Writing into the Day: Letter to Self Chapter 2.

DD: Sue

Logger: Jose

Day Log for 7/30/08. By Jose Gomez

8:30
Mike graces us with bagels, munchkins, fruit salad and, ooh-la-la!, strawberry shortcake.
Katelin is busy writing on the board, titles of all our TIW’s
It is, believe it or not, our last full day at the New Paltz Campus!

8:35
Bonnie calls the room to order and announces that there has been a shift in plans (love it!)
Respectful of the reflecting mood in which we should all be now that our summer institute comes to a close, Bonnie asks us to write about the highlights of our TIW’s for us to discuss it in a Socratic seminar. She and Mary go over a kind of rubric to revisit and to rank a few of the TWIs from the perspective of how it
• Provides us with introductory and background information
• Describes and demonstrates the literacy practice
• Crafts real time aspects of the literacy experience
• Offers a rationale for the literacy practice

9:10 Barbara’s Digital documentation.

One picture of the duck cart (Barbara remembers having that very same duck at her Grandma’s?) and one picture of Lilah, posturing ( or, what is she doing?)

9:15 (A lot of things seem to happen in the next 10 minutes. Did I measure incorrectly?)

Katelin shares her log as a post card. It is beautifully crafted, creative. (By the way, does any one know where Katelin buys those oversized postcards? )
Swift aside: Steve shares his happiness about everybody doing what they had to do technology wise.
Cathy, and Lilah share with us our reflections about their TIW’s. Lilah tells us that many of us should improve our handwriting… (Sarah, Susan and I were discussing just that a few days ago. Someone has to bring back that Palmer method!)

9:25 Break

9:35 The Promised Socratic Seminar

Bonnie explains the rules and the focus of the seminar and for some reason expresses, rather eloquently, her views of what women did during Socrates times: “Stayed home cooking or whatever the hell they did then.”
We all speak. Mary starts, then Susan, Jose, Steve, Sarah, Marisol, Katelin, Mary…
And we share our thoughts about Kathy’s music, Marisol’s ELLs, Dianne’s tea party, Barbara’s recent modeling of some TIWs, Kathy’s delight at having all that input about her student work, Cathy’s advocacy and passion, Jose’s images of students working. Next, the exchange climbs up Bloom’s ladder and we discuss the experienced teacher as a facilitator, value of polishing activities, how one creates meaning in a collaborative way, the replication of student efforts, cross-grade adaptations, technology, research based pedagogy, theory, student-centered TIWs, inquiry and essential questions, need to create communities of learners, value of expository text structure, contrasts, conflict, intellectual sparks, coaching, interactive TIWs … (Did Socrates leave the room?…Need we say more?)

Yes!. Bonnie says she needs a bathroom break

10:30 Break…. We are asked to reconvene in the dim lit spaces where the future of pedagogy resides: the comp lab.

11:05 (was that a break or a happy half hour?)
Individual “clicking time” officially begins. To do: pick an article link in our edublog, read it and comment on it. Jose starts asking questions. Bonnie tells him to keep on task. Dianne tells Jose to keep a low profile. And we all click away….

12:15 Chow time

1:45 Individual comments and concerns about the e-articles we read and other in-depth stuff.

Paulette: Collaborative Problem Solving . Need to solve problem collectively in the Internet and join the “game” of technology, or strike out!
Katelin seems concerned about the Google article and attention spans.
Terri: what is the true technology balancing act?.
Gina: shorter attention span observed in K students from all the gaming experience.
Paulette: Use common sense- electronic devices when they are needed.
Katelin: how do we react to an adolescent saying: “you are removing me from a social network that did not exist when you grew up”
Mary: Not only the culture but their speech constructs are based on those games.
Steve: Teachers must somehow adapt to the culture or at least accept that is there.
Bonnie: If teachers ignore the evolving culture, the technology, students will feel ignored.
Jose: Don’t forget about the still-to-be-written book “Doing Mathematics to Learn Writing.”
Kathy: What is culture, today?
Bonnie: Globalization!
Mary: Multiple modes ?
Lilah and Dianne: New emphasis on reading speed. But where is retention, integration?
Mary: I am staying behind.
Sarah: Give her the broom!
Sarah: The Dominican Republic article would have been better as a visual presentation. It is awkward to ready it on paper. (Give her a tube!)
Gina: Can’t convince her grandmother to use the ATM machine
Lilah (gesticulating wildly): The world is just filled with stimuli!

2:40 Break

2:55 Book Reports. From the nontraditional to the more traditional:

“Raw materials for the Mind” by David F. Warlick. Steve gives a multimedia introduction. The team (Dianne, Susan, Sarah, Steve and Jose) shower us with a multitude of technology quotes, from the profane to the philosophical. Audience is asked to select one quote and pour discuss it. Cathy wants to explore MacLab. Wikispaces look like the (compulsory!) cool thing to do according to Katelin. Mike wants to get hooked on the Smart Board. We all agree this book is best used as a “how to” source.

