Grumpy Cat Meme

Sometimes after you say things enough, the grumpy cat comes out in a interior voice. I made this meme in honor of these moments.

Sammy Meme

I wanted to submit this post in less than 5 minutes. I had this meme in honor of my adorable cat Sam. I hope that you enjoy it!

Showing Your Work

I thought about how much we teachers ask our students to show their thinking on paper. We want to make their thinking visible. One way to do this is to show your work on the page. I made this meme in honor of the many times that I ask my students to show their work! I cannot wait to show them tomorrow.

Textual Evidence

Textual Evidence

by Maureen Ucles

Juanita and Javier
are asking
Can you please provide,
include
(don't be
RUDE!)
the
textual evidence?
(Write it down.)


La maestra
me pide
Por favor,
Te ruego,
te pido
por favorcito-
provea y
escriba
evidencia del texto.

But me?
What do I do?
No puedo decir
Because I know
Voy a encontrar y escribir
evidencia del texto
and then
pensar y pensar
To sum it all up:
I will find and use the evidence
from the TEXT!

Refrigeratorless Me

Refrigeratorless Me
By M Ucles

I dunno
Can't eat
Can't flow
Peering out the window
What am I gonna do?
Refrigeratorless me

Four days
So poor
I am
Memories
Magnets
Photos galore
Ole fridge
in the kitchen
On the floor
15 years purring
But alas...
No coolant
Time to part
Such sorrow


Waiting
Waiting
On Lowes
Refrigeratorless me
Who knows?
How long
Waiting, wonderin'
Shiny
Black doors
Freezer above
Fridge below
Not too bad
Cannot wait

The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker

I am on the chapter called The Web, The Tree, and the String. Today, I had to reread this chapter a bit more than anticipated. I haven't read this one for a while. I had to get back to it again. I loved the way that he spoke about nouns and how some people get them confused. I know that the short definition is that a noun is person, place, thing. Now it has blossomed to include ( or maybe it was always that way) a person, place, thing, idea or concept. That makes sense.

I know that I will have to return to reread more since it was packed full of new things that I wasn't aware of like, for example that a noun can sometimes modify a noun. He went on about the modifiers and their purpose as well. I wonder if my English teacher from 8th grade had ever read this book. I learned all that I know from Ms. West. We diagrammed the world in her class. I remember liking it, but don't ask me how to do it now. My daughter, a journalism major, is taking American Grammar at her university and has to diagram sentences. Maybe I should be a refresher from her. I know, I digress and bird walk a litttle. Please forgive me. I am blogging though, so I think it might be okay to go off on a tangent.

I like the terms that he gives for certain things like words that have role of determiner. It reminds me of Jeff Anderson's work. He labels certain function of grammar. It is very helpful to use these terms so that you know what the writer and writing is doing.

I have so much to learn. I can't wait to have some time to really delve into this book. I also have a few more books on grammar. I am turning into a grammar fanatic, and I think I like it!

Lunchtime Blues...Low Carb Troubles with Meme

It seems that ordering nachos without the tortilla chips is frowned upon in this establishment. I ordered cheese sauce and ground beef today. The response that I received was comical. It was as if I was asking for the Brooklyn Bridge. "You cannot order just that. We can't sell it," one person said. "I can't have the carbs," I said. So then we wrangled back and forth. I conceeded that I would pay full price. (I never said that I wouldn't.) After 2 minutes of shock, I was awarded cheese sauce, ground beef, two helpings of corn. (I only wanted one.) Today shall be called Leave My Carbs Alone Day in honor of the paralysis that I caused in the school cafeteria. Tomorrow I will go to Whataburger and ask for a Whataburger with cheese, all the way, but without the bun to see what other calamities that my request may cause. Being low carb is frightening to some. How can you eat nachos without the chips? Easily, but leave 5 minutes for the shock to wear off and a brief explanation. What a day!

Poetry in the Parking Lot

Poetry in the Parking Lot

What shall I write?
7:00am on my phone
Sleepy am I
No coffee
Iced tea
Water
McDonalds breakfast
Eggs
Sausage
Cheese
KSBJ on the radio
Good morning!
Dragging
Need to wake up

Lunchtime Post

I will be brief and to the point. I am eating my lunch composed of scrambled eggs and sausage. I also ate a yogurt parfait. I added some cooked carrots. I washed it all down with iced tea. Lunchtime.

