#SOL21: Tiger, Tiger
Animals exist on so many planes. Which ones are your favorites?
William Blake in his poem says
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
William Blake The poetryfoundation.org
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
You may know Daniel the Tiger, a PBS American/Canadian character with Mr. Roger characteristics, who headlines a show for preschoolers with 30 minute segments.
Where in the world are the most Tigers found? Of course, it is India. Who ranks second?
You may be surprised to find out it’s Texas with approximately 2,900 tigers. Source And then there was the tiger India, a Houston star on the loose in Texas just last week. Source
Two weeks ago I spent some time in the National Quilt Museum at Paducah, KY. It’s worth the time and energy to study the artistic and workmanship qualities of quilts.
There were hundreds of colors, patterns and designs that captured my attention but I returned to this one multiple times. Was it the fact that some of the fabric extended beyond the quilt? Was it the visual characteristics? Was it the fact that it made me think?
See the paw that sticks out beyond the border as the tiger springs through the window!
Every creation has information about the designer/creator/craftmanship.
Was it the challenge that drew me back?
The illusions?
What did I notice?
What catches your eye when you are in a museum? What causes you to return to the same item time after time? What are you willing to spend time on? Where does your curiosity take you?
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Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum.
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#NCTE14: Story as the Landscape of Knowing
All good things must end. But must they really?
What if we added another day to NCTE?
What if we wrote another chapter?
What was the story of NCTE14?
Everyone at NCTE14 was the author of their own story: where they came from, why they came, what they wanted to learn, and what they learned. Each person was able to write his/her own story to share (or not) upon return to classrooms, colleges, and family across the country.
What story will I share?
Members of NCTE are dedicated teachers who spent an entire weekend soaking up knowledge from their peers. They laughed (a la Lester Laminack), they cried (Marian Wright Edelman) and rejoiced as stories boldly claimed learning paths for the children of this great nation. Our students are our hope and our future. We must nurture them and encourage them ALL to grow.
What if?
A theme of inquiry filled the hearts and souls of participants. Everyone was seeking knowledge and affirmation and yet also questioning that we are on the path of learning – that right path for our students.
Our panel presentation
The Storytellers
What if?
Vicki Vinton asked what if teachers explored their curiosity?
I (Fran) asked what if Know and Wonder charts were used with text to explore understanding (and not text dependent interrogations)?
Julieanne asked what if students were asked how read alouds helped them in their independent reading?
Steve asked what if students search for theme and bigger ideas in informational texts?
Mary Lee asked what if students blogged to increase community?
(See Steve’s post here or Mary Lee Hahn’s for additional information about our session as well as Kim and Jan’s post here!)
Have you asked “What If?” lately?
How are you embracing your curiosity?
