#SOL19: #OLW Celebrate
My One Little Word (#OLW) was out in force this holiday weekend.
Celebrate
So many choices . . . It was a family weekend . . .
Relatives and a funeral
Saturday Wedding
The beginning of the NCAA football season . . .
Sunday AMarekN Family
Monday Labor Day Dinner and 15 Mareks/Ruths
A blog post for Literacy Lenses: All Learning is Social and Emotional: Helping Students Develop Essential Skills for the Classroom and Beyond. (link)
It began with a text!
“Good morning, Fran. Just realized you’re in the great state of Iowa and so am I this weekend! My brother lives in Kalona. How far am I from you?”
The irony.
And so noteworthy!
On Saturday we were playing cards at my aunt Janie’s in Kalona which is about 100 miles from my home. I was there in Kalona the day before. Kalona, a town in the northwest part of the county where I grew up.
It was an irresistible invitation. We solved the problems of the world, literacy, schools, and the state of education on Sunday when I met up with Dayna Wells, from California, that I met in real life in New York City at a TCRWP Saturday reunion over four and a half years ago (Link). A reader. A writer. A blogger. A Slicer. A TCRWP learner!
How did you celebrate Labor Day weekend 2019?
What were your choices?
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this weekly forum. Check out the writers and readers here.
#SOL18: #NCTE18 Family
‘Tis the season to be Thankful. ‘Tis the season to count my blessings. #NCTE is the perfect kick-off for family events. #NCTE brings my work family together!
This year’s theme was:
But, for me, it has also ALWAYS been about finding my own voice. My own family of voices. A family that allows me to have a voice.
#G2Great
Slicers
Teach Write
Presenters and Authors
Students
so many facets to MY FAMILY!
How do you nourish your “work family”?
How do you continue to grow and learn?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
Additional Links to #NCTE18
#NCTE18: Friday
Moments in time
Moments suspended
Moments desired
Moments expected
Moments shared
Magical because of the connections
Across time
Across states
Across texts
Across interests . . .
Magical Mentor Moments
“We come from: Oklahoma, Iowa, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Canada. Mentors All.” (10 points to you if you know the context of this quote.) TY: #G2Great for so many magical moments at #NCTE18.
Writing in the Wild = Margaret Simon
“Slicer” Dinner = Mentor Writers
An annual tradition from #TWTBlog. Three of the authors from #TWT and some of the bloggers at dinner and sharing literary gifts!
And then the sessions:
Choices
Difficult choices.
So many great ones.
So little time.
What fuels the choices?
Friday, November 16, 2018
Passion and Power
Be you.
Be real.
Activism means thinking, talking, reading, writing, and growing your passions.
I love this 5th grader’s quote shared by Justin Dolci.
And the people . . .
Mentors
Readers
Writers
Thinkers
Storytellers
Magical #NCTE18 Moments
Where have you found your magic?
And your mentors?
#SOL16: Capital E = Essay
There’s a glow, a rainbow, a light spirit still leaking from my pores and so much fun and learning from #NCTE16 yet to be shared! My top two sessions from the three days are a toss-up.
Poetry? Essay? Which will change the world?
At #NCTE16 it was readily apparent that BOTH writing forms are capable of reporting on AND changing the world. You can read more about poetry in last week’s “NCTE16: Incredible Learning” here.
A focus on writing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING will of course have the power to potentially change the world because the pen is mightier than the sword. The constant focus on assessments and screeners that produce fast yet aliterate readers has created a new tension in schools. What’s the solution for this new breed of readers who do not choose to read and who do not fall in love with the written word? Are they an unconscionable byproduct of too much focus on reading “outcomes/products” (ie, something that can be counted as in words read per minute) and too little focus on the thinking, the joy, and the love of words that result from daily writing in schools – daily writing of their own choice? How can we regain JOY and LEARNING? Poetry and Essay tied for first place at #NCTE in bringing JOY to my world and in igniting a quest for more learning.
The Transformative Power of Essay
This panel on Sunday was amazing (and had many noteworthy literacy celebs attending as well). And NO moans or groans because of the word “essay”.
From R to Left: Katherine Bomer, Allyson Smith, Corinne Arens and Matthew Harper
Story after story.
Straight from the students.
Student writing examples . . .
pages and pages and pages of writing from individual students!
Students conferencing with teachers in videos.
Students sharing what essay means to them.
Students sharing how their lives have changed.
Teachers sharing how their lives have changed.
An administrator sharing how the district has changed.
Summer week long writing institutes in the district.
Building trust.
Building communities.
Teachers doing the “writing work” expected of students.
The audience laughed.
The audience cried.
The audience applauded vociferously.
Transforming our thoughts, perhaps our future actions . . .
Essay with a capital “E”.
(NO five paragraph essays anywhere!)
Thank you, new friends from Blue Springs, MO!
What evidence of transformation?
Tweet 1:
Tweet 2:
Did you catch the date? 9-15-16
Not waiting for “routines” but beginning the year boldly with essay writing to allow student voice to “spill yourself onto the page”.
And a final piece of evidence . . . Margaret Simon’s post today found here.
