Category Archives: Tips from the Trenches

Poetry Emotion – Teachers Write 7/13/15 (I’m late!)

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Teachers Write!

photocredit: booktown.com

Author Liz Garton Scanlon photocredit: booktown.com

 

photo credit: amazon.com

photo credit: amazon.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night, I joined my daughter and one of her best friends for the sold-out Taylor Swift concert at Nationals Park Stadium in DC. Loved every minute of this 25-year-old’s extraordinary performance.

Now, I’m sitting down (ever so briefly) to post the poem I struggled to complete for Monday’s mini-lesson from Teachers Write! guest author Liz Garton Scanlon. Liz is the author of picture books like All the World and Noodle and Lou as well as a brand new middle grade novel, The Great Good Summer.  Here’s the assignment:

1. Commit to writing a 12-line rhyming poem or story.

2. Use either 6 couplets (aa/bb/cc/etc) or 3 quatrains (abab/cdcd/efef)

3. After you’ve written the first 2-4 lines, count the syllables. Even them out as necessary and then stick with that count as you finish the piece.

4. Read it over. Does it make sense? Did rhyme force you to do anything you didn’t want to do? Adjust as necessary.

5. Wrap it up. Read it aloud. Read it aloud again. You hear that? You did that!

Here’s my result, which, despite being less than thrilled about, makes me realize how important it is to exercise my writing muscles. 🙂 I wrote this after getting some cruddy news that sent my stress level through the roof. Rhyming is challenging! Still, I need to work all of my writing muscles, not just the stronger ones. 🙂 I’ll take the next Teachers Write! challenges one word, one line, one story at a time–and be okay with it taking me a little longer than I’d like. This isn’t a race, it’s a self-focused, self-paced education and exploration–for the writer in me. 🙂

 

The phone calls come in a hurry.

Breathe deeply. Quell the firing nerves.

Questions explode in a flurry.

Situation no one deserves.

 

Nubby nails, haphazardly chewed

Chattering heart, wildly racing

Squash this madness,; answers elude

Frustratation soars, mindless pacing

 

Dozens of phone calls required

Monotone voices do not hear

My fear from all that’s transpired

Listen! Did I make myself clear?

 

 

 

I Wonder — Teachers Write Day #1

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Teachers Write!

Yesterday, I walked the concrete paths of Cornell University, contemplating my son Bryan’s college future. Could I see him in the faces of the backpack-toting students who crisscrossed the campus? This Ivy League school, with its soaring stone clock tower, stretches across a seemingly endless green landscape overlooking Cayuga Lake.  As Amanda, the bubbly campus tour guide with bouncy chestnut curls, rattles off her freshman year favorites, I watch my six foot three son’s face for reactions. Trying to read his expressions is like rereading the same page in a book five times when you’re falling asleep. Hopeless.

My husband, 15-year-old daughter Cady, and our rising seventh grader, Sean, join me in the back of the pack. I wonder…what does Bryan think of this place, nearly six hours from home. Could he be a Cornelian? Does he even want to be a Cornelian? Can we even afford such thoughts? How do we help our children stretch for their dreams–and still put five kids through college? When these doubts, like ricocheting pinballs, start to spoil a perfect summer day in Ithaca, New York, it’s time to shut down the worry. One day at a time. One child at a time. One dream at a time. Today, it’s Bryan’s dream up against Dad’s impending deadline.

photo credit: cornell.edu

photo credit: cornell.edu

Our time on campus is limited, as a flight from Dulles is on my husband’s evening agenda. There are 327 miles (5 hours and 36 minutes, according to Google maps) between us and Leesburg. With every toll of the clocktower, the urgency for departure grows, as do the snippy comments and irritability. We are all tired. We are all hungry. A 36-hour trip up and back to Ithaca, New York, is quite an adventureI Add in yesterday afternoon’s spontaneous vertical hike alongside Buttermilk Falls, and now there are five slightly sore campus visitors whose exhaustion has morphed into impatience. The clock is ticking as Bryan decides to stay after the Engineering info session to trail yet another happy-faced Cornelian around campus. Mom feels Dad’s tension as he calculates the countdown to takeoff. I wonder…how can someone’s tone of voice completely change the way we receive information? How do we recognize the stress, understand its implications, and yet are unable to deflect the crabby comments that dig a little too deep?

