NIWP
Final Reflection
What a wonderful four weeks I have had! While I think this should be a required class as an undergraduate, I don't think I would have been ready for until the last year or two! I have thoroughly enjoyed most every minute - especially the last couple of weeks when ideas and thoughts started coming together!
I'll reflect more later.
My Blog List
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Reflection
NIWP
What I Learned From Our SI Workshops
Audrey's Workshop: A Potpourri of Ideas for Beginning Writers
Virginia Elliott's Workshop: A Few Survival Strategies for Teaching and /or Using Writing: with Children with Aspergers
Megan Cuellar's Workshop: 6-Trait Writing for the Younger Learner
Lupe Sims Workshop: What is a Writer's Notebook Anyway?
Cheryl Kintner's Workshop: Lots of Writing Ideas to Use With Molly's Pilgrim
What I Learned From Our SI Workshops
Audrey's Workshop: A Potpourri of Ideas for Beginning Writers
- Ideas for working with younger students using the Writer's Workshop
- Using the senses and to write about them after examining a slice of lemon - such a simple but amazing way for students, and the teacher, to recognize our senses. This also brought back memories of wearing the popular lemon perfume in the early 70s. Thank you, Audrey, for that flashback to 8th grade in the local drugstore at Kingman, Arizona!
- I love the ideas of recreating funny words to old rhymes that was fun and a great way to get all students involved in the recreation of old favorites.
- I want to try using music as a prompt to journal writing or as a freewrite. Thank you, Cheryl, for the ideas of using music into the classroom as another way to connect with students who may not get that variety or experience at home!
Virginia Elliott's Workshop: A Few Survival Strategies for Teaching and /or Using Writing: with Children with Aspergers
- I will be more aware of the special needs of a child with Aspergers. The story frame explanation is a wonderful way to explain a change in routine to the student.
- I will be able to help a student learn how to hold their pencil because of the diagrammed document geared to both right and left-handed students! Thank you, Virginia for bringing this "simple" process to the forefront of my mind - something that I take for granted can actually be a great challenge to someone else!
Megan Cuellar's Workshop: 6-Trait Writing for the Younger Learner
- I will be able to reteach (or remind) my students the beauty and depth of a picture book, and how they can use it as a jumping off point to write from one of the six traits.
- I am more aware and appreciative to how far my 6th graders have come from kindergarten! Thank you, Megan, for reminding me! I can only imagine how hard you work!!!
Lupe Sims Workshop: What is a Writer's Notebook Anyway?
- Using Writer's Notebooks in my classes will give students a place to jot their notes during class, keep record of special events or experiences.
- Lupe demonstrated how the notebooks can be an extension of the student's thoughts; their reflections on lessons, books, and classroom presentations. I'm excited to get started with this! Thank you, Lupe, for the composition notebook, pen, and bookmark, as well as your great presentation!
Cheryl Kintner's Workshop: Lots of Writing Ideas to Use With Molly's Pilgrim
- I will be able to expand my student's perception on what being a 'pilgrim' actually is, not just the stereotype of someone who stepped off the Mayflower. This is important for our current citizens to understand and appreciate about the people immigrating to the United States.
- I will also be able to create a writing/investigation piece about student's heritage - many aren't aware of their roots! this will help to better connect their families! Thank you, Cheryl for this insight!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Reflection
NIWP
Leaving a Trace
by Alexandra Johnson
Transforming a Life - Patterns and Meanings
Leaving a Trace
by Alexandra Johnson
Transforming a Life - Patterns and Meanings
- Journals are narratives, life stories told in Expressive writing with deep and often hidden patterns of meaning.
Gaining access to the interior life is a kind of ...archaeology: on the basis of some information and a little bit of guesswork, you journey to a site to see what remains were left behind and you reconstruct the world.
Toni Morrison
- A journal is a self-portrait, its narrative still evolving. It gives you, the writer, the time to tell and reframe your life's story.
Dr. Perri Klass
Journals tend to contain 10 categories of life patterns:
Past, Present, Future
Revisions:
To see again
A person's work is nothing but a long journey to recover, through the detours of art, the two or three simple and great images which first gained access to their hearts.
- longing
- fear
- mastery
- intentional silences
- key influences
- hidden lessons
- secret gifts
- challenges
- unfinished business
- untapped potential
Past, Present, Future
Revisions:
To see again
A person's work is nothing but a long journey to recover, through the detours of art, the two or three simple and great images which first gained access to their hearts.
Albert Camus
Reflection
NIWP
Rubrics
I first learned of Rubrics when I was getting my Ed. degree at Eastern. I had never even heard of them before - granted I had been out of school for 25 years - but I had three kids in and this was still new and insightful information to me. On various assignments at Eastern we would be partnered up w/another adult student, and I lucked out with being paired up w/Sarah Franko. Sarah, who I've known since 2000, was/is such a go-getter, let's get this done, partner! And the best thing she taught me was to write to the rubric - just answering each question! It was so simple so I had always thought this was kind-of cheating --- it was just too easy! But in reality, this is just what the instructor wanted! A whole new world of responding to assignments was opened up to me, and my grades improved, and my time spent on responding to assignments decreased!
Since I've been in the classroom, I've used rubrics but they work best when I have them coordinated with the students. Thus, I have to be "on the ball" before I hand out the assignment, otherwise I'm continually playing catch-up and I don'thave the best answers for the students when they ask about grading on a particular assignment. This is my third year to teach 6th grade, and I'm finally getting a better scope of what I want and need to do in the classroom, what has worked for me, and what hasn't. It's starting to become easier!
In the article, Teaching with Rubrics - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, by Heidi Goodrich Andrade, I have noticed there are still a number of ways that I can improve my use of rubrics. Andrade says, "I use rubrics before, during, and after I deliver instruction, and the benefits are numerous." While I think this is great for her instruction, and she admits this as well, I would think the impact on the student's comprehension would be amazing! As a student at Eastern, the rubric began to make the assignment so clear and purposeful!
A negative in rubric assessement for me is when the numbers don't add up to the grade that I think the student has earned. Do all rubrics have a 5-4-3-2-1 grading system? I need a half-way point in there somewhere - like a 3.5 type of grade. I was having to create that this past year in order for me to give a better reflection of the grade I thought the student deserved. I need to improve this in my teaching practice, or at least figure out a compromise.
Andrade emphasises that, "Rubrics improve when we compare them to published standards, show them to another teacher, or ask a colleague to coscore some student work." This makes sense, and we actually did discuss our rubrics in our classrooms during a couple of our Wednesday morning meetings this past year. It was helpful and look to other teachers for back-up opinions, experiences, and advice. in particular, I look to Debbie Barry, our 7th grade LA teacher, which is where my kids move after me. I want to do my part to have the kids prepared for 7th grade. Debbie knows her stuff inside and out, and she is a great role model for me to bring my students up to her 7th grade level by June.
I will really need to stay forcused in August as I prep my classroom and planning using all of this info that I have gained this month! I could actually continue taking this class on a weekly basis to keep training my brain and not to get into a rut. I need to make lists and more lists about what to do, how to do it, and, just as importantly, the why of what I'm doing!!! Need to get to class!
Rubrics
I first learned of Rubrics when I was getting my Ed. degree at Eastern. I had never even heard of them before - granted I had been out of school for 25 years - but I had three kids in and this was still new and insightful information to me. On various assignments at Eastern we would be partnered up w/another adult student, and I lucked out with being paired up w/Sarah Franko. Sarah, who I've known since 2000, was/is such a go-getter, let's get this done, partner! And the best thing she taught me was to write to the rubric - just answering each question! It was so simple so I had always thought this was kind-of cheating --- it was just too easy! But in reality, this is just what the instructor wanted! A whole new world of responding to assignments was opened up to me, and my grades improved, and my time spent on responding to assignments decreased!
