International Reading Association Teachers Make Dream Flags in Atlanta.
5/12/08 Gallery of Flags from Atlanta Conference
Last week in Atlanta, more than 13,000 teachers gathered for the annual International Reading Association convention. Mary Pat McFarland, Sandy Crow, and Jeff Harlan were presenters there with a Dream Flags workshop. More than 160 attendees participated in the workshop on May 6th. They learned about the work of Dream Flag teachers everywhere and made their own flags. (With a full room of 160, the flags were a challenge to paint!) The dreams and ideas flew, and we hope that many more dreamers will join us in 2008-09.
Gallery of Flags from Atlanta Conference

Video Highlights of 2008 Philadelphia Dream Flag Celebration (5 Minutes)4/25/08
On April 19th, representative poets, friends and families  from more than 25 regional schools gathered to celebrate the dreams from all across The 2008 Dream Flag Project. As a result of this truly joint effort, we heard more than 50 dream poems and connected more than 2,500 flags around the balconies of the Kimmel Center. Our special guest, Marjol Hughes of the Langston Hughes family, and a citation from Philadelphia's City Council added even more sparkle to the day, along with school exhibitions, a poetry open mike before the celebration, and help from 40+ event staff members. It was a beautiful celebration of spirit, hope, and working together. (More photos and details coming.)

Hughes Family Member Special Guest at Philadelphia  Dream Flag Celebration and Featured Speaker at John Wister.
4/1/08
On April 19 this year, students will read Dream Flag poems to the hundreds of students, parents, and friends gathered at the Kimmel Center and to a member of Langston Hughes's family. Marjol Collet will be our special guest. She will be flying in from her home in Gary Indiana, thanks to a grant provided by Children Can Shape the Future. Ms. Collet is the founder of the Langston Hughes Family Museum in Gary, and her mother was a long-time friend of Langston Hughes. She will also be the speaker at an assembly to be held at John Wister Elementary in Philadelphia on Friday, April 18th at 1:00. Any schools interested in bringing students to this even on Friday should contact Jeff or Sandy at dreamflags@agnesirwin.org. Help us welcome Ms. Collet!

Philadelphia International Airport to Exhibit 2008 Dream Flags!
4/1/08
We just received word that this year's Dream Flags will be welcomed as part of the Youth Art Gallery at Philadelphia's International Airport. We hope the messages will reach from Philadelphia to every airport in the world! More details on this special exhibit well be posted as they come in.

>Dream Flags Fly in AUSTRALIA!
 3/18/08 Australia Gallery
Just recently, we got these awesome photos from teacher Shawna Sharp who make helped her sixth graders make these Dream Flags in Australia! She was at St. Gertrude's Primary School in Smithfield, New South Wales, Australia. Now she's back in Alberta, Canada and her fortunate students are making Dream Flags in the sixth grade there. Check out the Sydney opera house and the flying dreams. Thank you to Ms. Sharp!
Australian Dream Flags Gallery

>2008 Dream Flag Tee!!
 3/18/08 Flag Line Tee
Here it is!!... the long awaited fifth anniversary fashion statement of 2008: The 2008 Dream Flag Tee-Shirt! You can order them now for a Dream Flag celebration, to spread your dreams in the neighborhood, or for a dreamy gift for someone you know. The back has "Dream Keeper" by Hughes, and the front labels you as a certified Dreamer. This year's green color is great for eco-connections or if you're a little Irish! (Today is St. Patrick's Day.) Note: We can only manage group orders from teachers, not orders from  individual students.
>Order Form (pdf)
>Order Form (web)

>Making a Line of Flags Fly
 3/10/08 Flag Line Tips
Once you've moved from Dream Flag poems to making Dream Flags, you're ready to link them to a line. Here's a resource page on how to do that, materials you may need, and simple tips to make it go smoothly. Once the line is complete, it's ready to send the dreams out to the world--what The Dream Flag Project is all about.
>Putting Flags on a Line

>Sing Along: The Dream Flag Song!
3/10/08
We have a musical setting of "The Dream Keeper," the theme poem of our project. Check it out. If we all learn it, we can sing together all over the U.S., and wherever we get together! The recording was made by The Agnes Irwin School 5th and 6th grade chorus. Cara Latham directs them and arranged the song for us! "Bring me all your dreams . . ."
Recording of Dream Keeper Song (Mp3)
Music for Dream Keeper Song (pdf)

>Ideas for Flying Flag Art
 3/3/08 Flag Art Ideas
This is a good time to start collecting what you need for transforming poetry into beautiful Dream Flags. Here's a sheet on what to get and how to use it. There are as many was as Dream Flag schools, but here are  few.
>Art Ideas for Dream Flags

>Dreaming  On-Line!
 3/3/08 On-Line Connections
As your students create their poems, it's wonderful to share them with others right away. Here's a sheet on how to contribute poems to our on-line Poetry Gallery. We'd love to get poems from all 19 states participating!
>Dreaming On-Line

>See What's New on the Wiki!
 2/27/08 DF Wiki
Ferry Pass Middle School just posted a few pictures of their students making flags. Check 'em out! Add your school page whenever you have ten minutes. There's also updates from the Pass the Banner Schools like Galway Central School District in New York.  All the lines have left their first stop and are at least on the way to the second!
Email us if you are a registered school and need the password to enter info. on the Wiki. Also email us if you need tech help, and we'll put you in touch with Pete Endriss who set this up. Thanks, Mr. Endriss!
>Dream Flags Wiki

