Odd One Out - A New Formative Assessment Tool

Assessment is a critical component to quality teaching and learning, but often we only talk about it in the most high-stakes terms.  If you're new to formative assessment or if you've been adding tools to your arsenal all along, I think you'll find that "Odd One Out" could be a great addition to your classroom.  Take a look at what we shared this week on Periscope as part of the Back to School:  Secondary Scope Series.  

NOTE** This video is a {PERISCOPE REPLAY}, not a normal video! You are watching a previously recorded live broadcast on the platform Periscope. You will hear me talking to other "viewers" who were in the room at the time. For the official video, subscribe and sit tight until I have that made!

I hope everyone who was there live was able to learn so much from our time together.  If you're just watching this now, head on over to our Facebook group where we always continue the discussion together and you can grab a copy of the Google Slide show that I shared during the scope:  bit.ly/secondaryseries

A Request

After the scope, many of you requested the rubric I use to grade these "Odd One Out" questions.  Here's a screen shot from one of my quizzes for In the Time of the Butterflies.

Since we don't use points in our gradebook, this is the scale that we developed.  The "5" response is the best because it demonstrates a complex connection (a significant relationship) and the observations that are stated are grounded firmly in the text.  Grading these can certainly be tricky, and, as I stated in the video, one of the struggles with this kind of assignment.

What are your thoughts?  How are you implementing this strategy in your classroom this year?

Creating Culturally Responsive and Caring Classrooms: A New EBook

Download a copy of the ebook for free right here.

I'm so excited to share this post with you all today.  The following post is taken from the foreword to a brand new ebook:  Creating Culturally Responsive and Caring Classrooms.  This ebook is a collaborative effort of 25 Teachers Pay Teachers authors and you can download it for FREE here.  Read on for a taste of what our book is all about...

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The world is changing and now, more than ever, we are afraid.  We’re not talking about the exciting kind of change, the innovative and positive growth kind of change.  The global media narrative is keeping us vigilantly aware of the violence and terror that surrounds us, or could surround us, at any given time.  We are grieving the loss of innocent victims of terror and shutting our doors in an effort to stay safe.  Behind those doors, many of us are clinging to a #hashtagbeliefsystem that allows us to participate in this controversial world without necessarily stepping out into the streets.  From Syria, to Orlando, to Dallas, to Baton Rouge, to Brussels, to Nice, and beyond, we are stunned by oppressive hatred and destruction to our fellow human race: all of this in the year 2016 alone.  

Our world is broken, hurting, and desperate for healing.  So where does that leave us, the secondary educator?  How can we, or should we, attempt to address the pain that is so palpable in our world with our students?

The team of teachers in this ebook agree:  the answer is to create a culturally responsive and caring classroom.  We can’t singlehandedly change the course of terrorism or reach out a hand an instantly heal a family torn apart by war, but we can make our classrooms a safe space to learn, be challenged, and to develop into responsible citizens that will, someday, make our world a better place.

This ebook is a collection of suggestions, ideas, and responses to our changing world.  Each author has contributed his or her own page responding to the question:  how can we create culturally responsive and caring classrooms starting on the first day of school?  As you (as we all do) get caught up shopping back to school sales and putting up new bulletin boards, we urge you to spend equal energy carefully considering and planning ways to ensure that your classroom is a culturally responsive and caring place for students.

Thank you for downloading this incredible resource.  Each of the teacher authors are listed in the table of contents and have provided links to their social media connections.  Please feel free to follow us and reach out to connect on this incredible journey we call teaching.

Sincerely,

Amanda Cardenas

Mud and Ink Teaching

Editor and Contributor

Why I'm Using GOOGLE for Bell Work (and going digital for good!)

I'm DONE collecting notebooks.  Are you dying to know why?

