Blogging with Summer Institute 2008

Good morning, feels good to be back.

Writing into the Day

Making time for yourself as a writer

DD:Katelin G!

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Day 13 Logger, Kathy Berstell

8:32 Welcome to the First Annual HVWP Summer Olympics! The writing athletes are awakening, and fueling up with breakfast snacks (Coach Gina provided protein in the form of a French Toast Scramble). They are stretching their minds, and flexing their digital muscles, in preparation for the day’s Olympic events!

Opening Ceremony-Mary “opened” the day with a timeline diagram depicting the positives and negatives of her writing life. She asked athletes to consider where they currently are, and what their long term writing goals (beyond SI ‘08) might include. Athletes were asked to spend time mentally preparing (writing), for the day.

8:55 Athletics-World Class Runner, Lilah, jogged through her journaling life, describing her early writing as “streams of consciousness”. Her recent events have “everything to do with having an audience”, and “the eyes of others” upon her. Way to go, Lilah-Keep up that fantastic pace!

8:57 Rhythmic Gymnastics- Internationally ranked gymnast, Marisol, competed flawlessly in the Digital Documenter exercise routine! Her “photo choreography” included an orderly scaffolding of writing exercises, followed by ceremonial photographs.

9:00 Newscaster Cathy recapped the previous day’s activities, highlighting important events and sharing some athlete profiles.

9:05 Archery- Athlete Jose nailed a “bulls-eye” as he reflected upon his TIW of the prevoius day. He commented that “You shouldn’t hate math, it’s good for you!” Imagine the angles and geometry involved in hitting the target dead-center!

9:10 A pause in the Olympic action, as Softball coach, Steve, outlined the strategy for Anthology pieces, and trainer Sue called for “title suggestions and golden lines” for the Anthology. Olympic chairperson, Tom, called for writing participation in the content areas, as well as offering opportunities for other writing venues, beyond this Olympic event.

9:20 Olympic attire (aka-Tee shirts) have been decided, but not yet unveiled, as designer Katelin prepares for Thursday’s events. A rowdy fan (Paulette), challenged “I do know about investigative interrogation”, but Katelin’s design remains a mystery for now!

9:33 Triathlon- Sarah scored huge points in this event, as she “cycled” into a Multigenre TIW Roadmap. Color-coded teams brain-stormed genre possibilities, then the all-star athlete shared the definition of a multigenre piece. Sarah next “swam” into student work, noting that the trick in a multigenre piece is to take disparate pieces and tie them together with a common thread. She modeled a “Two Voice Poem”, and the spectators could easily see how rich and powerful this technique could be. Spectators then became participants as genre were chosen, and writing ensued. Sarah’s final “run” involved reflecting upon the Multigenre Piece, and comments included “Great for collaborating with other teachers/disciplines”, “Planning phase was Great”, and “Definitely going to try it this year”! Sarah recognized her mentor, Tom Romano, as she quoted, The multigenre piece “brings out the poetry in people”. Sarah won a gold medal for her performance! Congratulations, Sarah!

11:00- Teams dispersed to write and revise. Carbohydrate-loading is encouraged at lunch, for optimal afternoon performance!

1:43- Sailing- Athletes reconvened as Captain Mike sailed into the afternnon TIW, Expressing Emotion Through A Reflective Writing Piece. He modeled passages from Important Things by M. Springer, then the writing crew sailed into writing about an important object in their own lives. Waves of memories rushed across our writing decks as we recalled treasures we’d acquired, and pondered why they were so important to us. Billowing sails were filled with pair/share adventures! Bouys marked the sailing path as student work was shared/analyzed. Fair skies and balmy weather prevailed as Captain Mike cruised into the reflection section of his sail. The crew contemplated motivation, assessment, and personal usage of expressive reflective writing. Another gold medal in the Sailing event!

3:10- A short water break!

3:25- Aquatics- Mary “dove” into the question, “What is the purpose of sharing student work?” Swimmers shared comments such as …

-Look at what exists, to look for ways to make it better

-Student work should guide, define, and refine our practice

- It keeps it real (Authentic)

-To gain credibility with others (Thinking and learning)

and my personal favorite, “We might hear some “promising paths’ that we can travel”.

3:50-Closing ceremonies- As an exciting day at the HVWP Summer “08 Olympics draws to a close, athletes hone their writing skills for the big Anthology Event tomorrow afternoon. Athletes, sharpen those pencils, flex your fingers, and let the “Writing Games” begin!

Big Day: TIW’s: Cathy W. and LIlah

Last reading conversation…

End of the day…