Slice of Life #23: Day 10/31: Ten Observations

 For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #23: Day 10/31: 

Ten Observations

Today is the tenth consecutive day of slicing and publishing. After my year long writing hiatus, it feels good to write daily.  

One of my favorite poets and authors is Georgia Heard.One of my favorite writing resources is Writing Toward Home. I adore how Heard reminds writers that powerful writing often begins with what you notice. In fact, Heard encourages writers to record ten observations a day without commentary. 

Since it is my tenth day of slicing, I decided to write ten things that I observed yesterday at school.

• As she stared at her phone, she slyly smiled. 
• Mr. __________ pronounced my last name incorrectly (despite that I have corrected him before).
• A discarded blue detention slip rested on the carpeted classroom form.
• As I watched two students work, their feet swished and rocked underneath the desk. Another student's knee bounced up and down.
• A student offered spearmint gum to another student. No conversation happened during this exchange - just eye contact.
• A group of girls recorded a Tik Tok dance video during lunch
• A student who picked up a wrapper on the floor (left from the class before him) and threw it away without asking 
• A teacher kneeling next to a student, helping him with his research paper
• A high school senior sipping water through a brightly colored dinosaur cup
• A stack of papers three inches high on my desk, begging to be sorted. 

What did you notice today? 

Slice of Life #22 Day 11: Ten Observations

For the month of March, each day I am writing and posting a slice of my life, hosted by Two Writing Teachers. 

Slice of Life #22: Day 11/31: 

Ten Observations

When I originally began writing this post, I felt stuck. Heck, I even felt a little panicked. It's only Day 11 of this challenge and I already felt like I had nothing worth writing about. 

As I have done in the past, I turned to one of my favorite writing resources, Writing Toward Home. For me, reading Georgia Heard's work always inspires me. She gently reminds me that writing is not about grand adventures or how worldly you are. Instead, often the most powerful writing can often begin with what you notice, what you experience, and what you know. 

Georgia Heard shares, "...our unmediated observations of the world become the foundation for writing" (69). In her short chapter called "Ten Observations a Day" she invites writers to record ten observations each day without commentary. 

Keeping Georgia's advice in mind, Thursday afternoon I took a walk around my neighborhood. Below are ten things I observed:

An elderly couple walking hand in hand

A white cat watching birds from a windowsill

Patches of frozen ice on the edges of the sidewalk

The sun disappearing over the horizon

A disposable blue mask hanging on a chain link fence

A Cooper's Hawk flying overhead

Amazon packages waiting on a neighbor's front step

Geese resting on the frozen baseball field

A Black-Capped Chickadee perched on a barren branch

A teenager skateboarding with mittens on

In reflection, I realized that I could turn any of these observations into a slice. 

Thank you, Georgia Heard. 

Tuesday Slice of Life: Heart Mapping and What Matters

Looking to connect with a positive, supportive online community?  Consider sharing a slice of your life with Two Writing Teachers. All writers are welcome! 

Tuesday Slice of Life: 
Heart Mapping and What Matters 

What matters to them?

I have been pondering this question all year, especially for my students who have not found a lot of success in school. Many of my high school students insist that they don't care about much, mostly when it comes to learning. 

Enter Heart Maps. 

I have been a fan of Georgia Heard's Heart Mapping for a while now. In Heart Maps (Heinemann, 2016), Georgia Heard shares this, "Heart Mapping is a metaphor for what all writer's know: to write is to delve into what matters to us, to keep our feelings alive, to be vulnerable, to tell the truth, to question, and to speak what many people keep inside." 

What matters to my students? What matters to me? These are questions that I have tossed around all year, not just in an effort to reach more of my students but as a personal inquiry as well. 

Below are two Heart Maps I created with students this semester.The first one is a general Heart Map of what currently matters the most to me, and the second is a Heart Map that is a zoomed in version of one item from my Heart Map - writing. 

One of my Heart Maps

A Zoomed In Version of a Heart Map - on writing 

As a class, we revisited Heart Maps throughout the school year, especially with my ninth and tenth grader learners. I was often surprised at what my students revealed to me through Heart Mapping, even my students who are the most reluctant to read and write and share. Often Heart Mapping was a springboard for writing, and it often created a perfect opening for conversation. Heart Mapping helped me better understand what my students were reading and thinking about. 