If you're like me, you have tried a thousand options for bell ringers/bell work.  No matter what, the bell work needs a home, and for a long time, the bell work "home" has been in a notebook.  Then, what do we have to do to grade it?  COLLECT 125 SPIRAL BOUND NOTEBOOKS.  I won't do it any more!

We have fully entered a digital world in our school systems. Whether we are in live classrooms or teaching virtually, blending digital teaching methods with our other tried and true in-person teaching practices is a necessity. As education evolves, there are certain pillars of good teaching that will always remain:

• Students need teachers that work to build relationships

• Students need high quality content from their teachers that pushes them to enter critical thinking daily

• Students need structure in the form of daily routines and expectations that create a predictable, safe learning environment

• Students need fun, engaging ways to interact with their content.

Now this might sound like a stretch, but I promise it’s been true for my whole career: a strong, daily bell work routine has laid the foundation for all four of these timeless components of an exceptional classroom.

Here's how my bell ringers work every day in my classroom:

An example of one of my crazy bell ringer ideas..

• Enter the classroom. Feel warmth, energy, and usually an air of mystery...

• On the screen (and saved in Google classroom for reference): the day's bell ringer. My bell ringers tend to be writing heavy: students answer a question that anticipates the day's learning or even reflects on a current event happening in the news. Either way, the prompt and directions are up on the screen ready to go. I make these one week in advance, usually, because I want them to be fresh and relevant to what’s happening in my room. Typically, each bell ringer coincides with vocabulary practice connected to the unit’s Essential Question, but since I make them fresh every week, I can always keep them updated with current videos, articles, etc.

• On the student's computers:

  • Each student has their own "presentation" which I will now be calling Bell Ringer Interactive Notebook (but remember, it's just a Google slide presentation!) and for each day that we have a bell ringer, the students hit CONTROL + M and BAM! - new page!

  • On that new page, the student responds to the bell ringer for that day, dates the slide and it's done.

• Grading? Oh wait. It's shared via Google Classroom, so I can peek at this presentation/document ANY TIME I WANT TO. And it's already stored in my Google Drive.

• BONUS: If a student writes a particularly hilarious, astute, or discussion worthy response, it's as simple as finding their doc in your folder, opening, and then projecting it on the screen. A whole class discussion can be launched from a student's writing in just a few clicks.

There are a lot of advantages to using Google for this part of the day that I didn't even realize until I started using digital notebooks.  First and foremost, you must ask yourself:  does the technology enhance the learning, or is it just extra?  For me, it streamlines an important classroom routine and procedure (entering the room and starting on work), increases student participation and accountability (usually around October they figured out that when I collected those damn spiral notebooks, I was way too tired to really grade them all!), and has created new opportunities for engagement during that time.  When students were writing an answer to a prompt in a notebook , that was it.  They could only write or doodle.  Now, a response to a bell ringer can look A LOT different: my students create memes, find videos, insert music and write a defense for lyrics, etc.  I'm telling you, when a bell ringer says "Write about your weekend", there's a decent response.  But when you can ask them, "Write about your weekend and include two pictures and a song that capture the tone of Saturday  night", engagement spikes just a tad.

If this sounds intimidating to create, don't worry.  I made one for you.  If you're feeling creative, they're really easy to make on your own as well!  Just make a template then assign it on Classroom.  Let me know in the comments below if you're going to try it this year!

I'm always looking for ways to help you take back your weekend, so let me know what else you need help with streamlining in your classroom.

**UPDATE**  

I've now added a Digital VOCABULARY Notebook to my store!  If you love the idea of a digital notebook for students to create day after day for Bell Ringers, check out the vocabulary version.  Here, students are given a Google slideshow full of vocabulary activity templates.  After you've given them the words, then students can choose a template to use and practice on their words little by little each day.

Style 1

Here is a quick sneak peek at the three different styles offered in the product. If you are making your own, you can use any style that you like! Students can even choose their own!

Style 2

Style 3

shop resources

Creative Writing Summer Camp for Teachers - ENROLLMENT OPEN NOW!

