Thinking & Writing Wrinkles

The Beginnings of a Writing Community

It has been an extremely busy week at Georgia State.  I have been unable to post but I have been thinking about all of you all week.  First, I want to say that your poem ideas were really good. Hey, they were more than good, they were terrific.  I had read the students the poem "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon.  Click here if you would like to read it.  I had learned about a group of elementary and middle school students who had been inspired by this poem and written some of their own. I read several of them to my students. I thought what a great way to make introductions on our Wrinkles weblog.  We had lots of discussions and everyone brought in their list of ideas.  The students are in the process of posting them but I wanted to share a little of what you did as our poems are still a work in progress.

Yoceline - I can learn new cultures everytime I meet someone new.  I am from a school where I can always say, "I can do it!"

Jackie - I'm from a Mom who is a best friend to a good cook.

Keith - I am from the swamps in Louisiana.

Jenny - I am from looking at horses to almost having my own.

Luz - I am from a holy day to eating tasty food.

Juana - I am from Mexico and playing with my friends.

Derrick - I am from a grandmother far away and a mother who is always cooking.

Jerry - I am from a town with lots of traffic and business and a state that is known for its peaches.

Emily completed hers.  Emily was in my NewsQuest group last year and she is really soaring with her writing skills.  She really pitches in to help everyone else learn and write well, also.  This is a team effort.  For a real treat, click here to read Emily's poem entitled I'm From. Click here to see Emily's weblog. We hope to have all others up and going this week!

Tomorrow we will work some more on the poems and maybe even get them published on our weblogs!

Last week I was amazed at the students' responses to my post the previous week.  I had talked about how weblogging made me think and write and learn!  I had shared Mr. Richardson's view of what blogging was to him.  They love the idea of forming a writing community.  They can express themselves well but the writing is much harder.  They all began forming their thoughts on a post last week but as usual the time ran out before we wanted it to!  It was a good thinking day.  We are going to keep on working on our writing skills. We will probably have a mixture of types of posting from writing about subjects they choose, to current events, to teacher prompts, to wherever our discussions lead.  

Where I'm From

I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush,
the Dutch elm
whose long gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.

I am from fudge and eyeglasses,
     from Imogene and Alafair,
I'm from the know-it-alls
     and the pass-it-ons,
from perk up and pipe down.
I'm from He restoreth my soul
     with cottonball lamb
     and ten verses I can say myself.

I'm from Artemus and Billie's
Branch,
fried corn and stong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
    to the auger
the eye my father shut to keep his
sight.
Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures.
a sift of last faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments--
snapped before I budded--
leaf-fall from the family tree.

I'm From by Emily

I'm from fresh baked goods with my mom's special touch

I'm from diving in machinery, calling my dad to lunch

I'm from novels of all kinds, fantasy my favorite

I'm from refreshingly cool water down my back from my aunt's pool

I'm from waking up to a warm fresh cinnamon rolls on a sunny Sunday morning

I'm from Sarah, my unique one-of-a-kind sister

I'm from my dad, showing off his new RC boats

I'm from my mom, my loving mom who tucks my covers in tight

I'm from my family, the treasure who I will cherish forever!

Think possibilities!

Good morning students!

It's early Thursday morning and I want you to know that I have been thinking about you all week!  I am delighted that we have your weblogs created!  Now the fun part begins.  Of course, in order to have fun, we have to think long and hard about the content of our weblogs, what we have to say, and what direction we need to head in our weekly sessions.

I have been reading some very interesting posts from some of my weblogging friends this week.  They make me think.  In turn, I will then write on my weblog and others begin to think about what I wrote in response to a friend's post.  Sometimes I write about something I have read that makes me want to explore and find out even more about what I think and others think.  It's a great way to learn - it's real, it's a way to share and grow with others, and it is an exciting way to learn.  Now I have to be motivated, I have to work hard, and I have to really think and write about things of interest to me. What's great about it is that I am part of a community that really cares about education. You won't believe what our main focus is in our edublogging community - you guys and all the students from many different states and countries.  We view weblogs as a place to give you a voice and we want to oversee that process in ways that will make you good thinkers and continue to develop as good citizens of our world. Writing what you think and writing it well can be one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.  What's even better is that we can have a lot of fun on the journey.

One of my many good edublogging friends is Will Richardson.  Now three of you remember him from our NewsQuest group last year and all of you heard what he wrote about our Wrinkles group a little earlier this year.  I want to share something he wrote a few days ago about what blogging is.....

Blogging (from Mr. Richardson's post)

1. Find and read material that is relevant to your life.
2. Capture the essence of this relevant reading, give credit to its source, and synthesize those ideas into a piece of writing that advances a personal, perhaps greater understanding of that topic. 
3. Publish that writing for response and for perhaps pushing someone else's thinking on the subject. 
4. Read some more.

This is what I wrote on my weblog in response to Mr. Richardson's post:

"Will goes on to wonder if this is really even possible in a school setting.  I'm not sure either, especially when many of the things that are relevant to teenager's lives are difficult subjects for us to just give them  free rein to discuss on a school weblog. However, I think we could steer them to issues that should be important to them and work at fostering interest.  This is why I think a school-wide focus on current events is so important.  A base knowledge has to be built. 

The other thing I'm not sure about is whether the students have the developmental skills or readiness or whatever to actually start "blogging."  I think we have to oversee it in our school settings and that means we have to have control and make sure the content fits our curriculum. Of course, I'm coming from an elementary prospective mostly. I'd be interested in what you middle and high school edubloggers think.  Next semester we will be letting some of the preservice teachers have reflective blogs during their student teaching. I'm sure we'll hear their voices!

