Dream Flag News Archive
>2007
Dreamer Tee Available Now!
Order Form:
Word --
Web (Click to enlarge images.)
5/4/07
If
you'd like to sport the 2007 Dream Flag
Tee Shirt, download this order form for
your school and send it in with a
check. We can only take orders from
schools, not
individuals.
It's a great way to show the world
you're a dreamer, share the words of
Langston Hughes, and invite new dreamers
to join in. Any money made from the tee
shirts goes to helping schools with
Dream Flag materials.
>Dream Flag Tee Order Form:
Web Page Format
Word Doc Format
>Dream
Flag Banner Spans the U.S.
Dream Flag Banner
5/2/07
Check
out this on-line version of our Dream
Flag Banner with flags from PA, AK, GA,
VA, NJ, NY OR, NV, and TX! Click the
small images to see big ones. They're so
beautiful and different--just like the
dreams.
>Dream
Flag Banner
>At 15°
Dream Flags Fly in Alaska
Photo
Gallery
4/25/07
Last
Friday, students in White Mountain,
Alaska, clebrated their Dream
Flags outside in snow and
fifteen
degree weather.
Check
out these great pictures of their
village and fabulous flags.
>Celebration
Photo Gallery
>3,000+ Dreams Connected at Philadelphia
Dream Flag Celebration!
Photo
Gallery
4/23/07
On
Saturday, April 21, hundreds of dreamers
gathered at the
Philadelphia
Kimmel Center
for the 4th
annual
Dream Flag Celebration. Poets from 23
schools read their work with dreamy
musical
improvisation,
and we wrapped the glass enclosed atrium
in about 3,000 flags. Thanks to our
dedicated event staff of 19, everything
ran smoothly. Thanks to the poet
dreamers and their teachers, we all had
a transforming hour and a half of hope
and vision. Check out the pics. More
coming.
>Celebration
Photo Gallery
>900 Dreams Connect at Ferry Pass in
Pensacola, Florida!
News Journal Article
4/16/07
On
April 6th, 900 students at Ferry Pass
Middle School celebrated Dream Flags,
and it brought the school together.
Check out this cool article on in the
Pensacola News Journal. Way to go,
Jamey Jones and everyone at Ferry Pass!
>Pensacola
News Journal Article
>Philadelphia Dream Flag Celebration
Around the Corner
4/11/07
While Dream Flags are being celebrated
in Pensacola, Florida, Marin County,
California, and all around the country,
poets from the Philadelphia region will
gather to read their work and the work
sent in from schools far away. On
Saturday, April 21 from 12-1:30 parents,
students, teachers and friends will
gather under the glass atrium of the
Kimmel Center for Performing Arts. There
will be readings with improvisational
music, singing of The Dream Flag Song,
and the connection of more than 2,000
Dream Flags, wrapping the balconies on
three levels. Come join us in person and
or in spirit. Send poems and pictures.
Let's connect.
>Philadelphia
Kimmel Center
>Video
of Past Celebrations
(requires Windows Media Player)
>More
Dream Poems On-Line
4/11/07
Check out the newly posted posted poems
from at the Poetry Gallery. Send
more--and pics too! They're great.
>Poetry
Gallery
>Making a Line of Flags Fly
3/16/07
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
>Just In--New Dream Poems On-Line
3/8/07
Poetry Gallery
Check out these 4th grade Dream Poems
from 4th graders at Penn Valley
Elementary in Narberth, PA. They're
terrific! These are the first poems in
our Poetry Gallery this year. Thanks to
Kevin Bray for sending them! Just scroll
down to Penn Valley and click the 4th
Grade link. If your school has poems to
publish, just send an attached document
to
dreamflags@agenesirwin.org.
(Remember no last names of poets please,
just initials.)
>Penn
Valley in the Poetry Gallery
>Weaving
Words Onto Fabric
3/7/07
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
>Dream
Flags In Denver!
NAIS Workshop
3/7/07
photo gallery
There was a room full of teachers from
Colorado, Hawaii, California and beyond
all making Dream Flags on the conference
room chars last Friday. Jeff and Sandy
did a workshop for attendees of the
National Association of Independent
Schools annual conference last week. The
project met with enthusiasm and also met
the conference goals aimed at developing
a more global community in schools.
