Here, at the start of the year with my sixth graders, we do a lot of brainstorming activities. This writing prompt has them generating a list of short story titles that they might pull from during the year for various writing-into-the-day activities. Plus, it is interesting to see what they come up with. Here are just a few from the list of 80 short story titles of stories not yet written. I put them in Prezi to give them a little “wow.”
Peace (in the story),
Kevin
Author Archives: dogtrax
When the Key Clicks: A Poem About Close Reading
I’ve been joining Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts in a Blogathon as they explore Close Reading skills. The other day, I was writing with my students and began this poem, thinking of that moment when something “clicks” with a piece of text.
When the Key Clicks
Struggling
with this text –
I seek to break the code.
Contained, confused, confounded
by intent: I’m spent!
And more than a bit belligerent towards this writer
whose words spiral around meaning like
a swirling subterfuge of ideas just out of reach
when I’m not gleaming anything …
Until …
Until ..
Until somehow the key clicks.
Perhaps it was a word you said
or a question you asked
or another angle on which to lay my head upon this table.
For suddenly, I’m awake for the very first time, seeing
beneath the lines
between the words.
I unfold this story in all of its glory
as if I’d just turned a child’s simple drawing
upside down
inside out
only to discover a masterpiece hidden beneath
waiting
to be explored.
And the podcast:
Peace (in the light bulb moments),
Kevin
What It Looks Like When We Hack Chess
My sixth graders have been working in collaborative groups to hack the game of chess, with new pieces and new rules on how to play. I’ll share more later as part of a larger collaborative DS106 radio project but this collage nicely captures some of the work they are doing to invent new board games out of traditional ideas.
Peace (in the hack),
Kevin
The Shaping of a Song/ The Shaping of Connections
I write songs for my band, Duke Rushmore, every now and then. Some songs work for the band. Some don’t. Last Monday, I had about an hour to myself and pulled out the guitar, and wrote a new one. The next night, I was sharing it with the band, and last night, we worked on it for about 45 minutes (minus our lead singer.) It’s interesting how some songs come quick and work great, while others take forever to write and then fall apart. I’m not sure what leads a song to go one way or another (I suppose if I did, I’d be making my millions selling songs to Katy Perry).
Here’s where this particular song started out, with me doing a quick demo for the band before I forgot the melody. The words have been updated here and there over the last week as the song filters through my head.
And here is what we were doing last night (again, without a lead singer, so that’s me singing for now).
What is magical about this process is how an idea conceived alone, in a room with only a guitar (and sometimes a dog as an audience) becomes something else when you bring collaborators into the mix. Sure, the main ideas are still there. But the song is different now and one thing I have learned over the years is that you have to give up part of the song to make it work with a group. You have to be willing to let others take a piece of ownership. So, our discussions are very interesting, as someone suggests this different chord, or a stop/break here, or where to insert the solo sections, or what kind of melody line should run here.
I work hard to avoid saying, No, that’s now how I hear it. Instead, I try to hold true to the spirit of what I was writing and remain flexible with other parts.
This is just like collaborating with other teachers (see my point?) when we connect with others. We share the best of what we know and brainstorm with the best intent, and then we need to listen to what others are saying, think about how to find that balance between our own established opinions and those of others around us. Eventually, what I have found — in my band, in my writing, in my professional circles — is that the energy of the larger group often trumps the vision of the individual. Not always, but mostly. And we continue into this Connected Educator Month, that is something to hold on: we are in this together and I rely on you as much you may be learning from me.
Maybe we need to write a song about that …
Peace (in the connections),
Kevin
Visual and Audio Autumn Haiku
One of this week’s Daily Create assignments for DS106 was to write a haiku about Autumn. Well, Autumn has kicked into full gear here in New England, and the day I wrote this one was the blustery kind of day that even Pooh and Piglet would recognize.
Winds begin to kick –
I crouch and dart between rain
drops from the dark sky
I decided to take the haiku and add a visual element to it, as part of the exploration around design. I have an app on my iPad called Visual Poetry, which I like for short poems. It gets too busy for longer ones and may even be a bit busy for this one. You decide. But I like how the words and phrases wrap around the poem itself.
And of course, poetry should be heard, too.
Peace (in the poem),
Kevin
Slice of Life: Did You Approve My Comic?