Since I've been in the classroom, I've used rubrics but they work best when I have them coordinated with the students. Thus, I have to be "on the ball" before I hand out the assignment, otherwise I'm continually playing catch-up and I don'thave the best answers for the students when they ask about grading on a particular assignment. This is my third year to teach 6th grade, and I'm finally getting a better scope of what I want and need to do in the classroom, what has worked for me, and what hasn't. It's starting to become easier!
In the article, Teaching with Rubrics - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, by Heidi Goodrich Andrade, I have noticed there are still a number of ways that I can improve my use of rubrics. Andrade says, "I use rubrics before, during, and after I deliver instruction, and the benefits are numerous." While I think this is great for her instruction, and she admits this as well, I would think the impact on the student's comprehension would be amazing! As a student at Eastern, the rubric began to make the assignment so clear and purposeful!
A negative in rubric assessement for me is when the numbers don't add up to the grade that I think the student has earned. Do all rubrics have a 5-4-3-2-1 grading system? I need a half-way point in there somewhere - like a 3.5 type of grade. I was having to create that this past year in order for me to give a better reflection of the grade I thought the student deserved. I need to improve this in my teaching practice, or at least figure out a compromise.
Andrade emphasises that, "Rubrics improve when we compare them to published standards, show them to another teacher, or ask a colleague to coscore some student work." This makes sense, and we actually did discuss our rubrics in our classrooms during a couple of our Wednesday morning meetings this past year. It was helpful and look to other teachers for back-up opinions, experiences, and advice. in particular, I look to Debbie Barry, our 7th grade LA teacher, which is where my kids move after me. I want to do my part to have the kids prepared for 7th grade. Debbie knows her stuff inside and out, and she is a great role model for me to bring my students up to her 7th grade level by June.
I will really need to stay forcused in August as I prep my classroom and planning using all of this info that I have gained this month! I could actually continue taking this class on a weekly basis to keep training my brain and not to get into a rut. I need to make lists and more lists about what to do, how to do it, and, just as importantly, the why of what I'm doing!!! Need to get to class!
Reflection
NIWP
Emily Duvall
Thriving as Writers in a Writing Test Culture
I loved what Emily had to say about writing and high-stakes test taking:
In the handout that Duvall gave us, Teaching to the test...not!, there are a number of resources to further investigate about test taking and the writing process. As the authors, Betty Higgins, Melinda Miller, and Susan Wegmann, of the article state, "...through excellent instruction that prepares students to be full, literate members of our society, and not just people who can pass a test." We need to have authentic instruction and learning, not just regergitateable information that has no meaning or relevance to our students!
Emily Duvall
Thriving as Writers in a Writing Test Culture
I loved what Emily had to say about writing and high-stakes test taking:
- Writing-Test writing is different than regular writing
- Find humor in the test prompt
- Don't bare one's soul in response to the prompt
- Keep stickies around for brainstorming notes
- Test wiseness of students by giving them lots of writing-test writing practice
- Self-mediation: what are the choices for the test
- Reading-test reading
- Giving students power over the test
In the handout that Duvall gave us, Teaching to the test...not!, there are a number of resources to further investigate about test taking and the writing process. As the authors, Betty Higgins, Melinda Miller, and Susan Wegmann, of the article state, "...through excellent instruction that prepares students to be full, literate members of our society, and not just people who can pass a test." We need to have authentic instruction and learning, not just regergitateable information that has no meaning or relevance to our students!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Week Three Debrief
NIWP
Debriefing Week Three
1. What will you put in your own revision toolbox to help you with personal writing?
• Idea note cards
• Revision ideas
• A permission note to myself to throw away a piece of writing if it’s not working!
• Snapshot, thoughtshot, explode the moment, shrink the century notes and examples to trigger my memory.
• List of helpful web sites to go to when I’m in need of inspiration or a connection with other writers.
2. List two new learnings about rubrics.
• New web sites to guide me through different ideas.
• Co-creating my rubrics with my students for more ownership in their own learning.
• 3. At the end of next week I hope to leave with information about…..
• When the Advanced Summer Institute and the Writing Retreat are so that I can plan for them.
• Learning how soon I can register for the Writing Conference in Spokane
• How to start a writing group outside of school
4. The more important things about Week Three were...
• Getting my presentation done
• Learning about Writing Test Writing and “test wiseness”
• That I can write about those little details in life that I never thought that deeply about before – my grandmother’s roasting oven, my mom’s little childhood table and chairs, finding out where stories come from.
Debriefing Week Three
1. What will you put in your own revision toolbox to help you with personal writing?
• Idea note cards
• Revision ideas
• A permission note to myself to throw away a piece of writing if it’s not working!
• Snapshot, thoughtshot, explode the moment, shrink the century notes and examples to trigger my memory.
• List of helpful web sites to go to when I’m in need of inspiration or a connection with other writers.
2. List two new learnings about rubrics.
• New web sites to guide me through different ideas.
• Co-creating my rubrics with my students for more ownership in their own learning.
• 3. At the end of next week I hope to leave with information about…..
• When the Advanced Summer Institute and the Writing Retreat are so that I can plan for them.
• Learning how soon I can register for the Writing Conference in Spokane
• How to start a writing group outside of school
4. The more important things about Week Three were...
• Getting my presentation done
• Learning about Writing Test Writing and “test wiseness”
• That I can write about those little details in life that I never thought that deeply about before – my grandmother’s roasting oven, my mom’s little childhood table and chairs, finding out where stories come from.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Revising
NIWP
Top 10 Important "Rules" of Revision
1. Have predictable and consistant rituals and routines, arrangements, and classroom structures.
2. Creating a safe classroom community of writers who value each other's work and opinions.
3. Know your students.
4. Convey the role of revision is a recursive process, and that we are always revising in one form or another.
5. Ask guiding questions, don't tell specific answers, and resist the desire to fix the student's paper.
6. Give students choices in their writing, revision, and their audience/purpose.
7. Provide "Tool Boxes," with specific notes on index cards to guide students through the writing process.
8. Create a common revision language, and a shared shorthand for communicating revision symbols.
9. Respond to student's writing as a reader, not as a teacher, and limit directions to one or two at a time.
10. Remember, students need to own their work/writing.
Top 10 Important "Rules" of Revision
1. Have predictable and consistant rituals and routines, arrangements, and classroom structures.
2. Creating a safe classroom community of writers who value each other's work and opinions.
3. Know your students.
4. Convey the role of revision is a recursive process, and that we are always revising in one form or another.
5. Ask guiding questions, don't tell specific answers, and resist the desire to fix the student's paper.
6. Give students choices in their writing, revision, and their audience/purpose.
7. Provide "Tool Boxes," with specific notes on index cards to guide students through the writing process.
8. Create a common revision language, and a shared shorthand for communicating revision symbols.
9. Respond to student's writing as a reader, not as a teacher, and limit directions to one or two at a time.
10. Remember, students need to own their work/writing.
Reflection
NIWP
Chapters 6 and 7
After the End
By Barry Lane
Invention is a form of organization.
Graham Greene
I think I did pretty well considering I started out with a bunch of blank paper.
Steve Martin
I love these two quotes that Lane introduces Chapters 6 & 7 with because they make me chuckle, especially Steve Martin's. I can imagine the student saying, "What more do you want from me - blood?"
