“Together, we all play a role in being change agents to make our world better.” ― Germany Kent
If you read my last blog post, you know that my 9th grade English students spent over a month brainstorming, composing, editing, and polishing up their persuasive writing skills by sending Outrageous Request Letters. They have been in the mail for a little under a month and I confess to obsessively checking my mailbox in the office multiple times per day hoping for responses.
Drumroll please….the first Outrageous Request Letter of the year was granted!
Miss Lila Eagle, wrote to Lakeshore Learning in hopes of receiving 20 wobble stools for her mom, Daniela Eagle’s, classroom. After being a parapro and substitute teacher for ten years, Daniela went back to college to get her teaching certificate and this year was hired to be a special education teacher at GMHS.
Lila wrote the following: “I’m from a small rural town in Upper Michigan called Gwinn, the population of our school district as of 2023 is 1,015. Even though our population is small we have one of the highest rates of students with IEPs or specialized learning plans in the county with 23% of our students having a learning disability. With our school being small we don’t have as much income as other schools in the area leading to us being understaffed and oftentimes we don’t have all of the materials we would like to have…”
“I chose to ask for alternative seating for our classrooms because I think a lot of students would benefit from it. My mom, Daniela Eagle is a Special Ed teacher here at Gwinn and she said that she notices a lot of students not being able to sit still or focus during lessons. With a lot of students with disabilities they can’t focus or they may take longer to do tasks that other students can and need to be moving or fidgeting. With wobble stools students can fidget or keep moving during a lesson and they will be more silent than if they hadn’t had a wobble stool.“
One of my favorite parts of this assignment is mail call. Yesterday at the beginning of the hour I presented Lila with Lakeshore’s letter. The anticipation in the room was tangible as Lila tore open the envelope to read the fantastic news that her wish for 20 wobble stools would be granted. To keep the excitement going, I marched the entire class down to Mrs. Eagle’s room to let her read the letter herself.
As a writing teacher, I cannot imagine a better way to teach students about the power of writing. I hope that Lila feels empowered by this experience. With Lila’s help, students who struggle with sitting still will have alternative seating and will be able to focus on their lessons.
In addition to granting Lila’s request, Lakeshore Learning’s response included the following feedback, “Mr. Kaplan recently reviewed your letter and was very impressed with how much thought you put into your assignment and how well you presented your request. Very persuasive indeed… You have a very bright future and we at Lakeshore wish you continued success.”
I love this photo! What a thrill it was to capture this “Proud Mom and Proud Daughter” moment.
Thank you Lakeshore Learning for giving a hand up to our district and for providing me with the priceless opportunity to teach my students that our words and writing matters. Congratulations, Lila, on using your voice to make your community a better place!
My fingers are crossed for more updates in the coming days. I love my job and I love my students. ❤
“After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” — Philip Pullma
My students love to choose brightly colored envelopes to mail their letters.
It is the most wonderful time of the year. My 9th grade students’ Outrageous Request Letters hit the mailbox yesterday!
We discussed persuasive writing techniques using the Rhetorical Triangle: Ethos, Pathos, Logos , I reinforced the writing process by having them brainstorm, research, write 3-4 drafts (after I give feedback on each draft), and learn how to address an envelope. It truly takes grit and constant reminders to convince 14 and 15 year olds to use spell check, to revise, and the addressing-the-envelope part can be a true test of teacher patience.
However, reading the final version of their letters is a pleasure. Some make me laugh and others make me misty eyed.
This is another project made more exciting by the generosity of those who support my classroom via Donors Choose. The bright colorful envelopes, stickers, stamps, and even stationery for those who want to handwrite their requests. Thank you to my family and friends who donate and help make this project more magical. (*Note – never underestimate the power of stickers on teenagers. They LOVE stickers 🙂 )
I promise to keep you posted on requests that are granted. We’ve had some incredible ones over the years: $3,500 from Kohls for a local foster care agency, close to $6,000 of products from Wahl for a local barbershop, and $1,000 from Meijer for a local bike club. Plus, tons of other items for students and their loved ones.
Most of all, the takeaway that I want my students to glean from the assignment is that their words, their writing, and their stories matter.
(See below for media posts about some of the Outrageous Requests that have been granted.)
