Don't Make Me Eat My Words

When I was in Spain two months ago, I enjoyed oodles of pastries, delicious hake (left) served with shrimp with their heads and tails intact, tortillas (which are similar to omelets) with asparagus, and delicious ham and cheese croquettes (right).

In the “Supermercado” I saw rows and rows of fish and shell fish, as well as these interesting looking ham hocks. 

In El Fontan (a local farmer’s market) I saw a young woman behead and gut a fish in less than a minute, and a window full of more sausages than you could count.

But this isn’t a food blog so what am I doing telling you about my gastronomic adventures?

Because food is as important to us as writers, educators, and readers as salt and pepper are to cooks.

Consider this. What writer doesn’t reward her muse by the promise of a treat at the end of a finely-honed paragraph or page? In an informal survey of fellow writers, I found that some keep themselves on task by placing a bowl of popcorn at hand, others depend on tea or coffee. Sandra Warren admits, "There's something about the excitement of putting words to paper or computer screen that gets the juices flowing and adrenalin pumping; a physiological shift that demands a sweet reprieve. Carrots, celery even with peanut butter just doesn't cut it the way a freshly baked or even a frozen chocolate chip cookie or piece of dark chocolate can."

And of course, teachers and parents have used food for eons to motivate. But not only can treats reward good behavior, but as this lesson plan shows, a book like Lilly’s Chocolate Heart can teach students how to write with prepositional phrases and adjectives.

Speaking of chocolate, here are some wonderful quotes about this luscious treat that has been known to keep many writers plugged into their keyboard.

Kathleen Purvis, the food editor at the Charlotte Observer, once told me that food writers are some of the best journalists. And that was before the advent of food blogs such as this one.

What about fiction? How important is the food that your favorite characters eat? Consider that the recipe for Harry Potter's butterbeer received 3.445 hits the day it was first sold at the new Wizarding World  at Universal Orlando. 

Not only food itself, but customs about eating can add depth to a novel. I am working on a scene for my historical novel which takes place in Charlotte, NC in 1950. My main character, Kate, is eating cookies in the kitchen with her grandmother's cook, Esther, and Ester's granddaughter, Lillie. Kate notices that, "After they're finished Esther washes out hers and Lillie’s glasses and puts them on a separate shelf alongside of two chipped plates and a couple of bent forks and spoons." 

Food and literature go together like hamburgers and buns. So, please don't make me eat my words. I've acquired a taste for finding food references in books and all of this has been grist for the mill. You might think that writing a blog like this is as easy as apple pie, but trust me, there were many times when I felt as if I had bitten off more than I could chew. But, bottoms up and come and get it. This blog has cut the mustard, is done to a turn, and is now ready to be served!

Technorati Tags:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte, _North_Carolina
Add to: | Technorati |  Digg |  del.icio.us |  Yahoo |  BlinkList |  Spurl |  reddit |   Furl |  

Octopus and Peacocks

For the last few years I´ve been fortunate enough to visit several European countries. I have found that each time I learn about our destination the same way. I look up some of the places on the internet ahead of time, read the guidebook (usually on the airplane), and then read about the specific destination again just before going there. After the visit, I often reread the guidebook and highlight where we´ve been. Then I write about it in my journal, e-mails,  blogs, or on Facebook.

It takes me that amount of reading and writing for me to assimilate the information and make it my own. My most recent trip was to Spain to see our daughter who has been studying in the northern city of Oviedo. To be honest, the tour book didn´t give this city justice. I expected diversity in the restaurants, but was surprised to also find ancient wells and churches in the middle of new, cosmopolitan streets. In the city park I heard one peacock calling loudly to another sounding a lot like a cat's loud "meow,"

and saw streets filled with pedestrians of all ages who liked to window shop in stores like this:

 I love being able to locate a city like Gijón  on the map, where I tasted the octopus soup (in the metal tureen) which my husband and daughter shared,

was initiated into the ritual of drinking sidra (alcoholic cider) with two of my daughters' friends,,

and saw replicas of Roman (left) and Celtic (right) homes.

I enjoy each of these discoveries.

All of these sensory experiences reinforced what I had read; my travel "classroom" would have been less rich without each one.

My experience is not unlike your students who use multiple learning modalities to process information. We all learn through visual, tactile, auditory, and kinesthetic stimuli.  But as  S.D. Powell, an author with PBS Parents writes, "the more senses or modalities we can activate the more learning will take place."

You probably can't take your students to Europe to reinforce a history or geography lesson. But you can integrate several different modalities into the learning environment of your classroom. Encourage your students to find information in a variety of sources, to listen to music, to cook and taste food from another culture or time period, to . Their "book" learning will be enhanced by their sensory experiences. Then, let them write an e-mail to a relative, post a blog about it, twitter it, or write about it on Facebook. They can write a poem, a free write in their journals,  use it as part of an expository paper, or as something a character in a story enjoys.

As for me, I know I´ll never forget the sounds of peacocks or the taste of octopus soup. And thank you for letting me share them with you.