The Transformative Power of Essay
Have you read The Journey is Everything?
Read it. Try writing an essay and then let’s talk!
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
Looking for more information?
Previous posts:
#DigiLitSunday: The Journey is Everything!#DigiLitSunday: The Journey is Everything!
Literacy Superheroes (I counted FIVE of these essayists + Katherine in the room!)
Photo Essay (another public essay!)
A Favor – My essay (with a comment from Katherine Bomer – another fangirl moment)
And the common denominator for both poetry and Essay was Katherine Bomer!
No wonder they tied!
#SOL16: JOY
My #OneLittleWord for 2016 has been JOY and this past weekend at #NCTE16 was packed with joy every minute of every day. Surrounded by professionals that I know, admire, and constantly learn with, it was quite easy to forget the policies, problems, and politics that have rocked the U.S. landscape lately.
See how many “Slicers” you recognize at the Saturday dinner.
(Bonus: How many of the blogs can you name?)
“Slicer” dinner at Amalfi’s Pizza Saturday
The JOY began with a #G2Great meetup Thursday night at Max’s Coal Pizza. This group chats online on Thursday evenings with Mary Howard, Amy Brenneman, and Jenn Hayhurst as co-moderators.
Thursday night #G2Great meetup at Max’s Coal Oven Pizzeria
Do you know which 4 are in both groups?
Can you name the states represented?
And of course another night of conversation and JOY.
Friday night at Legal Seafood
On Sunday we actually found time to visit before leaving Atlanta!
Julieanne, Tara, Margaret and me!
One of the highlights of my travels was my great roommate, Dani Graham Burtsfield, from Kalispell, MT. Thanks so much for all your great work as our “historian”!
Joy with some of the audience members for the poetry session are found here!
At poetry with Mary Lee, Julieanne and myself – just missing Steve!
And even MORE JOY with some of the presenters!
Have you checked in on your “One Little Word” lately?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#DigiLitSunday: #WhyIWrite
Why do I write?
I started a list
The verbs wrote themselves . . .
To define
To think
To create
To share
To craft
To dream
To plan a course of action
To question
To examine
To reflect
Current reality . . .
I am writing now
Because my fingers are tethered to my keyboard
And I can’t leave this post until I’ve recorded something
Worthy of pushing that “publish” button.
What do I write?
Serious or trivial?
Rich in details?
Or written totally between the lines?
Do the words tumble end over end
in their urgency to be revealed?
Or do they have to be coaxed out of hiding
while I patiently sip coffee as they emerge word by word on the scrren?
The pacing corresponds to the ideas,
some race across the blank screen begging for release,
some yet to simmer,
some seem half-baked,
some to be totally erased TODAY,
perhaps to emerge in a different format on another day.
YET
Today
The words are in gratitude for time with family
This weekend it was being entertained by the 17 month old grandson,
A charming, sweet boy
Attending his first collegiate football game
Complete with high fives, fist bumps, applause, and signaling touchdowns
And yet I wonder what he is thinking . . .
Today I write to share my thanks for the precious gift of time with family!
Why do you write?
What do you write?
Additional Reading
Other thoughts on #WhyIWrite here in a previous post complete with responses from MANY slicers!
Shaelynn Farnsworth’s post “Educators Sharing #WhyIWrite to Celebrate National Writing Day”
Kathleen Sokolowski’s post “Are You Ready for the National Day of Writing 2016?”
#SOL16: Footprints
Straight paths to learning this summer . . .
At TCRWP Writing and Reading Institutes
Bookstudies for “Who’s Doing the Work?” and “The Journey is Everything”
Blogging
Twitter chats
Voxer conversations
Reading
Writing
Thinking
Paths to Fun . . .
Time with my son, my daughter-in-law, and my grandson
That infectious laughter
That unquenchable love
That precious 14 month old that pushed the button on the phone to make the zoo animal reappear
Paths that endure . . .
My godparents celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary
Meeting “Slicers” face to face
Hearing stories from authors
Laughing and crying simultaneously
Our journey . . .
Friends continuing to learn together
Friends and colleagues collaborating across the miles . . .
Striving to improve
To meet previously unmet needs
To grow
To learn
To respect all
As a teacher, coach and colleague, how do I live these?
How do those around me know that these are important?
Back to learning
Two days of Student-Centered Coaching
Prepping for Professional Development
Reviewing,
Considering Possibilities,
Studying where I have been . . .
Continuous Reflection
What footprints am I leaving?
How do I know?
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
What footprints will you be leaving this week?
(Thanks Kristi and Christine for the infographic from A Mindset for Learning: Teaching the Traits of Joyful, Independent Growth!)
#TCRWP Writing: Takeaways Day 4
New York City
This rural Iowa dweller says thanks for all the opportunities:
for face to face meet ups with friends from Twitter, Twitter chats, and Voxer,
to be able to chat excitedly with fellow Slicers, bloggers and authors,
to dine in all sorts of fabulous places,
and in such great company.
Attending the musical “Fun Home”in the Round was magical.