In my classes, Heart Maps aren't fancy. My students used their notebooks. I provided colored pencils, crayons, and markers. Making Heart Maps didn't take a lot of planning time. My high school students reported that they enjoyed the process of creating Heart Maps and often pleaded to work on Heart Maps when we had time.Creating and sharing Heart Maps helped me get to know my students better, fostering a positive classroom culture.  

One student example of a Heart Map (used with permission)

Another student example of a Heart Map (used with permission)

When one of my sophomore students, Tina, unexpectedly passed away in February, I felt paralyzed as a person, not just as her teacher. Tina was a close friend to many of my students, and grief arrived in many ways. One of my classes particularly struggled for an extended period of time, and I knew that I could not simply press on with our scheduled learning, even though deadlines were looming. We used Heart Mapping as a part of our healing. We didn't get to everything in my literacy support course that I wanted to, but I do not regret spending this time to process through Heart Mapping. Crafting Heart Maps also helped me recognize who needed more support than I could offer as a classroom teacher.  

Friday will conclude my nineteenth year of teaching. Still, as a seasoned teacher, I am always surprised at how long it often takes to build trust with students and to discover what they care deeply about. Knowing what matters to my students helps me recommend books for students to read, nudge them in issues to write and learn about, and meet their needs better. It helps me build trusting relationships. My teaching will continue to focus on what matters to my students so that I can serve them better. Heart Mapping is one way that has helped me know my students better, and I will keep using it. 

Slice of Life 2018 Day 18: Ode to My Notebook

Writing is an act of faith: faith that what I have to say, how I see the world, are important. 

I listen. I see. I feel and I record. Keeping the words flowing is an act of faith." 

(Page 27) Writing Towards Home

Writing Towards Home: Tales and Lessons to Find Your Way (Heinemann 1995) is any writer's gift. For several years I have appreciated Georgia Heard's invitations to write and enjoyed reading her smart insights. 

One of my favorite chapters from Writing Towards Home is "Songs to the Everyday," a chapter dedicated to celebrating the ordinary through Ode poems. After explaining the origins and purpose of an Ode poem, then sharing an example, Georgia Heard invites her readers to write an Ode poem: 

Georgia says, "Write an ode (don't worry about the form), a chant, in praise of the ordinary things in your life that you feel grateful for. Choose something that's common and everyday, then exalt it." 

  

This morning I decided to play with writing my own Ode poem:

Ode to My Notebook

Hard cover.

Bound. 

Lined paper, 

full of

words,

phrases, 

sentences

crafted into poetry,

Heart Maps,

lists of gratitude, 

aching questions,

and stream-of-consciousness

writing.

Flair pen moves

in my notebook

becomes 

my tree fort-

exploring 

and imagining-

although sometimes 

I do not stay long enough

and other times I play

until I must rest. 

I honor my notebook,

of quiet,

reflective, and

sometimes 

arduous writing.

These pages

guide me 

in what deserves revision,

what I elect to share,

and helps me notice and

celebrate

the most 

ordinary 

and 

extraordinary

moments. 

My current writer's notebook 

Essential Writing Tools: Heart Maps, Gratitude, and Haiku

Although I haven't kept up with blogging as regularly as I wanted to, I have maintained my daily personal writing habit, handwriting my thoughts in a thick, weathered notebook. Unfortunately, I often find myself tangled in the day-to-day bustle of life, so writing helps me remember and leaves me with meaningful breadcrumbs. Every few weeks, I take the time to reread my loopy, messy words, and I almost always find myself in awe of what I took the time to notice and record.

Yesterday marked the last day of finals week at my high school. Although I consider myself a "seasoned" teacher, I haven't formally taught in a high school position since my student teaching days. After four years of literacy coaching and my return to the classroom this year, I continue to be humbled at the subtle and blatant lessons my high school students have taught me about what it means to be an effective teacher. Each time I think that I am better at meeting my students' needs, I realize that I need to learn more about my who my students are and how I can adjust my teaching so that I can be more of who I need to be as a teacher for them. I frequently write about my teaching and what I learn from my students. Daily writing helps me achieve this.

I believe that daily reflection through writing is an underutilized tool for many teachers.

If you peeked into my notebook, you would notice that I regularly use three main writing tools: 1) Georgia Heard's Heart Maps, 2) daily gratitude lists, and 3) Haiku. These are my favorite ways to notice what's going on in my life. I have found each tool to be a simple, yet worthy way to write. 