Sunday Blues

Sunday Blues

I've got the Sunday blues

from my head to my shoes

Don't want to go to sleep

at a normal hour

but have to

I've got the Sunday blues

Watching the playoffs

on TNT

wish I'd 

didn't have to

go to work

on Monday

I've got the Sunday blues

cannot take the news

can't sleep

work beckons

calling

screaming

hollering

Leave me alone!

I've go the Sunday blues

wish Monday could be

better

no traffic on 290

Free tolls

Breakfast lines

dwindle

Starbucks would be nice

I've got the Sunday blues

Don't know
what to do

but

go to bed 

with no ability to fall into
slumber

tossing and turning

the pressure
What time is it?
What time is it?

Monday zombie

I will be
UGH!

Kevin's Writing

One of my students wanted to share some of his writing with us. We used Snag-it! to highlight it so that the writing is easier to read. More writing will be forthcoming. He took the png using the iPevo.

Sounds of School

Sounds of School

If you can hear the sound

of my voice

clap once

If you can hear the sound 

of my voice

clap twice

Hasn't anyone ever thought

of thrice?

Or maybe you can quartile that one

The sound of restroom lines

Drinking water from a fountain

dumping trays of plastic

every now and then 

a spill of 

cucumber

milk

rice

The endless whistles

and bells

Attendance!

Attendance!

I am attending 

to be honest

with you

Then there is the

perpetual

phone calls

in the middle 

the moment

that teachable

 moment

Hello

Could you send

blah, blah, blah 

to the office

they are going home!

The sounds of voices

SHHHH!

Recess

running

jumping

then the pollen

sneezing

Can I go to the restroom?

Happens a billion times over

Then the bell

Final bell

If you can hear the sound of my voice

clap...

Yeah, I got it!

Twice

When will you say thrice?

Twenty Poems to go...Minus one-Lunchtime Poetry

Twenty Poems Minus One

Maureen Ucles

I've got twenty poems to go-

minus this one

Can fit the contents

in my pocket

pull of lent

dimes and quarters

left overs

I've got twenty poems or less to do

taking my lunch time

'til I am through 

to get the words down

onto this blog

I've got twenty poems to go-

Maybe tomorrow

I don't know

if I will have time to 

wipe away ten

from my list of 30

I've got twenty poems

'til the end

of April

press send

publish them all on this blog!

Just twenty or less

to do!

No Rain In The Forecast....Poetry in the Parking Lot

In honor of National Poetry Month, I will attempt a poem in the parking lot of my school. Here I go.

Poetry in the Parking Lot

By Maureen Ucles

Travis Herzog says

No rain today

Thank goodness

The world rejoices

Well, at least

Houston

I am happy

Composing

Poetry in the parking lot

Peering into creamless coffee

UGH!

I ordered eight creams!

Mickey D's mistake

Hard to drink

But no rain today

SO...

I am good

Time to go

Face the day

Think about

this poem

Not too bad

Honestly?

Not too good either

HOWEVER, no rain today

SO...

Everything is grand

Poem is almost finished

Loading

Onto my phone

SO...

much fun  to create

on a day

such as this

In the parking lot--

Poetry in all places

Including--

but not limited to

the parking lot

Rain Drops

Rain Drops
By Maureen Ucles

Rain drops
Falling
Cascading
In Houston
Historic flood
Still more rain drops
Falling
Cascading
Flooding
Destroying
Houses
Inundating cars
Horses swimming
Rescuing all
In Hummers
Monster trucks
Kayaks
Air mattresses
Even fridges
Becauses
Rain drops
Fall
Accumulate
Accentuate the problem
Saturated ground
Giving way
Swelling
Ponding
Overflowing
Flashflooding
Extreme rain event
Poor Houston
All because of
Those rain drops

Struggle-Poetry for National Poetry Month

I brought this one back for National Poetry Month. I really enjoyed writing this one. It was rather cathartic.


