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We keep you informed throughout the year with poignant posts and informative articles.
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BLOG
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We keep you informed throughout the year with poignant posts and informative articles.
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Before we start working on our lighthouse project, let's take a few minutes to learn more about lighthouses, and how they work! Lighthouses are so cool, and we are so lucky to have one in our own town! Lighthouses shine light into the dark to keep ships safe, and they remind us of Amanda Gorman's words from her poem The Hill We Climb: For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it If only we're brave enough to be it. Now you can follow along with this video tutorial to make your very own lighthouse art, and you can join one of our Zoom art lessons if you'd like a little more help - RSVP here! Get your supplies ready: You can download and print another project flyer here. Let's make some art! Want to learn more about lighthouses? Here are some more great resources!
How Lighthouses Work How Does A Lighthouse Work? Children's picture book by Roman Belyaev. Winner of 2019 STEAM Children's Book Prize for Best Information Book. Lighthouse Lamps Through Time Lighthouse Lens Rotation Female Lighthouse Keepers Women Who Kept The Lights Lighthouse Facts Mukilteo Historical Society - Keepers of the Mukilteo Light Station Welcome to our first ever online Art Docent Lesson! This lesson will focus on poetry, so you can start getting ready for our art project that we'll be working on next month! Watch the lesson video, and read more below! In the next supply pick-up, on March 31st, students will receive a piece of art paper attached to information about our Art Fundraiser with Original Works. We will be posting some art lessons online, as well as offering live Zoom lessons with an Art Docent. These art lessons were all inspired by Amanda Gorman's poem, The Hill We Climb, specifically the last few lines: The new dawn blooms as we free it For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it If only we're brave enough to be it. These beautiful lines remind us that there is always hope, and the promise of brighter days ahead, and that we each have the power within us to be the light, to bring light to others, and to look for the light in each other and all around us. What a powerful message! Our art students will be able to choose an art project to celebrate their unique light and highlight what these messages mean to them. In the meantime, our art lesson this month will focus on poetry, and all you art students can start to think about capturing your feelings and personality and experiences in words and poetry. World Poetry Day was a few days ago, and April is National Poetry Month, so this is a perfect time to think about poetry. And it’s time to make our art, we can choose whether we want to incorporate some of our words into our pictures! We don’t want to use Amanda Gormon’s exact words to make our art, but we can be inspired by them to create our own ideas on her theme. When I hear her words, it makes me think: There is always light. The light will always return. The light is always within me. I am brave enough to be the light. Now we can think about what kind of poem we want to write, like a haiku, an acrostic poem, a rhyming poem, or a poem with no rules at all! What is a haiku? A haiku is a kind of short poem, originally from Japan. A haiku has 17 syllables, in English we usually write haiku poems in three lines with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and then five syllables in the third line. Traditional Japanese haiku focused on nature, but now people all over the world enjoy writing haiku about anything. Here are some haiku that I wrote. You can use these in your art, or you can write your own! Because I’m always Brave enough to be the light The light is within I am brave and strong I am poetry and light I am joy, and love. I am kind, gentle I am fierce, resilient I wlll not give up. I am a leader. I will do what’s right and fair I can lead the way. I will share the light I will be an includer Together, we'll shine I am an ally I can make the world better Shine the light of love. An Acrostic is another kind of poem. You may have written an acrostic poem before. An acrostic poem is a poem where the first letter of each word or line spells something. From the Greek words for "highest/topmost" and "verse." Often, we write acrostic poems with just one word for each line, like mine below, which use verbs (action words) to spell "Mrs. Senge," and adjectives (describing words) to spell "Light." Motivate Raise Show Spark Engage Navigate Glow Exhilarate Luminous Illuminating Glowing Healing Triumphant Or, we can make an acrostic poem with whole lines of poetry. Like this one, which spells "Shine." Shine your light However you can Into the darkness Near, far, and Everywhere There are so many different kinds of rhyming structures and schemes, from very simple to very complex! If you have read or heard any books by Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein, you might have noticed that they use lots of different rhyming schemes in their books. You can write a poem that rhymes, or you can write a poem with absolutely no rhyme or rules at all, like some of my favorite poets and poems. E.E. Cummings was famous for his poems that didn't follow any rules of grammar. The poem above, [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in], is one of my very favorites.
For more about E.E. Cummings and his poetry, check out the beautiful picture book Enormous Smallness, by Mathew Burgess. Kate Baer is another modern poet who uses her words to paint her poetry on the page, like this poem above on the right. Read more about Ms. Gorman, and check out her books, including a special edition of the poem, her children's book, and poetry collection. And check out some more great lessons on Amanda Gorman's poem, The Hill We Climb. NY Times Daily Lesson - The Hill We Climb PBS - The Hill We Climb 826 Digital - The Hill We Climb Write your poems and keep them handy, and get ready for our next lesson next week! Multicultural Night is always one of our favorite events of the year, we love celebrating our diversity at M.E.! We are so fortunate to have students and families from a variety of cultures and backgrounds in our school. Different experiences and perspectives help us become a better community. We would love to hear from you, and share with other students and families! This year, since we can't gather in person, we're taking it virtual! Come "Soar Around the Globe with M.E.!" Just visit the Flipgrid link or use the Flipgrid App to upload your video(s)! Join Code: 4b4811c2 Password: DIVERSITY21 Select "Join with Google" and log in with your gmail account or your student's school email, or select "Enter Your Guest Password" and use the password above. Click "Record a Response" to add your video. You can record a live video right on the website, or click on "Options" to upload a .mov or .mp4 video file. Don't forget to tell us your name! Here are some ideas you can share and show us!
Tell us about your culture! Does your family or culture come from another country? Do you speak any other languages? Share some words in another language! What are some special traditions in your culture? What are your favorite traditions? What holidays do you celebrate in your culture? How do you celebrate? What are your favorite celebrations? Tell us all about it! Why is your culture important to you? What is your favorite part of your culture? Why is your culture important or beneficial to others? What music does your family listen to? Share a song! Show us some dance moves from your culture! Tell us or show us what people in your culture wear, and why! Teach us about a game from your culture. What is your favorite food from your culture? What is in it? How do you make it? When do you make it? Share a favorite or family recipe! Just attach the file to your video submission and we'll share it on our website, too! Special thanks to Ms. Katsh and Mrs. Edwards and Ms. Forsen for sharing some great ideas about "Culture Corner" from the book "Unpack Your Impact: How Two Primary Teachers Ditched Problematic Lessons and Built a Culture-Centered Curriculum." |
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