“Radical Reflections” by Mem Fox. The Foxy Five team reports (Katelin, Mike, Lilah, Gina and Paulette). The books seems to be about good and not so good teaching practices. They make us follow a modified tea party format, break up in groups according to certain quotes and discuss them. They close the report with a two voice poem. What can I say but “that is FOXY.”

“Other People’s Children” by Lisa Delpit. The team (Barbara, Bonnie, Marisol and Terri) read excerpts from the book. It is all about accepting and embracing cultural diversity and language modalities in the classroom. “We’ll talk like them when we have to,” a voice tells us. Heritage, not title or position is the essence when returning to the family nest. Different places different identities: “I teach the way I was taught not the way I learned.” “I know my culture and that is how I teach.” A member of the team shares a personal anecdote about how she was victimized by racist behavior from a teacher. We experience the power of a personal story. Finally, we are asked to remember this book as “a kind of aspiring for a lack of self-awareness.” And we are given souvenir book markers!

“True Notebooks: A Writer’s Year at Juvenile Hall” by Mark Salzman. As an introduction, the team (Mary, Cathy and Kathy) tells us why they were attracted to this book and we hear: I lacked empathy towards children with such experiences. Some of my students have been behind bars. My husband has been a PE teacher in a maximum security prison for many years.
The team reached the conclusion that our legal system is inept at treating this population that seems to march at its own beat. These children, most of them victimized by gangs, grow up without fathers but love and respect their mothers. We listen to some quotes. “There’s no North star for me,” everything being constantly moving and changing for this young man. Susan reads us a poem written by the same child, which she feels speaks of hope in what seems as a hopeless situation.

3:35 Day adjourns… tomorrow is graduation day!
To the Lab for writing! Make sure Steve gets copies of your work.

1. Letter of Advocacy

2. Conference Workshop Blurb

3. Short survey

4. REFLECTIONS

5. PROCESS PIECE

Send Advocacy letter, Process Piece, Workshop Blurb, and Reflections to me separately:

                                       blkdrama@mac.com

Off to Jose’s for our Celebratory Reading
July 31, 2008

Dear 2008 SI Fellows,

Thank you for an amazing month of July. Today is a day of evaluation and celebration, taking stock of what we have accomplished together.

Please write us a letter about your experience this summer. Please feel free to include your hopes for what you might like to do with HVWP and/or what you hope the HVWP might do for you. Please comment on the four main SI strands and special events. Don’t worry about the order of your letter. We will study the letters as we think, retool, learn, and plan next year’s Invitational Summer Institute.

Writing strand…writing groups, journal, equipment (journals/pens/computer access), author’s chair, publishing, e-anthology, blog, “Professional Writing”, anthology; “Personal Writing” anthology. Suggestions/wishes?

Recent research/reading strand …reading groups, community reading with authors, book selections, sharing out. Suggestions/wishes?

Teacher Inquiry Workshop strand …coaching, pre/post, partner, leadership, learning. Suggestions/wishes?

Tech Literacy strand
Creating and using blogs, E-Anthology, communal lab support, sharing tech resources on HVWP SI’08 blog, planning beyond the SI’08. Suggestions/wishes?

Specials…Opening Orientations (Part 1 and Part 2), Hudson Valley Scramble, Staci Swedeen’s process drama workshop and monologue presentation, Visitor’s Day luncheon, potlucks, food. Suggestions/wishes?

Next steps with HVWP… Please take time to write about your personal and professional next steps within HVWP: What particular programs have you heard about from past fellows and/or that are occurring across the network that interest you? For instance, would you like to present at a Saturday Seminar? Coach a peer? Join the ELL Tech Study Group? Participate in or help organize a personal or a professional Writing group? Attend the NWP conference in San Antonio or NYSEC in Albany? Young Writers Programs? ,Empire State Network?
Suggestions/Wishes?

Finally, if you wish to nominate a potential fellow for next year’s SI, please let us know. We trust your instincts.

Thanks,

Bonnie, Mary, Marisol, Diane, Steve, and Katelin

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
p.s. We will send you an email about our Thursday October 2th Conference with directions and an agenda. This is a day when we will take time to reconnect, write, and closely discuss some of our conscious, post-SI explorations. Please remind your administrators that they have agreed to this previously.

Writing into the Day

Making time for yourself as a writer

DD:Katelin G!

Shared with Flock – The Social Web Browser
http://flock.com

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…

Writing into the Day

Considering our writing lives.  Where are we now?  What plans can we make beyond the SI? Suggestions???

Bonnie

DD: Marisol

Logger: Cathy B.

