An Amazing Classroom Resource!

by Jacqueline Jules

Where can a teacher easily find interesting pieces to share in the classroom? Look no further than Issue 8 of Balloons Lit. Journal.

This magazine for upper elementary and middle school students is an amazing resource of poetry, fiction, and art. What’s more, it includes contributions from all over the world and features student work alongside professional adults. Poems are attractively presented in full page layouts sure to inspire the imagination. I am thrilled that one of my poems,  “Egret” appears on page 41.

I wrote “Egret” while I was out on a brisk walk near a body of water and this beautifully immobile creature stopped me in my tracks. Ask your students to describe an animal or plant so enchanting they couldn’t help but pause for a moment to gaze. Better yet, take your students outside and ask them to stand silently for five minutes, watching the natural world. What did they see, hear, smell? How did they feel? Can they make an effort to pay attention to the grass, the trees, the clouds, the insects, and everything else which flutters unnoticed when we hurry too much? Mindfulness can enrich one’s life as well as one’s writing.   

Listening to an author read their own work can be a meaningful experience for students. Balloons Lit. Journal also offers audio clips on selected pieces. Scroll down the page where Issue 8 appears and you will see an audio section and an opportunity to hear me read my poem, “Egret” as well as three other poets in this issue.  

I highly recommend sharing 14 year old Braxton Schieler’s voice reading his work, “Someday I’ll Be—An Autobiography.” Braxton writes about his life from the age of three till an imagined old age, describing emotional transitions with clarity and insight. Hearing a student read his own personal narrative aloud should jump start many a reluctant pen in your classroom.

Other pieces in Balloons Lit. Issue 8, such as the poems, “I Think My Teacher is a Witch” and  “Pillow Problems” could be great models for humorous writing.

Finally the artwork in Balloons Lit. Issue 8 is stunning. Available in PDF form on the website, images could be projected to present the ekphrastic challenge of providing a written response to and/or description of artwork.

Don’t miss this amazing resource for the classroom! Check out Issue 8 of Balloons Lit. Journal today!

www.jacquelinejules.com

Finding the Wild World

Guest Post by Megan Wagner Lloyd  

Finding Wild follows two kid adventurers as they discover the beauty and wonder of the wild world. It asks the questions “What is wild? And where can you find it?” and invites readers on a journey to find the answers.

I’m so excited for teachers to share Finding Wild with their students. (And I’ve been thrilled to hear from teachers on Twitter who are doing just that!)

Three ways to use Finding Wild in the classroom:

1.    As a nature-writing prompt

When and where have your students experienced the wild? Going camping, gardening, playing at the park, cloud gazing…kids have so many unique experiences with nature to share. I was thrilled to read this blog post from a teacher who plans to use Finding Wild as an introduction to a nature-writing unit with her high schoolers (more proof that picture books aren’t just for little ones!).

2.    As a poetry mentor text

Finding Wild provides a great jumping off point to discuss metaphor, personification, and descriptive writing, and to encourage kids to include details from all five senses in their work.

  

3.    In preparation for any kind of outdoor field trip or nature excursion

Reading Finding Wild before going out and about can encourage kids to pay attention to the natural wonders, big and small, all around them. I think it would be a great to share it before winter and spring breaks, too, to encourage kids to get outside and play! And then when everyone’s back in the classroom, teachers could set aside some time for everyone to share their wild observations.

BIO: Megan Wagner Lloyd has been reading for (almost) as long as she can remember, and writing stories for just as long. Her debut picture book Finding Wild, illustrated by Abigail Halpin, was released by Knopf earlier this year. She lives with her family in the Washington D.C. area.

Learn more about Megan and her books at meganwagnerlloyd.com

BACKYARD JOURNAL

by Joan Waites

Spring has finally arrived after a very long winter, and it’s time to enjoy what nature has to offer. We know from experience that in spring, trees are budding, flowers are bursting from the ground with color, birds are chirping, and insects are buzzing around. But do we really stop and fully experience this most beautiful season?

A fun art and writing activity to help encourage students to slow down and really observe their outdoor surroundings, is to have them keep a field or nature journal.

  

Using a simple handmade book of folded paper, a composition book, or a blank sketch journal, ask your students to record in pictures and words, what they see, smell and hear outside. Children can sketch individual leaves, flowers, grass, bugs, birds, rocks, bark, or anything else that interests them using simple art supplies such as colored pencils, crayons, markers and/or a set of children's watercolors. Observations can be recorded in their own backyard, the school playground, a local park, or even on a city street. Next to each sketch, ask students to write some important sensory information about the object(s) or place they have chosen to draw. A field journal could also work well as a year long project, asking students record what they see in each of the four seasons on a weekly or monthly basis.