Ever have one of those days when you just have to let out what's flowing inside and you just have to let it out?..This day would be just that kinda day for me...I am just going to write a few things.....I can't live in your chaos.....in the hurricane....waiting for the eye....bracing for the dirty side, the North side....of your craziness....I can't live in hurky jurky stop and go world....Okay I'll give it jab or two, wade in the ice cold waters,  here I go...

Struggle

I can't live 
in your chaos
In the piercing,
 unforgiving 
squalls
of your hurr-i-cane
Waiting interminably, 
counting the seconds
Tick toc,
Tick toc,
Tickety, tickety, 
persnickety, 
tickety toc
For the eye of the 'cane
For the calm to settle, 
settle, settle down
Just to be pulled up 
from within, 
without
In an instant
Howling, howling, 
Roaring, Roaring
Unforgiving

I can't live in your fury
bracing for the dirty side,
So nasty, 
cruel  
complicated
North of sanity
South of 
common sense

Won't live 
in your 
uncertainty-
changing 
at the drop of a hat
nickle, dime, and penny
I'm  clinging to
 some consistency,
Just some normalcy,
NOOOOOO!  
Not again, 
not again 
and again 
and again
Calmate!
Traquilizate! 
Por favorcito!
Basta ya!
Ya! 
Already!

Won't,
can't
take refuge 
the hurky jerky
wax on
wax off
kinda existence
with your persistence
wearing me down, 
down, down
like a Michelin with 
300,000 mile treads
balding,
 balding
to the bone

Can't live in the-
stop and go
go and stop
 traffic
bumper to bumper
inching along and then
Phew!
1,000 MPR
Outta no where..
 in 2 seconds
 or less

Can't
 name it
in five notes,
Four or just three
Please just let go
go of me
Unleash me now
Let freedom ring!
I beg  
and plead
I'm on my hands
 and knees
 I yearn, 
crawl 
and plead
 to be 
set free
from the choas 
growing
inside, inside,
inside of,
me

M. Ucles
Fecha
Today
Feb 13th, 2013

Grasping At Straws- National Poetry Month-from the Archives

I am bringing back this poem that I wrote a couple of years back. I hope you enjoy it.

Grasping for Straws-Today's Written Poem of the Day

Okay since it's National Writing Poetry Month and I 've accepted the challenge, much has been on my mind. I've been searching high, I've been searching low,  sounds like Milli Vanilli to me!  BBBBBBBAAAAABBBAAA  BBBBAABBBYYY !!!!!!
Don't forget my number!
 Okay, don't forget my poem  is more like it.
So I've been grasping at straws all day! Enjoy!

Grasping At Straws

By Maureen Ucles

Today

In the Wee Hours of the Morning

I've been grasping

For some semblance of meaning

Some sort of reason why

I should hold on

onto

My iced tea

Breakfast haven, right?

McDonalds Inc
Okay now

Has my breakfast

Ready

Each 

Day

Today

Just like any other

Scrambled eggs

Sausage Patty

Drives me crazy

A little bit batty

Small coffee

Seven creams

No sugar

Not demanding

I am

Large Iced

Tea

No sugar

Just for

little old me

Not demanding

in the least

Had to wait

with a-

"Pull over to the side!"

that demeaning  raspy voice

To the side

Maybe 3 minutes

Stretch it out to more like five

Everything is fine

Or so I thought

Not so fast

Buster!

My straw!

My straw!

Where's

My straw?

My perfect

Mickey D's Delight

Striped with Red

Yellow 

and

Crowned with

White?

Are you kidding

me?

It's April 3rd now

Too late for the fools

But the jokes

 on me

yes me

I've got no straw

To call my own

Hold the stinking phone!

Did ya hear me?

No straw

To drink 

As I go!

I can't drink 

on my way

Lid comes off

So I can drink

But

It will spill 

as I break

On the Katy

Freeway

No straw and no lid

To  hold

All the tea 

That precious liquid cargo

gone flying out

Covering my seat

Splashing onto the dash

Into the glove

Compartment

All the way to the back

NOOOOO!

Life is so cruel

Incredibly unfair

How can I get through this day?

I really can't bare

it

Without my Mickey D's 

No straw,

no straw

 could you spare?