When is the last time YOU got to sit down with a fresh new notebook, pen in hand, and write something beautiful?  Something other than a lesson plan?  Something other than notes all over a bleeding red essay that seems beyond repair?

I'm with you.

Sometimes I feel like the only creative writing I do anymore is the "creative" commentary I leave on student's papers to identify ways to make them less terrible.

BUT NOW IT'S SUMMER!  It's time for you - time for you to relax and enjoy yourself and while you're at it, spend a little time doing professional development that you actually ENJOY.  Here's your chance!

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Creative Writing Summer Camp for Teachers:

Reignite your Creative Self

• Class will run from July 6th - 27th
• Takes place online - anytime you're on your phone or laptop, you can be with us!
• Explore three genres as a WRITER:  creative nonfiction, short fiction, and poetry
• Network with other teachers that love writing and grow from one another
• Pick up a few lesson and tech ideas along the way
• Enrollment fee: $25.00 per student

Get your classroom summer ready in just 5 days!

Crap.

School has been chuging along on what seems like an endless, antique, coal-powered train, and now as I look into the week ahead (amazingly organized and planned, somehow), I realize that there IS something I forgot.

Packing up my room.

So, here it is folks:  the five day get your classroom summer ready plan.  I have five weekdays ahead of me and my goal is to get my room totally cleaned and packed (minus what's absolutley needed for finals) in just five days.

MONDAY:  On the first day, divide the room into quadrants.  The key is to make this managable!  Plan to tackle one quadrant per day.  So, I'm taking Quadrant 1 - the back corner.  Everything's coming down and getting sorted or thrown away.

TUESDAY:  Up next, Quadrant 2 - the other back corner.  This is mostly my classroom library.  By the end of day two, the whole back of the room should be packed and cleaned up!

WEDNESDAY: On to Quadrant 3 - the front quadrant by the entry door.  This section has a lot of bulliten board cleaning to do!

THURSDAY:  At last, the most disorganized and terrifying corner of the room, Quadrant 4:  my teaching/computer desk!  Time to make sure everything is passed back, thrown out, recycled and completely done!

FRIDAY:  This is the last day in the five day plan - I'm reserving this day for wiping, sweeping, and any last tidying needed from the completed week at school.

If all goes to plan, this leaves me with three days of finals in a clean, packed room and no lingering stress!  Stay tuned on Instagram @mudandinkteaching to keep me accountable!  Good luck getting your rooms packed up and getting on your way to a relaxing and rejuvenating summer break - you deserve it!

The Next Poetry Challenge: The SESTINA

Have you ever asked your students to write a SESTINA?

If you haven't, you definitely should.  Asking my kids to write this incredibly old-school, complicated form is always an excellent exercise in careful diction choice and inventive ways of demonstrating their understanding of connotation.

For those of you who don't know what a SESTINA is - we're working with the number six, here.   Six stanzas, six lines, and each of those lines is ended with six prescribed words in a different order for each stanza.  

Today, at the beginning of my class, I had students write down their FAVORITE word on a piece of paper.  The only caviot?  I told them no inappropriate language or purposefully disgusting words:  "fart", as innocent as it is, can be really annoying to use in a poem six times in six different ways.  Then, I collected their words in a hat and set them aside.  I introduced the form to them, read a few examples, and then, finally, it was time to choose our six words.  I pulled them one at a time out of the hat - A) intriguing  B) toast  C) future  D) gaze  E) Patrick  F) obstinate.  Our job?  Everyone writes a sestina using these words that we chose together!

The next day in class is always hysterical - all students wrote the same poem using the same words, yet, the poems are so extraordinarily different - and usually, hilarious.  

Give it a try - grab my lesson here!  Then, tweet me about how it goes @mudandink_!

Have fun and

Happy National Poetry Month!

Teaching Shakespeare: Cooperative Learning

Everyone struggles to teach Shakespeare - no matter how strong your readers are. 

