Riley's Readers 2013-2014

The Fire Within

In “Everything Will Be Okay,” by James Howe, a young boy named James finds a scruffy kitten and takes it home to keep it as a pet.  Unfortunately, his family is less enthusiastic, and his older brother eventually takes him to the vet’s office to put the kitten to sleep.  Wanting to keep the kitten isn’t the only difference James has felt between his family and him.  He constantly feels pressure to “be a man” by playing golf and hunting with his brothers and father.  In the end though, James decides a different path.

In this section, the final scene of the story, James finally decides that enough is enough.  He is sitting at the kitchen table after his kitten has died, and he is silent.  He gets up and goes to the livingroom where he finally realizes what he needs to do.   He thinks, “I will decide for myself what kind of boy I am, what kind of man I will become” (p. 5).  This shows that for the first time, he knows that he should take control of his life and make choices based on who he is, not who others want him to be.  In essence, he needs to let the fire within him flourish.

I represented this idea with my collage of a hand holding a torch. The hand is James’ of course, and the torch represents James’ burning desire to lead his life the way he sees fit.  It will light up the darkness around him.  The black background represents that darkness, not only the dark living room where he is when he realizes this, but also his dark past when he was letting others tell him what a man should be.

The flame comes from a bundle of sticks that represent the branch where the dead deer hung.  That deer is at the heart of the flame.  I chose to put it there because when James stared at it from the kitchen table, he still saw life in it.  It is that life that inspired his desire to stand up for himself.  Finally,  I chose to include bits of yellow around the flame to represent sparks of life that have been ignited by James’ realization.  Like sparks landing on dry ground, these sparks will flame into future events in James’s life guided by his own hopes and dreams.

This is important because in life, we often don’t ignite our fires within.  We feel pressure from family and friends to do what they expect and what they want when we know that it may go against our true selves.  So next time you’re in a situation where you feel pressure, be sure to remember James and listen to your fire within.

Running the Bases

I took this photo of my daughter at softball this past Saturday.  Even though we were scorching in the heat of the morning sun, and she had been playing for nearly two hours, she turned around and gave me two thumbs up.

To me, this photo is all about not giving up.  A few years ago, Eloise tried tee ball and didn't enjoy it.  In fact she said she didn't want to play it again.  This year, with a little encouragement, she signed up for softball and loved it right from the start.  If she gave up, she never would've discovered that she actually enjoys softball. It makes me think what are the things in my life that I gave up but shouldn't have.  What are the things in my students' lives that could have been with just a little more encouragement.

As in the game of softball, you keep running the bases, and you hope not to get out.  If you do, at least you had the courage to swing the ball.

The Power of Poetry

When I was a kid, I just didn’t get poetry.  Sure poems were easy enough to read, but I thought there were full of hidden meanings that I would never be able to understand.  It was the genre meant for really smart people, not me.  Through our recent work though, I realize just how wrong I was.  Poetry is a lot more important to me than I thought.

For one thing, poetry has helped me capture moments that matter (and even moments that don’t).  When I read “Hummingbird” by Felice Holman, I was reminded at how seemingly insignificant moments matter.  By rereading this poem over and over, I relived the moment and found great appreciation in it.  It made me think of how much I need to slow down my own life to appreciate the small moments.  That’s where the magic happens.

I also became more appreciative of the writing process through this unit. Before I used to become frustrated when ideas wouldn't come to me, but when we wrote alongside Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger, I saw how important it is to trust in the writing process. I became more patient and flexible when crafting my own poems, and sure enough, some ideas grew organically.

Finally, I saw that poetry is in the music we listen to. When I read "Let it Go" with a poet's eye, I saw how many poetic techniques the authors use. With metaphors, repetition and alliteration, they made their images and ideas shine through.

Like I said, poetry means a lot more to me now that it once did. In fact, it is such a unique genre that I just couldn't imagine my reading and writing life without it.

"Humming Bird" By Felice Holman

This poem speaks to me on so many levels.  First and foremost, hummingbirds remind me of home.  My mom and dad have a hummingbird feeder outside their kitchen window in Maine, and during the summer we are often entertained by their constant whirring about while eating dinner.  It's there that I've seen the "glistened green" and "brightened blur" upclose.  It's as if their feathers are covered with a glossy sheen. 

I also like this poem because of the way Felice Holman wrote it.  She includes alliteration in the first line, and all of those "W" sounds actually sound like the motor-like flapping of a hummingbird's wings.  She also includes a simile in that line with "wound wires."  It gives me an image of tightly wound wires that are let go and unravel.

Finally, I think the poet is using the hummingbird as a metaphor of a thought.  In the last line there is "a moment fanning, and then gone," just like a thought.  It's there in one instant and then gone in the next.  And like a hummingbird, you better appreciate it before it's too late.

Image from:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/rmb3588photo/8034514714/in/photolist-8aoGsv-dVXNAX-d29Xfj-cdYZ1G-6r4mXM-6WpTni-98uWbe-jBzP8k-s7K4-4Ym8tU-jBzQ8X-2pW35i-deYZiL-7W5GYA-jsjST-wB7a-6bDAqU-eUhsBm-kZeVG2-8pCWWs-J1aS-8sCgwg-8pCZ2s-8pzN7n-wUCAJ-bqD5sw-bqD5vL-bqD5To-bDxZP2-85ibe-5aaj3R-8imKaJ-5aexLQ-4VvzjA-8onnrY-8onow3-8onn9y-8ojc9k-8ojcpc-br48EC-6LFEh3-4Ym9A9-jsHLSs-jsFyqt-jsHd1e-jsHr4D-jsHZ9w-jsK8V9-jsGZGr-jsHoPu 

Definition Poems

Following Michael Salinger's lead with "Swagger," you did a great job making your Membean words come to life.  Take a look at some of the standouts.  Which is your favorite?

The STARS Who Reached Their Reading Goal

When we first talked about "reaching for the STARS" when setting goals we said:

• Set a goal
• Time to make evidence
• Assess your progress
• Revise your goal until you reach...
• Success!

Well congratulations to many of you who reached your recent Reading Goal.  Many of you worked hard to document your thinking, kept track of your reading, and added quotes in your responses.  The thing is when you reach for the stars and you achieve, you actually become one.

Take a look at some of the great evidence you provided to reach your goal.  

For those of you who didn't, why not?  Here are some of the things that can get in the way. You...

• Forget
• Abstain
• Indifferent
• Lose track

If you do any one of these things, you will FAIL, as the words suggest.  So don't let those things get in the way next time.  Be sure to keep your goals alive by working on them every day.