After making a quick trip to the Cornell Dairy Bar for grab-and-go sandwiches (and a single dip of ice cream for three of us), we hit the road close to 2pm, an hour later than planned. The five hours and 29 minutes forecast by Google Maps turned into six hours and 42 minutes with construction traffic, backroad detours, and emergency pee breaks. My salvation? Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner. My sixth graders closed out the year with rave reviews for their book club selections, including Wake Up Missing and All the Answers. I ordered Eye of the Storm for my own rising 7th grader; but guess who reads it first? Me, which keeps me chasing down monster storms with Jaden, Alex, and Risha instead of stressing about the climate inside our SUV during our own race against time. (I wonder…what really happened to grandma?) So I start yesterday at the storied Cornell University and land smack in the middle of a twisting, turning story by Kate Messner. I wonder if coincidences are really coincidences, or if there’s something more spiritual at work.

photo credit: amazon.com

photo credit: amazon.com

 

Climbing out of bed this morning, I spend a few minutes fiddling in the kitchen and then plop down in front of the computer, a computer I’ve banished myself from since June 16th when school ended. Today, in the productive silence of a sleeping, husbandless house, I troll Twitter and listen to a few awesome podcasts. I order more books, including How Children Succeed, so I can inspire courage, curiosity, and persistence in my classroom. Next I shuffle some papers on my desk and find Kate Messner’s 59 Reasons to Write staring back at me. Do I really need 59 reasons? I could probably use just one. I start reading, and I am quickly reminded about Teachers Write!, the summer online writing workshop for teachers like me. I’d checked earlier in the year, but the details weren’t post yet. This morning, after yesterday’s car ride glued to Kate Messner’s story, I type “teachers write” into the Google search bar and discover I’m already one day behind. That’s okay; I am now signed up for another heart-pounding Kate Messner adventure.

Today, it’s my dream, and there isn’t any deadline. I wonder what I’ll write about in the month ahead. I wonder what prompts will give my fingers freedom to clatter across the keyboard. I wonder how my writing will evolve.  I wonder if there’s a storm of stories percolating inside of me. I bet the answer is yes.

Wednesday, March 18 – A Problematic Day :)

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Mrs. Rombach has teacher training today, so I’ll see you tomorrow.

Credit :www.flickr.com/photos/deeplifequotes (creative commons)

Activity #1 Shark Video & Commenting

Today in class, we’ll watch a video about sharks. Afterwards, you’ll click on the title of this post, scroll to the bottom of the page, and you’ll leave a reflective comment summarizing your thoughts and feelings. For students in Block 2/5, this video may remind you of Xander’s compelling presentation about endangered sharks and whales. How does this video make you feel? What did you learn? How can you personally make a difference? As citizens of this world, how responsible are we for what happens to the creatures we share it with? How are land and sea creatures important to our own existence? Pay close attention to make sure your comment meets our class expectations:

1. Your comment is well-written and includes proper punctuation and capitalization. The pronoun I is always capitalized.

2. Your comment makes a connection or asks a question.

3. Your comment shows critical thinking. You’ve thought about the video and left a meaningful comment about its content.

4. Your comment includes your own blog’s URL, an active link back to your blog, as every comment should.

Racing Extinction – Why Sharks Matter from Oceanic Preservation Society on Vimeo.

Activity #2 – Vocabulary Story Time

Working with a partner, spend no more than 10 minutes collaboratively writing a short story using either a chronological or problem and solution text structure. Remember to use signal words to help your reader identify which type of organizational pattern you’re using. Include at least four vocabulary words from our list on the wall!

Activity #3 – Problem & Solution Paragraph 

Working in your writing groups, offer praise and polish comments on one another’s paragraphs. Pay attention to your writing mechanics (punctuation, spelling, grammar, capitalization). Next, revise and edit your paragraph and give it a creative title. We’ll print these out in the computer lab on Friday.

Extra Time?

Read quietly, work on a new blog post, or visit the Student Blogging Challenge and leave quality comments on a few class blogs from around the world.

 

Ten Quotes on Writing – from the Experts

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credit: http://www.rickcalcutt.com/

credit: http://www.rickcalcutt.com/

My school days countdown to winter break continues with my list of Ten Quotes on Writing. As a writer, word collector, and sixth grade teacher, I am forever inspired by the words of other writers. Today, for my classroom of young authors, I present a collection of 10 inspirational quotes from some of the world’s master wordsmiths. Perhaps this week you, too, will draft a post containing your favorite quotes. Two great sources for quotes include: www.brainyquote.com and www.goodreads.com. Here now, words of wisdom on writing…

1

“Reading and writing, like everything else, improve with practice. And, of course, if there are no young readers and writers, there will shortly be no older ones. Literacy will be dead, and democracy–which many believe goes hand in hand with it–will be dead as well.”