The 2023-2024 school year marks my 23rd year of teaching 9th grade English. My guiding philosophy behind why I do what I do is that I want to be an encourager of stories. I want my students to know that their voices and their stories matter.
In the early years of my teaching career, I found an article about a teacher who challenged their students to write letters asking companies and celebrities to grant an “Outrageous Request”. I guided my students through the assignment for several years and we received many responses. However, I let the assignment fall to the wayside.
One year I brought the “Outrageous Request Letter” back to my classroom. I decided that I could incorporate elements of persuasive writing into the lesson using the Rhetorical Triangle (Ethos, Pathos, and Logos). Not only would these writing elements help my students persuade others to grant their requests, but this methodology would help prepare them for the SAT Essay that they take their junior year.
I love that I can check off so many standards/benchmarks with this assignment. Not to mention that the students get really excited to send their letters off. I often reflect on the fact that I am “tricking them into learning” since writing a letter where their wildest wishes may be answered is so much more interesting for them than writing a standard essay.
Not only does this assignment help them understand the Rhetorical Triangle, but it also teaches:
*Revision (my students write 3-4 drafts of their letter) *Addressing an envelope (something many of my students have never done) *Writing for a “real world audience” (they love that someone will actually receive their letter, open it, and read it) *Ponder a counter-argument to their request (important for persuastive writing) *Internet research (for various aspects of Ethos, Pathos, and Logo and to do preliminary research on who they are writing to) *Defies the stereotypical narrative that teenagers are buried in their phones and only care about themselves. They are insightful, creative, and can be agents of change when given the proper avenue.
While I tell my students that it is okay for them to ask for something for themselves, I do not introduce the assignment as an opportunity to “get free things” In fact, I celebrate the assignment as a way to help others. We engage in conversations about their community and needs that others may have. When I encourage my students to contemplate their community we discuss how broad their community truly is: family, friends, GACS (teachers, support staff, administrators, coaches, students), organizations they are part of such as youth group, sports, etc, the town they live in, and Marquette County as a whole.
I do not allow students to write to local businesses since they already sponsor so many school activities. I try to get my students to think outside the box and imagine things that maybe are not tangible – experiences and opportunities.
I could write a long list of items that students have received over the years. Their persuasive writing skills have gathered: art supplies, snacks, clothing, a snowboard, cheerleading mats, winter boots, shoes, services of a private investigator, and so much more.
This assignment has afforded me the opportunity to suprise my students and these unveilings have been major highlights in my teaching career.
Ultimately, as a writer and English teacher, I want my students to glean from this assignment how powerful our stories are and that our voices and words matter. Being able to communicate clearly is vital to our role as humans. This assignment is an evocative way to demonstrate the power of writing! I love being an encourager and guide. I love my career and I love my students.
*If you are a teacher and want more information about the Outrageous Letter Request assignment, contact me at amy.waldo@gwinnschools.org
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” ― Anais Nin
As a writing teacher, one of my mantras is that our writing is a time capsule. I encourage my young writers to use their writing as a tool to reflect on their personal and academic growth. I am always looking for ways to help my students publish their work. Whether it is hanging their poems outside the door of my classroom, finding writing contests for them to enter, or assigning digital compositions that can be widely shared on social media platforms.
However, for many of my students, creating a piece of digital writing can be intimidating. So I came up with an idea to start small. We start by writing a “story” that is exactly one-hundred words long. Before I even assign the digital component, I give them a list of prompts and tell them to choose one and write a piece that is one-hundred words long.
Prompts: Acorn Sewing a quilt Tangerine (lip gloss, curtains, tea, Cadillac) Mason Jar Lightening bugs An object you could not live without What voice do I use to be heard? Monarch butterfly Ice etched window pane Geraniums Unplugged Map Fishing A place where a memory hides/sleeps/waits A favorite sound (last school bell, ocean waves, baby giggling, popcorn) Poetic graffiti Making a fist Wearing a key around the neck Word sprout Three ring binder Pumpkin Unplug Sewing a quilt Hiding place Postage stamp Wrist watch Cappuccino Dirty window or mirror Spark plugs Popcorn Gingerbread house Chocolate milk Alphabet Writing to make sense of the world. Riddle Carburetor Fishing lure Northern Lights Tent Baking bread Five subject notebook You are the hero of your own story What makes me feel alive
After my students have written a story or poem, I give them the digital assignment (along with showing them student samples). They may use the piece that they composed with the prompts that I gave them, or they may choose another theme.