This year, my goal was to bring the fun back into teaching Julius Caesar.  The past few years, we've been really focused on writing rigorous, challenging rhetoric lessons for the play, and had kind of lost sight of the play itself. 

In order to frame the play, I've developed a quick, free lesson for you that organizes the students into collaborative groups that they work with throughout the play.  In their "Acting Troupes", students complete reading jigsaws together, quiz one another, and compete against the other acting troupes in the room for the glorious Dollar Tree tiara that serves as our traveling trophy.

Check out my latest scope that takes you inside my classroom to see how my students are putting this into action.

Come on over here to grab the lesson!  Don't forget to leave some feedback and share your Instagram pictures with me @teacherfitjourney.

In all things Shakespeare,
Amanda

#TeacherTruth - An Interview with Hannah Leib

Welcome to our weekly series of #TeacherTruth Thursdays!  Every Thursday, check back here for the latest interview with teachers from across the globe.  This Thursday, I was able to interview Hannah Leib, first grade teacher at Geff Grade School in rural, southern Illinois.  Hannah is a first year teacher (oh man, do I remember the struggle!) and she is known as Miss Leib to her kiddos, but as she says, "there’s always a day when I get 'Mom', 'Leiv, or 'Miss Leaf'".

Describe your teaching journey.  What major (or minor) events have led you to where you are today? 

It all started in the 4th grade when I had an amazing teacher by the name of Sue Burt.  At the first of the school year I was very hesitant to be in her classroom because she’s a very vocal and vibrant person, unlike myself at that point in my life.  I grew to realize she truly cared for me and my future while I was in her classroom.  She taught me how to be a kind and caring person while also teaching me very valuable life lessons.  One lesson I vividly remember is when I was taking a science test that I hadn’t studied for.  I decided that I could be sly and keep my study guide in my desk to look off of while “trading erasers and pencils.”  Being a fourth grader  and not very sneaky, I was busted.  Instead of Mrs. Burt taking my test away and not giving me another chance to take the test, she offered another solution.  She had me right an apology letter to my parents explaining what I had done and why I was sorry for cheating.  Not only did Mrs. Burt show me grace in that situation, she also taught me a valuable lesson that I strive to instill in my students.

Throughout my school years, I had many other wonderful teachers who taught me to love learning but more importantly to keep trying no matter how tough it may be.   Fast Forward to my Senior year of high school when I somehow received a brochure about the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois program in the mail.  I decided to put off filling out the scholarship application until a couple days before the due date.  Never in my dreams would I have known how much of an impact the Scholars program had on my teaching career and my personal life.  During one of my four summer institutes I was placed in a classroom with a teacher  who taught me what I should NEVER do in a classroom.  This woman did some things that would make a person cringe and I would leave at lunch every day worrying about what she would do while I was gone.  During my time in that classroom I learned that a teacher has an enormous impact of how a student feels about him/herself.  From that point on, I knew I wanted to be the teacher that made every child feel like he/she was the most important child in my classroom.  It has been a long journey to get me to where I am today but I wouldn’t change it for the fact that I learned so many life lessons along the way.

What are the biggest obstacles that you’ve faced this year of teaching?

With this being my first year of teaching, there have been many different obstacles throughout this year.  One of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced is finding the balance between work and home.  It’s been difficult to take time in the evenings to just spend time doing something that I enjoy and isn’t related to school.  I truly do enjoying planning engaging and fun lessons for my students so most nights I don’t mind putting in the extra hour to plan and prepare for the next day.

Another obstacle that I’ve found challenging is how to establish a good communication avenue between myself and my students’ parents.  This is something that I’ve set as a personal goal during the second half of the school year.  I’ve tried to contact every parent at least once a month telling them a positive thing that their student has done in the classroom.  Parent communication is something that I aim to grow in every year during my teaching career.

What are the greatest joys that you’ve experienced this year of teaching?

