good old days #1 of 31

Last February my grandfather passed away.  He fell & broke his hip on a Thursday night, wasn't strong enough for surgery, and passed away on Sunday.  One day I still had all four of my grandparents.  The next day I didn't.  This past month I've been thinking about him often.  And missing him. 

Last Saturday during the Dublin Literacy Conference, when Ralph Fletcher invited us to write using his poem "The Good Old Days" in his general session, my thoughts immediately went to my grandparents.  This is what I came up with:

Sometimes I remember
the good old days

visiting a house with
both grandparents still inside

each having their
own brand of love

struggling to find
a balance

Nannie at the window
eager to listen

PawPaw in his chair
eager to share

I still can't imagine
anything better than that.

Dublin Literacy Conference 2013

Once upon a time two teachers in Tennessee had the good fortune of hosting an award-winning author in their classrooms.  The author realized that these two teachers would enjoy meeting some other like-minded educators she knew and recommended they look into a literacy conference in a small Ohio city.  Cheryl & I were, of course, the TN teachers.  Louise Borden was the author. Dublin was the city.  How fitting that the next time we were able to visit with Louise & hear her share was this past Saturday at the Dublin Literacy Conference.  This was the third year we've traveled to Ohio for this conference & we look forward to it all year!

This year's lineup was fantastic... & way too much for one post!  We'll post a little each day to highlight our favorite parts of the conference.

gitty daneshvari & tami lewis brown @ southern festival of books

The second session we attended on Saturday was Tween Life - Writing Characters With a Sense of Self with Gitty Daneshvari & Tami Lewis Brown.  We were a little late to this session.  Blame it on the Parnassus tent offering up the books of all the participating authors. 

Gitty draws inspiration from Roald Dahl.  She originally imagined her School of Fear series while wondering what it would've been like to go to a school that helped her overcome fears when she was younger.  Outlines are a key part to her writing process & she credits them with helping her become a more focused & stronger writer.  She is also one of the most recent authors to write for the Monster High series.  Gitty's upcoming series, The League of Unexceptional Children, was inspired by a time when almost all the other kids in her class won awards, but not her!

Tami also draws inspiration from Dahl, which we noticed was a theme with several authors!  We loved hearing her share that her book, Soar, Elinor!, was written alongside her students at the time.  She was helping them write biographies and decided to do one with them!  What an inspiration!!  Tami also shared how outlines have helped her grow as a writer.

Both Gitty & Tami shared how book tours help to reset their calibration & keep them in touch with their audience.  Yay for book tours!  We also appreciated the fact that both of these authors steer away from the "sexy non-sex", as Gitty put it.  They are truly writing to entertain these tween readers.

Gitty finished the session with this thought about endings, they don't "have to have a happy ending, but a hopeful ending."

ed young @ southern festival of books

The Southern Festival of Books is a free annual event held in the shadow of the capitol building on War Memorial Plaza in downtown Nashville.  Last year was our first year attending & we immediately knew it would also be an annual event for us.  We've decided to devote a post for each author session we attended, rather than cramming it all in one post.  Up first, Ed Young.

Ed Young's session focused on his newest book, Nighttime Ninja, written by Barbara DaCosta.  While seeking a diversion from his work on The House that Baba Built, Ed was cleaning out drawers.  He came across a small, self-published work by DaCosta.  Taking it upon himself to storyboard the 90 word book, the bumpy road toward publishing began.  The seemingly easy task of publishing the book became complicated due to creative disagreements between Ed & the publisher. He had created all the collages for the book, but was asked to reconsider using the original sketches instead.  "Well," Ed was prompted, "maybe you should just think about it."  His response?  "I'm done thinking.  Maybe you should think..."  Eventually the book was taken to another publisher and more of Ed's creative genius was allowed to shine.

Listening to Ed describe different artistic decisions I couldn't help but be reminded of my Choice Literacy workshop with Franki Sibberson this summer and our discussions about visual literacy.   Ed was extremely intentional about every decision, even down to how the ninjas dropping down the endpages turn into the title page.  At one point the book's designer made the decision to put a spoiler of sorts on the cover flaps.  Again, Ed's response was unwavering.  "Well, why don't you just tell the whole story right there?"  He believes that the pictures tell the story and the words only confirm.  He also shared his belief that certain stories demand certain colors, mood, & tone.