Two books that can help introduce teachers and students to field or nature journals and corresponding activities are:

Happy spring!

www.joanwaites.com          

HOW TO GROW A NATURALIST

by guest blogger Nancy Viau

A naturalist is someone who loves and appreciates nature and who studies plants and animals as they live in nature. Naturalists often write about their observations in journals, magazines, and non-fiction books. I chose to pen my observations in the form of a picture book, Look What I Can Do!. My goal was to have children see a variety of animals in their natural habitat, accomplishing tasks and overcoming challenges that are part of growing up. Illustrator Anna Vojtech has done a wonderful job bringing my words to life and creating lush spreads filled with color and depth.

What follows is a very basic science activity with writing tie-ins (for grades K-2). Its purpose is to increase awareness and respect for the animals in our immediate surroundings.  

Introduction
Train your young students in the art of observation by practicing with common objects. For this activity, they should use only two senses: seeing and hearing. Allowing children to use only sight and sound as reference points helps them to stay on task. Plus, later on, when observing animals, students may be too far to smell them, and of course, they shouldn’t be encouraged to touch them!

Put a pencil on every desk.

Using the questions below, have students create a list (oral or written) based on what they see and hear.

           What color is the object?

What shape is it?

            How big is the object?

(Big as a______; Long as a _______; Fat as a _______, etc.)

                          What is the object’s placement in the environment?

                          Does the object make a sound of its own?                           

Repeat with three other objects: a watch, a cup of water, a crumpled paper.

Research

Students research three animals that may be found in the immediate area of the school. They note color, size, what they eat, their homes, families, and habits.

Activity

The easy part:

Students choose two to three favorite animals.

Each student receives a notebook (Naturalist’s Journal) and pencil. A towel or rug square to sit on comes in handy, too.

Time to head outside! Students find a place where they are likely to spot one or more of the animals they have picked.

The hard part:

Students sit and wait, very quietly. Students should not coax any animal out with snacks or noises.

The writing:

When an animal is spotted, students observe and make notes based on sight and sound only.  

They are not to make up stories (yet).

A sketch is also appropriate.

Back in the Classroom

Share and compare findings.

Make a classroom collage using sketches or cut-out pictures of animals observed.

Create a map of the observation area. Students add in their animals.

Discuss non-fiction and fiction, and how facts and research are used in both.

Children use their detailed observations of animals to write each type of story. Encourage use of descriptive language with sight and sound elements.

Corresponding Lessons

             Five Senses

             Habitats

Onomatopoeia

Communities/Neighborhoods

Introduction to Scientific Method 
              

Nancy Viau is the author of three nature-inspired books: Look What I Can Do! (Nominated for the Keystone to Reading Book Award), Storm Song, and Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head. Her Fall 2014 title, City Street Beat, invites readers on a toe-tappin’ musical journey from the country to the city. When not writing, Nancy can be found hiking, biking, or visiting schools across the country and around the world (via Skype). Visit her at www.NancyViau.com

Writing and Wonder

by Mary Quattlebaum

Kids are full of questions about the world:  How do snakes shed?  When do sharks lose their teeth?  What makes rocks hard?  Why is the sand white at this beach and beige at another?

Writing can be a place to explore, formulate opinions and theories, ponder facts and share ideas.  One of the most helpful books on this subject is A Place for Wonder by Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough (Stenhouse, 2009, $20).

Though this volume is geared toward parents and teachers of grades K-3, many of the writing prompts—and certainly the spirit—can apply to older kids and adults as well.  Indeed, some of the simplest exercises are the most adaptable—and profound.

With summer upon us, you might be eager for some “playful learning” approaches that stretch your kids, engage the whole family and fit in well with vacations, daycamps and the season’s more relaxed pace.  Or as a teacher, perhaps you’re thinking through changes for next year’s lesson plans.  Here’s an activity that can last the whole summer—and beyond.

Place of Wonder.  Heard and McDonough designate an actual place in the classroom for children to write and post questions.  Kids can read one another’s questions, share thoughts and think about where to find answers.  You might designate a similar place in your home or have a weekly dinner where each family member comes with a question about the natural world.

Even reluctant writers can write down one question and reluctant readers are often galvanized to read if they think it will help them to discover what they want to know.  Rather than simply doing a Google search, encourage kids to check out books from the library and to “teach” or talk about what they learned.  They might make a poster, draw a picture or write a report, story or poem.  This whole question-research-writing/drawing-teaching/sharing process often jumpstarts additional questions and investigations.

For adults, the Place of Wonder can be a powerful way to connect with what actually is around us.  Techno gadgetry, general busyness and a certain “seen that-done that” attitude can work against us actually experiencing the small wonders of the world—which are anything but mundane.  This summer, adult writers might set aside 10 or 15 minutes a few times a week to focus on something in the natural world—perhaps a plant, bird, stone or shell.  Allow yourself to be curious, to ask questions, to seek out some answers, to write about the experience.  Or perhaps, just stay quiet with that object for a while and wonder.

www.maryquattlebaum.com