I absolutely love going to school everyday and seeing my first graders so excited and ready to learn!  In my classroom we do a morning meeting before our calendar time.  I’ve recently started a “morning greeting” before our morning meeting in which I greet every student.  The fun part about the morning greeting is that the students get to choose how they want to be greeted whether it’s a hug, high five, or handshake.  It makes my morning much more enjoyable when I receive 8 or 9 hugs!  Another joy that I’ve experienced this year is seeing my students look out and care for each other.  At the beginning of the school year I told the students that we are a family in this class and it has truly been a joy to see them love and care for each other.  This past week the students brought in a box to decorate for our Valentine’s day party and I saw the students really bond and help each other create adorable boxes all on their own.  It was a heartwarming moment to step back and watch them work together.  Overall, I love watching kids be kids and hearing the hilarious things they say!

Why did you want to become a teacher?  Do those reasons still resonate with you?  Are you still inspired by those ideas?

As I mentioned earlier, I had a teacher who had such a large impact on my life and ultimately I wanted to do the same for my students.  Young children are so impressionable and I want to leave a positive mark on their life.  I always wanted to inspire children to be the person they never thought they could be.  Teaching is a great way to inspire kids to learn something they never knew about before.  From there, they branch out and find something that they will love for a lifetime whether it's researching new medicine, creating masterpieces, or becoming another teacher. Another reason I wanted to become a teacher was to teach kids to love learning.  I want my students to find something they love learning about and continue to grow in knowledge throughout their lifetime.  Some days I forget why I wanted to teach because every day isn’t always the best.  But there are always moments when one of my students looks at me and says they don’t want to go home because they love school.  It’s moments like those that still inspire me to teach.

What is your favorite lesson plan that you’ve taught this year? 

I did a thematic unit at Christmas time about holidays around the world and I had so much fun learning alongside my students about a variety of countries and how they celebrate Christmas or another winter holiday.  We took several trips around the world to various countries such as Italy, France, Mexico, Germany, Sweden, and England.  We learned what the children do during the holidays and how families celebrate together.  The most fun was learning what the Santa figure is in those countries and how he delivers gifts.  I had an absolute blast bringing in other cultures and learning how to say Merry Christmas in six other languages!  It really made me step back and smile when I saw my kids attempting to say “Merry Christmas” in another language and watching them tell the other classes how other people celebrate Christmas around the world.  Overall that was by far my favorite lesson from this year!

I used the Christmas Around the World Scrapbook by Sarah Cooley from Teachers Pay Teachers.

How are you handling your work/life balance?

This has by far been the most difficult part of being a first year teacher.  I have been so swamped with school stuff that most days I don’t stop working until my head hits the pillow at night.  On top of school, I’ve also been planning my wedding which is so much fun but a huge undertaking.  Most days I feel like I’m acrobat trying to balance school, wedding planning, and life.  I’ve made it a point to take a little time in the morning or at night to have some quiet time and really just spend time reading my Bible and being still.  My faith in our everloving God is the reason that keeps me going.  I know that no matter how tough and stressed I get, I know that God is always there to hear my concerns and loves me so deeply through it all.  I give him all the glory for this first year of teaching!

What advice do you have for other teachers?  

One piece of advice that I have for other teachers especially at the elementary level is to keep your kids active in the classroom.  I’ve found a website that my students and I LOVE!!! It’s called GoNoodle and it has a variety of videos to help get the wiggles out and to also have fun.  I love using the stretching in the mornings to get the kids calm and focused.  Some of the dancing videos are our favorites if we’ve been sitting for quite some time. All in all, its an awesome FREE website that I highly recommend. 

I would say to the veteran teachers to remember why you wanted to teach and keep that in the front of your thoughts when you hear about all the changes that are taking place during this day and age.  Another thing that older teachers should remember is how to step out of their comfort zone and try something new like incorporating more technology into their everyday lessons or having the students be more creative with their projects and how they present.  Technology can be such a scary thing for most veteran teachers but I know that there are plenty of teachers like myself who would be more than willing to lend a hand to teach them how to use it in the classroom. 