Check out the shots Sandy took:
>NAIS
Workshop Photo Gallery
>You Can Kill the Dreamer, But Not The
Dream--Rev. Billy Kyles
One school celebrates
Black History Month with Dream Flags and
Dreamers
3/7/07
shool web site article
The
Shady Hill School in Cambridge, MA
celebrated Black History month with an
assembly and speech by longtime Civil
Rights leader Rev. Billy Kyles, a close
friend of Dr. King. All 400 students in
this K-8 school made Dream Flags that
were strung all across the gym. Rev.
Kyles proclaimed that, "You can kill the
dreamer, but you can't kill the dream!"
surrounded by Dream Flags everywhere.
>Shady
Hill Web Site Article
>Dreaming a Poem onto a Page. . .
2/21/07
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 and we'll
add it to the list!
>Poem
Writing Ideas
>Working with Hughes Poems. . .
2/13/07
poem activities page
If
you're working with Hughes poetry,
here's a place to start. This printable
page includes many classroom ideas for
teaching the extraordinary musicality
and fun of the poems in the anthology
Dream Keeper and Other Poems by
Langston Hughes. It includes specific
poem titles and activities. If you have
more to share, please
send them and will add them to the
list!
>Hughes
Poem Ideas
>2007
Dream Flag Calendar On-Line!
2/9/07
We
now have an updated Dream Flags
Calendar and list of Key Dates
for the 2007 Dream Flag Project on the
News page! It has suggested pacing for
completing Dream Flags by April
(National Poetry Month) as well as many
details on our National (possibly
International!) Dream Flag Celebration
in Philadelphia on April 21st.
>2007
Dream Flag Project Calendar
>Key Dates
List on News Page
>Happy 105th Birthday, Langston Hughes!
activities and links page
1/31/07
Tomorrow
marks the 105th birthday of Langston
Hughes and the "official" start of the
2007 Dream Flag Project! With more than
7,500 students registered in 16 of the
United States, we're looking to wrap a
great many dreams "in a blue
cloud-cloth" this year. Let's begin. . .
>Activities
for the First Week
>Groups from across America and as far
as China and Nigeria sign up for 2007
Dream Flag Project
1/23/07
Now
with a little more than a week before
the official start of the 2007 Dream
Flag Project on February 1 (the 105th
birthday of Langston Hughes), more than
41 schools from Alaska to Florida to
California to Pennsylvania are signed up
to share hopes and dreams. We also have
new international connections in China
and Nigeria. At present, more than 6,000
students are registered to participate
in this year's project, and more sign up
each day. The broader our dreams, the
stronger the links, so please inviter
your friends to join in!
>Download
one-page Dream Flag Invitation
>Teachers From Across The Country Make
Dream Flags at NCTE conference in
Nashville, TN
pictures
11/26/06
On
November 16th, more than 25 teachers
from New Mexico to Vermont came to learn
about The Dream Flag Project and to make
Dream Flags at the National Council of
Teachers of English annual convention in
Nashville, TN. They made gorgeous flags
which were then displayed in the main
registration area of the conference.
More than 6,000 teachers were in
Nashville, learning and sharing ideas
about how to teach English to students
everywhere. We were so glad to
contribute! Check out the flags. . .
>Picture
Gallery of NCTE Workshop
>Download Dream
Flags Flyers to Share With Friends!
1per page
3 per page
11/13/06
Help spread the message of The Dream
Flag Project! Our project has grown from
60 students to 10,000 students in four
years because caring people recommended
it to other caring people. These
downloadable (pdf) invitations are easy
to print or send as an email attachment.
The one-page invitation is good for an
email attachment or to hand out to
friends. The three-on-a-page invitation
is great if you're going to a conference
or meeting.
>Download
one-page Dream Flag Invitation
>Download
three per page Dream Flag Invitation:
Double-side copy and cut
in thirds.
>
Philadelphia
School District Art Teachers Join Their
Dreams!
10/30/06
On Friday, October 27th, a group of
about 18 Philadelphia School District
art teachers connected their dreams as
they learned about The Dream Flag
Project and created their own dreams in
a workshop led by Jeff Harlan, Charesse
Ford, and John Wister Elementary
principal Donna Smith. Special thanks to
Mrs. Smith for coming to talk to the
teachers about how the project has
worked in her school for the past three
years. More thanks to Tessie Varthas at
the District Office who made the whole
thing happen. Check out the dreams at
work!
>Dreams
At Work: Picture Gallery from the
workshop
>John
Wister Look Who's Dreaming Page
>Look
for Dream Flags at the November National
Council of Teachers of English
Conference
9/15/06
Jeff, Sandy, and Charesse, from The
Agnes Irwin School, will be making a
presentation for the NCTE conference in
Nashville on November 16th. If you're
going to be there, please come say hi!
