology that weaves three tales of monsters, killers, and things that go bump in the night. Recent winner of the audience award at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Los Angeles. The project has been featured on io9, dread central, and on moviepilot. The film has been view more than 550k and called an “Anthology of Awesome,” by dread central.

Lights Out – Who’s There Film Challenge (2013) from David F. Sandberg on Vimeo.

For all our ~3 min horror films: https://vimeo.com/channels/shorthorror
Winner of ‘Best Short’ at Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival 2014 http://fantbilbao.net/Fant2014/
Winner of ‘Best Director’ in the http://www.bchorrorchallenge.com
Breakdown of the last shot: http://vimeo.com/83231790
Shot on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera with a Tokina 11-16, F2.8.

Articles:

World with No Fear-NPR

A Life Without Fear – NPR

Short Stories:

The Monkey’s Paw

The Tell-Tale Heart

(More to follow: if you have suggestions, please share!)

Some ideas for other film resources:

The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival
Chinese Theatre Screening – Hollyshorts
Los Angeles Movie Awards (Fall)
New Orleans Horror Film Festival
SoCal Film Festival
IFFCA (International Film Festival of Cinematic Arts)
Eerie Horror Film Festival and Expo, Erie, Pa.
Thriller! Chiller! Film Festival Idaho Horror Film Festival
Austin’s Housecore Horror Film Festival
Dia de Los Muertos event at Crafted Port of Los Angeles
Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival 2015, co-presented by EMP Museum and the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF)
RadCon SciFi and Fantasy Convention; Pasco, WA
Seattle Crypticon Horror Convention; Seattle WA
Sasquan International Film Festival / Worldcon; Spokane, WA
Tri-Cities International Fantastic Film Festival; Richland WA
The Big Easy International Film Festival
Dark Matters Film Festival, Arizona
Mindf*ck Film Festival (Santa Monica, Vidiots Foundation Screening Room)
Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival
“Galaxy Theater,” Santa Rosa’s Northbay TV sci-fi program
Pasadena International Film Festival
Nashville International Film Festival
Crimson Screen Film Festival
Bonebat (Comedy/Horror) Film Festival
SoCal Creative and Innovative Film Festival
Oceanside International Film Festival

For more information visit brentsims.com

WIHWT: How It Went Down

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon, Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book, 2015

This Wish I Had Written That (WIHWT) moment comes to us courtesy of a wonderful librarian.

This librarian loves books. I love books. We get along.

This past spring, she had time to come to my classes and do some book talks. Several of these piqued my interest as a means to update/refresh some thematic units. (Units do need to be polished and updated now and then, and then summarily tossed when no longer speaking to any part of the human condition.)

What Happens:

A racially charged shooting reveals the complicated relationships that surround a popular teen and the neighborhood that nurtured and challenged him…..As each character reflects on Tariq, a complex young man is revealed, one who used his considerable charm to walk the tightrope of life in his neighborhood. Magoon skillfully tells the story in multiple, sometimes conflicting, voices.

Quote:

These damn kids. They never learn. As a black man, you have to keep your head down. You have to keep yourself steady. You have to follow every rule that’s ever been written, plus a few that have always remained unspoken. How hard is that to understand?

Magoon, Kekla (2014-10-21). How It Went Down (p. 42). Henry Holt and Co. (BYR). Kindle Edition.

Why It Matters:

All we need to do is say the synecdoche of “Ferguson” to understand how this novel fits with our national conversation about race, poverty, incarceration, and racism.

Ideas and Questions:

The chapters are titled by each different characters’ points of view. Each character brings potential for a personal connection as well as demonstrating the importance of connections (positive and damaging) within communities.

My heart, at the moment, is racing away from me, in hot-pink sneakers, looking both ways before crossing each street, like she’s supposed to. The knot in my chest eases when Tyrell catches up with her. He holds her hand, and she lets him, which is a bit of a surprise. When he talks to her, she answers. I keep my distance.

Magoon, Kekla (2014-10-21). How It Went Down (p. 319). Henry Holt and Co. (BYR). Kindle Edition.

It’s about choices, and those choices reflected by our character and surroundings. What we most want, and what we can’t have.

I can’t— I won’t— believe Brick when he says that kind of thing. I knew T better than anyone. He would never … My heart flutters, unexpectedly flooding me with doubt. He would, though. T always stepped up, never back. If it was me who had died, Tariq would lead the charge for revenge, I know that much. He looked out for me. No boundaries to that devotion, at least none I ever saw. So, would he want me to do the same? It’s the least I can do, isn’t it? Brick holds out the knife. I imagine it slitting my throat. Severing my spine. Stabbing through my heart. But I move anyway. I don’t know who Tariq really was— if he was the way I see him, or the way Brick does. But I know who he would want me to be.