Oviedo,  sidra, Gijon, Spain,  Octopus, Peacocks, Multiple learning modalities, S.D.Powell, PBS Parents

Teachable Moments

As educators and parents we’re always thrilled when we connect with a student or child.  That was my experience while working with a student who is a part of the tutoring group I coordinate. A joint ministry of Christ Covenant Church and Covenant Day School, the group has met once a week for three years.

This year I initiated a “teaching time” at the beginning of the hour in which the adult and teen tutors took turns teaching about any subject that interested them and which the boys might enjoy. Presentations included talks on nutrition, choosing a college, playing the guitar, being an airplane pilot, and (I must admit) I slipped in a few writing mini-lessons.

Since I just returned from Spain, a mini-lesson on the country was in order. I spread out country maps on the floor as well as the Madrid map which was published by McDonald’s. They had fun locating the restaurants and then checking out the coins I had brought home. The boys devoured the chocolate candy, but weren’t fans of the anise cookies (not too many people are) that I had bought for one Euro.

Several students drifted away to do their homework, but Patrick who is just finishing fifth grade, stayed to look at pictures on my laptop. For three years Patrick has preferred to work alone and rarely met my gaze. Suddenly, animated conversation flowed between us.

First he asked me if I had met any British people. This led to a conversation about the Revolutionary War Then he asked me if I had met Sir Isaac Newton. A quick math mini-lesson later, we were looking at my pictures from Spain.

Even though he couldn’t read the writing, this graffiti intrigued him,

And he was visibly impressed with,

When I showed him pictures of Toledo, a medieval city, we talked about why ancient cities were surrounded by walls.  I pointed out that just as these city’s inhabitants were protected by the walls, God is our protector. “For thou hast been a shelter for me, [and] a strong tower from the enemy.” (Psalm 61:3) He nodded.

We talked about the reason that the city streets were so narrow,

And how every town had it's own church.

We figured out why this modern building was built around this ancient wall:

Patrick was interested in the stores that sold armor

And knives.

I told him how the swords from The Lord of the Ring were made in Toledo.

We looked at buildings, statues, plazas, and an old Roman well surrounded by the city of Oviedo,  where my daughter is studying.

We didn’t finish going through my pictures and I was surprised when I looked at my watch and there were only five minutes left before it was time to go.

Teachable moments. I had about forty of them that day and they were each precious.

Technorati Tags:
teachable moments, Oviedo, Lord of the Rings, Toledo, Spain
Add to: | Technorati |  Digg |  del.icio.us |  Yahoo |  BlinkList |  Spurl |  reddit |   Furl |  

When the Writing is on the Wall

Last year when I traveled with my husband through Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic, I was interested in the tags and graffiti which I saw. I found this tag in Nuremberg, Germany:

And this graffiti in another part of that city:

Looking at them, I remembered an article that I had read a few years previous in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. According to Laurie MacGillivray and Margaret Sauceda Curwen, authors of "Tagging as a Social Literary Practice" (Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (pp. 354–369) doi:10.1598/JAAL.50.5.3), tagging is "not simply an act of vandalism or violence; it is a social practice with its own rules and codes—a literacy practice imbued with intent and meaning."

Although the authors acknowledged the vast amount of money spent on cleaning up street writing, they believe that this is a meaningful form of literacy. According to them, "Tags can be a youth’s signature moniker, a slogan, a protest, a message, and occasionally a lengthy tribute. They differ from graffiti in that they always consist of letters in which alphabetic style, use of colors, and crafted script is highly valued. Inventiveness, flexibility, and playfulness with textual spellings and meanings are integral to the tagging community. Rarely recognized by outsiders, highly stylized script, one of the main characteristics of tagging, is often only readable by tagging insiders. (p. 358.)

A tag in Toledo, Spain:

 

And from a park in Oviedo, Spain: 

The authors found that tagging accomplished several purposes. It sustained social relationships, was a form of dialogue and conversation, was a means to declare membership in a particular tagging crew (which was safer than a gang), provided commentary on larger societal issues, and a way to display talent.

Street art in Oviedo, Spain

The authors recommended that, "When educators open up the curriculum using students’ everyday literacy interests as starting points, they can also attend to issues of power, authenticity, and culture embedded in the social practices (p. 368).


Something to think about next time you see graffiti, tags, or street art.


Technorati Tags:
graffiti, street writing, Laurie MacGillivray and Margaret Sauceda Curwen, of Adolescent and Adult Literacy,
Add to: | Technorati |  Digg |  del.icio.us |  Yahoo |  BlinkList |  Spurl |  reddit |   Furl |  

A Couch Story

I usually just blog about literacy. But when my daughter Lori (who is studying in Spain) posted this video on Facebook, I couldn't resist sharing it with you. Hope you enjoy it!



Besides...just think of all the literacy skills that were used to put this video together!
Technorati Tags:
couch story, Ovideo, Spain, Lori Baldwin
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | BlinkList | Spurl | reddit | Furl |