Daily Log – Thursday July 24, 2008
Day 12

8:30 We began our day with a lovely breakfast provided by Lilah and wonderful writing prompt courtesy of Bonnie. We each got to pick a black and white postcard and write about the image. “What is it saying?”, “Write from their voice!”

8:40 Katelin, Mike, Jose, Lilah and Paulette entertained us with their depictions of what was happening with their characters.

9:00 Mike shared his log from Visitor’s Day yesterday. We all had such a great time meeting other members from various Writing Projects and listening to a fantastic TIW from Nancy McCracken, Making it Better by Making it Worse. We all got a kick out of screwing up our work. Have to try this with the kids!

9:05 Kathy B. provided us with feedback from her TIW Reflection comments. Her ideas about using music to inspire and develop creative writing was a great exercise and we all had fun with drawing, writing and sharing our work. Gina would be in later in the day and provide us with her feedback them.

9:12 Katelin hands out the ballots for our Summer Institute T-Shirts……so many great ideas….I think I like Write On! best, but truly hard to choose. I regret to admit that I need an XL….maybe in blue?

9:15- 9:30 Break time

9:30 Jose’s TIW -Writing to do Math and Doing Math Through Writing. Jose began by showing us photos from his field trip, Storm King Art Center Art/ Math Project (SKACAMP). His students were very engaged in observing, measuring, calculating dimensions and analyzing the awesome large art scattered though out the grounds of this outdoor gallery. We reviewed the NYS Standards for Math and then Jose challenged us with some equations. OUCH! Can’t quite remember my algebra! Jose then engaged us in recreating a sculpture his students had studied, using either string or copper wire. He gave us a photo of the sculpture to guide our work…..only problem is that our materials were bigger that the photo and we had to use all of the material…no cutting! A fierce competition arose between various groups, Respect! , PEMDAS, The Mathemagicians and The Quadrilaterals. Serious posturing on the part of The Quadrilaterals, and return attitude by PEMDAS, resulted in a fun time for all. My group gave ourselves a 4+ …for effort…..we actually fell a little short on the end result. Jose ends his terrific TIW with reflections from the group. We had fun….I want to go to Storm King and see these groovy sculptures…Jose, can I climb on them?

1100-11:10 Break

11:10 Judith Rance-Roney joins us to discuss her article from English Journal entitled, Creating Intentional Communities to Support English Language Learners in the Classroom.
Judith discussed creating intentional communities within classrooms that foster positive and enriching relationships between students with diverse backgrounds. We were inspired by her struggles to bring two Vietnamese brothers, Tu and Phan, from the margins of her classroom community to fully accepted and cherished members of the group. We shared our frustrations with NCLB and the long road ahead with limited funds and administrative ignorance. We ended our wonderful discussion with some questions and comments to ponder, “How do we define and label students?” “We are all English Language Learners at all times.” “Be intentional in creating cultures of acceptance.”

12:30- 2:30 Break for Lunch

2:30-3:30 TIW Brainstorm Groups

3:30- 4:00 Some last minute housekeeping ….”Where to have our last day potluck?” Maybe at Jose’s? What is that about a swimming pool? Gina gave us feedback on her TIW Reflections….I loved the stations and I learned some Spanish…..And we ended the day with some really fantastic Writer’s Chair sharing.

I can’t believe we are at the end of week 3 …..

Hope you enjoyed Visitors’ Day and you are starting to think about life with us, beyond this SI…

Writing into the Day

For now, let’s enjoy our moments together and I’m wondering, any prompts to share?

If not, I always carry backup for everything.

On the table you will find lots of photographs of people. Come up and select one that calls out to you.

And you are going to write a monologue from that person’s point of view, either in the present, past or maybe even his/her future…

Enjoy

Digital Documenter: Lilah

Logger: Mike

A Visitor’s Story

I’ve heard so much about this project so I decided to pay it a visit to see what all the fuss was about. Mike tried to explain it to me, but he still can’t find his way there, so I’ll have to find out for myself.

The day started off with Tom providing an introduction and my neighbor commenting that the Terrace Restaurant was packed with HVWP legends including Ann Hovey, Eric Salverson, Kathy Yeager, and Denise Maltese.

After Tom’s introduction, some lady was explaining that she was ready for her techno- tools to malfunction, but was happy they didn’t. At the end of her brief story she remembered something important; “and, also my name is Bonnie Kaplan.”

The group was given a writing prompt to write a letter to a colleague, friend, or politician to explain something they cared deeply about. Why are they passing me a pen and paper? A lady named Paulette shared something about being placed in a garden and another named Katelin was convincing Jenn that her mask project was proof that she should sacrifice half of her summer next year. These people are starting to confuse me. The one who made the most sense was Mary when she said;  “I realized I had to get a job, so I joined.”