Magoon, Kekla (2014-10-21). How It Went Down (p. 308). Henry Holt and Co. (BYR). Kindle Edition.

The pacing is fast: there is some language; if students are 13+ and if granted parent permission, it should be rated PG-13. Some sex implied. Discussion moment: does the author’s use of ‘language’ help or distract from the main message of the story?

The novel provides opportunity for discussion on statistics: how do statistics inform our truths?

Seventy-five percent of black men in Underhill join up. If Tariq was in, then it gives me that much more chance to stay out. If Tariq wasn’t, then he’s still the guy I thought he was, but it makes it that much more likely that I’m gonna cave, now that he’s gone.

Magoon, Kekla (2014-10-21). How It Went Down (p. 274). Henry Holt and Co. (BYR). Kindle Edition.

The narrative lends itself to ambiguity (it doesn’t answer all questions, just like ‘real life’). No spoilers, but this is not a murder mystery. It lends itself to discussing how the media influences each of our own perceptions and truth, and how we reflect back to each other. The plot structure is simple and direct, and for some characters’ paths that lead are truncated, and others move onto the endless horizon: why and how does the plot structure affect our understanding of its themes?

I’d be interested to know your thoughts.

Postscript: “Almost Another Dead Black Male: Remembering a Traffic Stop That Got Ugly”

Next on the list:

(Realistic fiction = character focused)

(Journey of the Hero: focus on quest, and there is usually a map at the beginning!)

(Historical Fiction: time and place)

Red Rising by Pierce Brown (thank you, Mr. Crew!)

The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O’Brien

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

Tiny thinking bubble: I learned what ‘metonymy’ is, too.

Go, team!

Creating curriculum, and recreating: satisfying

A former student, one who was in my Anime Club, but in a colleague’s ELA class, posted this on Facebook yesterday. It made my heart soar. He’s a PhD in Chemistry candidate at CalTech. Smart kid. He was going through his middle school assignments, and took the time to give a kind shout-out to his former teachers. My friend was the one who took this idea of mine and adapted it for her own class. She’s shared many great ideas with me, too, and is my guide for starting a Genius Hour. She no longer works for the district, but those relationships remain. I can think of another amazing young teacher I worked with, who would graciously use structures of lessons, (Power Points, Smartnotebooks, etc.) and ask if she could adapt and change to suit her teaching style. Man oh man that is when it WORKS, people! I follow her on Goodreads and look up the teaching books she posts, because she always finds the best. (Links below if you’re interested.)

The fact is, meshing teacher styles is darn near impossible: think big picture. — The fact is, meshing teacher styles is darn near impossible: think big picture in this case, the big goals, the big purpose.

The reason for its creation is reading logs aren’t effective, so I developed multiple ways to get kids to read; this was one. Personally I haven’t used it in years, because every year is different, and has a new set of opportunities for growth. I am not claiming that my one little reading unit paved the way to CalTech. No–the community and collaboration of teachers, and his parents, and his own volition did. And this we cannot lose sight of, ever. Choose your metaphor: ship, team, village: we do this together as a team. How that team functions, and its dynamics, are worth reflection.

Elena Aquilar published a piece about teams in Edutopia recently. I have never believed, for myself, in the writer’s initial sentiment, that she could do everything alone. Sharing and collaboration come naturally for me. Hers is a refreshing admission that many folks bristle when it comes to teams, like group work:

“I’m going to admit that it’s taken me a while to feel convinced by the power of teams. Until recently, I didn’t have great experiences in teams. I felt that alone I could produce whatever needed to be created better, and quicker, than working with others. I often felt frustrated working in teams — the process felt so slow and cumbersome. I felt like I was usually given (or took) the bulk of the work. I didn’t really know what an effective team looked like, how one worked together, or what the benefits could be.”

Our middle school has gone through varying waves of having cross-content teams and not having cross-content teams. This next year I think we’re heading into a season of not having, but I could be mistaken. We will definitely continue the work of PLCs, which are crucial and empowering, and that may be enough. However, through the work of having a cohort of students, as my sons’ district does, it is much easier to facilitate interventions for children. Without that team of shared students, we will face some challenges, but ones I know we can handle. I have a plan in place for making sure none of my ELA students, no matter what Social Studies, Math, Science, PE, or Elective teacher they have, get my full focus, and create a mini-team individually for them. In each of their composition books, I’ll have them write their parents’ contact information, full schedule, and other notes, and check in with them periodically to see how all their classes are going, emotionally and academically. This will be an integral part of my conferencing with them. The grading system has a great “all teachers” function in emails, but this way it puts the focus on the conversation with the student first, and then bring in the support team. My e-mail output to colleagues may increase this next year, as those informal “Do you have a chance to give me your insight…” talks.