Sure 

I have napkins

napkins galore

On  my passenger's seat

Got Truvia packets in the 

all my compartments

Receipts on the floor

But no, no,

Straw to adore?

What's this world coming to?

When you cannot rely?

Ronald's dropped the ball

Made the unforgivable mistake

The straw is absent 

once more

Too much to take in

I'm loosing my mind

No marbles to be found here

I searched the whole car

I'm Out of luck 

I find

Myself tearing up

to no avail

Going to face it alone

I'm  locked interminably

In this draconian jail

So today is gone

The past  will linger

Tomorrow is not promised

However

I won't lift a finger.

Please give me a darn straw!

For crying out loud!

Before I  fall

Fall and fall

and fall

Remember, remember

 one 

and all-

Life is nothing

I said

Life is nothing!

I reiterate

Life is absolutely nothing

without some 

Iced Tea 

and a

STRAW!

Where's My Plant?-From the Archives for National Poetry Month

Okay I am going to try to take the Poem a Day Challenge.  The information below can start you out.  Please click on the link below:

National Poem Writing Month

Here's my stab!  I guess I owe two.  I'll post the next one.  Let's see where it goes!

Where Is Your Plant?

By Maureen Ucles

Dedicated to the Green Thumb, Ro Luecken

Where's your plant?

Sez Ro

Ya know

The one I gave you

For Christmas

So...?????

I think to myself,

"I dunno"

I dunno

where that plant

may have

landed

In the trunk?

In the closet?

In the garage?

In the trash?

On a shelf?

Spilling over?

Who knows?

Who knows?

I dunno

Where that plant

Resides

Definitely feel

the chide

a little chill

inside

Dunno...

Poor, pitiful plant

Left it

some place,

some time

two weeks,

two months,

two years?

Tooo  loooonnngg!

Ago

Forgotten

Absent

No water,

No Sun

No attention

No time

None!

No care

To surround

That sorry, sorry

Plant

Poor plant

Decimated Ro

What to do now?

Where is your plant?

She sez again

Take a picture.

Lost my Polaroid

A few years,

months,

millenniums

back

My smart phone?

That thing?

Naahhh!

It has dementia

Won't function

Like my brain

I dunno

My daughter

Three cats

Two spoiled dogs

And a hamster named Lily

Plants?

Time?

Really?

The pl-ant?

Your plant?

Dunno

Can't find it

The memory

escapes me

Like....

I dunno

Please don't ask

Not again

Poor, poor

Plant

What kind?

Don't recall

It has leaves

It's sort of green

Kind of  Bamboo

Or a Cactus?

Maybe

Who knows?

I dunno

Dunno now!

Oh no....

I'm caught!

In a trap

'Tween a rock

and a Eucalyptus

No alibi

for me

Oh snap!

 Ro knows

I dunno!

Closet...April 17th-18th

Closet...April 17th-18th

By Maureen Ucles

11:30 pm

April 17th

Booming, crashing

Thunder

Invades my house

Cats run

I follow

to the closet

Shelter in place

In the closet

no where to lounge

carpet filings

all around

In the closet

not great air

musty

dusty

I don't care

shelter in place

lights flicker

on and off

Coast is clear

No more pelting

do I hear

decent rain

no lightning near

sandman reigns

in my ear

Time to sleep!

3:15 am

awoken with rumblings

April 18th

Winds wailing

Outside it's falling

ice from the sky

pelting the roof 

and windows

like popcorn with 

a megahorn

the sky is falling

chicken little

am I

scrurrying

to the closet

In the closet 

once again

blankets, pillows

cell phone in hand

lights flicker

then darkness

total darkness

wind whistles

ALERT 

my phone

Tornado Warning!

Take shelter immediately

interior room or closet

That's me

in my closet

waiting

wondering

counting the minutes

3:45 

Tornado expired

walk out to hear

heavy rain

no pelting

when will it stop?

electricity's back

Channel 13 Doppler

RED! RED! RED!

White! White! White!

When will it end?

Open front door

waters a rising

sidewalk disappears

Stop! Stop! Stop!

Raining!

Beads in hand!

Prayers up to heaven!

No more rain!

4:45 calming

no more red or white

yellow is so nice!

