Last Day of April

Here is my last poetry challenge! 

Copy Change Poetry

It's hard to take a great picture
of Maisie because she is almost
always moving!

Take a poem you know and love, and borrow its structure to create your own poem. 

My dog Maisie is the inspiration for my copy change poem. Maisie is the definition of unbridled enthusiasm and unconditional love. Since she is not a small dog, sometimes her energy and exuberance are overwhelming.

My Poem

I have always love "Fog" by Carl Sandburg because he captured the nature of a cat and compared it with fog so seamlessly. I used his format to compare Maisie to a storm, since we are expecting rain and windy weather all day. Now I'm not a poet, but this is still a fun poetry exercise that anyone can try. I would recommend choosing a short poem or even song lyrics and remaking them into your own. 

Poetry in April

This Prezi by Andrea Taylor (I don't know this person, but I love this quick and thorough poetry lesson) would have been a great way to start the poetry month in April. We used Prezis quite a bit back in 2014, but I haven't made one since then. Apparently, others have continued to refine the process.
I think for my final poetry challenge this month, I want students to digitize their favorite poem. It can be a poem they created, song lyrics by a favorite artist, a Bible Verse, or a favorite poem. Prezi is a great equalizer in that everyone has access to the same tools and resources in creating their work (if we were at school - at home, some of us have better internet than others). Maybe I will have some great work to post here soon!

Blackout Poetry Again

The tree image on the left is Little Branches by C.B. Wentworth. The one on the right is my first attempt in digital blackout poetry. 

A Challenge

I think the most challenging part of this project for me was finding a text digitally to use with my blackout poetry. I also struggled to find an image that I felt matched the content of my poem. I hope my students will give it a try. 

Still, an advantage of digital blackout poetry is that I didn't have to draw a guy jumping. I love how C.B. Wentworth created his little branches and trees in his poem, but I could never do anything similar. Therefore, digital offers a way for non-artist types like myself to create images to match our poems. 

Try Something New!

BlackOut Poetry

For several years we have tried blackout poetry at FOMS. We have used old books, damaged books, falling apart books to try our hand at black-out poetry. MaryBeth Thompson introduced me to this digital blackout poetry technique, and I can't wait to give it a try! 

Mrs. Thompson follows @applesand8th on Instagram - so this is another great example of educators sharing resources to positively impact our students!

Yesterday I posted a pet haiku challenge on my Media Explorations google classroom. Today, I am posting a digital blackout poetry challenge. I know our art teacher, Mrs. Bonano, is going to make something amazing and I know my students are up to the challenge! Ms. Braswell also likes blackout poetry. I can't wait to see what everyone puts together. 

Ashley Bible offers this step-by-step instructions on creating blackout poetry in google slides which also features a video. 

Haiku Anyone?

In Celebration of National Poetry Month

I am sharing my Haiku honoring my sweet dog Sally. She has been with us since 2014, and she is the most photogenic dog! With my students, I shared some tips I found for writing a haiku, and I used Sally as my topic. Isn't she precious?

Sally watching me,

Silently waiting for me

Hoping - Let’s go ride!

Here is a wonderful poem from our art teacher! 

It's Earth Day! What's Your Plan?

Earth Day began in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues in the United States (see The History of Earth Day from NewsEla). This year, a popular theme has been "Save the Turtles" by not using plastic straws.
While anything we do to reduce plastic waste is helpful, there are other day-to-day habits you can create to become a better steward of our Earth. Read about 10 Things You Can Do to Help Save the Earth (from NewsEla). Some of these steps are hard to implement where we live (we don't really have reliable public transportation), but there are several that we could start to implement today!

Two of the items on the list are passion projects for me. A passion project is anything you plan, do, and review because you have a strong interest in it. I have been working on composting at home for the past two years, and I am working on reducing my dependence on plastics by crocheting grocery totes out of plastic bags. So, rather than collecting 15 to 20 plastic bags each time I visit the grocery store, I can reuse my "plarn" bags indefinitely.

These are bags I have crocheted out of "plarn," which are plastic bags repurposed into yarn. I use these bags instead of plastic bags when I grocery shop. I have also used this plarn to crochet mats for homeless people to use.
People are always happy to share their plastic bags with me. I hope to make many of these to share with family and friends. 

If you are interested in learning more about passion projects or how I have implemented my projects, please visit my Google Classrooms - either Media Explorations or Crochet & Crafts. If you are a FOMS student, you can find the codes on the school website or in your teacher's ELA Google Classroom.

Are You Documenting This Historical Time?

A Corona Time Capsule

I found this idea on Cindi Pettigrew's Daily Distraction Page. Mrs. Pettigrew is the awesome school librarian of NJMS. Thanks for sharing Cindi!

Using the above video as a guide, create a Corona Time Capsule. You don't have to bury it in the yard, but find a safe place to store it away for at least 5 years. In the future, you will appreciate this glimpse into your past - your likes and dislikes, goals and dreams, and remembering the feelings about the world around you, especially during this unusual and historic time.