>Presentation
Description Search for "Dream Flag
Project"
>
Duniway Dream Flag Celebration Makes the
Local Portland Paper!
5/20/06
Duniway Elementary School in Portland,
Oregon participated in The Dream Flag
Project for the first time this year.
Read this on-line article in The Bee
on their participation and school-wide
celebration! Some great pictures.
(Scroll down to near the bottom of the
page to find the article.)
>
Dream
Flags At Work!
5/20/06
Check out these new pictures of Dream
Flags At Work--on exhibition in some
public places around Philadelphia!
>
Greenwood School's Dream Flag
Celebration Report and Video!
5/20/06
First graders at Greenwood Elementary
School in Kennett Square, PA not only
participated in The Dream Flag
Celebration at the Kimmel Center, they
had their own all-school celebration and
made this web page and QuickTime video
(bottom of their page)! Check it out.
>
Get Inspired with Poems and Pics
5/8/06
Take a look at the really cool video
created by the Wister School in the
Germantown area of Philadelphia. It has
recordings of students reading their
poems with great shots of the flags and
inspirational music!
Wister School Students Inspire
Also check out the great stuff
sent from The Benjamin School in North
Palm Beach, Florida. They had a
school-wide Dream Flag Celebration on
April 21 with all 620 of their Dream
Flags outside! You can see some
pictures, some flags, and their famous
Dream Band on their Look Who's Dreaming
page.
Duniway School Pics, Flags, and Video!
>
Dreamer T Shirt Order Form
4/18/06
To get 2006 Dream Flag Project t-shirts,
the teacher from a Dream Flag School can
fill out and send in this order!
Word Document Order Form
Web Page Order Form
>
Video:
2,000+ Flags Connect!
4/24/06
More to come, but check out this
50-second video of connection and hope
from Philadelphia!
(windows
media player for Mac)
>
Dream
Flags in Hiroshima
4/24/06
Check out this
email from a Dream Flag teacher in
Japan!
>
Check
out The Dream Band!
4/18/06
From The Benjamin School in North Palm
Beach, Florida. . . their Dream Band
plays "The Dream Flag Song." Wow!
>
See
Where Our Dreams Will Go!
4/11/06
After
our Dream Flag Celebration at the Kimmel
Center on April 22, we've got
exhibitions of Dream Flags going up all
over the Philadelphia region! Our latest
is the Cira Center, the newest office
tower in Philadelphia with it's glass
bridge over to 30th Street Station.
Check out the complete listing . . .
Complete Listing of Dream Flag
Exhibition Sites
>
Kimmel Coming Right UP
4/11/06
With the Kimmel Center Dream Flag
Celebration around the corner, we
thought we should repost the tips and
reminders page. If you're able to
attend, check this out:
Kimmel Center Tips and Reminders
>
Check
Out New Pics and Poems
4/3/06
Take a look at our site to see new
sights and sounds from Dream Flag
schools. Here's what's just up:
From the Duniway School in
Portland, Oregon:
proud poets and their flags!
From the John Wister School in
the Germantown area of Philadelphia:
Pictures of a few of their 306 Dream
Flag Poets; actual
poems from five classrooms; a
selection of bright and moving
actual Dream Flags
From the Agnes Irwin School:
Gallery of pictures including poets
and their flags, students creating their
Dream Flags, the Dream Flag button crew,
and sharing the 6th grade Flags at the
grade level celebration.
Please send more!
>
Revised Due Date for International Flags
Line!
Dream
Flag teacher Sue Cannon will take an
all-schools Dream Flag line to China and
Japan this spring where she will be
doing conferences on peace making. ALL
participant groups this year are invited
to contribute 2 flags. The revised due
date for the flags is March 15.
(It was March 1.) We hope this
means more people can join in! See the
About page
for our mailing address.
>
April
22 Celebration Coming Up!
~why go and what to know~
3/17/06
Our
students are creating wonderful poems
made even more spectacular from their
art work. Now the 2006 Dream Flag
Celebration in Philadelphia is coming up
on April 22-- an opportunity to share
this work and show our students how far
their dreams can reach. If you're close
enough to come, here's what you need to
know about why it's a great way to spend
that Saturday along with tips and
resources to make it the best day
possible for your students.
APRIL 22: why go and what to know
>
Check
New Postings on "Look Who's Dreaming"
3/14/06
We're
up to 11 postings! (Everything we got is
up!) Check out who's dreaming in Dallas,
Atlanta, Grand Coteau, Germantown,
Broomall, Rosemont, and more . . .