(This is for Slice of Life)
She was barely in the door, when she asked: “Did you approve my comic?” When I answered, yes, she jumped and shouted out, “Yes!” and high-fived her friend. Talk about getting excited about publishing. We’ve been using an online webcomic space and it’s interesting how the act of sharing out work to an audience of peers within the closed webcomic community of just a classroom can really bring forth a certain amount of excitement and motivation.
Honestly, I liked her comic because of the musical theme, and girl empowerment. She’ll be happy to know that I am sharing her comic here, too, I suspect.
Peace (in the frames),
Kevin
Blogging at MiddleWeb
I’ve been writing book reviews for the wonderful MiddleWeb site for about a year now (maybe more?) and I have enjoyed the focus of the middle school grades at the site, although much of the knowledge shared there is applicable above and below those middle school years, too. I had been asked by John Norton, of MiddleWeb, to contribute to their growing blogging space as an ELA teacher from sixth grade. I sort of hemmed and hawed, because I see this blog as my main stomping ground. And to be honest, I kept thinking: seriously, what do I have to offer other teachers who read MiddleWeb that they can’t get elsewhere. It was one of those “I’m comfortable here, thank you very much” kind of thoughts.
Still … John eventually convinced me that my voice is valued and that I do have ideas worth sharing to a larger audience.
So I have taken the plunge with a blog in MiddleWeb called Working Draft that I will contribute to bimonthly, giving me a chance to share and hopefully, spark some conversations about what it means to be teaching literacy in this digital age. It won’t all be about technology, of course. You can read more about what my aims are in my first post that went live yesterday.
I am calling the blog “Working Draft” because I see teaching and learning as ideas always in motion, always under revision. I think that title captures my ideas for that space as much as “Kevin’s Meandering Mind” continues to capture my view of this space as a place to explore and think through writing and literacy.
I hope you can join me over at Working Draft from time to time.
Peace (in the draft),
Kevin
My Tube and The Tubes
Life is Beautiful: A Tapestry Story
Tapestry is a lovely site for making digital stories. When we talk about the power of minimal design, what I like about Tapestry is the simplicity of the storytelling, for both the writer and for the reader. The ability to set up “taps” creates a certain rhythm of the story. The simple fonts and background options at first seem limiting but then you realize how powerful that can be not to worry about bells and whistles, and instead, focus on the story itself. I am taking part in a storytelling contest Tapestry is launching, with stories on the theme of “Life is Beautiful.”
Here is what I created:
What makes life beautiful for you?
Peace (in reflection),
Kevin
By the way, I could not find a space on Tapestry for citing where the images came from, so I will do that here. All images are part of Flickr’s Creative Commons library:
- Chaos image comes from Davide de Cole
- Solitude comes from Martin Fischer
- Silence flower comes from Polpolux
- Silence comes from Isaac Leedom
Thanks to all of them for creating such great images.
Spoof Documentary Intro: The Connected Country
(Created with Mozilla’s XRay Goggles)
Yesterday’s Daily Create for DS106 asked us to “Write an intro for a documentary on culture and traditions of a fictional country.” Since we are kneedeep into Connected Educator Month, I thought I would amuse myself (at least) with a spoof intro for a fake documentary about The Connected Country, and the search for the Most Connected Person in the World.
Here is what I wrote:
In this geographically distant yet technologically connected land, people find themselves drawn to each other by shared interests and expertise. Perhaps it is the hyperlink tattoos that adorn their foreheads or the hashtags each inhabitant wears on their left and right cheeks, but this land is a wondrous place of connections. Here, friends lend a hand or share an idea with strangers. Neighbors offer refuge to the confused who wander in from the outlands of the greater world. Everyone is looked after. There is trust here in this Connected Country. There is a sense that all of the residents here are in this life together, learning as they go along and sharing their learning without trepidation. Notice how each inhabitant wears a sharp-looking vest with multiple pockets. Each pocket contains a different mobile device, tuned to a different interest channel. At night, when the specially-designed lights of the Connected Country are turned on, one can literally visualize the threads that connect each person to the others. The colored webs are another indication of the tapestry of their lives. It is here that we begin our journey to find the Most Connected Person in the World. Come join us as we venture into the Connected Country.
And here is the podcast I created for it:
Peace (in the land),
Kevin