Ahh, the bookstores
Jazz at Smoke
So much to see and do
While in NYC
For #TCRWP’s Writing Institute
Because the learning does NOT stop when the sessions end!
The conversations, the questions, the talk about “What are you reading?” and “What are you writing?” continues into the night!
A glorious week long adventure!
Thanks to you, my friends
And Lucy and ALL at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.
And what about the learning on Day 4?
I begin, again, at the end,
the eloquence of Pam Nunoz Ryan
who brought us to tears with her harmonica rendition of “America the Beautiful”.
Thanks to Fiona Liddell and Twitter for this picture.
What an eloquent author and so nice to hear the backstory, see the grids of characters and plot, as well as the research that went into Echo – a MUST READ book for your #TBR (To Be Read) list.
Takeaways:
- Find your passion.
- Thank those who help you find your passion.
- Writing a novel is hard but rewarding work.
- Stories matter, stories matter, stories matter!
- Rereading stories is important!
Have you read Echo?
Please reserve it at your local public library NOW!
Choice Workshop – Colleen Cruz
Editing Does Matter: Spelling, Grammar, and Vocabulary in a Writing Workshop
To think about when teaching Spelling, Grammar, and Vocabulary:
- Development
Teach into developmental level so it will stick. What do they know? What are they trying to approximate? We looked at a student piece of work. What can this student do?
- Curriculum and standards What should we teach?
What do my standards say that the students need to learn by the end of the year?
- Process
Just as revision is not taught only once in the writing process; editing is taught more than once in writing process. First time – teach in editing (comma in clause) in order to lessen the cognitive load for the students. Then the second time teach comma in clause during revision. And for the third time, the student can focus on the comma when generating ideas in his/her notebook. The repetition will be helpful for students!
- Methods
Each time we revisit the skill, our methods may vary – or not! The typical methods are:
a. Demonstration
b. Apprenticeship – Mentor author – Example
c. Inquiry- let’s see what we find in the world and then find patterns (bio, /er/ was/were)
- Tools
The tools can either be Teacher created or Student created. For grammar it may be a series of books to cover the variations in journalism grammar, grammar for fiction writer, or grammar for academic writing. It may be fun grammar books, vocabulary picture books, mentor texts, or student examples. Or it may be editing pens, gel pens, or other irresistible editing tools. Quite literally, physical tools like Mini editing checklists with 2 or 3 things they are checking for! Whatever they are into! Students can make their own reminder sheets! Work with grammar, spelling and vocabulary should be in the spirit of FUN and Exploration. NO RULES for number of spaces after a period. Talk about conventional understandings. How do people expect it to go?
Takeaways:
- Perfection in writing is not the goal for 9 year old students. The New York Times allows four errors per page with page writers and paid copyeditors. No published piece of writing in the world has ever been 100% perfect.
- If you are writing with passion and focusing on content, writing will slip when you are“letting it rip”. Errors are a good sign because they indicate risk-taking.
- Post “not perfect” student work on the hallway bulletin board. Make a huge label and Celebrate – “Check out our capital letters and end punctuation. We’ve been working hard on them and ALMOST have them!”
- Kids fall into automatic, manual, wrong – if kids aren’t automatic, it does not mean they are lazy , not trying, or don’t care. It just means they haven’t mastered that skill YET.
- Conventions, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary work should be FUN and PLAYFUL!
How does your instruction in Spelling, Grammar and Vocabulary match up?
What’s one change that you would consider?
#SOL15: THANKFUL!
As the leaves change colors and begin to fall from the trees,
As the frost decorates my windshield each morning,
As the debate to “turn on the heat” continues (but what if the temperature goes back up to 70?),
As the calendar pages narrow down,
I have a thankful heart!
My Top Ten!
for my family far and near,
including the cutest 6 month old (yep, half a year) grandson in the world;
for my friends near and far,
whether face-to-face, on twitter, “slicers” or blog readers;
for our veterans both here and gone,
as well as the four generations of family who have served;
for the curiosity of children (and adults),
who dream, imagine, and create a better world;
for the teachers, administrators, and volunteer boards,
who generously give and give and give their time and hearts;
for the farmers who provide our food,
even though I sometimes resent sharing the roads mile after mile;
for the authors, illustrators, editors, and publishers,
who provide so many choices of materials to read/learn from;
for everyone who shares a minute, a laugh, a kind action,
that brightens up days and / or lives of strangers and those less fortunate;
for this great Earth, our melting pot of people,
the air, wind, water, resources, strength, and renewal:
And most of all, for this moment, this single point in time,
that allows me to share my thoughts and my gratitude!
What are you thankful for?
How will we know?
Tuesday is the day to share a “Slice of Life” with Two Writing Teachers. Thank you, Anna, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Stacey, and Tara. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
#SOL15: Oh, The Friends You Meet When The Places You Go!
What a pleasure to meet up face to face with friends during my learning journeys!
It’s summertime,
No time for flashy app,
No time for learning something new.
Time to chuckle,
Time to laugh,
Time to remember –
Our talk,
Our laughter,
Our fun.
Thank you,
Friends and Framily!
Tuesday is the day to share a “Slice of Life” with Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
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