Terri then presented her digital document showing Kathy and Gina thanking them for taking us back to kindergarten and first grade…I still don’t get it. Next, Sara and Steve acted out Sara’s skit about test hating, granola eating subversives. Someone should send them for a mental adjustment.

Next came the headline act they promised: Nancy McCracken. Now she was making sense; first telling us we should take a retreat to Santa Fe, then saying we’re smarter than we know and know more than we say. Then she made even more sense when she said ”You can’t teach students something until you know what their question is.”

Then it got crazy again. Nancy told everyone to make his or her writing piece worse. What the…?  “C’mon” she said, “the stakes are low.” We listed what makes our writing better while Tom wrote some of it down on newsprint. “I’m slow” he said when questioned about his pace. So am I, because these people confuse me.

After opening the blinds to avoid seasonal adjustment syndrome, the whole presentation made sense. You get the students to improve their work, decide what they think they did best, and then you can figure out how to help them…Excellent.
On to lunch, where we could talk about different programs the HVWP offers, then they were going to meet with their writing groups before some of them got up the nerve to share their work during their “Author’s Chair” activity. What a Day! Thanks for inviting me.

I’m sure that you have a great writing prompt we can all enjoy. So please let me invite you to share it here..

Just sign in to our site and then click on Manage and find this entry and begin your prompt, copying and pasting under the last person’s prompt and then click on SAVE to the right.

Looking forward to a great smorgasbord of prompts to choose from and use in the future.

Bonnie

I like Natalie Goldberg’s suggestion, which I read at 3 AM to distract myself from bats, to write about something you’re obsessed with.

I’ve also had fun with the prompt: I’m the stupidest person in this room because…

And I’ve been wanting to try telling one’s life story in six words… have you seen that site?  Not sure that would qualify as freewriting though.

Sarah

Writing into the Day:

How does it feel? How about taking some time to just reflect on your writing life at the Summer Institute,( a bit of a process writing). Feel free to include your Scramble experience.

Digital Documenter Mike

Logger from Wednesday: Mary
HVWP SI2008 Tratoria
Mercoledì, 16 di Juli 2008

Antipasti
Journal writing: We dig through our handbags and wallets for clues and discovered these characters:
.
“His calligraphy was just like him, deliberate, rigid, and complicated” (Catherine Wille, an old receipt)

“She had become good at the deception, tilting her head in a certain way, having her hand close to her ear to make it seem as though she was just leaning…” (Paulette Easterlin, cell phone traffic ticket)

“It was the final days of a long three semesters. All but one assignment was turned in. My final project, a Powerpoint presentation on developing vocabulary for ELLs was placed on my memory stick.” (Terri Colon, memory stick)

”I reach for the cortisone: My only temporary relief in this vicious war zone.” (Lilah Weiss, cortisone cream)

Insalate
Community Reading with special guest, Denise Maltese

We agree that we DO NOT want to teach writing so that it puts our students in a narrow tunnel. We DO want our students to perform well on state writing tests AND we want them to experience writing as an act of empowerment, voice, and even, dare we say, subversion. We raise concerns about the use of tests to control teachers: Who are we testing? Is it really the students? These tests show that teachers are not to be trusted.

Primi
Susan Olsen’s TIW: The Power of Poetry

We learn how poetry can “grab” even our most disaffected students, and how students’ natural talent in writing poetry can surprise them as much as us. Thank you, Susan, for a delicious poetry reading and writing experience! Kathy Berstell inspired us with her front yard/back yard poem:
The Field Trip

Follow the rules, play the game
No time for field trips cuz money is the name
Invest in the surface
Appearances count
The front yard is school board and budget costs mount

But think of returns
Why can’t we try this?
The backyard is freedom
Opportunities not to miss.

Overtime, insurance
Obstacles in the way
Who’s in charge? How’s and whys,
And who will pay?

I say,
Let’s open that back door
Bring some sunshine to the night
And let our XP student
Find experiential light

Secondi
Staci Sweeden treated us to theater community-building exercises and a process-drama (for developing our voices as teacher-advocates) in which we considered the role of the poverty in our schools and how the federal government might respond.

Staci (AKA “Karen Armstrong): Ma’am—we haven’t heard from you. What do you think about what you’ve heard today?

Terri: My name is Old Lady Terri and I can’t hear a blessed thing!