Lane has a great way with breaking down tasks to make them do-able and creative! It seems like it'll be quite easy to guide students through the many visual writing techniques that Lane suggests - like the helicopter ride web charting. What a creative and fun way to begin their connections for a story - fiction or nonfiction. Until now, I had not heard of moment mapping or character graphing. These are great ideas and I will model these to my kids, as Lane recommends.
I like the idea of writing in the third person, although I haven't done it very often. This is something I'd like to pursue on my own. It's interesting, like we did in class, to write from the first person's perspective and then switch perspective. What a notable change in assignments with fast results. I had fun doing this, and I imagine my kids will, too.
In Chapter 7, Lane captures my heart when he talks about the teacher who didn’t read Jane’s 17-page paper, and all the self-induced guilt she sorted though before she conferenced with the student. Gads, can I relate!!! Yet, everything worked out because of the teacher’s standard approach to conferencing! Will I ever be there? I feel as if I’m going to have queue cards coming out my ears; do this, don’t do that.
Lane makes several suggestions about creating an atmosphere in the classroom. I really tried to do that this year by bringing in an 1860’s Great Wheel and a large bundle of raw Shetland fleece, plus a rocking chair, an old school desk, and a cute little table and chair set that my mother used when she was little – she’s nearly 72 now. I also put up fabric on the walls trying to create special corners. It takes time, and faith in my students that they won’t hurt my antiques, but it helped me feel more at home, which I hoped it translated over to the students.
I also liked Lane’s suggestion of creating reading journals, and journals that allow the student and teacher to communicate back about a book. Again, I don’t know where this time would come from but, in a juggling act, I suppose a few minutes carved out of here
Chapters 6 and 7
After the End
By Barry Lane
Invention is a form of organization.
Graham Greene
I think I did pretty well considering I started out with a bunch of blank paper.
Steve Martin
I love these two quotes that Lane introduces Chapters 6 & 7 with because they make me chuckle, especially Steve Martin's. I can imagine the student saying, "What more do you want from me - blood?"
Lane has a great way with breaking down tasks to make them do-able and creative! It seems like it'll be quite easy to guide students through the many visual writing techniques that Lane suggests - like the helicopter ride web charting. What a creative and fun way to begin their connections for a story - fiction or nonfiction. Until now, I had not heard of moment mapping or character graphing. These are great ideas and I will model these to my kids, as Lane recommends.
I like the idea of writing in the third person, although I haven't done it very often. This is something I'd like to pursue on my own. It's interesting, like we did in class, to write from the first person's perspective and then switch perspective. What a notable change in assignments with fast results. I had fun doing this, and I imagine my kids will, too.
In Chapter 7, Lane captures my heart when he talks about the teacher who didn’t read Jane’s 17-page paper, and all the self-induced guilt she sorted though before she conferenced with the student. Gads, can I relate!!! Yet, everything worked out because of the teacher’s standard approach to conferencing! Will I ever be there? I feel as if I’m going to have queue cards coming out my ears; do this, don’t do that.
Lane makes several suggestions about creating an atmosphere in the classroom. I really tried to do that this year by bringing in an 1860’s Great Wheel and a large bundle of raw Shetland fleece, plus a rocking chair, an old school desk, and a cute little table and chair set that my mother used when she was little – she’s nearly 72 now. I also put up fabric on the walls trying to create special corners. It takes time, and faith in my students that they won’t hurt my antiques, but it helped me feel more at home, which I hoped it translated over to the students.
I also liked Lane’s suggestion of creating reading journals, and journals that allow the student and teacher to communicate back about a book. Again, I don’t know where this time would come from but, in a juggling act, I suppose a few minutes carved out of here
Monday, July 19, 2010
Reflection
NIWP
After the End
by Barry Lane
Chapters 1 - 5
Books aren't written. They are rewritten.
Michael Crichton --- few writers would know better than Crichton, the author of many, many books and television screen writing! I think I"ll believe him.
When I first ordered this book in January, I was really excited because it came with such high recommendations from the upcoming Spring NWP conference in Spokane. But when the book arrived, I have to admit to being very disappointed: how could teaching and learning revision be any fun??? Seriously!!! I put my name and date inside the cover page, and tossed it into my school bookshelf thinking anything else would be more interesting to read. Little did I know that in seven months I would be raving about this book and revision, and actually looking forward to revising my own work!
While I'm confessing my lack of talents, I must admit to not being very excited to read content information unless it regards something that I am particularly interested in, for instance knitting. I have a difficult time breaking down the info to where I am at knowledge-wise, and learning from there. After the End was in the category that I didn't want to pursue because I could not fathom how revising could be interesting nor how it could be taught! Little did I know or understand!
The first five chapters in Lane's book actually make sense to me, thanks to slowly reading them and our class discussions! It was like a series of flashbulbs going off in my head as Lane was able to breakdown so many writing techniques that I had no idea even existed. And with each one, I was able to better grasp how I can improve as a writer and as a teacher, explaining these to my students! (Yeh!!!)
I have trouble distinquishing what thoughtshots are - I think I understand but then I get all muddled up again. So I have been rereading Chapter 3. Lane's example on page 48 helps me sort things out between snapshots and thoughtshots. "...if writers are just writing snapshots, perhaps their writing could benefit from the introspection and personalality development a thoughtshot brings to a character, or the larger purpose reflection can add to an essay. Or perhaps the writer could tint her snapshot with the emotions of thoughts of her character or herself. Writers learn to tint their snapshots with a character's feelings and visa versa."
I need to practice this technique so that it comes more naturally to me in the future!
Another cool part of Lane's book is Chapter 5, Explode a Moment, Shrink a Century. Lane's own chapter quote: Time to a writer is like playdough in the hands of a toddler. What an interesting thought! I like the idea of exploding the moment - getting all the pithy details out there for the reader to visualize and contemplate! Why couldn't I have thought of that? It seems so logical yet it's a amazing revelation! The Explosion of te sister pouring the milk over her younger sister's head was done perfectly; I could see and almost feel the cold liquid making a huge mess all over the child and the floor!
Next month, when I go back to my classroom, I will reorganize my professional bookshelf and put Lane in the front for quick and easy reference. Thank you for insisting that we read this book as I wouldn't have done so otherwise!
After the End
by Barry Lane
Chapters 1 - 5
Books aren't written. They are rewritten.
Michael Crichton --- few writers would know better than Crichton, the author of many, many books and television screen writing! I think I"ll believe him.
When I first ordered this book in January, I was really excited because it came with such high recommendations from the upcoming Spring NWP conference in Spokane. But when the book arrived, I have to admit to being very disappointed: how could teaching and learning revision be any fun??? Seriously!!! I put my name and date inside the cover page, and tossed it into my school bookshelf thinking anything else would be more interesting to read. Little did I know that in seven months I would be raving about this book and revision, and actually looking forward to revising my own work!
While I'm confessing my lack of talents, I must admit to not being very excited to read content information unless it regards something that I am particularly interested in, for instance knitting. I have a difficult time breaking down the info to where I am at knowledge-wise, and learning from there. After the End was in the category that I didn't want to pursue because I could not fathom how revising could be interesting nor how it could be taught! Little did I know or understand!
The first five chapters in Lane's book actually make sense to me, thanks to slowly reading them and our class discussions! It was like a series of flashbulbs going off in my head as Lane was able to breakdown so many writing techniques that I had no idea even existed. And with each one, I was able to better grasp how I can improve as a writer and as a teacher, explaining these to my students! (Yeh!!!)