No more closet!

6:00 am

sleep calls again

Oops! I forgot! It is National Poetry Month!

Since this is National Poetry Month, I always have a challenge for myself. I am supposed to write a poem a day for the whole month of April. I have lots of catching up to do. I have one done and 16 more to do to catch up. In my previous post, I wrote Escaleras. I will go to Notegraphy and publish more. Be ready to read and I hope enjoy!

Next Poem-14 More to Go

Tired

by Maureen Ucles

It is Sunday

Ready to nap

Oh snap!

Got to get my plans written

the heck with that

Why can't I enjoy my Sunday

said every teacher before Monday

It is Sunday

A day of rest 

for some

no lesson plans due

for most

but for me

write away

more like 

wish I could run away

Hey wait!

No school manana

Nice Sunday

care free!

Day of rest

no time to toil

waiting on 

Monday

No Title

In honor of National Poetry Month, here is one of my newest poems published using Notegraphy.

Esaleras-Poesia en Espanol

Escribi este poema hoy. Dedico este poema a mis comadres. Ellas saben quien son.
I wrote this poem today. I dedicate this poem to my two comadres. They know who they are. I hope that they enjoy reading this poem. I hope that you enjoy it. Espero que si! I used Notegraphy to publish this poem.

Escaleras por Maureen Ucles

My Thoughts Right Now

My thoughts right now are racing. They are racing around in my head looking for solutions to the problems that plague me. My problems will give rise to solutions. The solutions will be tweaked to more questions, problems, and then solutions.

What are my problems right now?

1.  I have some students who need much help for the Reading test.
2.  I have students who need help in 2 different languages.
3.  I have students who need additional help in Math.
4.  I have 14 teaching days to figure this out.

Here are my questions:

1. How can I maneuver things so that I can meet the needs of all the students in 14 teaching days?
2. How can I split my day up so that I can devote the time when there is an author visit and field day in this time frame?
3. How can I plan and implement my work stations so that the reviewed items are meaningful for my students?

My possible solutions:

1. I have made up work stations where students will be responding to what they are reading and will be able to use the analysis pyramid.
2. I need to make find more text where I can create questions that they will have to answer by going back and looking for text evidence. I have several poems copied in English and Spanish. I have expository text as well. I need more biographies and plays to use in both languages.
3. I plan on cutting up the 2013-2015 STAAR test to make into a document that I will use in small group. I will use it to show the students how to find the textual evidence and reason through the questions and answers. The problems that my students are having is not completely understanding the genre of the test and how to lift the textual evidence to help them find the correct answer. I will do this all in small group. I look forward to the results. The past two weeks I had been working with my students with a review of genre and how to use the preview to gain information for the text and to engage completely. I also had them annotate to hold their thinking. Engagement and transaction equal greater understanding. I plan on seeing 2-3 groups a day.
4. The Math groups have been moved around, based on current students observations and data. I will see 4 groups a day. I also have changed out my work stations. I also have given out more homework to the students.

This is my plan right now. I know that the groups will remain flexible based on observations, classwork, and any checkpoints that I administer. I feel very confident with this course of action. I have seen lots of improvement in both Math and Reading from my students. They are showing their thinking by showing their work more each day. They are seeing more connections between the results and deeper learning that they are experiencing by doing so. In addition to that, I also have sought divine intervention. I need all the help that I can get. Staying calm and reflective will go a long way. I also have a great teammates that I can go to bounce ideas and to receive feedback. That is important at this trying time.  Vamos a ver.

Quick Lunch Time Post From My Phone

I get 20 minutes for lunch after I drop off the kids from the cafetorium and walk a country mile to my room. Then it is actually 15 because I must be kind to my bladder. 15 minutes to eat, and two minutes I used to post on my phone. What am I thinking? Cheetos always seem to stick to my teeth. Cafeteria lunches are sometimes decent. Today is not a decent day. I'm out of time.

Reflections and Butt Loads

I just walked out of my parent conference tonight. It was around 6:30. It went very well. I was able to speak to the parents about things that they could do to support their student's learning now and throughout the summer. I also used this time to reflect over the year. As I was speaking, the memories of the classroom flooded my mind. I realized that I would only have around 8 more weeks with this awesome crew. Every year, at the end of the school year, I grow teary eyed. I know this year will not be any different. This has truly been one of the best years of my teaching career.