Georgia Heard's Heart Maps are sprinkled throughout my notebook. Heart Mapping is my go-to when I am having a challenging day, not sure how to move forward, or when I am unsure of what to write about. Below is my Heart Map from early this morning, reflecting on this past week of finals at my high school: 

My Heart Map this morning 

At the conclusion of each day, I create a list of bullet points of what I was most grateful for. After regularly writing lists for the past two years, I have found that this simple task often adjusts my mindset and helps me release tension or toxicity. I need this release to show up as a better human. This was last night's list (yes reader, again, it's about finals!):

Last night's gratitude list

I often gush about my love of Haiku. I try to write at least one Haiku a day. Most of my Haiku are not worthy of publishing or even sharing, but I have found that it is an effective way to think more deeply about one thing. I think Haiku is attainable as a daily writing practice because it is only three lines. In addition, I am drawn to the rhythm and predictability of Haiku. Here are a few of my Haiku that I have written this week:

(from 1/15/18)

Tension builds. Endless

Grading. Overwhelmed. Behind.

Semester finals. 

(Triple Haiku from 1/12/18)

Painful moments can

Teach powerful lessons, if

One reflects on it.

How can I apply

Lessons instead of holding 

Onto resentment?

I want to show up...

As one who applies insights

Instead of grudges. 

Heart Maps, lists of gratitude, and Haiku are three simple ways that I navigate my life through writing. Each tool has helped me to notice more, reflect, and to show up more as the person I need to be. Yes, it takes some discipline to carve out time to write every day, but for me, writing has brought me unexpected gifts of insight and reflection. As a bonus, each of these writing tools are some of the cheapest ways I know to release stress and find peace when it seems unattainable. 

I Keep Trying: Building Classroom Culture

According to Leaders of Their Own Learning: Transforming Schools Through Student-Engaged Assessment (Jossey-Bass, 2014), “A classroom culture of trust, safety, challenge, and joy is the cornerstone of engaged and effective learning.”

I keep trying. 

After four days I realize that I haven’t spent enough time to build trust with my students. Unfortunately, I've already heard these comments:

• “I don't read”

• "I hate writing"

• “I don't care”

• “I hate school"

Although none of these comments have come as a huge surprise to me, I still cringe when I hear them.

I am working hard to learn more about who my students are and particularly about what they care about. After all, I know that spending time on building my classroom culture is worth it. Students won't be able to become engaged and effective learners without the sense of trust, feeling safe, challenged, and filed with joy. I desperately want to create an effective learning environment for all.

My students deserve this. All students deserve this.

Last week I introduced Cris Tovani's Conversation Calendars and invited my students to respond to this question: What would you like for me to know about you? Some of my students were pretty honest with me, leaving me in awe in their level of vulnerability with a teacher they have just met. Other students were more cautious in what they shared. Regardless, I already appreciate what I know about my students through using Conversation Calendars. It is a tool that I will continue to use this year for building and maintaining trust and to give and get feedback from my students.

As a part of building my classroom culture I'm trying to be more vulnerable with my students and show them more of who I am as a person and as a writer. Yesterday I introduced Georgia Heard’s brilliant idea of Heart Maps. I showed examples of past Heart Maps from my notebook and from this book. Next I created a Heart Map using a think aloud and projected it using the document camera.  

When it was time for them to create their own Heart Maps, I invited my students to write/draw what was close to their hearts. With the exception of one or two students (who simply needed a nudge to get started), they immediately got to work.

Ninth grade students creating Heart Maps

I wasn't sure how well high school students would respond to making Heart Maps. Yet, they seemed to welcome the time to think and write and sketch. Most of my students worked right up until the end of the class hour, and a few of them requested to work on their Heart Maps at home, even though it wasn’t an assignment.

I plan to use Heart Maps as an entry point for students to use in their writing. In addition, if and when students are ready, perhaps they will tell me more about what sketches and words on their Heart Maps signify.

I will keep trying.

***********************************************************************

When I woke up this morning, I found myself feeling overwhelmed in thinking about all I need to prepare for the upcoming week. As I wrote today's Morning Pages, I decided to create a Heart Map based on all that is lingering in my heart from my first week with my students.

Trina's Heart Map - September 9th

As soon as I was finished, I realized that Heart Mapping was exactly what I needed today. It soothed my busy mind. If you peeked into my notebooks, you would see Heart Maps scattered throughout my writing. I appreciate the time to reflect, and always provides me with insight about what I am really feeling. It is a simple tool that has helped me understand who I am and the kind of person I strive to be.

Thinking about Heart Maps inspired me to write this Haiku:

Creating Heart Maps/

Leads me to peace this morning/

Pen. Paper. Mind. Soul.