I have trouble distinquishing what thoughtshots are - I think I understand but then I get all muddled up again. So I have been rereading Chapter 3. Lane's example on page 48 helps me sort things out between snapshots and thoughtshots. "...if writers are just writing snapshots, perhaps their writing could benefit from the introspection and personalality development a thoughtshot brings to a character, or the larger purpose reflection can add to an essay. Or perhaps the writer could tint her snapshot with the emotions of thoughts of her character or herself. Writers learn to tint their snapshots with a character's feelings and visa versa."
I need to practice this technique so that it comes more naturally to me in the future!
Another cool part of Lane's book is Chapter 5, Explode a Moment, Shrink a Century. Lane's own chapter quote: Time to a writer is like playdough in the hands of a toddler. What an interesting thought! I like the idea of exploding the moment - getting all the pithy details out there for the reader to visualize and contemplate! Why couldn't I have thought of that? It seems so logical yet it's a amazing revelation! The Explosion of te sister pouring the milk over her younger sister's head was done perfectly; I could see and almost feel the cold liquid making a huge mess all over the child and the floor!
Next month, when I go back to my classroom, I will reorganize my professional bookshelf and put Lane in the front for quick and easy reference. Thank you for insisting that we read this book as I wouldn't have done so otherwise!
Reflection
NIWP
Chapters 13 and 14
Conferring
Learning to Confer
by Lucy Calkins
When I first start reading Chapter 13, Conferring, I had a difficult time swallowing the part w/nine-year-old Becky saying she was going to confer with herself - I don't think I have had any 12-year-olds saying that. But as I read further, I was able to buy into more of this particular classroom environment. The teacher has obviously done an excellent job in modeling what the classroom should look like, and how it should operate - very admirable!
So I kept on reading, which makes me wonder how I've gotten into my seventh year of teaching and I hadn't heard of Calkins until the Summer Institute. I appreciate Calkins' list of questions that should apply, no matter what age of the writer or the genre of the writing. It would be a good idea if I put a list of questions in each student's tool box so they would consistantly be able to ask good guiding questions.
Calkins identifies conferencing is at the heart of the writing project. And while Calkins admits that learning to conference is a difficult process, she stresses the importance of meeting individually with students and that this act should not be compromised. on!
Another set of questions Calkins advocates from teacher to writer, revolve around what the writer needs to hear. It's a way of connecting to the writer's heart which can lead to deeper heart-felt writing. I think this technique will take time to develop, as the year progresses, because you need to know your students.
In conclusion of this chapter, Calkins reminds us that we will not always be there when our students write, so students need to be reliable for their own success. "Students need to become critical readers of their own texts. Our job in a writing conference is to put ourselves out of a job, to interact with students in such a way that they learn how to interact with their own developing drafts," Calkins writes. I hadn't thought about it in this way - putting myself out of a job - but maybe this is in the April-June time frame, and then I'' be looking forward to the next batch of kids in the fall!
In Chapter 14, Learning to Confer, Calkins discuses how we can confer with ourselves and how we can conference with others to re-see a subject or a scene. I love re-seeing a scene in my mind - that's one of the best things about writing! Then, still delving deeper into the scene by asking: What do I wonder? Where is the mystery?
I like how Calkins tells her students that they can start anywhere in the story or memory; it doesn't have to be when the sun rose in the sky, it's the event that is important, then the details; big picture, little picture.
Yet, when conferencing with students, Calkins says there are also times to stop and do mini-lessons or reteaching with the class. I think this part of the writing process is quite a juggling act because as a teacher you need to be aware of where each students is at, the management of the entire class, and what time it is, too! It makes me wonder how I'll ever get anything else taught, but I realize that this is the ability to organize and to see the big picture of getting a great deal accomplished in a relative short amount of time. Everything needs to be interwoven - and for me this year it will be geography, reading, and the writing process! Whoa, Nelly! Let's not get overwelmed before the school year even begins!!! Think, write, rethink, rewrite my plans!!! If you plan, they will understand...fingers crossed!!!
Chapters 13 and 14
Conferring
Learning to Confer
by Lucy Calkins
When I first start reading Chapter 13, Conferring, I had a difficult time swallowing the part w/nine-year-old Becky saying she was going to confer with herself - I don't think I have had any 12-year-olds saying that. But as I read further, I was able to buy into more of this particular classroom environment. The teacher has obviously done an excellent job in modeling what the classroom should look like, and how it should operate - very admirable!
So I kept on reading, which makes me wonder how I've gotten into my seventh year of teaching and I hadn't heard of Calkins until the Summer Institute. I appreciate Calkins' list of questions that should apply, no matter what age of the writer or the genre of the writing. It would be a good idea if I put a list of questions in each student's tool box so they would consistantly be able to ask good guiding questions.
Calkins identifies conferencing is at the heart of the writing project. And while Calkins admits that learning to conference is a difficult process, she stresses the importance of meeting individually with students and that this act should not be compromised. on!
Another set of questions Calkins advocates from teacher to writer, revolve around what the writer needs to hear. It's a way of connecting to the writer's heart which can lead to deeper heart-felt writing. I think this technique will take time to develop, as the year progresses, because you need to know your students.
In conclusion of this chapter, Calkins reminds us that we will not always be there when our students write, so students need to be reliable for their own success. "Students need to become critical readers of their own texts. Our job in a writing conference is to put ourselves out of a job, to interact with students in such a way that they learn how to interact with their own developing drafts," Calkins writes. I hadn't thought about it in this way - putting myself out of a job - but maybe this is in the April-June time frame, and then I'' be looking forward to the next batch of kids in the fall!
In Chapter 14, Learning to Confer, Calkins discuses how we can confer with ourselves and how we can conference with others to re-see a subject or a scene. I love re-seeing a scene in my mind - that's one of the best things about writing! Then, still delving deeper into the scene by asking: What do I wonder? Where is the mystery?
I like how Calkins tells her students that they can start anywhere in the story or memory; it doesn't have to be when the sun rose in the sky, it's the event that is important, then the details; big picture, little picture.
Yet, when conferencing with students, Calkins says there are also times to stop and do mini-lessons or reteaching with the class. I think this part of the writing process is quite a juggling act because as a teacher you need to be aware of where each students is at, the management of the entire class, and what time it is, too! It makes me wonder how I'll ever get anything else taught, but I realize that this is the ability to organize and to see the big picture of getting a great deal accomplished in a relative short amount of time. Everything needs to be interwoven - and for me this year it will be geography, reading, and the writing process! Whoa, Nelly! Let's not get overwelmed before the school year even begins!!! Think, write, rethink, rewrite my plans!!! If you plan, they will understand...fingers crossed!!!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Reflection
NIWP
Chapter 11: Establishing a Predictable Workshop Environment
by Lucy Calkins
In my classroom, there are somethings that I do routinely, and others that I think are done by a desire to squeeze something else in, or shake things up a little. But, Lucy Calkins has come to realize that "we (as teachers) need to anticipate how we will initiate, scaffold, and guide the classroom community toward an ever-deepening involvement, and we need to select rituals, arrangements, and classroom structures." Calkins goes on to paraphrase Don Graves, "The best workshop teachers value structure and organization." Important concepts that I need to guide my teaching towards, to frame my classroom planning and function around.
Calkins urges teachers to give their students an hour a day, every day, to write. That would be nice, but there's no way I have that much time available. While I'll have my students for two periods, back to back, I have to split that time between writing, reading and geography - about 33 minutes each if you divide them equally. I'm still debating how to do all of this in such a short time.
On another note, my favorite time of day for this class has become 10:30 - when I know I'll have uninterrupted time to work. I need to be able to give this gift to my kids since it can become such a rewarding work time.