I tell them, “Just like the fact that we all have twenty-four hours a day and must use our time wisely, you have exactly one-hundred words for this assignment. How will you use yours?“
ASSIGNMENT:
Creative Writing: Waldo ~ Fall 2023 Digital Storytelling 100 Word Story
In flash fiction/non-fiction a writer can whittle down narrative and get to the very heart of the story. Flash Fiction or a Flash Non-Fiction attempts to accomplish a complete story in few words, therefore, the language in the piece must become precise and sparse. When we are forced to write within a 100 word frame every word becomes charged with intention and meaning. By combining flash fiction/non-fiction with the digital genre we can add extra layers of meaning with voice, music, and sound effects. Plus, it’s a great way to publish our writing and share our work with others.
Write a story/prose poem that is EXACTLY 100 words.
Come up with a title that goes beyond 100 Word Story (the title does not count in the 100 word total)
Turn your story into a digital piece by creating a video that goes along with the words.
Your video can be a series of still photos. (If you take images from the internet you must give credit to your sources)
You may partner up with another person to help you create this digital piece (but you each must create your own video). You can work with a friend of family member. If you have someone in your life that plays an instrument, creates artwork, or is digital literate you can ask them to help you. Just make sure that you give them credit for their work.
Over the years I have had much success with this assignment. I would like to share with you Sophia’s story.
Sophia is in the 9th grade and the fact that the background music is her playing the piano and that her dad helped filmed the footage – makes the entire composition even more splendid. Bravo, Sophia! I cannot wait to see what other masterpieces you weave with words, melodies, and images this year. #WeAreGACS
“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again.”
-Joseph Campbell
I have had many different classroom configurations in the past 20 years. Each year I like to change things up a bit. I believe that the environment of a classroom has a huge impact on how students learn.
If these walls could talk what would they say? I’ve ruminated over this question often. Year twenty-one teaching in this classroom. Hours of discussions logged, inquiry, questions, and projects. We’ve laughed, cried, and have even grown frustrated with each other. We are human beings in this classroom – full of frailty and potential. Hope and dread. Dreams and ambitions. I try to encourage my students to believe their stories matter. Our voices and being able to communicate clearly are vital. Hopefully, the take away has been growth, deeper understanding, and the curiosity to keep creating.
I put in over 6 hours on my classroom yesterday and several hours each day this week. I had a huge pile of boxes arrive from Donors Choose Some of the supplies for my Lunch Bunch Club (salad fixings and a snazzy new retro styled refrigerator and microwave) came in, plus, new standing desks. The tall tables are commercial grade, metal, and super sturdy. I actually ordered black ones, but they were no longer available. So I had to get red. I’m thankful – because I think the red is fabulous! The students can stand or have the option of two different stool heights (based on how tall they are). I even put the tables together myself (I didn’t dare ask my husband – who usually puts my furniture together- because he is busy building an addition on our house).
I had several projects on Donors Choose funded to start a club with my students to help them learn about food from different ethnic traditions. We had 37 cookbooks donated, cooking tools, disposable plates etc., and ingredients. Since we live in a rural area my students have little exposure to food from different cultures. We will break bread together, make connections, learn valuable culinary life skills, research different cultures, and engage in food writing. I promise to share a more detailed blog post once we get started. Bright red & retro. I can’t help but smile – it feels so cheerful! These tables were easy to install. Each one took approximately 15 minutes. I had 7 donated in a Flexible Seating project by Donors Choose.
While I’m exhausted after a busy week of professional development and getting back into my school mindset, I’m excited to welcome my students into our classroom Monday.
It’s a relief to have flexible seating back after last year’s more rigid rules due to the pandemic. I had to bring in desks so all my students could face the same way. I was so happy to haul those desks out. I still have some finishing touches to add – and more boxes are on the way for our Lunch Bunch.
Donors Choose has been life changing and I am extremely grateful for the kindness of friends and strangers who help me transform my classroom into a magical and beautiful space. Not just the furniture either – books, school supplies, and all of the creative projects and opportunities I’m able to give my students. Here’s to year #21. I can’t wait to start encouraging my students to write, read, record the world, and think critically. Our words and our stories matter!