>Weaving Words Onto Fabric
 2/27/08 words to fabric
While you absolutely don't need to weave anything, getting the poems onto fabric for Dream Flags can be a challenge--but there are many ways to do it. Here are some resources to help. Also, if you have a new way (and there always are many), please email us and let us know. dreamflags@agnesirwin.org
>Words to Fabric Resource Page

>Dreaming a Poem onto a Page. . .
 2/27/08 poem ideas page
There as many ways to approach writing a Dream Flag poem as there are Dream Flag schools, but here's a page with a collection of ideas that may help get things started when working with student poets. Send your idea to dreamflags@agnesirwin.org or share them right away on our Wiki Page.
>Poem Writing Ideas

>Ideas for Hughes Poetry 2/15/08
Printable sheet of Hughes poetry lessons ideas
Teaching students poetry is a challenge for many of us. Here's a sheet of ideas from The Dream Flag Project on how to teach some poems of Langston Hughes. They're all found in the anthology The Dream Keeper and Other Poems,  but many can be found on-line as well. Check it out and send us your ideas to add!
Printable Hughes poetry lesson ideas

>List of Key Dates for 2008 I 2/10/08
Printable list of Dream Flags 2008 Key Dates
When should the flags be finished? When do we  decide if we can send flags to the April 19 celebration in Philadelphia? Check out the key dates list for these and more.
Printable list of 2008 Key Project Dates

>Dream Flags and Geography
2008 Dream Flag Sites Map

Help your students know who they're connecting to with the 2008 Dream Flag Sites Map. Quick classroom idea for grades 4+: Print this page and cut up the schools list on the left. Have each student pick a school, go to it's site (most are linked), and gather information to share with the class.
2008 Dream Flag Sites Map (pdf)

>Dream Ideas Fly at Teacher Workshop 2/4/08
Pictures – Handouts -- Video --Poetry Website
A week ago on Saturday, teachers from 15 schools in the Philadelphia region gathered for a first-time Dream Flag teacher workshop. It was a morning of inspiration and discovery, and was chock full of practical ideas. read more . . .
Quick Links: Pictures – Handouts -- Video --Poetry Website

Ideas for the First Week

>February 1, 2008 On Its Way!--First Week Ideas 12/15/08
Ideas for the First Week Page
It's just two and a half weeks until the 106th birthday of Langston Hughes and the official start of the 2008 Dream Flag Project. Groups can start the project any time, but many use this special date to begin. We've got a list of "First Week Ideas" with resources on Hughes, ideas for celebrating his birthday, and lots more. Send us your own ideas, and we'd love to add them. . . Ready, Set, Dream!
Ideas for the First Week

>2008 Pass-The-Banner Project
 12/15/08
To help celebrate our fifth anniversary of The Dream Flag Project, we launching Pass-The-Banner, a multi-school project for creating and sharing Dream Flag banners. To learn more about this new addition, check out the copy of our invitation letter:
Pass-The-Banner-Invitation

>Philadelphia Region Dream Flags Teacher Workshop Set for Jan. 26
 12/14/08
Thanks to the efforts of Mary Pat McFarland and the Lower Merion School District, we'll be hosting our first-ever workshop for teacher participants in The Dream Flag Project on Saturday, January 26 from 9-11 at Belmont Hills Elementary School in Bala Cynwyd, PA. We'll be sure to post ideas and information coming out of it on this site. Please come if you live in the region and can make it. See the attached flyer in PDF format.
Dream Flag Teacsher Workshop

>New Dream Flags Wiki!
 12/10/08
Thanks to Pete Endriss at John Wister School in Philadelphia, we have a Dream Flags Wiki share our ideas on the project as we go along. Pete's already put in info on what he's learned about printing Dream Flags and created space to add lots more information as well. Check out this new resource! (If you're an 07-08 participant, you can email for the password to enter information. Just identify your school.)
Dream Flags Wiki

>April 19, 2008 Date Set For Philadelphia Dream Flag Celebration
 12/3/08
On Saturday, April 19, the Philadelphia Regional Dream Flag Celebration will take place at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The Celebration itself will be from 12-1:30. School registration and set-up will start as early as 10:00. More details to follow. This will be the fifth anniversary of The Dream Flag Project and we hope to celebrate BIG!
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

>2007-08 Dream Flag Invitation
 10/12/07
The Dream Flag Project has grown because of the way teachers who have done it shared it with others. Last year that meant 11,000 students from Florida to Alaska joined in. Here are flyers to give to those you think might be interested in the project. They've got the simple facts and an easy 1-2-3 of what it's all about.
Dream Flag Flyer 2007-08-3 per page [pdf]
Dream Flag Flyer 2007-03 -1 per page [pdf]

>2007 Dream Flags Trip to China
 9/24/07
This summer a delegation of teachers and administrators from the Philadelphia region went on a tour of new schools in China--and  brought Dream Flags! Andrew Connally, a longtime volunteer for the Philadelphia Dream Flag Celebration, was an official Dream Flags Ambassador. We hope some dream seeds were planted!
Click the photos below for enlargements.

>2007 Dream Flags At Work
 6/22/07
2007 Dream Flags from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Oregon, Texas and Louisiana,  went on exhibition all around Philadelphia--at the train station,  area hospitals, an arts festival, and the Phillies baseball stadium! Check out the pictures in our Share section.
>2007 Dream Flags At Work
 

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