Dolci
We needed tiramisu, but we got better than that! We were treated to a 10-minute performance of her monologue, Pardon Me for Living

(Imagine Julie Andrews singing “It’s May! It’s May!)
It’s May, it’s May, and it is a beautiful day in Sleepy Hollow, the small village where I live on the Hudson River. The sun is out, and I really want to get some of that vitamin C or D or—I don’t know why I can’t remember vitamin names much less remember to take them…but I know there is some kind of vitamin in the sun and dammit, I want mine! …

Grazie Staci!
TIW Reflections:

Paulette’s TIW

Professional Piece is Due: Ugh…

Back in the Lab with Bonnie and Steve

Steve presents Wikis

Bonnie takes us back to edublogs, our blogs to make sense of  process pieces

Here’s a sample:

Mike’s Process Essay

Mike and his Monologue project

One day in April, just before spring break, Ms. Kaplan began class with a weird announcement. She let us know that there would be no formal final exam.  We cheered but I watched her and she had more to say.
I was right.  She had more to say.
Instead of a written final exam, we would work on a project, a monologue project.  What’s a monologue???
Ms. Kaplan kept smiling.  We weren’t.  She explained that we would write a monologue, present it to the class, and then write about the experience in an essay that would be due on the last day of school.  Ugh.  I began to wish we were going to take a final exam.
She read us a monologue written by a student from last year and then we began the project with a photo she offered each of us.  I got a  little boy on a scale wearing boxing gloves. What?  And I had to write as if I were this kid?  She was smiling again a demented smile.
I put my pen on the paper and nothing came out.  I held it there.  With Ms. Kaplan, I know if she sees me not using my pen, she will push me to write- the writing cop.  I stared at the kid and on my page I wrote the word “I remember.and then I just continued as the kid, as me.
Fifteen minutes later Ms. Kaplan called time and asked if anyone would like to share.  I didn’t want to but at least I had something on the paper.  I wasn’t totally sure about what a monologue was, but I was thinking about what I would wear if I used this writing as my monologue.
I was hoping to see more of her photo collection, to pick my own.  She told us we would be using photos often so we didn’t have to feel stuck with this first one.
This was just my beginning and I didn’t use this writing.  I never added another word to this start,.  In fact, I had lots of starts before I came up with my final topic.  I didn’t use any of the photos I wrote about.
I was actually out with my family on a picnic and I began to watch an ant crawl on the blanket and I wished that I had my journal.  I couldn’t believe that Ms. Kaplan was in my head at our picnic, smiling. “You should have taken your journal, just in case.”

Now to your blog and time to create a post there.  Let’s do this together.

So here’s another way to write into the day

The Backpack
From: Everyday Creative Writing: Panning for Gold in the Kitchen Sink
By Smith and Greenberg (NTC 2000)

Whether we carry a knapsack, pocketbook, briefcase, diaper bag, or some combination of the four, many of us have trouble getting out of the house without taking some of our possessions with us. While someone totes work she hopes to do when traveling back and forth to her office, another person slips a novel into her purse in case the bus is late again. Like turtles, we tend to carry part of our world on our backs (or shoulders).
Although much of what we take with us out into the world every day is practical and necessary, hidden among the sensible calculators, notebooks, and diapers are less functional possessions, curiosities that represent the more complex realities of our daily lives.

Panning Instructions: Empty everything from your pocketbook, briefcase, or knapsack onto a clean surface. Everything. Even that mouldy-looking saltine holds valuable clues. Or you can empty your wallet of everything, even that ATM receipt that you forgot to record in your check- book.
Forget for a moment that these things belong to you. Imagine they belong to someone else. What do these items tell you about this person?

Select a few of them to use as a starting point for a story, poem, or essay about a person whose life you have laid out in front of you.

Nugget:
From a short story in progress

Megan hadn’t meant to mislead Alan when the plastic dinosaur had fallen out of her purse. It was just that she had seen his office, with its clutter of political cartoons, his hanging rubber stork, pink slinky and other miscellaneous anti-establishment toys, and wanted him to know that she wasn’t buying into the system either. So, when Alan picked it up and said “Cool,” and handed the Brachiosaurus back to her with a new glimmer of recognition in his eye, she hadn’t found it necessary to tell him that the toy belonged to her son, and that she had only this morning rescued it from under his car seat.
Mostly she was relieved that her purse hadn’t been dumped in front of him the year before when there would have been baby wipes and a spare pacifier mixed in with the usual wallet, checkbook and keys. She decided now, today, was definitely a better time.
Angelin Donohue
Sharing