-Margaret Atwood

2

“The most difficult and complicated part of the writing process is the beginning.”

A.B. Yehoshua

3

“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.”
Gustave Flaubert
4
“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”
William Strunk, Jr.
5
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
Anton Chekhov
6
“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.”
Anne Frank
7
“Write the kind of story you would like to read. People will give you all sorts of advice about writing, but if you are not writing something you like, no one else will like it either.”
Meg Cabot

8
“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”
William Wordsworth
9

“I really think that reading is just as important as writing when you’re trying to be a writer because it’s the only apprenticeship we have, it’s the only way of learning how to write a story.”

John Green

10

“All the writing elements are the same. You need to tell a good story….You’ve got good characters….People think there’s some dramatic difference between writing ‘Little Bear’ and ‘The Hunger Games,’ and as a writer, for me, there isn’t.”

Suzanne Collins 

 

 

In your final 10 school days before holiday break, imagine all the writing you can do…

See you in class,

Mrs. Rombach 

 

credit: /cecileswriters.files.wordpress.com/

credit: /cecileswriters.files.wordpress.com/

 

 

Top 12 Words That Color My World

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Number 12

Twelve days until Christmas break. Word up!

Could anyone guess this teacher is ready for a little holiday R & R? As hinted at in a previous post, it’s time to reveal my Top 12 List of Words That Color My World. You surely have your own list of luminous words. While my actual list is miles longer, this list of 12 accurately represents a smattering of my favorites. Introducing my words worth repeating…

To learn the definition or hear the pronunciation, click on the word. 🙂

12. melancholy 

I missed this word on a literature test in college. My brain froze. I’ll never forget it again. Check out the John Keats poem entitled, Ode to Melancholy, to see what I was studying.

11. smidgen

This is my favorite dieting philosophy; I’ll have a smidgen of this and a smidgen of that.

10. serendipity

Serendipity was instrumental in my landing the copywriting job at People. Plus, Serendipity is a NYC must-visit ice cream sensation that serves the world’s best frozen hot chocolate.

Reservations are required…so don’t rely on serendipity to get you in the door.

9. pugnacious

Throughout our teen years, this word defined my relationship with my younger brother, Bob. Thank goodness, we love each other nowadays.

8. magnanimous

A generous, giving spirit is at the heart of a magnanimous person. I’ve been blessed to know so many magnanimous, uplifting people in my life.

7. flummoxed

Perplexed? Befuddled? Confused? Well then, consider yourself flummoxed. The fox was flummoxed when his feathered friend flew the coop. (A little alliteration goes a long way!)

6. stellar

In true star fashion, my students are diligently writing and revising their stellar Slice of Life stories.

5. birthday

Who doesn’t want to hear the word birthday, especially when there’s cake, ice cream, presents, and a stellar celebration involved?

My birthday is October 5th, which, according to ABC News, is the most popular birthday in America.

4. humility

Being humble changes the world. If everyone worked to notice the extraordinary in someone else instead of tooting their own overblown horn, lives would change. Seriously, humility is an incredibly honorable trait.

3. cacophony

On Christmas morning in the Rombach house, there is a cacophony of celebration as presents are ripped open and wrapping paper streamers free fall in the family room.

2. onomatopoeia

BAM! THWACK! What would the world be without onomatopoeia, a word that’s as hard to spell as it is to pronounce? One thing’s for sure. Without onomatopoeia, Batman would be POWerless!

1. splendiferous

This has been my premier word for two decades. I tried repeatedly, and without success, to include this silk-on-your-tongue word in multiple writing projects while I worked at People Magazine. My boss thought it was too wordy.  I told all of my children about my splendiferous word and its infamous demise. My son, Bryan, inserted it in one of his fifth grade writing assignments, and his teacher questioned whether it was actually a word. Not only is it a word, but according to me–and now Fancy Nancy–it’s one of the best words in the English language. If you ask me, it is the peak of perfection. What do I think of sixth graders who strive to expand their vocabulary? Splendiferous, of course!

credit: http://c2.diapers.com/

credit: http://c2.diapers.com/

 

Who Inspires You?

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photo credit: www.goodreads.com

photo credit: www.goodreads.com

As we finish reading A Long Walk to Water, Linda Sue Park’s riveting story about former Lost Boy Salva Dut, I know many of us have been profoundly affected by Salva’s treacherous journey to freedom. This young man, who at age 11 left his South Sudanese village amidst brutal civil war, came to lead 1200 boys and and young men to safety.