Look Who's Dreaming
>
Sharing Dreams On-Line
3/13/06
Last
year we started a
Gallery of Poems--Dream Flag poems
on-line. It's easy to have your
students' work here as well. Here's how:
Putting Dream Flag Poems On-Line
>
Putting Dream Flags On A Line
3/13/06
Perhaps
the most exciting stage of the project
is when the flags "don't live alone" any
more and get connected in Dream Flag
Lines. Here are some tips for that
process and some important reminders:
Making A Dream Flag Line
>
Decorating the Dreams
3/13/06
Once
student dream poems are off the paper
and on to fabric, the exciting stage of
decoration comes in. Here are some tips
on doing this creatively and simply:
Decoratig Dream Flags
>
Blog
In And Let's Talk Dream Flags
3/2/06
Since
the best way to get ideas and advice is
usually from colleagues, we've set up a
Dream Flags blog site where you can
write about your questions what you're
doing and get feedback from anyone using
our blog. The web site is
http://www.xanga.com/dreamflags
Let's see how it works . .
Dream Flags Blog
>
Connecting Dreams Video
2/27/06
With
video clips of Dream from all over and
the voices of Dream Flag poets , this
six-minute video tries to capture the
power and excitement of connecting the
dreams. Great to explain what it's
all about in a visual way. Also linked
to our About page.
Dream Flag Streaming Video
(wmv file--2MB)
Macintosh viewer for wmv files
>
Sing Along: The
Dream Flag Song!
2/24/06
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 is 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)
>
Upcoming Calendar Dates
2/21/06
While
each school needs to find its own pace
to complete flags by April 1 (and some
have already completed them), we have
suggested steps to get there without a
rush. This week (3/20-24) is a
good one for writing the poems. (See
below for ideas.) It's also a good time
to think about participation in the
April 22nd Dream Flag Celebration in
Philadelphia--whether by sending poets
or poems. Next week
(3/27-4/3) is good for putting flags on
fabric. (See above for ideas.) It's also
a good time to start to inform parents
if you plan to send poets to the April
22nd Dream Flag Celebration. For
more calendar information, please see
our Dream Flags calendar.
Dream
Flag Calendar
>
Moving Dreams Off The Page
2/21/06
With
March almost upon us, some schools are
moving into the fun-filled process of
taking a poem and making it fly--into a
Dream flag. Here's a resource for ideas
on getting the poems onto fabric.
Fabric Ideas
>
Ideas for Writing Dream Poems
2/14/06
Each
group will come up with its own way of
introducing the writing of dream
poems for the project, but here is a
collection of ideas from a sampling of
Dream Flag classrooms. Take a look, and
use what fits for your group. If you
have an idea that worked, please share
it with all of us! Email to:
dreamflags@agnesirwin.org
Dream Poem Writing Ideas
>
Look Who's Dreaming in 2006!
Hundreds of students celebrated the
104th Birthday of Langston Hughes on
Wed. as The Dream Flag Project started
in 41 schools and groups in 10 states.
Check out the Current Participant List
(to left), and click on school names to
see school web sites. For participating
teachers, please send in school
info. by Feb. 6. We're working on a new
"Look Who's Dreaming" page for the site!
Look Who's
Dreaming Preview
2/6/06
>
Activity Ideas for Hughes
Poems
Here
are some classroom ideas for eleven poems found in the anthology The Dream
Keeper by Langston Hughes. Most of
these are geared for upper elementary or middle
school students. You may find may find these
poems on-line as well.
(Click book image for Amazon listing of
title.)
Hughes Poem Ideas
2/6/006
>
Advance Planning Details
for Kimmel Center Event Now Posted
The
2006 Dream Flag Celebration at
Philadelphia's Kimmel Center is planned
for April 22, 2006. Schools needing
event details for advanced planning, can
now find them on the project calendar
under News.
Kimmel Event Details
2/2/06
> On
the 104th Birthday of Langston Hughes. .
. Dream Flags In CHINA!
Today,
on the official start of the 2006 Dream
Flag Project, 6th grade English teacher
Sue Cannon told us about Dream Flags in
China! Last summer, Sue brought her
students' Dream Flags to China. She said
the middle school students there
couldn't stop touching them and reading
them! See what came out of this on Sue's
amazing web site for learning about
China--Dream Flags from Chinese students
and teachers!