By the way, feel free to visit Mrs. Pettigrew's NJMS Jaguar Library Daily Distraction padlet. It is a great break for your brain! You will see that I am using many of her daily distractions for my blog.

Did You Know . . . ?

April is National Poetry Month

While looking for resources and images to share with you today, I found this article where by Terry Heick where he says the best definition of poetry he has ever heard is 

"Poetry is the extraordinary perception of the ordinary." 

Throughout this school year, we have worked on several poetry projects in the media center. I think this quote best describes what poetry give people; it gives the poet and the reader the opportunity to experience how extraordinary the ordinary aspects of daily living can be. What do you think?

Share with me and let me know!

In honor of National Poetry Month, I will begin sharing links to poems in my Media Exploration Google Classroom. Please visit there to enjoy a variety of poetry resources.

Are You Bored? Need a Break? Check This Out!

Daily Distractions from NJMS

My friend and fellow librarian, Cindi Pettigrew from North Johnston Middle, has created a padlet called 

Daily Distractions. 

Like Giraffes? Visit the San Diego Zoo
live cams to see a variety of animals!

Each day Mrs. Pettigrew adds different fun activities to try or places to visit. So far, she has sent me to San Diego, Disney World, and a Harry Potter Escape Room; and I never left my desk! She is also posting fun activities such as making a cake out of a coffee mug in the microwave. Mrs. Pettigrew has graciously allowed me to share this with you, and I hope you will visit her sight daily for fun distractions when you need a break! 

Click the Daily Distractions above the giraffe picture to get started.

I'm Learning Online Too!

Attending my 1st Virtual Conference while my daughter is working on her school assignments. Normally, I would have to leave home to attend a conference. I am glad to be home with my family AND able to participate in a conference at the same time!

Look at Me Learning!

This morning I am participating in my very first virtual SLJ conference called Middle Grades Magic. I am listening to authors share about their books, I am visiting various publisher booths, and I am earning CEUs, which are renewal credits that teachers and school librarians have to earn to renew their certifications every 5 years. 

I hope you will take opportunities to try new learning experiences as we stay home and stay safe!

So far this morning, I have watched 6 authors, and I am making a list of great new books to add to our print collection at FOMS. Can't wait to share all I learn with you!

Very Popular Titles Available in NCWiseowl!

You will never guess what I found on NCWISEOWL today!

Maybe you did guess by looking at the book covers. As I was searching for graphic novels and sports fiction to highlight in my google classroom, I found these fan favorites! There are 24 Jake Maddox books in this database, and several of them feature female main characters. We don't have those in print in our library. The e-book collection has #1-12 of your favorite (and my least favorite) character, Greg, in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. I also saw 5 Big Nate titles.

You can access these titles through www.ncwiseowl.org. However, I have posted links to these FOMS Favorites in my FOMS Media Explorations google classroom in the classwork section.

You can also email me from your school email account, and if you are a JCPS student, I will gladly share the password with you.

I hope you will take a few moments to try these out!

Check Out These Unusual Libraries

I miss our FOMS library. 

However, the School Library Journal shared some videos of unusual libraries we can visit while we are safe at home.

Check these out!

In Case Your Mama Says Stop Playing Those Video Games . . .

A child plays "Minecraft," the computer game, on his iPad. "Minecraft" is now offering educational lessons in its game. Photo: Georg Wendt/picture alliance via Getty Images 

How Can Video Games Be Educational?

I imagine some of my students have heard their parents tell them to "Stop playing those video games and do something productive!"  I might have said that same sentence yesterday at my house. 

But, just as so many companies are doing during this Quarantine 2020, Minecraft is offering free educational content for students. Check out this article for more information. 

My daughter was telling me that she explored Washington D.C. on Minecraft.  While many of my middle school readers probably feel they are too old for Minecraft, I hope they realize that visiting games and experiences they enjoyed as younger children doesn't mean they are immature. During this stressful time it can be calming to play games or listen to music or read picture books that we enjoyed as children. So, if you have outgrown Minecraft, revisit it today just for me and let me know what you think! 

Click on any of these articles from NEWSELA 

to read more about Video Games. 

These are great articles to explore!

Museums in Minecraft September 2017

Fortnite World Cup Winner August 2019

How Fortnite Earns Big Bucks August 2018

An ENTIRE Selection of Articles Dedicated to Video Games and Gamers from Newsela

"Fortnite" is the biggest video game in the world. Photograph: Epic Games 

I Can Hear the Pages Turning!

Abdo Publishers are offering FREE access to their Abdo Digital BookShelf !

This is a great opportunity to explore a site that offers a range of grade level interests, reading levels, and topics without requiring usernames or passwords. AND, you can actually hear the pages turn! Here are two examples:

Arts and Crafts are available!

Sports Books Too!

I think everyone can find something they like to read here. I saw several scary horror series, lots of colorful nonfiction, romance, and many others. Browse through it today and let me know if you find something you like at Abdo Digital BookShelf!