I am going to try just letting my Wrinkles group explore and then write next week. I'm going to suggest that they think of something they have learned in school this year that is of interest to them and an area that they wish to learn more about. They are so used to not really having many choices of what they will learn and the idea of having a voice is yet again another matter. Just that concept alone is mind-boggling for them. They haven't had enough opportunities to write freely. Giving them a voice should not be as difficult as it is in our schools.  I've been thinking a lot about that lately and need to contemplate that much more!

Next week I may need to help the students with sites about different topics and let them choose as our time is so limited.  Most of these kids don't have computers at home. I'm not sure they are ready for this yet but it won't take long to discover that.  It wouldn't hurt to see their reactions, talk to them about it and see what they think. Hmmm, wonder where it will lead.... I just know that when I ask the students the questions, most of the time they have the answers.  I just have to figure out the right questions (not so easy)  and then listen carefully (again, not always so easy)."

So students, for today......

We're going to talk about all this and work on our new weblogs.  Can't wait!  We may try to "tweak" Mr. Richardson's writing a bit and have a model for elementary kids!  Maybe we can create our own dynamic little community and who knows what all could evolve from such a good learning journey. Many say that it may not be possible and elementary students can't do this. What do you think? 

I know I believe in possibilities and mostly I believe in you! Today we are going to think possibilities!!

Wow! Enough said! I better finish getting ready for school!  See you in an hour or so!

Mrs. Davis

Reactions to Reactions

To say that the students were thrilled with the GSU students' comments would be an under statement.  It took a while, but each student read every single comment and they could not wait to write their reactions. Check out the JHH Reactions (stories) to the GSU Reactions (comments)!

Derrick's Reactions

Keith's Reactions

Cristian's Reactions

Juana's Reactions

Jennifer's Reactions

Emily's Reactions

Jacqueline's Reactions

Yoceline's Reactions

Jerry's Reactions

This is such a bright little group.  They are thoughtful thinkers and our group discussions are getting better.  Now is the time though for us to put our "shoulder's to the wheel" and work on some major editing and producing stronger writing.  If all goes well, technology-wise, we will be creating student blogs this week.  I'm thinking that I will teach them how to copy from this group blog to their blog, and then we will begin the process of proofing work, peer-editing, and giving more thought to the writing.  Their homework was to bring in a short piece on something that had happened in the news.  I'm looking forward to seeing them tomorrow!

Yoceline's Reactions

The Georgia State University students wrote as back! I was very delighted to hear want they wrote. THANK YOU so much for visiting our school and also thank you for writing back to us.

 

I read what a student said "Can I come and teach there?" That student was Frances Wiley. It would be a great to have you teach our school. I wanted to thank Brenda Wheeler for the comment she made about!!!!! A especial thank to Brenda. Many students said that they liked CNN. Thanks again!! I hope they come back again.

 

Jennifer's Reactions

I am astonished that 32 GSU students responded to our questions.  When I read comments about our school it made me feel proud to know that our school is really that special.

I was partnered with Juana when we read the comments. I read a lot of "Thank you for a wonderful experience!" and that made me feel tickeled pink! I remember reading....."Words cannot express how impressed I am with the students at J. H. House Elementary! I have never seen such well-behaved and bright students! You guys were so welcoming, friendly, and polite. I truly look  forward to visiting again. Thank you so much for such a wonderful experience!" from Drew Nichols. I also appreciated how everyone work together

 

Jerry's Reactions

THANKS!! GSU students for the comments. They were every nice. Thank you for the comments about the school...and how we were behaved and the types of thinking skills we had. And thanks for responding back. Mary Beth, I'm looking foward to going to your website, and it sounds pretty good. I think that your comments were awsome,well thought out,and delightful. Cyndee Thomas thanks for your comment about our school being like Disney World. That was a awsome way of comparing us. You guys are really smart and smart. I'm glad you came I had a wonderful time.

Juana's Reactions

This October  Emily   was  my  partner.  They  talk  about  the  teachers and how  Mrs.   Anthos  Art  class  works. First,  they  do things  with  mud.  She tell us  how  they  do  first  and  they  talk   about  Mrs.  Goode and  how  she can  sing very  well.  She  tells  how  they  play.      

Emily's Reactions

I am tickled pink about what you all said about the school. Everybody said that there was an extensive amount of technology use in the school. 

I remember that Nina A. Clem said "I really enjoyed being in the computer lab at the school... looking at all the big names in American politics and life in general... that was a learning experience for me!" I really wish other schools could have the same privilege. In the near future I know that this technology will be needed.

Rebecca Harris said, ãThank you House Elementary students and staff for such a great experience! It was so wonderful to see everyone so enthusiastic about school... you really have raised the bar on how I think an ideal school should look.

As for the interview, you guys came up with some wonderful, thought-provoking questions! I truly enjoyed meeting Emily and Juana, two sweet young ladies that did an excellent job interviewing us. I know it probably wasn't easy but I think you guys did a super job! You are ready for middle school! ;) Good luck with the rest of the school year and keep up all your hard work. Thanks again! ãI call that a complement to the whole school.

J.H. House puts forward a lot of effort to accomplish what we have at our school and I'm glad people notice it. I love all your comments to complement the school and the children and I hope you'll teach at this school some day. I won't be surprised if you all taught at J.H. House.

One of my favorite comments was from Drew Nichols, she said, "Words cannot express how impressed I am with the students at J. H. House Elementary! I have never seen such well-behaved and bright students! You guys were so welcoming, friendly, and polite. I truly look forward to visiting again. Thank you so much for such a wonderful experience! ã

The teachers give a big part in our school and also help us to behave. I want to thank all of you who reviewed and I hope you will drop by again!

Emily