All in all, I would have to say to any aspiring teacher or veteran teacher is that teaching is such a rewarding and prestigious profession but we have to make the effort to find the good in the little things every day in order to see the long term outcomes in the future.

Thanks for reading!  

You can connect with Hannah on social media here:

Facebook: Hannah Leib

Pinterest: Hannah Leib

Email: hannahleib14@gmail.com

Instagram: @hleib

5 Reasons I Love Teaching

This Valentine's Day weekend has been delightful so far.  My honey sent me a DELICIOUS Edible Arrangement to school for a surprise on Friday and we celebrated at our favorite BBQ joint down in the city - Rub's Backcountry Smokehouse.  If you're ever in Chicago, trust me, this is a must-eat.  Not, it's not downtown in the hubbub of the touristy things, but it's worth a little drive north!

But today I wanted to jump on the blog to share the love I have for teaching.  Honestly, this time of year can get really tiring and downright depressing, so I'm challenging myself to reflect on why I love this job (even though seriously, it's so cold every morning I wake up, all I want to do is STAY UNDER THE COVERS FOREVER).

1.  The Kids

This one is probably obvious, but they are always the ones that make my day.  Even when they're being a huge pain!  As most of you know, I teach 10th and 12th grade and at this stage in their lives, I feel like there are so many shaping, poignant moments that they endure and I love being someone that is either there for them personally or simply providing classwork that is inspiring, engaging, and challenging them to really think about the decisions they are making day in and day out.

2.  I'm My Own Boss

Let's ignore, for a moment, our principals, division heads, and the powers that be at Common Core and other institutions - most days, I relish the autonomy of my profession.  This is something that I need to remind myself of because I can take it for granted.  I get to be creative all the time and I think I'd die without that.  In so many other jobs, employees have their days scheduled by other people.  Teachers?  We decide how our lessons run and how our days are structured.  The more I remind myself of this the more I realize how important it is to use that power positively.  With the power to structure, I also have the power to shape the tone of the day - for better or for worse.

3.  My Team

I have to give a huge shout out here to my team!  I have the most amazing group of teachers that I get to work with, and they make my job even better.  These guys are so open to my crazy ideas and we are so good at supporting one another through the tough times with kids.  Our team invents and reinvents new lessons and units every year and refuses to settle for what worked last year.  Our kids are always different and we are always trying to make our content relevant and challenging for each new group of students.

4.  Building Community

Being part of a school is like being part of a family.  I've only worked at one school, so I guess I'm not sure if this applies everywhere, but my school treats me as one of their own.  I've taught siblings and sat through parent conferences with entire families through all of their children.  I get invited to quinceaneras and baby showers.  When I go to football games, there are hundreds of students and alumni that I know.  It's amazing how small the job can feel in my living room grading papers, and then how enormous it is when I count how many lives I've been able to be a small part of.

5.  The Stuff I Teach!

Finally, I have to celebrate my content.  I love teaching English.  In a given year, I get to cover everything from creative writing (fiction, poetry, screenwriting) to dystopian literature to service learning research projects vested in social justice and even a little Shakespeare.  And the icing on the cake?  Getting to use creative problem solving to make it allllll fit together.  It's a delicious journey and I'm so glad that I found my calling.

What do you love about teaching?  I hope to hear from you!

Amanda

"Being Human" : A Lesson for Writer's Workshop

This weekend, the Creative Writing Club hosted the 2nd annual Regional Slammin the Sun Down competition.  Eight teams competed in a slam showdown of rhymes, passion, and courage.  We were THRILLED when we found out that our very own CHS -  THE INK took 1st place in their bout!  Julia, Maria, and Zandra performed beautifully and advanced us to the finals.  