Dream Flags from China!
Sue's China Web Site 2/1/06
>
Here We Go! . . . Week #1!
This
Wednesday, February 1 is our official
start date for the 2006 Dream Flag
Project! With 37 participating schools
and groups from Pennsylvania to Texas to
Oregon to Florida to DC to California to
Louisiana . . . we're ready to connect
and wrap our world "in a blue
cloud-cloth" like never before! Here's a
page with resources for getting started.
Please send YOUR ideas (and pictures!)
so we can share them.
Ideas for the First Week
1/30/06
>
Count Down To 104! . . .
Here we go . . .
Langston Hughes was born on February 1,
1902. Let's celebrate his 104th
birthday next Wednesday with gifts to
Langston Hughes! It's the official start
date for the 2006 Dream Flag Project!
Memorize, illustrate, or have cupcakes
and candles! (Maybe not 104.) We've got
a list of books and web sites to start
with--more on the Create page. And
please send us YOUR resources to share
for 104 years of dreaming. . .
Printable Resource Page
Create Page 1/24/06
>
Dreaming From Portland to
Palm Beach!
As the
project is about to get going with the
104th birthday of Langston Hughes on
Feb. 1, 2006, we're lucky to have
schools from all over working together.
Welcome our first school from Portland,
Oregon--Duniway
Elementary School,
and our first school in Palm Beach,
Florida,
The Benjamin School.
You can see the current list on our News
Page. Please invite your friends. The
more dreams, the stronger they all
become. . . .
News 1/12/06
>
New Web Stuff: About,
& Dream Flag Gallery
We
redid the "About" page on our web site
to quickly tell what The Dream Flag
Project is, how it started, and how it
is run--a good spot to send people
thinking of joining in, or to explain it
to others in your school. Hope it's
helpful. We also added a Dream Flag
Gallery section on the "Share" page.
Small now, but it can grow!
About The
Dream Flag Project.
Dream
Flag Gallery 1/08/06
>
Flags from Dallas!
Look at
these beautiful flags created by
teachers from schools across the U.S. at
the 2005 NAIS People of Color Conference
in Dallas. They made these at our
workshop--all in less than 90 minutes!
Dreams From Dallas.
1/02/06
>
Detailed Calendar for
2006 Dream Flag Project
We just
posted a calendar that starts Jan. 15
and goes to May 20th--with week-by-week
suggestions for pacing your Dream Flag
Project activities along with all of the
deadlines we need to meet in order to
bring our dreams together. Support
information will be posted for each step
as we go along. . .
2006 Dream Flag Project Calendar
1/02/06
There's a permanent link
to this in the Dates & Details section
of this site.
>
Important Dates
Check out the current listing of
important dates for the 2006 Dream Flag
Project along with an updated list of
schools registered so far on our
News/Details &
Dates page.
12/18/05
>
Dream Flag Article
First
grade teacher Andrea Smith at
Greenwood School in Knnett Square,
PA is having an article published in
The Journal of Teaching Writing.
Her classes have participated in the
project for the past two years and have
resulted in some incredible poetry.
Congratulations, Andrea! (and sorry we
didn't get this news posted earlier.)12/18/05
>
Dream Flags in Dallas
Dream
Flags went to Dallas Texas for a
presentation to teachers from all over
the U.S. at the annual National
Association of Independent School
People of Color Conference.
We
got many great ideas and enthusiastic
responses from teachers who made their
own
Dream Flags at the conference. Check out
the pics. (Click to enlarge.)
More flags coming later. . .
12/18/05
11/18/06
>
Registration is now open for the 2006
Dream Flag Project, and schools are beginning to
sign up. Please let us know by January 15th if
you're planning to participate. Schools signed
up in the first week: The Agnes Irwin School,
6th & 1st grade (Rosemont, PA), Abington Friends
School, 6th grade (Abington, PA), Loomis School,
grades 1-5(?) (Broomall, PA), French
International School, 6-8th grade (Merion, PA),
The Haverford School, 1st grade (Haverford, PA).
11/18/06
>
Helene Duckett at the Loomis School in
Broomall was successful in getting a Rotary Club
grant for the Dream Flag Project at her school.
Congratulations, Helene! She sent us her letter,
and the process looks doable! Let us know if
you're interested. 11/18/06
>
Looks as if April 22, 2006 will be the
date for our Regional Dream Flag
Celebration at Philadelphia's Kimmel
Center this year. We need final
confirmation from the Kimmel, but it
looks good. 11/18/06