Logger: Paulette

Three to Four-Ring Circus
Imagine, if you will, being at the circus – the excitement and the anticipation of the thrills to come. Let me take you to our time at the circus on July 15th.
It started off with refreshments – bagels, donut holes, yogurt, fruit as well as a beverage of choice. Some of us were starving and had looked forward to this delightful array of morning goodies. You know who you were!!
I’m late! You’re late! We really can’t be late! A few housekeeping asides about time and it being of the essence. So much to do, so little time! Our circus master of ceremony, Bonnie, encouraged us to take our seats and settle in for the ride or should I say, the attraction in Ring #1 – the Image Explosion. This allowed us to take the poem, The Names written by Bill Collins to create a community poem. Everyone took a line, a phrase or a word that spoke to them and created an additional poem or prose from it. Talk about an add-on! Though this was the first ring of the circus (and you know how circus’ are anyway), one could hear a pin drop. This activity truly displayed the power of our words. WOW!!
Still having chills? Well, we would take a commercial break or small intermission soon enough. First, we heard from Jose as he gave his digital documenter photo interpretation and Katelin solicited slogans for this summer’s writing institute t-shirts. Pictures and selling of t-shirts – that usually happens at the circus, right?
We had a surprise guest, Ann Hovey from the Advanced Writing Institute. Ann also happened to have worked with Terri and was coming in to support her during her TIW workshop. Mary stated that there may be others popping in to show/give support of our work and TIWs. Hey, wait a minute? Was there some fine print in our program that we missed?
Anyway, Katelin read her log from the previous day’s work and Barbara shared her thoughts from the TIW reflections she received. Barbara took a lot from what was suggested, even the one from Katelin about sending such writing products overseas. That sounded familiar. Didn’t Tom say something like that in May? Was the spirit of Tom lurking around us? Lastly, Barbara mentioned reflections about student work. I think that was/is an area most of us are grappling with. How long to look at and examine student work? The most important question of all – where the heck to put it?! Does anyone have an answer?
We then took a break. During this time, we had a High School Musical moment of We’re All In This Together! We’re becoming more of a community not only of writers but of concerned individuals, looking out for one another. Hang In!!
Back to the break. Not too long! We’re late! We’re late! This really can’t wait! Ring #2 – T’s TIW. By T, we mean the ring master Terri Colon. Terri’s TIW was on Developing Writing Through Peer Feedback. Let’s get ready to rumble! Terri talked about how we had to let our students see us going through the writing process, and of the writing process being a continual process where we visit each step at least once. Terri spoke of us putting ourselves out there to students and guiding them in getting their thoughts and getting critical and nasty/messy later. We peer edited writing that we had been working on and gave feedback which hopefully would be used to enhance the writing. We examined student work and reflected on this way of providing peer feedback.
A mistake or blessing in disguise? We had what Bonnie called free and far between time to write (free airtime – gotta’ love those airtime minutes/hours!!) as well as meet in writing groups. It was only a little after 11. We did not have to return until 3. Ring #3 –The Write Time, though not as structured was a great ring in this circus. Each of us could actually be the ring master and make of the time what we will. Did you get a lot done?
Finally, we come to Ring #4 – The Writing Process. Do you know where you’re going to? Mary had us reflect on our teaching and instruction of writing. What ways do we teach writing? Is there anything that we don’t particularly do well? What do we do well? After some sharing, there was an open Author’s Chair. Almost all of the returning fellows as well as Bonnie shared. Mary was inching to share but restrained herself. Maybe it was just that time already. You know, when a child lays angelical on their parent’s shoulder, sleeping with a slight smile on their face, still holding the cotton candy stick for dear life, being/feeling spent but not quite ready to give up the moment. I hope you enjoyed your time at our circus!

Digital Documenter: Sarah

TIW Reflections: Terri

Community Reading with Denise Maltese and her article: “OUt of the Narrow Tunnel and into the Universe of Discourse”

TIW:

Writing into the Day:

Let’s try something a little different today: Image Explosion

Here’s the poem we will work with:

Billy Collins

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name –
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner –
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O’Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening — weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds –
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.

1. Leader reads through the poem slowly

2. Another voice reads poem a second time and each person selects a phrase/line to write from

3, That phrase can begin your writing poem or prose piece you will create for the next 15 minutes.

4. The leader will read the poem again, slowly. When she gets to your line jump in and add your writing.

5. We have created a community poem.

DOWN THE TECHNOLOGY LANE…

DD: Jose Gonzales

Log:

7.14.08

I. Introduction

The context for this inquiry: What I have observed of various HVWP days.

II. HVWP structures (to provide us with an overall understanding of what happens)

1. Breakfast and slideshow
   1. Egg bake care of Terri.  A delicious savory complement to Gina’s contribution.
   2. Some crazy concoction that is already sweet but comes with syrup. I don’t ask—I taste.  Thanks, Gina.
2. Morning Write (“Make a map of the earliest neighborhood you can remember…Now tell us a story from your map.”)
   1. “Busting my behind learning to roller skate…God forbid you got into a fight with one—you would have to fight them all.” Paulette
   2. “We said hello to our bouncers… We were never quite sure what he was screaming as it was always a different language than ours.” Gina
3.  DD, Logs and Reflections
4. TIW (Barbara asks us to consider how we teach the reading and writing of expository (=informational = nonfiction) texts in our classrooms. 
   1. Brainstorm text structures and view models
   2. Engage in constructing/writing a collective biography
   3. View thematic biographies created by students
   4. Consider how knowledge of text structures may impact student writing and how this enhances/supports/changes how we teach expository text
5. Books Groups (DISPERSE!)
6. Lunch
   1. I went on a nice walk through New Paltz.  I talked to my mom for a while.  My grandma is home from the hospital and her sister is visiting (yay!).  Matt and I decided to have grilled fish and fresh salad for dinner tonight, so it looks like I am stopping at Adams on the way home.
   2. The Bakery is busy.  I order a quick salad and leave.  I see Denise Maltese on the street and we have a stop and chat (but not one of those, “Oh God, now I have to talk to someone I don’t like about his or her life, which I really don’t care about”).  She is excited to close up the Building a Writing Practice course and looks forward to visiting us to discuss the article we will read for Wednesday.
7. Tech time (Despite varying levels of experience and confidence, this SI has incredibly competent people!  Don’t let them fool you…They are blogging posting away.  At this moment-3:02-14 people have posted on the e-Anthology.  Congratulations and welcome to the 21^st century version of the writer’s workshop!)