In the finals, Ashley Anderson totally brought it with her poem "Mirror", however, the poet from Merriville, IN brought it to.  We took 2nd place - Ashley with a 29.3 out of 30, and her competitor with a 29.6.  It was a well fought battle and the audience got to experience some pretty rad poetry along the way!!

In between the first bout and the final found, Mrs. Deleon and I had the pleasure of sitting in on a writing workshop with one of our favorite Chicago poets, Adam Gottlieb.  Adam is a former LTAB competitor and, quite possibly, Deleon's long lost hippie-child :-).  He brought us a gorgeous poem from the duo Climbing Poetree called "Being Human".  My brain is spinning with ideas for using this poem in class, but below is how Adam shared it with us.

"Being Human" Writing Workshop Lesson

CCSS (provided by me, not Adam):

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.5a Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

Materials:

• Writing utensils
• Copies for all students of "Being Human" by Naima (below)
• Writing notebook/journal
• OPTIONAL:  projector to share the YouTube video of the duo performance

Procedure:

1. PREWRITING:  Ask students to create two columns on their page.  In the first column, students should brainstorm a massive list of things they think of when they consider nature:  elements, animals, etc.  They should write for 2-3 minutes.  Next, ask if the students remember the definition of personification.  In the next column, students should make a list of ways that the nature elements could be personified - specifically, ask students questions like, "What problems could these elements have?  What fears?  What dreams?  If these elements could feel, what feeling would they have?  What opinions?"
2. READING:  Pass out copies of the poem to the students.  In our workshop, Adam performed the poem to us as we followed along.  We briefly discussed the poem - what we noticed, what we liked, what surprised us.
3. WRITING:  Next, Adam directed us to write!  We were to take inspiration from the poem and from our lists and create something.  Adam gave great advice to the kids - he told them that the purpose of this writing time is not necessicarily to write the next great poem, but just to write.  Students might find one great line in the time provided, or maybe even a few stanzas, but what's most important is that the students write.  
4. SHARING:  At the end of the provided writing time, Adam asked students to share what they came up with.  This time is incredibly important!

BEING HUMAN

by Naima

I wonder if the sun debates dawn

some mornings

not wanting to rise

out of bed

from under the down-feather horizon

If the sky grows tired

of being everywhere at once

adapting to the mood swings of the weather

If the clouds drift off

trying to hold themselves together

make deals with gravity

to loiter a little longer

I wonder if rain is scared

of falling

if it has trouble letting go

If snow flakes get sick

of being perfect all the time

each one trying to be one-of-a-kind

I wonder if stars wish

upon themselves before the die

if they need to teach their young to shine

I wonder if shadows long

to once feel the sun

if they get lost in the shuffle

not knowing where they’re from

I wonder if sunrise and sunset

respect each other

even though they’ve never met

If volcanoes get stressed

If storms have regrets

If compost believes in life after death

I wonder if breath ever thinks

about suicide

I wonder if the wind just wants to sit

still sometimes

and watch the world pass by

If smoke was born knowing how to rise

If rainbows get shy back stage

not sure if their colors match right

I wonder if lightning sets an alarm clock

to know when to crack

If rivers ever stop

and think of turning back

If streams meet the wrong sea

and their whole lives run off-track

I wonder if the snow wants to be black

If the soil thinks she’s too dark

If butterflies want to cover up their marks

If rocks are self-conscious of their weight

If mountains are insecure of their strength

I wonder if waves get discouraged

crawling up the sand

only to be pulled back again

to where they began

I wonder if land feels stepped upon

If sand feels insignificant

If trees need to question their lovers

to know where they stand

If branches waver in the crossroads

unsure of which way to grow

If the leaves understand they’re replaceable

and still dance when the wind blows

I wonder where the moon goes

when she is hiding

I want to find her there

and watch the ocean

spin from a distance

Listen to her

stir in her sleep

effort give way to existence