The tables turned out to be more than I had hoped for. The “Where’s Waldo” themed artwork was created by a former student. When your last name is Waldo, like mine is, you have to beat people to the punch. I can’t tell you how many times I (and my husband his entire life) have heard people say, “Where’s Waldo.” 🙂 A life-sized Waldo. Courtesy of Donors Choose! Several years ago I had these futons and colorful rug, and pillows donated via Donors Choose. The padded bench and cubes provide additional seating and give me extra storage. This area is a great incentive for good behavior and it’s a great place to hold parent teacher conferences. My creative writing students love to cozy up and write. I am enamored with this seating area and love that it makes my room feel more “homey”.My high school students are always curious about my diplomas. I graduated from Forest Park High School in Crystal Falls, Michigan and attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for my undergraduate degree. I also have two masters degrees from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. My desk and chair were funded via Donors Choose last year. I also had lamps and LED bulbs funded a few years ago – to prevent glare from our florescent lights. My students noticed a huge difference in how the light impacts headaches etc. It provides a much more calm and soothing environment. speakers, hand sanitizer, positive message signs, Kleenex – Yes, you guessed it – Donors Choose. When my step kids were in elementary school I loved to visit their school building. I was always in awe (and quite envious) of the cute decorated rooms. I thought to myself, “High school classrooms can be charming and creative too!” It became one of my goals to make it happen. Thank you Donors Choose and all the generous funders. It was my dream to be able to switch from desks to tables for my students, and my district could not afford to provide them. Therefore, it was truly life changing to have all these tables and chairs funded via Donors Choose. I love my students to be able to collaborate and conduct writing workshops, it provides more room for me to circulate the room and make sure that they are on task. The standing desks allow students to stand if they prefer to work that way and they allow me to utilize the outer walls that would otherwise be wasted space. I can easily have a class of 30+ students and not have the room be overly congested. For smaller classes I can have the students spread out. While I like using the lamps, sometimes we need the classroom to be brighter (especially when I have to proctor standardized tests) so I do have some filters on the light fixtures. I had a project funded via Donors Choose to filter the remainder of my florescent lights. That will be my project in the next few weeks. It makes a HUGE difference in the quality of the light in the room. I also have added a few personal touches to the room. We are located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and my family loves traveling to Alaska. So one of my themes this year will be adventure and encouraging my students to dream big. We will be creating bulletin boards with pieces of writing and artwork around this theme. I had drawing paper, a copious amount of markers, and art materials funded via Donors Choose.This was my classroom last year. I tried to make the best of having to add desks and be mindful of maintaining social distance (the desks appear close in this photo, but they were rather spaced out). I had both face-to-face and online students and was able to teach f2f most of the year (we did get shut-down for several weeks after Thanksgiving due to an increase in Covid cases in our area).
Thank you for visiting my classroom. I hope I have inspired you to check-in to Donors Choose and post a project. It’s a remarkable organization that has transformed my classroom environment and my teaching practice in so many ways – physically, emotionally, and academically. It impacts morale in ways that cannot be put into words. As a teacher, it feels empowering to know that others support my students, believe in our schools, and have faith in my classroom practice. I have been able to provide my students with resources and projects that would not have been possible without Donors Choose.
I am grateful to the kindness that has been bestowed on myself and my students from CEO founder Charles Best and his incredible team. I am grateful for the companies that provide matching grants and to family, friends, and even complete strangers that have provided us with so many resources. When I retire I plan to find a source of part time employment and all my earnings will go to fund Donors Choose teacher projects to pay it forward.
I love my students. How fortunate I am to be entrusted with their education. I’m thankful to be able to share a sacred place with them – a classroom where we can find ourselves and learn about our place in humanity. ❤
I have toughened up a lot over the past 6 years. Being a farm girl does that to you. You see up-close-and-personal how brutal and unyielding nature can be. However, you also feel profound beauty and see what a mysterious miracle that life is.
“Umami is the savoury meatiness in seaweed and miso and soy sauce. It is, to a large extent, the concept that enables Japanese cuisine to be healthy and attractive at the same time.” ― Bee Wilson
This year marks my 20th year teaching English at Gwinn High School. I have been creating content on this blog for nine. Over the years I have shared various blog posts with my students and discussed how blogging is a modern platform to publish our writing.