III. Construct a tech history and post it on the blog.

1.  
   1. “My TechLife? I typed in college on a typewriter.”
   2. “I remember DOS and continual crashes and total confusion all the time — but boy, was it better than a typewriter.”
   3. “I would like to know more about using the Smartboard, and digital stories with the kids.”
   4. “1986    Oregon Trail.”
   5. “I’m a bit of a tech dork.”
   6. “Yes… I remember those first experiences formally learning about computers and cringe.”
   7. “I couldn’t tell you what I found so confusing at the time, but I think I’ve come pretty far since then.”
   8. “For thirty years I worked as a designer of computers, using the computer to make computers.”
   9. “The guy who ran the course assumed that we knew how to turn the computer on. I didn’t.”
   10. “My most fun on the computer is finding reviews about my son’s band, the Felice Brothers when he is on road trips. He says, “Mom, read a book or get a hobby” if I tell him what I’ve learned.”
   11. “While it is a web full of information–I also find it to be a “web” that is hard to get out of.”
   12. “From here, I would like to do more graphic and digital works as well as to become familiar with blogs, websites and webinar post sites.”
   13. “I am completely psyched for all this. Now all I need is the time, and keeping my techno fears at bay.”

IV. Breakdown- Mary invites us to talk about the tech interactions of the day.  She tells us about the accidental air scheduled for tomorrow (happy accident, ala Bob Ross) and Staci’s visit on Wednesday, asking us to brainstorm:

1.      What critical issue in your school or classroom (or education in general) isn’t receiving the attention it needs? What problem or issue seems unresolved?

2.      What problem or predicament seems to stop or silence you as a teacher?

V. Release- We leave reflecting upon how we support student reading and writing of informational texts, our advances in using technology, and the real world issues we face in our schools.

Writing into the morning:

Part I: Mapmaking

Make a map of the earliest neighborhood you can remember.

Include as much detail as you can.

Who lived there? What were the secret places? Where were your friends? Where did the weird people live? Where were the off-limits places?…

Part 2: Map Story

Now tell us a story from your map. “One day back in Anchorage…”- and off you go, elaborating on your recollection that you and Ellie Totten used to throw frozen fish through garage windows.

Don’t edit yourself much; don’t try for anything finished.

“If nothing happens, it’s not a story.” Flannery O’Connor

(from Writing Life Stories, Bill Roorbach)

Here’s a few photo memories From our first week together:

Digital Documenter: Kathy B

Logger: Gina

The last day of our first week of the HVWP started off with Jose’s delicious frittata and cinnamon buns for breakfast. We quickly moved into our free write activity. After hearing a short excerpt from Sandra Cisnero’s House on Mango Street, we wrote about the history of our own names.
We listened as Barbara lovingly told us, not about her own name, but about her strong fiery little boy, Brian and of her grace from God, “Troublegail”, aka Abagail. Marisol shared her desire as a child to be just. plain. Mary.
From there we revisited the E-anthology site. We looked at some of the feedback on Bonnie and Steve’s work. Bonnie reminded us to use this short window of opportunity to get that important feedback from NWP’s trained eyes. Did everyone post this weekend?!
Next came Paulette’s turn to share her favorite digital moment, or shall we say her favorite shot from her day as a paparazzi? She chose a wonderful “behind the scenes” picture she had taken on one of her many spontaneous dashes between the classrooms.
Following Paulette, Terri read her recap of the previous days work.
Housekeeping: Katelin gently reminded us to recycle, we have enough cream cheese, and best of all we have printing privileges!
Steve then shared his reflections from his TIW. He thanked the class for the terrific letters and support.
After a short break Diane began her TIW focused on the reluctant learner. Later on we broke into our own chat rooms and discussed important points of the article she presented with fellow group members.
After another short break Kathleen Yeager joined us for the remainder of our morning. We focused on her article and broke into the Passing Notes and Talking Back activity. We all chose the paragraph that made the most impact on us and discussed this with our neighbor. We discussed the idea of a “fast” in the classroom. Mary commented that we need to give students a chance to sit on the steps and figure things out. Lilah summed up her feelings about the article in a quote from a recently listened to song – “You’re the freeway, I’m the country road. “
Our morning turned into afternoon as we met with our writing groups. Later that afternoon our very hungry bunch reconvened at our host Sarah’s lovely home for some good food and even better company.