This year I've had posters covering many of my walls, but after our readings, I realize how important it is that I post student writing, advertisig their success for others to see. Maybe I'll make two copies their papers, handback the originals, post one copy and put the other copy in their portfolio collection. I would also like to explore the idea of Publications Celebrations - maybe coffee and donuts before school when parents or relatives are dropping their kids off. Another thought to run by my peers - maybe we could do a multi-grade situation in the cafeteria?
Chapter 11: Establishing a Predictable Workshop Environment
by Lucy Calkins
In my classroom, there are somethings that I do routinely, and others that I think are done by a desire to squeeze something else in, or shake things up a little. But, Lucy Calkins has come to realize that "we (as teachers) need to anticipate how we will initiate, scaffold, and guide the classroom community toward an ever-deepening involvement, and we need to select rituals, arrangements, and classroom structures." Calkins goes on to paraphrase Don Graves, "The best workshop teachers value structure and organization." Important concepts that I need to guide my teaching towards, to frame my classroom planning and function around.
Calkins urges teachers to give their students an hour a day, every day, to write. That would be nice, but there's no way I have that much time available. While I'll have my students for two periods, back to back, I have to split that time between writing, reading and geography - about 33 minutes each if you divide them equally. I'm still debating how to do all of this in such a short time.
On another note, my favorite time of day for this class has become 10:30 - when I know I'll have uninterrupted time to work. I need to be able to give this gift to my kids since it can become such a rewarding work time.
This year I've had posters covering many of my walls, but after our readings, I realize how important it is that I post student writing, advertisig their success for others to see. Maybe I'll make two copies their papers, handback the originals, post one copy and put the other copy in their portfolio collection. I would also like to explore the idea of Publications Celebrations - maybe coffee and donuts before school when parents or relatives are dropping their kids off. Another thought to run by my peers - maybe we could do a multi-grade situation in the cafeteria?
Reflection
NIWP
Reaffirming the Writing Workshop for Young Adolescents
by Sheryl Lain
I like how Sheryl Lain jumps right into this article with the admittance that "we," as teachers, "feel beleaguered by a lack of time." This hits the nail right on the head with me. But she goes onto paraphrase Donald Graves, "that kids need time to write, they need to own their work, they need to share, and all of this needs to be wrapped up a in safe classroom cocoon that inspires enough trust to get to the heart of writing." This is wonderful summation of what I need to do for my classes this new year, and better yet, that I can almost visualize w/my classes.
I need to digest the idea of putting a fluency grade in the grade book for the number of pages a student has written, as Lain suggests. How do you deal w/students who are nonprolific? Is this the right word for this type of product? I'm not sure.
But do like how Lain writes w/and for the kids to read and hear! That's a terrific idea! I plan on doing that to despite the temptation to try to grade or put in grades on the computer while the kids are writing. Again, there's never enough time, yet my #1 improvement goal for the 2010-11 school year is to improve my writing classes, so regardless of what I have to do, I'm going to work towards this goal.
Some other good ideas that Lain presents are using a record sheet that she modeled after an example in Nancie Atwell's book, "In the Middle," making sure that the students own their writing, and mini-lessons to help guide the students on a specific topic.
Unlike any other idea that I've read in other papers, or heard discussed, I really like how Lain writers a poem about each of her students! Through observation, she is able to write these poems during their writing time. Now how cool is that?!
This is another article that I need to keep very handy as I start to prep my room and my plans for September.
Reaffirming the Writing Workshop for Young Adolescents
by Sheryl Lain
I like how Sheryl Lain jumps right into this article with the admittance that "we," as teachers, "feel beleaguered by a lack of time." This hits the nail right on the head with me. But she goes onto paraphrase Donald Graves, "that kids need time to write, they need to own their work, they need to share, and all of this needs to be wrapped up a in safe classroom cocoon that inspires enough trust to get to the heart of writing." This is wonderful summation of what I need to do for my classes this new year, and better yet, that I can almost visualize w/my classes.
I need to digest the idea of putting a fluency grade in the grade book for the number of pages a student has written, as Lain suggests. How do you deal w/students who are nonprolific? Is this the right word for this type of product? I'm not sure.
But do like how Lain writes w/and for the kids to read and hear! That's a terrific idea! I plan on doing that to despite the temptation to try to grade or put in grades on the computer while the kids are writing. Again, there's never enough time, yet my #1 improvement goal for the 2010-11 school year is to improve my writing classes, so regardless of what I have to do, I'm going to work towards this goal.
Some other good ideas that Lain presents are using a record sheet that she modeled after an example in Nancie Atwell's book, "In the Middle," making sure that the students own their writing, and mini-lessons to help guide the students on a specific topic.
Unlike any other idea that I've read in other papers, or heard discussed, I really like how Lain writers a poem about each of her students! Through observation, she is able to write these poems during their writing time. Now how cool is that?!
This is another article that I need to keep very handy as I start to prep my room and my plans for September.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Reflection
NIPW
Teaching Conventions in a State-Mandated Testing Context
By Bonnie Mary Warne
Bonnie Warne had a difficult problem – balancing state and district demands with her research-based knowledge that students need to modify “their language usage to conform to Standard American English conventions.” And rather than roll over and change her program, moan and groan, wring her hands and complain about it during lunch, Warne solved it! (This in itself is worth admiration, in my book).
I also admire Warne’s quandary when she had to admit to her most problem students that she, as tenured English teacher, could not explain why To Kill a Mockingbird author, Harper Lee, used commas in some places and not others. With a lot of research, Warne finally found some sort of explanation. Again, not only are Warne’s actions admirable, but also she honored the student’s frustration and was determined to find that right answer! It might have been easier to just ignore the complaints, from the students, which would have also insinuated that they were the ones who didn’t get.
However, Warne’s concerns about her kids passing the ISAT, drives her to build concrete sidewalks to their success. This is an uphill battle, because of the culture of her Eastern Idaho community where it’s acceptable to use their “ranching-dialect” and “ain’t,” even when they’re not singing country western songs. Eventually, it seems as if Warne was able to get through to her students that speaking and writing in slang only leaves a long, bad impression.
Again, Warne’s ability to deal with both the demands of administration and remaining loyal to her research-based knowledge is commendable! Hats off to Warne! Nicely written article, too!
Teaching Conventions in a State-Mandated Testing Context
By Bonnie Mary Warne
Bonnie Warne had a difficult problem – balancing state and district demands with her research-based knowledge that students need to modify “their language usage to conform to Standard American English conventions.” And rather than roll over and change her program, moan and groan, wring her hands and complain about it during lunch, Warne solved it! (This in itself is worth admiration, in my book).
I also admire Warne’s quandary when she had to admit to her most problem students that she, as tenured English teacher, could not explain why To Kill a Mockingbird author, Harper Lee, used commas in some places and not others. With a lot of research, Warne finally found some sort of explanation. Again, not only are Warne’s actions admirable, but also she honored the student’s frustration and was determined to find that right answer! It might have been easier to just ignore the complaints, from the students, which would have also insinuated that they were the ones who didn’t get.
However, Warne’s concerns about her kids passing the ISAT, drives her to build concrete sidewalks to their success. This is an uphill battle, because of the culture of her Eastern Idaho community where it’s acceptable to use their “ranching-dialect” and “ain’t,” even when they’re not singing country western songs. Eventually, it seems as if Warne was able to get through to her students that speaking and writing in slang only leaves a long, bad impression.
Again, Warne’s ability to deal with both the demands of administration and remaining loyal to her research-based knowledge is commendable! Hats off to Warne! Nicely written article, too!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Reflection
NIWP
The Writer's Toolbox:
Five Tools for Active Revision Instruction
Laura Harper
This handout, like many of the others is covered with my bright yellow highlighter and red ink, notes and comments in the margins. But the most important note is the one on the front page, in the top right-hand corner scrawled in big red sloppy letters and highlighted: Keep Handy for School!!!