My final hour of the day I teach creative writing. This year my students are truly a hoot. They are as silly as they are creative and they are equally kind and exuberant. We truly are a community of writers in 7th hour and it’s a joy to end my day with such a unique and creative group of students.
Teaching during a pandemic has come with its challenges. I have been teaching both face-to-face and online since September. I had to teach 100% remotely when we were shut down for 6 weeks in November.
My goal for creative writing is to give my students the opportunity to try different genres, to be creative, and to understand that their words and voices matter. Since many of my students take creative writing multiple years (some every year) I try not to do the same assignments each year. I embrace the challenge of coming up with new curriculum.
The other day in class I asked them if they had ever seen the popular vlogger Emmymade. A couple of the students had and others had not, so we watched a few of her videos. On Emmy’s blog she shares the following statement, “Whether it’s trying to figure out if it’s really worth it to wait a hundred hours for a batch of brownies, finding out what Ranch gummies or giant centipedes taste like, making mayonnaise from a vintage gadget, or tasting desserts and dishes from around the world, I want to learn about our world through food.”
My students, just like myself, were inspired by Emmy’s relaxed delivery, her vast vocabulary, and her culinary knowledge. My students were especially intrigued by her ramen posts.
Watching Emmy’s videos with my students and learning that quite a few of them like to create gourmet meals out of instant ramen was a lightbulb moment for me. I came up with the idea that we could create a “ramen bar” in class and my students could create their own recipes. We could research Japanese, Chinese, and Korean cuisine and they could write about their own food experiences and share their ramen recipes on my blog.
However, this is where I need a little help. I posted a project on Donors Choose to buy ramen making supplies. I tried to include some ingredients that many of my students have not been exposed to in our rural area. In addition to these ingredients I will bring in fresh spinach and greens, vegetables, and boiled eggs (from our farm) to include in their ramen meals. These supplies would create quite a few batches of ramen, so it will be a special treat for my students who have worked so hard this year.
If you are interesting in donating, here is the project –>Using Our Noodles to Write. Every dollar helps and is tax deductible. Donors Choose has been a huge source of light for my classroom practice and I am so thankful to the generosity of friends, family, and even strangers who have helped so many of our projects come to fruition.
As we head off to spring break in a couple of days, our fingers are crossed that this project will be funded. I am excited to see what my creative students come up with and I cannot wait to share their ramen recipes with you.
Do you have a favorite ramen recipe? What tips of tricks do you have for perking up packets of instant ramen? I would love to learn from you and share your ideas with my students.
We may not always do things the easy way, but we do them our way! That is what drives us and makes our hearts and souls happy. I am thankful to have found a partner who works so hard for our family. I think that we make a wonderful team and I am excited to see what 2021 brings. I promise to keep you updated on our construction project.
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” ― Edith Sitwell Back in 2014 when I was a vegetarian, I shared a recipe for a plant based French Onion Soup. Since […]
“It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.”
― William Faulkner
There is never a dull moment when you work around, and with, teenagers. After teaching high school for two decades, I honestly cannot imagine doing anything else.
A few years ago I learned an important lesson. Never underestimate the power of stickers when it comes to teenagers. One day my 9th grade students were addressing envelopes to mail letters and I offered them stickers to attach to their envelopes. They were delighted and even the unruliest of students became quiet as they intently selected the perfect sticker combination to decorate their correspondence.
This year I had a Donors Choose project funded that included, you guessed it, stickers. A few weeks ago creative writing students were overjoyed when I offered them stickers to adorn their Chromebooks and/or journals. However, first I made them write.
The following was their prompt on Google Classroom:
Attached you will find an assortment of images. Choose one of the collections of vinyl stickers and imagine that the stickers are attached to someone’s: computer, water bottle, locker, or another personal belonging. Allow these collection of stickers to tell a story. Imagine what these images say about identity and personality.
I then posted the following images:
The Sweet LifeAll who wander are not lost. Rocket scientist, or bust!Home Sweet HomeStand tall, my dear. Art is life…Adventure Seeker
This prompt works well with students who are visual learners. It provides them with a place to start writing and helps them flesh out a character.
For other teachers reading this, I hope your students enjoy this writing prompt and that it inspires them to be creative. I would love to hear from you in the comment section. As I always tell my students, our words matter.
Glitter and Dog Hair 