Salva Dut’s courage astounds his. His determination, not only to survive but to change his part of the world, leaves us awestruck. We marvel at his unrelenting determination. If you ever doubt your ability to singlehandedly make a difference in this vast universe, remember Salva Dut. One hope-filled person with a mission…that’s where change begins.

Speaking of Salva Dut, check out his response to my tweet. Pretty cool. 🙂 Now, tell me who inspires you and why. I can’t wait to read your replies.! Leave a comment with your blog URL. When you click on the title of this post, you’ll be able to see my example. 🙂

 

Salva Dut TWEET

 

Who Let the Blogs Out?

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Who’s ready to rock the blogosphere?

Between Friday and Tuesday, we’ll be working together to bedazzle our blogs by adding posts, pages, widgets, and a your choice of interactive media. Before I launch into the NINE (9) items your blog should include by December 5, let me introduce a few more tools that are sure to make you blog crazy!

Be sure to leave your comments and questions. As you do, decide which of these three tools you’d like to embed in one of your future blog posts.

What is the best book you’ve read so far in 6th grade?… at AnswerGarden.ch.

By December 5, you should have the following items on your blog:

(1) An All About Me PAGE. Note this should be a PAGE. If you’d like to also make it your first post, that’s fine. However, you need to have an All About Me PAGE. This page is always visible on the front page of your blog. You’ve already written your All About Me PAGE in Google Docs. Simply copy and paste into a new PAGE. To do so, highlight the entire text of your Google Docs. Hold Control/C to copy. Click the mouse in the text section of the Edublogs PAGE. Hold Control/V to paste. Graphics and fonts may not transfer exactly as they appear in Google Docs.

(2) Your first assigned POST. In the dashboard, open All Posts, Add New. Using the school-themed prompts provided, write your post. Be sure to carefully proofread. Click on Save Draft as you’re working to safeguard your writing. After you’ve thoroughly checked over, made revisions to improve your writing, and changed fonts if desired, click on Review and Submit. It may take Mrs. Rombach 1-3 days to approve and publish. Please be patient. 🙂

(3) Activate ClustrMaps widget. Add to blog sidebar.

(4) Activate Google Supreme Fonts (Dashboard>Plugins>Google Supreme Fonts>Activate).

(5) Create a virtual pet and insert Text widget/embed code to side bar. (see classmate or Mrs. Rombach for help if you missed this in-class project).

(6) Activate Compfight Plugin (Dashboard>Plugins>Compfight>Activate)

(7) Add Categories: Classroom Blogging Assignments, Reading, Writing, Book Reviews, Middle School, and any others you wish.

(8) Add one of the following interactive widgets:  AnswerGarden, Voki, or Padlet. (click to on each title to connect)

(9) Leave a complimentary comment on three (3) other classmates’ blogs (any block).

Top 10 Things I Loved about the First Week of School

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I really, really love my job.

Not everyone gets up and heads into work with a giant smile painted across their face. I know that. Boy do I feel blessed that I’m one of the lucky ones who do. I love my job. I mean, I really, really love my job. The first week of school confirms it once again. Yes, I am bone tired after standing on my feet for most of every single day. In fact, it’s now nearly 2pm on Saturday afternoon and I’ve just unglued myself from the living room couch to officially start my weekend warrior work. (That’s after an 8-11am journey to watch my cross country runners melt along the 5K course at Great Meadows.) As tuckered out as I am, I am smiley face happy. The first week of school was like rocketing out of the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby…exhilarating!

10. We made our own birthday cards…and wrote 10 things that make us unique and wonderful on the backside of our handcrafted cards.

Photo Credit: www.titanui.com

Photo Credit: www.titanui.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. We heard an inaugural address by Kid President and vowed ourselves to be awesome this year.

 

8. We made Big Plans together, sharing out our sixth grade dreams on the front and back of Crayola-colored index cards.

Big Plans cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. We watched the MazeRunner movie trailer – dipping our toes into a future of Book Talk Tuesdays. It’s true…the book is always better! 

 

6. We met the real Cynthia Rylant, the Newbery Award-winning writer who grew up reading drugstore comics–not library books–in poverty stricken Appalachia.

cynthia rylant when i was young

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. As we shared our first read-aloud, Rylant’s excerpt, The Prettiest, we were startled by Okey’s almighty hollerin’…and surprised by Ellie and her Dad’s unlikely bond in the midst of an early morning dawn.

 

4. We nibbled on books in a round-robin book tasting. We talked about falling in love with reading–and finding the “just right” book. We made Someday lists of books we want to read. We opened our classroom library, checked out books, and began another life.

 

3. We  visited the computer lab, changing passwords and setting up files. Some even explored this blog and began imagining the creation of their own student blog–which is coming soon!