This article on the Emotional Intelligence (EI) of a team is invaluable:

yes:

The Key to Effective Teams in Schools: Emotional Intelligence

no:

Ultimately, what Aguilar says is key, no matter the make-up of the team itself (cross-curriculuar, departmental, PLC/cross or PLC/departmental)

A good team knows why it exists. It’s not enough to say, “We’re the sixth grade team of teachers,” that’s simply what defines you (you teach the same grade) but not why you exist. A purpose for being is a team might be: “We come together as a team to support each other, learn from each other, and identify ways we can better meet the needs of our sixth grade students.” Call it a purpose or a mission — doesn’t really matter. What matters is that those who attend never feel like they’re just obligated to attend “another meeting.” The purpose is relevant, meaningful, and clear.

So here are my vows to any team(s) that find me as a player, PLCs, Departments, no matter:

1. I will complete and share my portion of any given task or directive freely.

2. I will adhere and comply to directives.

3. I will honor your time.

Teams come in all shapes and sizes, purposes and collaboration: it can be the formal PLC, or the continued friendship and collegial collaboration that work over time and space. Just takes a different way of defining ‘team,’ and opening up to ideas.

Teaching Arguments: Rhetorical Comprehension, Critique, and Response Paperback – February 28, 2015

by Jennifer Fletcher

Text-Dependent Questions, Grades 6-12: Pathways to Close and Critical Reading (Corwin Literacy)Paperback – September 9, 2014

by Douglas B. Fisher

Shiny Happy

Iced tea, book, good pen and new calendar... — Iced tea, book, good pen and new calendar…

Much is made about how teachers relax over the two months of summer. This summer’s been a blast for me, and the momentum is just getting going.

When I was in college, (the BFA time around), I was a waitress at a place called The Deer Park in Newark, Delaware. After a hectic shift, I always found myself wound up, and unable to turn off the switch from my shift, and on more than one occasion staring up at the ceiling well past midnight stewing about an 8AM class. (Yes, even Art/Art Historians have to take an 8AM class once in awhile.) I think a lot of teachers feel that way, too, as they slide into summer. We’ve just been on a 180 day shift, where can’t go to the restroom on our body’s schedule, or eat at a leisurely pace, and the sheer energy of absorbing 130-150 emotional demands takes up mental and emotional space. When the school year ended this year especially I just went around somewhat dazed and bewildered, like seeing a bright light after months of darkness (Note to self: that was the sun.). Now I’ve got the groove of summer, and I’m sure by the time the end of August rolls around the transition may have a little grit involved, like stepping into a sandy flip-flop. It’ll be fine though, I am sure, because I’m doing what I love, including thinking about cool things to do for students. There’s a shiny new calendar, too, beckoning: Write in me! Plan! Prep! I’m Purple!

The Just Write class via Puget Sound Writing Project has brought me around many folks who are not teachers first, but writers first. We have a morning benediction of sorts, reminding us all not to plan or prepare, but to, you guessed it, just write. We’ve enjoyed the ‘life as writer’ insights of Jennifer Bradbury, a real honest-to-goodness working and publishing author. It’s like having an artist-in-residence as a friend/guide. (And she’s dang nice too, as well as incredibly smart and talented.)

And: secret’s out. I am having a summer romance this year. (It’s okay, you can tell my husband.) This year I’ve fallen back in love with cultivating my creative life, my teacher life, and have a somewhat grown-up family: as much as I loved when my sons were small, I am really enjoying this phase, now too: before wives and their children, just enjoying the young men they are. What a good place to be. But it didn’t just begin this summer. Last year I decided to continue a new tradition in our family of actually looking events up, buying tickets, getting in a real car, and driving to see performances and lectures by writers. So far we’ve seen Ira Glass, David Sedaris, Patton Oswalt, Neil Gaiman, the Moth Radio Hour, and have plans to see Sarah Vowell, Anthony Doerr, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and any others we can. Hearing stories live is like being read to again: just as endearing and enchanting. Music to my ears.

So I have a date to continue growing this creative life: it’s the best thing I could do. And it’s relaxing. The planning is like canning fruits and vegetables, the reading of all kinds of novels is like planting wildflower seeds and tenacious daisies and other perennials, and this blog–a Farmer’s Almanac I guess, to guide where the wind changes, and plan for the rains.

Time to go see that big yellow thing again.