While Harper is simply digesting and regurgitating a lot Barry Lane's revision process from After the End, she nails down what I need to do to get ready for school in a way that I could really grasp! This simplicity is helping my confidence grow as I further envision how and what my classroom will be doing for Writer's Workshop.
First of all, I'm going to buy some small manila envelopes and some 3x5 note cards. I will label the envelopes with student names and 'Writer's Toolbox.' But before I do that, I'm going to make Mini-Lesson plans for Lane's five revision tools: Questions, Snapshots, thoughtshots, Exploding the Moment, and Making a Scene. I also intend on making Mini-Lessons on Show, Don't Tell, and Flashforward, Flashback and Brain Argument. We started on these this afternoon and with the template I found from Michigan State University's Ed Department, I'm growing more confident that I am actually know what I'm doing and I'll be successful teaching with this method. It all seems so clear to me now, and I think it's because we have broken down what writers do without thinking, which is just like taking for granted what our strategies are when we read. We just know what to do. Now I'm understanding how writers know what they do, plus I'm practicing these specific techniques! Not only is it awesome, but the revision is actually fun! Who would have thought? Not me!!!
The Writer's Toolbox:
Five Tools for Active Revision Instruction
Laura Harper
This handout, like many of the others is covered with my bright yellow highlighter and red ink, notes and comments in the margins. But the most important note is the one on the front page, in the top right-hand corner scrawled in big red sloppy letters and highlighted: Keep Handy for School!!!
While Harper is simply digesting and regurgitating a lot Barry Lane's revision process from After the End, she nails down what I need to do to get ready for school in a way that I could really grasp! This simplicity is helping my confidence grow as I further envision how and what my classroom will be doing for Writer's Workshop.
First of all, I'm going to buy some small manila envelopes and some 3x5 note cards. I will label the envelopes with student names and 'Writer's Toolbox.' But before I do that, I'm going to make Mini-Lesson plans for Lane's five revision tools: Questions, Snapshots, thoughtshots, Exploding the Moment, and Making a Scene. I also intend on making Mini-Lessons on Show, Don't Tell, and Flashforward, Flashback and Brain Argument. We started on these this afternoon and with the template I found from Michigan State University's Ed Department, I'm growing more confident that I am actually know what I'm doing and I'll be successful teaching with this method. It all seems so clear to me now, and I think it's because we have broken down what writers do without thinking, which is just like taking for granted what our strategies are when we read. We just know what to do. Now I'm understanding how writers know what they do, plus I'm practicing these specific techniques! Not only is it awesome, but the revision is actually fun! Who would have thought? Not me!!!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Reflection
NIWP
What's Right with Writing
by Linda Rief
"Writing today is not a frill for the few, but an essential skill for the many."
The National Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges
Now this article was readable, thank you Ms. Rief, and I can relate and apply a lot of it to what I want to implement in my classroom in six short weeks. But before I go into my personal thoughts, there was one particular statement Rief makes that echoes Emig, from my previous reflection piece, and takes it one step further. Rief writes, "In an era of test-mania, we tend to forget, or dismiss, the importance of writing. If we allow that, others will do our thinking." This is such a powerful statement!!! What kind-of society could we become then? This is enough to give you nightmares!
Teaching writing has been (notice this is past-tense) my Achilles (sp?) heel. While I enjoy writing, and use to make a small salary at it, I struggle and dread how to teach it! So much of writing to me is intuitive, like reading. Thus I am thrilled to read Rief, Lein, and Culkins for their insightful how-tos, and to feel their enthusiam for this difficult task. It is obvious that each of these women, like our facilitators, Christy and April, are passionate about writing and teaching writing. This is, I think, starting to rub off on me. Thank you, thank you!
Rief makes some interesting points that I hadn't previously thought about, but that I can understand and agree with:
What's Right with Writing
by Linda Rief
"Writing today is not a frill for the few, but an essential skill for the many."
The National Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges
Now this article was readable, thank you Ms. Rief, and I can relate and apply a lot of it to what I want to implement in my classroom in six short weeks. But before I go into my personal thoughts, there was one particular statement Rief makes that echoes Emig, from my previous reflection piece, and takes it one step further. Rief writes, "In an era of test-mania, we tend to forget, or dismiss, the importance of writing. If we allow that, others will do our thinking." This is such a powerful statement!!! What kind-of society could we become then? This is enough to give you nightmares!
Teaching writing has been (notice this is past-tense) my Achilles (sp?) heel. While I enjoy writing, and use to make a small salary at it, I struggle and dread how to teach it! So much of writing to me is intuitive, like reading. Thus I am thrilled to read Rief, Lein, and Culkins for their insightful how-tos, and to feel their enthusiam for this difficult task. It is obvious that each of these women, like our facilitators, Christy and April, are passionate about writing and teaching writing. This is, I think, starting to rub off on me. Thank you, thank you!
Rief makes some interesting points that I hadn't previously thought about, but that I can understand and agree with:
- Writing is thinking. It's not memorizing facts like I ask my students to do w/the multiplication tables, and naming capital cities.
- There is no one process that defines the way all writers write. It's good for me to see this in print - each student is diverse in their needs and abilities...dah!!!
- Process (the evidence of thinking shown though drafts of writing) and product (as exhibited through a polished, best draft) are equally important. I would not have thought of these as being equally important, until I came to the Summer Institute where I can see the importance and the difference between the two!
- What did this reading bring to mind for me?
- What did I think or feel or learn as I read?
- What questions came to mind?
- What, in my own experience, is similar or different?
- How does this make me feel about the world?
Janet Emig Reflection
July 13, 2010
NIWP
Non-Magical Thinking:
Presenting Writing Developmentally in Schools
by Janet Emig
While Janet Emig is another of those theorists I had not heard of before yesterday, I found her a bit easier to read and comprehend than Britton and Moffitt. I found her writing a bit sarcastic and funny, and she struck a chord with me in regards to her position on teaching and testing. "...the success of explicit teaching, in this era of accountability, is measured by indexes of explicit learning by children on standardized tests." Where do these people come from who equate all of this together? It's not that simple; the process of education is not simply a math formula nor does one style fit all. This is Magical Thinking with high stakes on the teacher, building, school district, and, oh yes, the students and the community.
In this article, Emig lists four findings for the presentation of writing in schools, but the one I would like to attest to personally is, "Children need frequent opportunities to practice writing, many of these playful." Since we've been writing in this SI, I feel my writing has improved in just a few days - simply from 'frequent opportunities to practice.' I have re-found my desire to play with writing, which makes me more enthusiastic about teaching my 6th graders from a more appreciative position. This is something that I want to share with them rather than checking it off a "have-to-do" list. Thanks SI facilitators for making this fun again!
Another thing that Emig points out is, "Writing is as often a pre-conscious or unconscious roaming as it is a planned and conscious rendering of information and events." I hadn't realized how often I do this, but I have to admit that I have started writing my Parent Letter for September in my head. I just need to stop and start writing it down on paper, or on the computer.
I consider myself a writer, but I've been more of a hit-and-miss kind of writer the last few years - I think of doing it but it often doesn't make my top 10 list of things to do, which means it doesn't get done. (I need to make this a personal priority, like an Artist's Date as Cameron says in her books, or a specific appointment and honor that time for me and my soul. I know this leaves me more "balanced and centered" and easier to live with, too, - why I drop it or postpone it, I'm not sure.) Anyway, Emig states, "Persons who don't themselves write cannot sensitively, even sensibly, help others learn to write." I don't know how seriously or literally to take this. Any suggestions? I'm in a book group outside of school, shouldn't I be in a writers group? Maybe I'll email Steve at the Monthly Magazine to put in an ad looking for writers who want to write as a reflective group...it's a thought.
