Advocating for Social Justice through Script-Writing

Here's the link to my piece in English Journal, a publication of the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE).

What They Whisper, Matters

Updated December 3, 2021

Updated October 21, 2022

I firmly believe that what students say when the teacher is not around or when they perceive that the teacher is inattentive, may be their most honest sayings. This doesn't suggest that students aren't keepin it a "hunnit" when we are actively engaged in conversation. Yet and still...

I pay attention to what the kids say underneath their breath or to a classmate. I recently blogged about purposeful ear-hustling.

While, there's the occasional, "I hate this class" or "He do the most," I try to read between the lines and where I can tweak a lesson or pedagogical approach, I do. Not always, but when I can.

Every now and then, I also hear feedback that lets me know I've broken through the multilayered Teflon that some of them have built up over the years.  I'd hear something that lets me know that I'm on the right track.

In one instance, a student was starting to cut up in class. Another classmate quickly checked him, "Yo, this not the type of class we can wild out in!"

Bet!

Then there was a group of girls who were discussing our latest "Do Now" series.

Student 1: "Yo these Do Nows be fun as &%*# -  I be writing a whole page and &%*#!!"
Student 2: "Real &%*#!! Me too. [So-n-so] be asking why I'm writing all these sentences!"

Listen to students!

Earhustle, even!😉

My Students are Published!!

"Congratulations! Your poem has been selected for publication in the Young American Poetry Digest. Mr. Flemming from John B. Kelly Elementary School submitted your poem which was reviewed and selected for inclusion in our 2017 book."

That's how the letters read that are beginning to arrive in a few of my students' mailboxes! Writing for real audiences has changed me as a teacher of writing and my students as emerging writers! Their efforts should be celebrated! In keeping with my approach to writing instruction, I've adopted the mantra, "We write for audiences, not bulletin boards!" ~Mr. Flemming :-)

While we know folks want to see student work displayed on bulletin boards, we don't write for that purpose! If it goes up there, it has an authentic purpose. You can bet these winning poems will be displayed, however! Congratulations to my students! Success is our only option!

www.youngpoets.org

The ((((BIG)))) Reveal!!

Since the fall, the 3rd grade students of room 207 at John B. Kelly Elementary School (my kids, ha..duhh lol) have been exchanging correspondences with the 3rd grade students of Mr. Shankle's 3rd grade class at Meadow Point Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado!!

On average, twice a month, we would write each other. And on average, twice a month the students in both classes would anxiously await a big brown envelope with their teacher's name on it.

Today was the day that the students finally got the chance to meet face to face with their pen pals. No, we didn't travel to Colorado (what a field trip that would've been). And no, they didn't make their way to Philadelphia. We harnessed the power of technology and the internet to converse via Google Hangout!

The experience was a great one overall, with each child getting the opportunity to speak for a few seconds with his/her pen pal. The combination of excitement and nervousness may have been too much for some of them as their often active mouths suddenly became mute!! lol It's OK.

They all shared the same sentiments; that it was nice to write letters to each other all year, that it was a pleasure to meet them, and all of them ended with a quick discussion of summer plans. It really was nice. (Next year I'll have to plan what the other children will do while the others are meeting their pen pals...the teachers out there can understand what I'm *not* saying aloud)

Aside from reverting back to a fun, old school method of communicating (which, by the way, included both teachers hand writing letters---a challenge for me for sure--), both of us noticed changes in our students' writing. Changes that may not have come without this pen pal experience!

I urge you, go old school with your students! Write a letter or two and send it! (Maybe next year, it's almost summer and to be honest, it's about time! For me it's not the kids or colleagues from whom I need a break, it's....nevermind)

I was informed later that there was news coverage of the event on my colleague's end! Denver's NBC affiliate covered the story!

Third graders meet pen pals face-to-face online http://t.co/T1vLBpCsnK #9NEWS

— 9NEWS Denver (@9NEWS) May 21, 2015

Young writers' and publishers' desks...

For a 6th year, I and some of my colleagues are publishing books with our students. I took my students to lunch and specials and loved the way that many left their desks...

Visual summaries

I did something today with my 3rd that I used to do with my middle-schoolers. We did visual summaries. I introduced it as a summary without words and just pictures. Our reading routine includes them reading a work of their choice, book, article, or magazine. Discussions with classmates about the reading follow.

Today, instead of conversing immediately afterward, they drew a "summary"; ideally, without words. After their visual summary was "written", they were to then converse about what they read using their visual representation. As classmates looked at what seemingly was nonsense, the illustrator would be forced to give details about what they chose to read.

With my middle schoolers, I would often say "draw or write about what you read". Not all the time would we share such summaries. With 3rd graders, I'm passionate about them moving and conversing quite a bit about what we're learning. I stay tucked away on a ledge somewhere as they talk, watching and listening carefully from my perch, a non-intimidating presence.

She is Malala!

Yesterday I showed the ABC News 20/20 Special on Malala, which first aired a few weeks ago. My 5th graders were definitely interested in her life's story. I asked them to consider a few questions as they watched. Some of the "notes" they took, ended up being three or four pages of vivid details from the documentary. We then turned this into a very traditional writing assignment under the guise of that "other" writing genre known as the constructed response. Doing that however, did not prove to be a difficult task for them. Most wanted to write about her!

Here's the link:

http://watchabc.go.com/2020/SH559026/VDKA0_h4z0gfdp/2020-1011-unbreakable-one-girl-changing-the-world