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This is one of many many many poems which i've written over the last five years of "retirement" as a teacher.  

Many are in my books or on my website (Google JOSIE'S POEMS) but this one you can use in your classrooms or libraries to read to the children as autumn is well and truly here.  Well it is here in England as my back tells me because I've been picking up many leaves today.  Do let me know if the children enjoy this poem:

An Autumn Visit

By Josie Whitehead

Autumn is wearing her bright golden crown.

 She’s coming this morning to visit our town,

    And Wind, her best friend, will be joining her too.

    Will they have a nice day and what will they do?

She’ll be changing the colours of leaves on our trees

And Wind likes to tease with his cold, playful breeze.

     As the leaves tumble down in a pile on the ground,

     He will take a deep breath and blow them around.

They’ll both knock down conkers for children to find,

But the nuts aren’t just there for the good of mankind.

    The squirrels like nuts and they’ll store them away

    But then out they will come on those cold wintry days.

So what do you think that the two friends might eat?

 What sorts of things would be good for a treat?

      There are sweet tasting berries and fruits of all kinds

      Which are wonderful treats for the two friends to find.

They will chase over hills and along by the river.

 Wind’s cold wintry breath may well cause us to shiver.

     The swallows will see them and say their goodbye,

     Calling “See you next year” as they fly through the sky.

With the sun going down there’s no time left to play,

But the two friends have had such a marvellous day!”

    When you look all around at this colourful scene,

    You will see very clearly where these friends have been.

Copyright 2011

What fun when I read this to a class recently:

"So, what do you think the two friends might eat?"  Answer:  "Crisps, chocolate, sweets, cake, biscuits."  

"No, they didn't eat these things.  Think "healthy eating".  No answer.

"Well, look out of your classroom.  It is autumn outside.  What do you see by the window that they may like to eat?"  (There were berries and apples outside).

Answer:  "Pineapples".  Teacher:  "Now you are being  really really silly and you don't want Mrs Whitehead to think that do you?

  Look out of the window.  What do you see".

Answer:  "Berries and apples".  Another child:  "No they didn't!!  Mummy told me that we must not eat berries or they would poison us."  

Then trying to explain to them that Autumn and Wind are personifications is a bit difficult, so we told them that of course they are not human beings.  One was a season and one was an element of nature - ie weather.

At last we have them completely satisfied and decided it was better not to ask any more questions. ha ha So what would your answers have been?

Smashwords - School Libraries: What's Now, What's Next, What's Yet to Come - A book by Kristin Fontichiaro via kwout

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the over 50 authors who contributed to School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What’s Yet to Come, we are delighted to announce that our crowdsourced eBook is now available for free download!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96705

We hope you will enjoy downloading and reading these diverse perspectives on where school libraries are and what school librarians are doing to redefine, stretch, and expand traditional services.

Please feel free to share this link with your colleagues, administrators, professional and union organizations, Board of Education members, and more. Help us spread the word and build the conversation about the possibilities of school libraries!

We have it available for free download in three formats:

• PDF for those who want to read it on a desktop/laptop
• .mobi for those who want to read it on Kindle software or a Kindle device
• .epub for those who would like to read it on Adobe Digital Editions software, iBooks, Sony Reader, the Bluefire Reader app, Nook, and most other eReaders

While you can find the eBook on Smashwords now; in about 2-6 weeks, Smashwords will send it out to the major eBookstores (including Apple’s iBookstore, Barnes and Noble, Sony Bookstore, and others, although Amazon is in negotations) for free distribution.

With deep thanks,

The Authors of School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What Comes After

Editors:
Kristin Fontichiaro, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Buffy Hamilton, Creekview High School, Canton, GA

