National Poetry Month

Yesterday in Language Arts, students wrote or created poems to celebrate National Poetry Month, and we wanted to share some with you. This link will take you to some of our more visual poetry (book spine, blackout, and chance poetry).

We also wrote some "exquisite corpse" poetry, where students write a line of poetry, fold it over, and pass it to the next person, who writes their line - and so on. The results, as you can see here, are pretty entertaining.

And last, but not least, students were able to just write poems - and a couple of those are posted here.

Enjoy the end of National Poetry Month! As a reminder, Poem In Your Pocket Day is April 27 - a day to encourage students to carry poems around with them. If students send me a picture of their poem and either themselves or where they are, there will be some kind of reward! Photos will be accepted upon students' return to classes as well.

Enjoy the break!

Student Voices: "Peace"

Each week, students have an opportunity to free write: we provide a topic, and students have seven minutes to write continuously on that topic or one of their choosing. We'll occasionally post a student's writing to give you a feeling for the student voices on Team Falcon. 

"Peace"

The equality of our nation is still pressured, even many years after the great speech of dreams. Our nation has changed, but the dream is not fulfilled to its potential. There are still many years to come to heal the scars of the past, but our nation is still young. May we gain wisdom as we grow older. Hope to soon have a country truly filled with liberty and justice for all. Hope that we have peace in this world to exceed our boundaries to ensure the promise of safety among all races and places.

May we all have peace in this world.

-- Liz, Grade 7, 1/17/17

Reading and Writing

Hello fellow Falcons,

It is already August! Can you believe it? Time flies (like a falcon!) when you're having fun, and we hope that you're having lots of fun.

As we are in the last month of summer, we felt it was a good time to remind you about our summer reading. While some of you may have already read the book you selected, others might have put it off until the last moment. Well, we're almost at the last moment! Make sure to read your book before the start of the school year. We are looking forward to discussing our team culture using these books as a starting point!

For those of you looking for a writing prompt, here you go:

1. You find a turtle by the side of the road. When you stop to pick it up, it looks up at you and says, "Thank goodness you're here. We don't have much time." What happens next?

2. You have been chosen by the state of Vermont to make an ad to boost tourism. What image do you select and why?

3. Write anything you'd like.

Remember: You are encouraged to just write and not stop for 7-10 minutes. This may result in some mistakes (eagle-eyed* readers from last prompt may have noticed that my writing changed verb tenses!), but that's all part of the process.

Enjoy your summers!

* Perhaps I should say "falcon-eyed"?

Writing Prompt - Week Six

The Last Prompt of July! I'm going to write my response to this prompt and post it tomorrow. I'd be interested to see what anyone else comes up with. Feel free to post your writing as a comment. 

And again: the idea is not to create the best writing ever, but to create some writing.

Today's prompt: You have seven minutes to tell everyone in the United States anything that you'd like. What do you tell us? What would you show us? What would you want to happen after you were done talking to us?

OR:

Two people knock on your door and call you by a name that is not yours. You pull out your wallet to show them your identification and it says...the two people are right. That is your name. What do you do? What happened? WHO ARE YOU? 

OR: 

Write whatever you'd like.

And remember...have fun!

Writing Prompt - Week Five

Another week = another prompt! Let's write. If you are so inclined, feel free to post your writing as a comment below. 

Remember: the idea is not to create the best writing ever, but to create some writing.

Today's prompt:You have been chosen to be the president of the United States. What would you like to see for the country? What would you change? What is just fine as it is? How do you feel about being chosen as president? For an extra challenge, write this as if it were a political speech for thousands of people! 

OR:

You are stuck in an elevator with two other people. You discover that your cell phones don't work. What do you do? What do you say to the other two people in the elevator? Who are the two other people in the elevator? And what was that sound you just heard...?!

OR: 

Write whatever you'd like.

And remember...have fun!

Writing Prompt - Week Four

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a PROMPT! If you are so inclined, feel free to post your writing as a comment below. Remember: the idea is not to create the best writing ever, but to create some writing.

Today's prompt:
You find yourself stuck in the middle of a lake with one other living being (friend, family, animal). What do you do? What does that living being say or do? What do you see/hear/smell/taste/feel?

OR:

You are a famous rock star/politician/writer/dancer/artist. Write a letter from a fan to you. What do they love about you and your work?

OR: 

Write whatever you'd like.

And remember...have fun!

Writing Prompt - Week Three

Happy Independence Day!

I find that summer brings me opportunities to write letters or postcards that I don't make time for during the school year. So one of today's prompts will be just that. (That prompt may require more than seven minutes, and you may want to revise it to make sure your reader can understand what you are writing!) Remember: the idea is not to create the best writing ever, but to create some writing.

And if you'd like to, post your writing as a comment below.

Today's prompt:

Write a postcard to someone who may not expect to hear from you. It could be a friend or a family member or a camp counselor or whomever you'd like.

Seven Minute Ideas:

Write about gaining independence. It could be the US's independence from Britain, or the planet's independence from aliens, or your independence from school, or...

OR: write whatever you'd like.


And remember...have fun!

Writing Prompt - Week Two

Happy second week!

As a reminder, this is a voluntary opportunity to keep your writing skills sharp over these lovely warm months. Each Monday, I will post a writing prompt for those who would like to keep practicing writing. Treat it like our free-write Mondays: give yourself seven minutes, try to write the whole time, and let yourself play! The idea is not to create the best writing ever, but to create some writing.

And if you'd like to, post your writing as a comment below.

Today's prompt:

You wake up and discover that you're a giant beetle. What do you do? (I borrowed this idea from a Franz Kafka story called "The Metamorphosis")

Tell a story from the point of view of a piece of gum.

Or, write whatever you'd like.


And remember...have fun!

Writing Prompt - Week One

Happy Summer, everyone!

I know that we're all taking breaks this summer, but I wanted to provide an opportunity to keep your skills sharp over these lovely warm months. Each Monday, I will post a writing prompt for those who would like to keep writing or keep practicing. I encourage you to treat it like our free-write Mondays. Give yourself seven minutes, try to write the whole time, and let yourself play! The idea is not to create the best writing ever, but to create some writing.

And if you'd like to, post your writing as a comment below.

Today's prompt:

Your pet can suddenly talk - write out your first conversation with your dog/cat/fish/parrot/lizard.

You find yourself suddenly transported to Spain. What do you do on your first day? Use sensory details.

Or, write whatever you'd like.

And remember...have fun!