In the Lab:

EAnthology: TIme to post and offer feedback.

Returning to the Homepage to share something of your Tech Life Autobiography: What was your first experience with computers? How far have you come? What do you feel good about? What would you love to learn?

Final Reflections:

What critical issue in your school or classroom (or education in general) isn’t receiving the attention it needs?
What problem or issue seems unresolved?

What problem or predicarment seems to stop or silence you as a teacher?

Shout out to my mom. She turned 90 this morning!

Writing into the Day:  The History of My Name

Reading: “My Name” from the House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros to begin

Digital Documenter Paulette

Shared with Flock – The Social Web Browser
http://flock.com

Log Terri:

SCENE I: At 8:30 our entire cast appears refreshed even after two days of shooting. Now all are preparing for another exciting day of writing and learning. There are bagels, juice and coffee, our usual fuel that will keep us going until lunch. Katelyn remembered the granola! That goes so much better with fruit and yogurt than summer squash and chives! Thank you for that! As Bonnie has inspired some to be more tech-savvy, Diane and Sarah begin clicking away at our morning prompt given by Mary. She tells us to “write about your first experience with writing”. When just as we begin….

CUT!!!!!

Jose reminds us that we already had that prompt. Take two! Mary then tells us to, “Write about your most painful writing experience instead!” Ritualistic apologies.

SCENE II: At 8:55 Mary reviewed Peter Elbow’s Book, “Writing Without Teachers”. She shares the basic premise of this book and how the author values the importance of focusing on the content of our writing then on its form in an effort of fostering creativity. Steve introduces his sister Kristen to us and she is graciously welcomed! Mary shares her favorite photo of Katelyn’s TIW, and honors her with well deserved accolades. The log of the day was very cleverly written in itinerary form my Barbara as “The Amazing Race to SI ‘08”. Katelyn thoughtfully reviewed her reflections and got all of her three questions answered! She plans to incorporate those shared ideas into her classroom next year! She comments on the reflections being “extraordinarily useful” and was very appreciative.

CUT TO BATHROOM BREAK SCENE!

SCENE III: Steve begins his TIW titled, “Multimedia Writing: Collaboration, Construction & Reflection.” The terms Media Literacy and Visual Literacy were reviewed prior to his performance. We worked in groups of four advertising teams to design and produce a print advertisement or public service announcement on various controversial topics. We shared the experience aloud, responded to a self-reflection prompt, partner-shared our thoughts, and previewed student reflections. This activity was challenging, engaging, appropriate and provocative. We then watched 6 minutes of the film he and his students worked feverishly to produce BY DEADLINE! The film “Becoming the Media” was a documentary born from the desire of students to learn more about what media is, how is it constructed and how in impacts our lives. The audience was captivated and wanted more. Steve received rave reviews and some offered comments about the process of making a slogan…

“It’s all in your presentation. It can establish viewpoints and opinions.” Paulette

“I thought about who you want to touch or affect”. “What difficult decisions companies who spend millions of dollars on advertising must make”. Gina

“With one or two words you ‘have’ to read it, with a picture,
if your eyes are open – you got it – it’s done! Katelyn

After a round of applause for Steve on an award-winning stellar performance we moved to writing letters of reflections for him to read and ponder over.

CUT TO BATHROOM BREAK SCENE!

SCENE IV: It’s 11:15 and the TIW Groups begin to address questions and concerns about the entire TIW process. The coaches did a fantastic job trying to reduce our anxiety. Then without a moment’s hesitation Paulette leaps from her seat to continue to snap her camera like the paparazzi, determined not to miss the most valuable shot!

CUT TO LUNCH BREAK SCENE!

SCENE V: At 1:40 the Book Groups meet to discuss all the chapters read…..or almost all the chapters read!

SCENE VI: At 3:00 the Author’s Chair looks cold and uncomfortable, but not for long! Paulette takes the plunge and dives right into it! Several follow suit. Some are still unloading their thoughts of the day’s events. Few are still looking for a piece of writing that will motivate them enough to get out of their seat after a long tiring (but valuable) day and share in the author’s chair. No more takers! Mary thanks Nancy for joining us, even for just a brief time. She then reminded us of the articles we must read by tomorrow but stresses the importance of Marisol having enough time to bake that PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE!

Steve’s TIW Reflections.

Diane’s TIW

The Community Reading with Kathy Yeager.

Publishing to the Eanthology????