The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.
William James
I’ve often wondered why people choose the bumper stickers they do. Stickers like “My kid can beat up your honor student” or “Come any closer and I’ll flick a booger on you” perplex me. Why is that the definitive message those drivers want to put out to the world?
Then I saw a bumper sticker I could totally get behind. Four words were printed in a plain white font on a simple black background.
I really appreciate you.
That was it: I really appreciate you. I felt so happy I wanted to stick around and meet the driver.
We work in a profession where appreciation is vital. Parents want to know that we appreciate their children. Principals need to hear that we appreciate their leadership. When colleagues’ contributions are noticed and acknowledged, it makes the hard work that much easier. And children need to know that we appreciate them just the way they come to us.
What would it mean to your office professionals to hear “I really appreciate you” on your way into the building come Monday? How might a classroom volunteer feel if you left an anonymous sticky note with that simple message? The cool part is we don’t even need a bumper sticker; we can start a four-word revolution today.
This week we’re featuring resources for the start of National Poetry Month. Plus more as always — enjoy!
Heather Rader
Senior Editor, Choice Literacy
Free for All
[For sneak peeks at our upcoming features, quotes and extra links, follow Choice Literacy on Twitter: @ChoiceLiteracy or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChoiceLiteracy or Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/choiceliteracy/]
There are a wealth of possibilities for using technology in poetry instruction. Mary Lee Hahn writes about some of her favorites in Poetry Friday in the Computer Lab:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1411
Shari Frost shares literacy activities and a booklist of anthologies students love in Poetry Possibilities:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=941
Ann Williams explains how she celebrates Poetry All Year Long with her third graders:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1412
30 Poets in 30 Days is back! Each day in April celebrate new poems created by some of your favorite poets especially for children. This is an annual offering from the GottaBook blog:
April 18 is National Poem in Your Pocket Day, a fun way to have students and anyone in the school community carry and share their favorite poems. Details are available at this link:
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406
Poetryclass from The Poetry Society has many free lessons designed by poets who have worked in classrooms available for download:
For Members Only
In Just Right Poetry and Differentiated Instruction, Shari Frost describes how a sixth-grade teacher provides a range of poetry options to meet the needs of all students:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1529
Sean Moore uses the poem “The Busy Ant” for partner work and discussion of fluency and vocabulary with his second graders:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1532
We’re launching a new monthly feature this week. Mary Lee Hahn’s “Poetry Minute” includes quick tips and resources for poetry instruction. This month’s Poetry Minute focuses on poetry forms and mentor texts to teach them:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1535
Basketball’s March Madness has so many possibilities in schools. Tony Keefer tries a similar format with brackets and voting for March Book Madness. This activity can be adapted later in the year. “May Book Madness” would be a terrific way for students to talk about their favorite books and authors from throughout the year:
Heather Rader shares the second installment in our primary research series, The “Tys” of Student Research: Safety and Credibility:
Shirl McPhillips is Choice Literacy’s Poet Laureate. You can read her many original poems and essays about teaching and renewal at this link:
We also have a Popular Topics section of the site dedicated to the dozens of poetry resources available at Choice Literacy:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-popular-category.php?id=10025
That’s all for this week!