NIWP
Non-Magical Thinking:
Presenting Writing Developmentally in Schools
by Janet Emig
While Janet Emig is another of those theorists I had not heard of before yesterday, I found her a bit easier to read and comprehend than Britton and Moffitt. I found her writing a bit sarcastic and funny, and she struck a chord with me in regards to her position on teaching and testing. "...the success of explicit teaching, in this era of accountability, is measured by indexes of explicit learning by children on standardized tests." Where do these people come from who equate all of this together? It's not that simple; the process of education is not simply a math formula nor does one style fit all. This is Magical Thinking with high stakes on the teacher, building, school district, and, oh yes, the students and the community.
In this article, Emig lists four findings for the presentation of writing in schools, but the one I would like to attest to personally is, "Children need frequent opportunities to practice writing, many of these playful." Since we've been writing in this SI, I feel my writing has improved in just a few days - simply from 'frequent opportunities to practice.' I have re-found my desire to play with writing, which makes me more enthusiastic about teaching my 6th graders from a more appreciative position. This is something that I want to share with them rather than checking it off a "have-to-do" list. Thanks SI facilitators for making this fun again!
Another thing that Emig points out is, "Writing is as often a pre-conscious or unconscious roaming as it is a planned and conscious rendering of information and events." I hadn't realized how often I do this, but I have to admit that I have started writing my Parent Letter for September in my head. I just need to stop and start writing it down on paper, or on the computer.
I consider myself a writer, but I've been more of a hit-and-miss kind of writer the last few years - I think of doing it but it often doesn't make my top 10 list of things to do, which means it doesn't get done. (I need to make this a personal priority, like an Artist's Date as Cameron says in her books, or a specific appointment and honor that time for me and my soul. I know this leaves me more "balanced and centered" and easier to live with, too, - why I drop it or postpone it, I'm not sure.) Anyway, Emig states, "Persons who don't themselves write cannot sensitively, even sensibly, help others learn to write." I don't know how seriously or literally to take this. Any suggestions? I'm in a book group outside of school, shouldn't I be in a writers group? Maybe I'll email Steve at the Monthly Magazine to put in an ad looking for writers who want to write as a reflective group...it's a thought.
Monday, July 12, 2010
I Am From...
July 12, 2010
NIWP
I AM FROM …
I am from old fickle vehicles,
From good intentions and boxed cereal,
I am from the high mountains of Arizona,
Small bedrooms and remodeled sawdust,
I am from the small dirt roads,
Divided by large gray boulders that wore holes in our backsides,
I am from the smell of warm needles from pines
Whose long gone limbs I remember as if they were my own.
I am from snowy Christmas holidays,
And sleeping relatives on the floor,
From frozen water and septic pipes,
And my dad reminding brave visitors that the shovel and tissue are propped by the front door.
I’m from endless card games and a two-channeled television
And from 150 assorted cheap cookies in a bag.
I am from instant milk and “steaks are for adults,”
And children’s bedtimes that are actually for parents who need time alone, together.
I am from long flannel nightgowns and big roaring fires,
I am from the lofty Hualapai Mountains,
The native land of the Tall Pine People, high in the Arizona air,
From endless summers of finding secret caves and tiger-striped kittens born in insulation boxes, of scraped knees and Bactine,
Of sleeping outside, long hikes of exploration, and dogs and cats following along,
And faith from the parents who always knew we’d come back tired.
NIWP
I AM FROM …
I am from old fickle vehicles,
From good intentions and boxed cereal,
I am from the high mountains of Arizona,
Small bedrooms and remodeled sawdust,
I am from the small dirt roads,
Divided by large gray boulders that wore holes in our backsides,
I am from the smell of warm needles from pines
Whose long gone limbs I remember as if they were my own.
I am from snowy Christmas holidays,
And sleeping relatives on the floor,
From frozen water and septic pipes,
And my dad reminding brave visitors that the shovel and tissue are propped by the front door.
I’m from endless card games and a two-channeled television
And from 150 assorted cheap cookies in a bag.
I am from instant milk and “steaks are for adults,”
And children’s bedtimes that are actually for parents who need time alone, together.
I am from long flannel nightgowns and big roaring fires,
I am from the lofty Hualapai Mountains,
The native land of the Tall Pine People, high in the Arizona air,
From endless summers of finding secret caves and tiger-striped kittens born in insulation boxes, of scraped knees and Bactine,
Of sleeping outside, long hikes of exploration, and dogs and cats following along,
And faith from the parents who always knew we’d come back tired.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday book sale!
Hey - Just a quick note before I head back home (I'm in Colville at the Cafe 103 - no idea why it's name this but they have WiFi, which I have come to greatly appreciate in the last week - and a great Bacon Caesar salad) to gather Ewi and Sophie for a sweet, and well-deserved nap!
Yesterday, I met my mom at the Colville Public Library book sale and we chatted in line for 30 minutes before "they" opened the basement doors at 10. While we were waiting, I showed mom my "I Am From..." poem, although it's not finished yet. She and i both had tears in our eyes because of the shared memories that flood back w/the mention of just a few common words. Thanks, Mom!!!
We both agreed that we really didn't "need" any books but it's always fun to just look. Once inside, we took that bags that were kindly offered, and within seconds I found Steven King's "On Writing," for a quarter!!! Score!!! (He has some great info in his book, including a book list of some of his reading during hte period of time that he wrote this book! King says his Prime Rule is "Write a lot and read a lot." Guess I'll have to do more of that as time goes on!) Mom ended up with just a few books, and I ended up w/two bags full of books and classic videos! One woman commented that she wouldn't buy a particular Louis La'More (sp) because it had been read too many times and she was germ-a-phobic!!! That's a first - hadn't heard of that kind of reason to not buy a book! Actually, I think that's part of the charm of going to this sale - well-loved books being sold for a song!
More later.
Yesterday, I met my mom at the Colville Public Library book sale and we chatted in line for 30 minutes before "they" opened the basement doors at 10. While we were waiting, I showed mom my "I Am From..." poem, although it's not finished yet. She and i both had tears in our eyes because of the shared memories that flood back w/the mention of just a few common words. Thanks, Mom!!!
We both agreed that we really didn't "need" any books but it's always fun to just look. Once inside, we took that bags that were kindly offered, and within seconds I found Steven King's "On Writing," for a quarter!!! Score!!! (He has some great info in his book, including a book list of some of his reading during hte period of time that he wrote this book! King says his Prime Rule is "Write a lot and read a lot." Guess I'll have to do more of that as time goes on!) Mom ended up with just a few books, and I ended up w/two bags full of books and classic videos! One woman commented that she wouldn't buy a particular Louis La'More (sp) because it had been read too many times and she was germ-a-phobic!!! That's a first - hadn't heard of that kind of reason to not buy a book! Actually, I think that's part of the charm of going to this sale - well-loved books being sold for a song!
More later.
Book of Choice: First third response
READER’S CHOICE:
LEAVING A TRACE
By Alexandra Johnson
Three Big Ideas:
Why write?
Starting out
Single-Purpose Journals
Identify for each:
A comment, elaboration, quote, example
1. Why write?
a. Keeping track, contemplating the past, present and future selves.
b. Journal as a verb
c. Leaving a trace in the form of a diary/journal, a family chronicle, or memoir.