 

2. We became desktop writers, using Expo markers to record our classmate interviews on our newly assigned desks. One student asked, “Are you serious, Mrs. Rombach? Can we really write on our desks?” Oh yes, we can! (Baby wipes clean instantly.)

photo 1-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. We traded names, stories, laughter, and caromed through our first four days of sixth grade together. I am giddy with excitement about journeying through this year together. Sixth graders are awesome (especially the ones I’m blessed to teach).

 

Here’s to the inimitable story we’ll write together…

Mrs. Rombach

 

 

Welcome to Sixth Grade!

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photo 3In a mere two and a half hours, over 460 new sixth graders will arrive for orientation to begin their middle school journey at Eagle Ridge. Lucky for me, I’ll have the opportunity to teach more than 70 of you. Wahoo! Welcome to the wonderful world of Language Arts. 

These past two weeks, I’ve been readying the classroom for your arrival. Twenty unpacked boxes later, I have desks in place, a close-to-complete classroom library, bulletin boards awaiting your contributions, and plenty of reading material coloring my cinderblock walls. My husband, Mike, and my youngest son, Sean, devoted several days to carding and cataloging the newest books to line our shelves. Over the summer, my classroom library grew by leaps and bounds–and I am counting down the days until I can start sharing my most recent reading finds. In fact, I just placed my first Scholastic book order of the 2014-15 school year, and I have some absolute must-reads coming your way. You, too, can order the latest, greatest books to hit the young adult market, because I’ll place a classroom Scholastic order every month (First order due September 26.). Click here to check out my Scholastic page. 

Reading, writing, and learning together — that’s what we’ll be doing every day this year (and having plenty of fun along the way)! Get ready for your first amazing year of middle school.

See you next Tuesday for Day One! 🙂

 Mrs. Rombach

P.S. – In addition to the Sixth Grade Supply List posted on the school website, please bring in one 3-Subject Spiral Notebook to be used in our class for Reading, Writing, and Vocabulary. Thanks so much! 

 

photo 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books & Pencils: The Ultimate Screen Savers!

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“Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain’t been there before.”― Shel Silverstein

 

I’m constantly bugging my kids to reduce their screen time (TV, iPod, iPhone, computer, Xbox, iPad). I hope your parents are dong the same. Why, you ask?

When we’re sitting in front of most screens, our brains absorb existing visuals rather than creating them. Imagine instead propping up on a pillow and sipping lemonade from a licorice straw while reading the latest, greatest tome to take the young adult world by storm. In this scenario, our brains embark on their own “virtual” doodling. Your magnificent noggin starts creating colorful, elaborately detailed mind movies from scratch. Wow!

Look at it this way. Your brain is designed to create. So take it on a field trip, away from the hypnotic, ready-made offerings of YouTube and instead wrap your sun-tanned hands around a book. Or a pencil, crayon, or marker. Create something from nothing. Whether you’re sketching America’s next villian-conquering superhero, scribbling out song lyrics in a tattered spiral notebook, or delving deep into a character’s inner being, let your brain go bonkers with imagination.

Like we’ve heard a zillion times, it is far better to give than to receive. Give yourself over to the incomparable powers of your own imagination.

Last week, our family traveled to Walt Disney World, a theme park rooted in one man’s boundless imagination. In between heart-racing rides and cheesing with Mickey and Minnie, I finished up several entertaining books. This week, I’ll begin If I Stay by Gayle Forman, which targets upper-level middle schoolers (like Fault in Our Stars). Join me for this soul-stirring tale of an aspiring musician’s life-altering tragedy. When a car accident leaves her orphaned and comatose, this teen must choose between following the light or her heart. Meet me on the other side and let’s trade comments about this New York Times bestseller (and soon-to-be summer blockbuster). 

These are the books Mrs. Rombach read this past week. Click on the cover to view a book trailer. What book are you reading now? 

 

Sonnenblick expertly crafts a riveting story of a young cancer survivor’s lifelong struggles. Loved this book! Photo Credit: Scholastic.com

bookcover3

Flinn delivers an easy-to-read contemporary fairy tale bubbling with ample portions of regular-guy heroics, magic, adventure, royalty, and witches. Photo Credit: GoodReads.com

Photo Credit: GoodReads.com

A word collector and stutterer, Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything. First, she’ll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that’s been cast over the town . . . and her mother’s broken heart. Summary and Photo Credit: GoodReads.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Imagine all the wonders still awaiting you this summer. Unlock the creativity in that amazing thinker of yours. 🙂

Mrs. Rombach