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Thank you, Margaret Wise Brown

8/26/2014

 
     I was blessed with a granddaughter in January, 2014, and I spent a lot of time with her this summer. One of the books we read often was Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. Coincidentally, I saw a link to a blogpost by Aimee Bender about how writers can use this wonderful children's book as a mentor text! 


     When I left school in June, headed into the reflection of long summer days, I was feeling pretty battered by my school's low scores on our state reading assessments. The teachers and students and administration had worked so hard to prepare for these tests...and yet the results were low. Even lower than the year before. How could this be? What were we doing wrong? What. Were. We. Doing???


     I had been reading Donalyn Miller @donalynbooks , had even met and chatted with her on a visit she made to my hometown. I am a former teacher of gifted students...most of whom enjoy reading and, so, do it frequently. I was factoring that information into my reflections. I was listening to the voices of Richard Allington and all of the other researchers who are reminding us that students who read independently are more successful - as students, as test-takers, as people in the world.


     And I was inspired to express my feelings about what our reading rooms, our classrooms, should look like using Goodnight Moon as a mentor text. Here is the result. (*Of course, as educators, we are still charged to prepare our students for state assessments. But perhaps we can "dim the lights" occasionally on testing and encourage our students to foster an authentic love of reading)


In the great Greenfield classroom

There was a library

And a reading place

And dedicated time for -

Students and books to embrace.

And there were texts of all kinds for readers to find

Like two tubs of mysteries

And several with histories.

Like a mythology pack

And a fantasy stack

And the time and the space for ideas to grow

And a teacher who cares who was whispering “Go!”


Goodbye scores

Goodbye stress

Goodbye everyone jumping through hoops.

Goodbye DRA

And the benchmark tests

Goodbye fears

Goodbye tears

Goodbye hurry

And goodbye worry


Hello Pigeon

And hello Mudge

Hello Ms. Cleary

And hello Fudge

Hello Frindle

And hello Kate

Hello Wimpy Kid

Hello Big Nate

And hello to the stories that make our lives great.


Hello stars

Hello air

Hello possibilities everywhere.








Beth Marrs
9/1/2014 10:04:35 am

Love the poem so much! Permission to post in my library??

Christy
9/3/2014 09:55:21 am

Of course, Beth Marrs!


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