Buffy Hamilton's Blog, page 4

When the Ponies, Unicorns, and Rainbows Finally Come: Welcome to Believeland or Growing Writers in the War Eagle Writing Studio

The first twelve weeks of school have been a roller coaster in the War Eagle Writing Studio. I’ll share more about our struggles and successes in a blog post I’ll publish this weekend, but over the last few days I’m observing signs that my students are growing as writers. This week we’ve been inquiring into”Where I’m From” poems with mentor texts and “noticings” activities (another blog post in the making); we began working on our brainstorming list for ideas with a graphic organizer on Wedn...

Growing Understanding of Genre Through a Poem Reading Frenzy

About ten days ago, I planned and implemented a “poem reading frenzy” for my middle school writers as part of my efforts to expose them to many kinds of poems, especially since the genre is new to them as readers and writers. Like many of you, I think giving our students to read like writers and an opportunity to notice qualities of a genre of writing is essential in a writing studio. The “reading frenzy” idea comes from my friend and fellow colleague Nancy Steineke; the basic premise of thi...

Creative Writing with Color Poems

A few weeks ago, several readers inquired about the color poems I did with my middle school students. The “color poem” strategy/formula is one that I learned in a class on teaching poetry at the University of Georgia; it’s one that provides structure for beginning poets but is flexible enough for more advanced writers to run with and exercise their poetic license.

Until this year, I had only used this strategy with high schoolers; they typically picked right up on the formula. I discovered t...

The Joy, Wonder, and Beauty of Class Poetry Readings

This past Friday we held our very first War Eagle Writing Studio Poetry Reading. While I have a larger poetry reading event planned for later this fall, I decided on the fly this past Wednesday (9/28/16) that it would be a good idea to do a few small-scale poetry readings in our studio room for several reasons:

We were coming to the end of our 2nd week of our poetry unit, and I felt it was of utmost importance to give students the opportunity to share the poems they have written aloud to the...

Showcase Your Student-Created Mentor Texts with These Nifty Shop Ticket Holders

By request, I am sharing a brief post about the shop ticket holders I’m using to showcase student crafted mentor texts. In early September, I purchased these neon shop ticket holders from Amazon; I chose these because I wanted an easy way to showcase mentor texts in my classroom. Bonus: this particular kind adds a pop of color to your classroom, and you can organize mentor texts by color.

You can hang these on a hook in your classroom, or you can simply make them available for students to pi...

War Eagle Writing Studio Poetry Chat: 8th Graders Share Their Poems and Writing Processes

We recently started an extended writing study/inquiry on poetry. So far, my 8th graders have learned these poetry writing strategies:

Color Poems (a strategy I learned while a student at the University of Georgia) Writing Poems Off Photographs Writing a Poem Off a List “Old/New” Poems

Poetic writing techniques we’ve focused on so far include word choice, alliteration, similes, and line breaks. I’ll do a separate post soon on these poem writing strategies, but I wanted to share some insights...

Fumbles, Punts, and Mini-Revision Work with Micro-Progression Charts

As I reflect on the last two weeks, it seems a lifetime in my world of teaching and learning has passed. The first six weeks of school have been a roller coaster as I juggle many interesting challenges. These challenges may or may not give context to the focal point of this post, and I feel it is important to lay them out first, especially since I have always tried to be honest and transparent about my work whether things are flying high or if I’m navigating rough waters.

The Struggle Is Real...

Peer Revision and Editing with Knee to Knee Talk + Google Forms

It’s no secret I love Google Forms, and I am already finding ways to incorporate them into our learning activities in the War Eagle Writing Studio. We have been immersed in our rough drafts of our personal narrative the last two or so weeks; this week, we are working on revision strategies and basic editing techniques.

I wanted students to have a chance to share their drafts with a writing buddy/partner today, so here was the game plan for today:

The “warm-up” on the board as students cam...

SOARING Into Art History and Artists with Inquiry

Twice a year, our school offers students the opportunity to participate in a pathfinder academy known as SOAR. Students can choose “courses” in one of the three pathways: STEM, Health and Wellness, or Arts and Culture; they can also earn a certificate in one of these pathways. You can learn more about our pathway academies program here.

Teachers volunteer to sponsor or “teach” a SOAR class; in addition, our amazing coordinator Janelle Bowker polls students for topics they’d like to see added...

Exploring Writing Territories with a Gallery Walk

As of August 1, I have returned to the classroom and stepped into the role of Title I Writing Support teacher at Chestatee Academy in the Hall County school district. This is a new position with all new classes—I am part of the Connections group, and students taking writing classes with me as an academic elective. I teach six sections of students in grades 6-8 daily; though the nuances of the courses are a little different from one grade to another, all the courses take an inquiry stance on...