Foreword:
R. David Lankes, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

Photographs:
Diane Cordell, Retired Teacher Librarian, Queensbury, NY

Contributors:
Kelly Ahlfeld, Mettawee Community School, West Pawlet, VT
Diane Erica Aretz-Kernahan, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Emilia Askari, Living Textbook Project, McCollough Unis School, Dearborn, MI
Kathleen Atkin, Louis Riel School Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Robert Baigent, National Library of New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand
Susan D. Ballard, Consultant and Simmons College, Boston, MA
Angela Washington-Blair, Emmett J. Conrad High School, Dallas, TX
Dan Bowen, ICT Learning and Teaching Consultant, Surrey, England, UK
Holli Buchter, St. Vrain Valley School District, Longmont, CO
Jennifer Branch, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Len Bryan, Cedar Ridge High School, Round Rock, TX
Jennifer Colby, School of Information, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Diane Cordell, Retired Teacher Librarian, Queensbury, NY
William Cross, Copyright and Digital Scholarship Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Meg Donhauser, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
Joanne de Groot, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Stacy Dillon, LREI - Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York, NY
Andrea Dolloff, Ethical Cultural Fieldston School, New York, NY
Meg Donhauser, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
Laura Fleming, Cherry Hill School, River Edge, NJ
Lorna Flynn, American International School in Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
Elizabeth Friese, University of Georgia,Athens, GA
Rachel Goldberg, East Middle School, Plymouth, MI
Beth Gourley, Western Academy of Beijing, Beijing, China
Dorcas Hand, Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston, TX
Alida Hanson, School Library Teacher Program, Simmons College GSLIS, Boston, MA
Violet H. Harada, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
Heather Hersey, Lakeside School, Seattle, WA
Valerie Hill, Ethridge Elementary School, The Colony, TX, and Texas Woman’s University School of Library and Information Studies, Denton, TX
Kimberly Hirsh, Butner-Stem Middle School, Butner, NC, and G. C. Hawley Middle School, Creedmoor, NC
Shannon Hyman, Byrd Middle School, Henrico, VA
Pamela Jackson, East Wake High School, Wendell, NC
Melissa P. Johnston, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Jesse Karp, LREI - Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York, NY
Sara Kelley-Mudie, The Forman School, Litchfield, CT
Tricia Kuon, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Neil Krasnoff, New Tech High School at A. Maceo Smith, Dallas, TX
Jennifer LaGarde, New Hanover County Schools, Wilmington, NC
Teri S. Lesesne, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Margaret Lincoln, Lakeview School District, Battle Creek, MI
Kate MacMillan, Napa Valley USD, Napa Valley, CA (see also Chap. 9)
Adrienne Matteson, White River Elementary, Noblesville, IN
Kathleen McBroom, Dearborn Public Schools, Dearborn, MI
Walter McKenzie, ASCD, Alexandria, VA
David Meyer, TMC Furniture, Ann Arbor, MI
Ben Mondloch, Cherry Lake Publishing, Ann Arbor, MI
Leslie L. Morgan, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Cathy Jo Nelson, Dorman High School, Spartanburg District 6 Schools, Roebuck, SC
Beverley Rannow, Otsego Public Schools, Otsego, MI
Howard Rheingold, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Nikki D. Robertson, Auburn High School, Auburn, AL
Daniella Smith, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
Evan St. Lifer, Scholastic Library Publishing, Danbury, CT
Jennifer Stanbro, South Portland School Department, South Portland, ME
Caitlin Stansell, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Jeff Stanzler, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Carolyn Jo Starkey, Buckhorn High School, New Market, AL
Wendy Steadman Stephens, Buckhorn High School, New Market, AL
Michael Stephens, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
Linda Straube, New Trier High School, Winnetka, IL
Cathy Stutzman, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ
Mega Subramaniam, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Margaret Sullivan, Smith Systems, Plano, TX (see also Chap. 6)
Joyce Kasman Valenza, Springfield Township High School, Erdenheim, PA
Karen Villegas, Grosse Pointe North High School, Grosse Pointe, MI
Jeanna Walker, Portage Public Schools, Portage, MI
Donna Watt, Invercargill City Libraries, Invercargill, New Zealand
Holly Weimar, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Senga White, James Hargest College, Invercargill, New Zealand
Erin Drankwalter Wyatt, Highland Middle School, Libertyville, IL
Amanda Yaklin, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Alice Yucht, Retired/rewired Teacher-Librarian, NJ
Marci Zane, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ

PS - Want to create a Smashwords book of your own? We recommend the Smashwords Style Guide (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52).

Students as the center or heart of the learning process? AWESOME idea. Self directed learning using technology as the structural platform seems to be one possible educational future. Self motivation is the key to successful self directed learning per several academic articles on the subject. However, technological tools cannot take over the educational process instead the two (technology and education) should be a seamless marriage that allows students to do what everyone wants them to do: LEARN.

Scoop.it Young adult novels

Thanks to Eric Bateman for his wonderful scoop.it and giving out this idea!

In a previous life, I was a historian on track to earn a doctoral degree from a prestigious university. I taught large sections of freshmen western civilization history. I loved the Socratic method as a teaching method and yet I never stopped to think about how I was teaching was just as important as what I was teaching.

In my readings for this session, I have confirmed what I have suspected for awhile. History professors and educators in general, need to make a fundamental shift in the paradigm of teaching and learning. If our students are to be successful in life, they need to know how to think rather than know a finite amount of information that is regurgitated on demand. Students need to be given the time and tools to review and process information as well as the practice of working collaboratively.

Students need practice in working together across cultural and social divides. In order for our students to become effective citizens of the 21^st century, they must learn how to successfully bridge those divides. Technological tools such as Google docs offer students in the same classroom and across the globe the opportunity to collaborate on projects. Educators must ethically maintain their own knowledge and understanding of technology in order to give our students a competitive chance of success.

In the Media Center, I have an opportunity that classroom teachers do not. I see students across their entire elementary school experience, from when they enter as kindergarteners to when they leave as 6^th graders. With support from administrators, Media Specialists can initiate and monitor student project based learning experiences that progress over grade levels. Student reflections on these pbl modules could range from monthly wiki updates to blog entries to podcasts. However, as with everything in public schools, administrators must be on board if any new idea is to be successfully launched!

(Well he has caught me because I'm recovering from a cold after a school visit.  I should keep away from such places).

ACHOO WILL CATCH YOU - Josie Whitehead

Everyone’s met Achoo, known as the common cold.

He’s an evil little cold germ who’ll not do as he’s told.

    He likes to pounce on people for he’s such a social man.

    He hides away in corners and he’ll catch you if he can.

He’s invisible to humans so you won’t know that he’s there.

He’ll be hiding in your classroom or sitting on your chair.

    He’ll be waiting on the door handle or flying through the air.

    He’ll be hiding where you least expect, so is this really fair?

You’ll know when Achoo’s caught you for you start to feel quite ill

And Mum might say “Stay in the warm - you’ve got a nasty chill.”

     Your throat feels sore, your nose will run and oh how tired you feel.

      The fact that Achoo’s caught you isn’t easy to conceal.

Keep sneezes in your bedroom.   Don’t let Achoo get away.

He soon will tire of his silly tricks and he’ll go another day.

      By keeping him at home you will not give him to your friends

       And Achoo’s nasty, sneaky tricks will soon come to an end.

 http://josiespoems.webeden.co.uk/#/achoo-will-catch-you/4555938462    

Hope your children like this.