a four-legged horse
with a very flat back
carried cereal and milk
which Jack will attack
with his sword and a slurp
he’ll devour his prey
this banquet for kings
will return him to play
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Category Archives: Descriptive Language
My School, My Teacher
I hate it on the playground
when someone’s on the swing.
I wait and wait and wait my turn
but hear the lunch-bell ring.
I love it, though, in springtime
and my teacher I adore
when recess isn’t over
and she gives ten minutes more.
I hate it in the classroom
when we’re sitting down to write
and Rob blames me for punching Pete.
Teach’ knows I never fight.
I love ‘em, though, the stories
of future, present, past.
I wish those times of wonder
Could last and last and last
(Ending 1)
My school is like kitchen and
my teacher’s like a mother-
serving up the Lima beans
with cookies like no other.
(Ending 2)
My school is like a woodshop and
my teacher’s like a dad-
sanding imperfections of
rough edges that I had.
On the Threshold
From Beauty Is an Edge of Becoming by Krista Tippett and John O’Donohue:
“If you go back to the etymology of the word ‘threshold,’ it comes from ‘threshing,’ which is to separate the grain from the husk. So the threshold, in a way, is a place where you move into more critical and challenging and worthy fullness. There are huge thresholds in every life. You know that, for instance, if you are in the middle of your life in a busy evening, fifty things to do and you get a phone call that somebody you love is suddenly dying, it takes ten seconds to communicate that information. But when you put the phone down, you are already standing in a different world. Suddenly everything that seems so important before is all gone and now you are thinking of this. So the given world that we think is there and the solid ground we are on is so tentative. And a threshold is a line which separates two territories of spirit, and very often how we cross is the key thing.”
And where is beauty in that?
“Where beauty is — beauty isn’t all about just niceness, loveliness. Beauty is about more rounded substantial becoming. And when we cross a new threshold worthily, what we do is we heal the patterns of repetition that were in us that had us caught somewhere. So I think beauty in that sense is about an emerging fullness, a greater sense of grace and elegance, a deeper sense of depth, and also a kind of homecoming for the enriched memory of your unfolding life.”
Beautiful!
For more, you can read Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’Donohue.
Redemption
If rotten to the core
Means damned for evermore
Then redemption can’t be found
Not above nor on the ground
Ever? Never?
Dualistic thinking:
You float or else you’re sinking
Please rise above the fray
Visualize the shades of gray
If you’re pure down to the bone
Go ahead and throw that stone
Otherwise…
Ways to Start a Story
One of my 4th graders asked me for ideas on how to start a story. We had a great conversation and looked at some wonderful examples. Here is what we ended up with:
Ways to Start a Story
- Traditional
Once upon a time there was…
- Dialogue (people talking)
“Mom! Help me! I can’t…” I shouted to my mom as I fell out of the tree.
———————-
“But you promised to take me to the movies today! You promised! You promised! You promised!” I started crying.
- Action (something is happening)
My brother slammed the door just as the rain started. This time he did not get caught in the rain. This time he did not get struck by the lightning.
———————-
I watched from behind the bookshelf as the thief snuck into the living room and opened the top drawer of the desk. He did not know I was there.
4a. Description (what does the setting look like? sound like?)
The spring flowers bloomed and the honeybees buzzed along the banks of the river. The sleepy town woke up to the sounds of the roaring river flowing down from the dark mountains. Something floated in the water, trapped by an old tree branch.
4b. Description (what does the character(s) look like?)
Jaime was only 4 feet, 2 inches tall but he was the best goalie the team had ever had. He could jump higher than kids who were 5 feet tall. But he never bragged about it. He did not have to.
Sounds in Silence
The house I moved into in Lima, Peru
Is not rather old nor is hardly that new.
The floors are of concrete, the walls made of brick,
New wall-to-wall windows that close with a click.
Yet still I hear sounds like an old wooden floor
When I rise from my bed and I head toward the door
of the bathroom to assure me that nothing is leaking.
I realize then ’tis my knees that are creaking.
Speaking to My Children- What Language?
The short answer is: speak to your children in the language you know best. Oral language is the precursor to all literacy skills:
- What you can think, you can say;
- what you say you can write;
- what you can write you can read.
When parents ask me what language they should use with their children I consistently tell them to use the language they know best. Most of the time the parents are non-English speakers wondering if they should speak with their children using the little English they know. “No,” I tell them.
When children are offered rich language in extended discourse they develop amazing vocabularies and complex sentences. If their caregivers offer them limited vocabulary and limited discourse that is what the children will develop. Because literacy skills transfer, the extended discourse will transfer once the children have the necessary vocabulary in the new language… but they can’t transfer what they do not know.
- Speak to your children often and listen to their answers.
- Have them tell you stories and ask follow-up questions.
- Ask open ended questions (questions that require more than yes or no).
- Ask them to explain more or tell you what that means.
- Give them new vocabulary as you ask them questions and respond to their stories:
- Child: I used that thing to cut cheese.
- Adult: Oh, you used the cheese slicer.
- Child: Yes, I used the cheese slicer and I cut a lot of cheese.
- When you read with your children ask them questions such as:
- What do you think will happen next?
- Would you have done that?
- How would you solve the problem?
- Tell me the story
- Talk, talk, talk!
There is much research about the importance of oral language. Give your child the gift of language through conversation and story telling.
Literacy creates justice!
Graphic Organizers
If you have not seen these please take a look: Graphic Organizers. Estas ayudas gráficas están disponibles en español también.
Any time we can help students organize their thinking, plan their learning, make their learning visible, we are helping them build connections and increase the number of synapses– that is learning! With graphic organizers we can increase literacy, too.
Literacy Creates Justice!
A Song for Christmas (just add music!)
Working 2 part times, ‘round minimum wage
I pay all my debts but I can’t turn the page
So during the year I put coins in a jar
To make Christmas special and point to the star
In our simple home it’s just me and my son
His mother was taken when he was just one
Though strong till the end the disease was still stronger
It’s seven years later, some nights still feel longer
Chorus:
The best part of Christmas right here in this part
Is the time spent together, it’s here in the heart
The star of great wonder that shines from above
Is not about presents, it’s all about love
There’s one gift to cuddle and something to wear
One gift for learning and a fun-thing we’ll share
Most were bought used, now cleaned and with bows
I imagine him smiling from head to his toes
The four little presents wrapped, under the tree
There’s a gingerbread cookie for him and for me
The night before Christmas he sits in my lap
Together we read, together we nap
Chorus
I heard him start coughing and quickly awoke
The house wasn’t burning but filled up with smoke
The candle that flickered to brighten the night
Burned into the table and gave us a fright
“It could have been worse,” the firemen said in my ear.
“Insurance can fix it, there’s nothing to fear.”
I cried as I listened, still hugging my boy
Who whispered, “Merry Christmas, Dad” with tears and some joy.
Chorus
Earth Alphabet
This is worth looking at- “NASA’s Earth Observatory has tracked down images resembling all 26 letters of the English alphabet using only NASA satellite imagery and astronaut photography.”
Here is the link on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/_5QLUVIaHq/
Here is the link to the whole alphabet: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ABC/
Wonder at the marvels of the earth as we near the new year!
S. T. Fleming 