“But no matter why (people write),” Johnson writes, “how, or how often they wrote, every single person wanted to leave a trace of life.”
“I write so I know what I’m thinking.”
Vivien Horler
“All serious daring starts within.”
Eudora Welty
2. Starting out …
a. Three generations of Johnson’s family have kept journals/diaries.
b. Her grandmother was a chronicler – which included her year as an American Red Cross worker in Siberia; her mother kept a private journal; her aunt used one as a jumping point for more creative writing; and Johnson messed with each form beginning at 9 yrs. old “before finding its true shape in my late twenties.”
c. “Writing is the axe that breaks the frozen sea within.” Kafka
d. Buying the perfect journal – in the drug store, “the notebook,” or something quite fancy in a Barnes and Noble-type place.
“Writing is the axe that breaks the frozen sea within.”
Kafka
3. Single-purpose journals
a. Genealogy
b. Dreams
c. Family chronicles
d. Garden notebooks
e. Artist’s sketch journal
f. Spiritual journal
g. Letter journals
h. Joint e-mail journals
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read n the train.”
LEAVING A TRACE
By Alexandra Johnson
Three Big Ideas:
Why write?
Starting out
Single-Purpose Journals
Identify for each:
A comment, elaboration, quote, example
1. Why write?
a. Keeping track, contemplating the past, present and future selves.
b. Journal as a verb
c. Leaving a trace in the form of a diary/journal, a family chronicle, or memoir.
“But no matter why (people write),” Johnson writes, “how, or how often they wrote, every single person wanted to leave a trace of life.”
“I write so I know what I’m thinking.”
Vivien Horler
“All serious daring starts within.”
Eudora Welty
2. Starting out …
a. Three generations of Johnson’s family have kept journals/diaries.
b. Her grandmother was a chronicler – which included her year as an American Red Cross worker in Siberia; her mother kept a private journal; her aunt used one as a jumping point for more creative writing; and Johnson messed with each form beginning at 9 yrs. old “before finding its true shape in my late twenties.”
c. “Writing is the axe that breaks the frozen sea within.” Kafka
d. Buying the perfect journal – in the drug store, “the notebook,” or something quite fancy in a Barnes and Noble-type place.
“Writing is the axe that breaks the frozen sea within.”
Kafka
3. Single-purpose journals
a. Genealogy
b. Dreams
c. Family chronicles
d. Garden notebooks
e. Artist’s sketch journal
f. Spiritual journal
g. Letter journals
h. Joint e-mail journals
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read n the train.”
Friday, July 9, 2010
MOFFIT AND BRITTON
Friday morning
July 9, 2010
Moscow, Idaho
NWIP SUMMER INSTITUTE:
MOFFIT AND BRITTON
I have to admit, I didn’t get much out of these two old experts until we talked about them in class. And it was then I wondered why we weren’t talking about them in my undergraduate classes. These two old guys were suddenly relevant to what I need to do in my classroom! (Do you see the light bulb glaring above my head?)
The breaking down of writing to the Expressive, Poetic, and the Transactional, or the I, You, and It, makes a lot of sense to me. I gleamed from all of this that I do a great deal of Transactional writing both in and out of class, which utterly surprises me as I don’t typically think I have a lot of “direction” to give or to receive from the students. It’s making me rethink our class assignments and how I need to balance our five paragraph essays of persuasion and ‘how to’s” with some Poetic writing.
But a thought just occurred to me: my personal background is newspaper and television writing – my pieces were covering the school board, the police and fire departments, city, county, and state issues. My writing background has been with facts and getting information out and to the public! If there was “fluff” or “Poetic content” in my work, it was there on accident, because it certainly wasn’t supposed to be there! Interesting reflection. To take it one step further, I have always envied people who write “Poetically” or creatively. Someone once said to me that creative writing was easy, and I argued that nonfictional writing (now thinking of it as Transactional) was easy because you were just presenting the facts, which were right in front of you!
In our discussion on Wednesday regarding the “Writing as a social act,” was bothersome to me. I think writing, in any form, is a personal and private activity. (This does sound contradictory to what I do in class by encouraging peer review, and my one-on-one discussions with them, but I still have this gut reaction that writing is private). But the EALR goes on to explain “the process of sharing...” This actually dovetails with what Moffitt writes in the article. “I also suggest the performance and publication of student works, as frequently as possible…give the student the opportunity to both address a real or invented person outside the classroom and to adopt a voice not his own.” Wow! My kids aren’t going to know what hit them!
Again, I understand this much more after our class discussion of these two articles. The handouts literally and figuratively put this is black and white for me and I am able to make sense of it! Thank you to our NIWP facilitators, Christy, April and Dr. McConnell.
July 9, 2010
Moscow, Idaho
NWIP SUMMER INSTITUTE:
MOFFIT AND BRITTON
I have to admit, I didn’t get much out of these two old experts until we talked about them in class. And it was then I wondered why we weren’t talking about them in my undergraduate classes. These two old guys were suddenly relevant to what I need to do in my classroom! (Do you see the light bulb glaring above my head?)
The breaking down of writing to the Expressive, Poetic, and the Transactional, or the I, You, and It, makes a lot of sense to me. I gleamed from all of this that I do a great deal of Transactional writing both in and out of class, which utterly surprises me as I don’t typically think I have a lot of “direction” to give or to receive from the students. It’s making me rethink our class assignments and how I need to balance our five paragraph essays of persuasion and ‘how to’s” with some Poetic writing.
But a thought just occurred to me: my personal background is newspaper and television writing – my pieces were covering the school board, the police and fire departments, city, county, and state issues. My writing background has been with facts and getting information out and to the public! If there was “fluff” or “Poetic content” in my work, it was there on accident, because it certainly wasn’t supposed to be there! Interesting reflection. To take it one step further, I have always envied people who write “Poetically” or creatively. Someone once said to me that creative writing was easy, and I argued that nonfictional writing (now thinking of it as Transactional) was easy because you were just presenting the facts, which were right in front of you!
In our discussion on Wednesday regarding the “Writing as a social act,” was bothersome to me. I think writing, in any form, is a personal and private activity. (This does sound contradictory to what I do in class by encouraging peer review, and my one-on-one discussions with them, but I still have this gut reaction that writing is private). But the EALR goes on to explain “the process of sharing...” This actually dovetails with what Moffitt writes in the article. “I also suggest the performance and publication of student works, as frequently as possible…give the student the opportunity to both address a real or invented person outside the classroom and to adopt a voice not his own.” Wow! My kids aren’t going to know what hit them!
Again, I understand this much more after our class discussion of these two articles. The handouts literally and figuratively put this is black and white for me and I am able to make sense of it! Thank you to our NIWP facilitators, Christy, April and Dr. McConnell.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
the journaling shepherdess:
the journaling shepherdess:
Good morning?! I'm not sure if I'm doing this right but we'll see. I don't know how people have time to do this and keep up w/life - they must have a faster network than we do at home. I can see how this could be very soothing and rewarding at the same time. I have so much homework to do - reading some handouts ( I hope they're not too dry), and making future plans on a major project for NIWP that needs to be done rather soon, and I already feel as if I need a nap at 5:18 in the morning! Thank God for coffee and caffeine.
More later -
Good morning?! I'm not sure if I'm doing this right but we'll see. I don't know how people have time to do this and keep up w/life - they must have a faster network than we do at home. I can see how this could be very soothing and rewarding at the same time. I have so much homework to do - reading some handouts ( I hope they're not too dry), and making future plans on a major project for NIWP that needs to be done rather soon, and I already feel as if I need a nap at 5:18 in the morning! Thank God for coffee and caffeine.
More later -
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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