I have had many ups and downs this year. The ups were too numerous to count. I loved seeing my students recite my poetry. I enjoyed seeing them fall in love with blogging, reading, and writing. The conversations that we had were funny, insightful, and always engaging. I cherish them all.

We have three and a half weeks until the STAAR Math and Reading test. I am doing my best to prepare them. Everyday I work with small groups. Working in small groups is so rewarding. You really get to see where they are, what they are thinking, and appreciate their personalities and quirks. One of my students got me laughing hysterically this week. This is what I needed after a very intense weekend at Abydos. When I returned to work on Monday, I was dragging. Every ounce of energy was zapped by the weekend. When I saw my students line up next to my door, their look of disappointed and frustration got me thinking. What happened with the sub?  They always give scathing reviews of my substitutes. I haven't been blessed with a decent replacement lately. They let me have it. One proceeded to tell me that they didn't appreciate the sub one bit because they didn't follow the plans. How they knew that was beyond me. I smiled and said, "Now don't you appreciate me the more?"  They said, "Yes, but Ms. Ucles. The sub was horrible." At this moment, all my stress and tiredness left me. "I am home, " I thought. "Home sweet home."

The day progressed and I was working in my Math group. One of my girls, who always can get me to laugh, said pepindicular. I told her it was perpendicular. She saw a smile come across my face. When I first wrote the word perpendicular in front of her, I spelled it incorrectly as pependicular. I immediately put a strike though it with my marker and then spelled it correctly. From that moment she kept saying pepindicular. I had to bite my lip and try not to smile  because she would continue making me laugh. She said it again and I burst out laughing. I told them, "I am trying to be very serious here."  One boy asked, "Why are you laughing?" He started to chuckle too. I said, " I will tell you later. We need to get through this."  So I put on my bravest poker face and continued. I told her after class that she has a way of making me laugh.  These moments are the reason why I left my teacher trainer position and have come back to the classroom. These moments are priceless.  And I have a thousand of them between the testing, benchmarking, testing, and benchmarking.

What I don't want to happen is to let the stress of upcoming testing to steal my joy. I know that I need to keep my eyes on the prize and cherish every moment that I have. I know that I am not perfect, and I will do my best. I also know that there are scores that are expected. My thought is this: I have prepared my students for life.My students are truly wild readers, writers, and analyzers of text. I hope that is it enough. I have prepared them to the best of my knowledge and abilities. I have done everything that I could have and then some. I worked Saturdays planning and teaching them. I worked Saturdays and spring break eating breakfast at the Egg while planning with my good friend and colleague Noemi Leon. I spent endless hours prepping and adding comments on a thousand stickies or so. I have worked tirelessly to provide the best for the best. Twenty years from now, what will I remember and appreciate?  Not the STAAR Reading and Math scores. Nope. I will remember pepindicular and one student saying that he had a butt load of books to read. I told him that it was a boat load. "A butt can't really hold too much, but a boat... " I told him, "think about it." His eyes got really big and he said, "Yeah, that makes sense." Another boy said, "I don't even want to visualize the butt load."  "Yep," I said, " A boat load is easier on the eyes to visualize." I want to remember a student saying, "Ms. Ucles, you forgot a comma in the number you wrote. Remember, punctuation saves lives." I replied, "Yes, it certainly does. Just add the comma on your paper." I don't want to forget the time that my students tried out the 11 Minute Essay. I welled up with pride hearing them share their writing. It was magical, surreal.

Now, I have 3 1/2 weeks until the STAAR tests. What do I want to make of this time? I would like it to be other worldly. It may not seem exciting or something to write home about, but I would like it to be a time to see all of their learning come to fruition. I am going to enjoy the ride and watch them shine. Welling up with pride? I am guilty as charged! The test isn't the most important thing. No, not by a long shot. All I want to do is do my best, work with my students in small groups, and enjoy the last 8 weeks of school. My goal will be to not let the testing of STAAR and other district assessments steal the moments away from me and my students. I will keep hope alive and have a butt load of fun doing it!