Author Archives: Ms. Schmidt

the beachher wavesbeat for nonebut herself crash againstthe sandthen pull backinto herself – “beach” by Grace Katharine Schmidt Yes, that’s right, I wrote that poem! As I discussed in my last blog post, I love not only reading poetry but writing it, too. And with everything that’s been going on in the world lately (see:Continue reading “Experiences with Poetry”

Don’t be polite.Bite in.Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice that may run down your chin. It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are. You do not need a knife or fork or spoon or plate or napkin or tablecloth. For there is no coreor stemor rindor pitor seedor skinto throwContinue reading “Poetry Reflection”

“Maybe, I am thinking, there is something hidden like this, in all of us. A small gift from the universe waiting to be discovered.” –“hope onstage,” brown girl dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson As I struggled to figure out how to start this blog post, falling into the same question Calkins (2006) refers to students asking, “whereContinue reading “What Makes for a Good Story?”

“…EVERY kid has a story—many stories, in fact. And that is what a personal narrative unit is all about. It’s about honoring the experiences that kids bring with them to your classroom every day (the good, the bad, and the ugly experiences too). It’s about saying ‘YES! Minecraft IS exciting to hear about!’ ‘YES! IContinue reading “Delving Deeper”

“Good writing will come from finding fresh new things to say about a topic and from knowing how to write about the topic in different ways for different audiences.” –Mentor Texts, p. 47 (Katie Wood Ray, Wondrous Words) Every good writer writes from their own experiences: things they did, things that happened to them, thingsContinue reading “Writing Territories & Where I’m From”

Some guiding questions (Facing History and Ourselves, n.d.) to keep in mind while reading this blog: What is identity? What factors help shape who we are? How do our names relate to our identities? In brown girl dreaming (2016) by Jacqueline Woodson, Woodson shares poems about her childhood and growing up as an African AmericanContinue reading “Social Studies: What Makes Us Who We Are?”

I have always been a writer, ever since I was a child. My idea of a good time was writing a silly book with my best friend about M&Ms who could talk, and their interactions with humans. I would spend free time in my room writing in my SECRET-DO-NOT-ENTER diary. My favorite part of goingContinue reading “The Serendipity of Mentor Texts & Beginning a Writer’s Notebook”

Sometimes when you are surrounded by like-minded people a lot, it is easy to forget that there are other people who do not have the same viewpoints as you. I was reminded of this when a peer in one of my graduate courses told me the other day she was not a fan of theContinue reading “Being an Ally”

“If you think you’re a girl… Then I think you’re a girl too!” -Alex Gino, GEORGE Written in 2015 by Alex Gino, GEORGE is a novel about a transgender girl named Melissa and her emotional process of coming out. Melissa, whose birth name is George, is in the fourth grade and, along with her bestContinue reading “Being Who You Are”

“If everyone decided nothing could change, nothing ever would.” –Amal Unbound, Aisha Saeed In her novel Amal Unbound (2018), Aisha Saeed tells the story of a twelve-year-old Pakistani girl named Amal, who dreams of someday becoming a teacher. Amal loves school, her family, her friends, and reading—then one day, all that she knows is disrupted whenContinue reading “Standing Up to Make a Change”