Ed's book dedication stems from his belief that it's all about suspense & that kids like that.  "There's something about mystery that intrigues us all."  Cheryl & I also loved his final thought - "Two minds are better than one if you want to make something great.  More minds are better than two."

it's monday!

from Mandy:
Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead: When You Reach Me is one of my all-time favorite books.  My students tease me that I say this about all the books, but this one really is!  I was so excited to read Stead's latest book.  I felt that, like her other books, there were little hints for the reader that really got me wondering more about the characters.  Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"Because I would rather be a jerk's victim than a jerk's friend."
"Life is really just a bunch of nows, one after the other."
"She said she felt full of whatever it was that was about to happen to her."

Capture the Flag by Kate Messner: What a fun story!  I'm a huge fan of the National Treasure movies and loved how this book had a similar vibe.  Kate did an amazing job of developing the 3 main characters.  This book will provide the opportunity of lots of great conversations in my classroom.

My first book order arrived today!  The TBR pile just keeps growing!

from Cheryl:
The Dot by Peter Reynold: Our school celebrated National Dot Day in many ways. Thanks to our amazing literacy team, we all got copies of The Dot. Middle school students decided to "make their mark" by writing their goals and signing their name. What a powerful message for kids.

The Fault in our Stars by John Green: Once I got started, I couldn't put it down. I loved the poetic language, the honesty, the inside look, the metaphors, the repeating lines, books that change our life, the characters we want to be...Hazel Grace. May we all find someone to love us that much.

it's monday

From Mandy:

The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm #2) by Michael Buckley:  I was finally able to finish this one!  I have really enjoyed this series & have several students interested in them.

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi:  This collection of short comic stories all answer the same question, "What's in the box?"  This would be a perfect book to prompt students to write their own story answering the question.  It will also expose them to several authors & illustrators in this genre.

Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms by Lissa Evans:  What a fun book!  I knew I would like it as soon as I saw that the endpapers were maps, one of my favorite features!  I'd read several reviews & tweets about this book & was excited to finally read it.  I wasn't disappointed!  The length will be very manageable for my readers & the exposure to quirky vocabulary is a definite plus.

Capture the Flag by Kate Messner:  I just started this one yesterday & I already know my students will love it! 

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha:  One of my friends told me about this book.  Whenever something awesome would happen she would say, "That should be in the book of awesome."  It took me a few times to realize it was an actual book!  The book contains everyday occurrences that should be celebrated, like flipping the pillow to the cool side before going back to sleep.  Awesome.  The pieces are short... sometimes a few paragraphs, sometimes a few sentences.  I can't wait to integrate this book into my writer's workshop!  Finding an unexpected book that makes for perfect mini lessons?  Awesome.

From Cheryl:

The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill: Sixth graders used this book to examine character motivation, then to write summaries. After quickly identifying what the characters want, they were able to think about the characters in their chapter books in a new way.

We looked at ways setting impacts character, plot, and theme using The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Brian Selznick, The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland, and Sister Anne's Hands by Marybeth Lorbiecki. Students were only provided with text on the first page (where setting is described) of these picture books, then they had to predict what the characters would be like, what possible event they could predict to see in the text, the conflict that may arise, and the possible theme of the text.

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner: I'm including this book on my "great leads" list. This story takes place in Paris during King Louis XVI's reign. Paris is getting ready to turn upside-down, and the writer builds this tension on the very first page..."This is Paris; here the winds of change are blowing, whispering their discontent into the very hearts of her citizens..."

Schools That Work by Richard Allington: This text explores the situation of reading programs today and the impact of NCLB. It provides qualities of successful reading programs, as well as, ways to develop school in which all kids read and write. Allington emphasizes the need for effective teaching and getting books into the hands of our students. It makes me think of ways to increase opportunities for my students to read and write.

made

I always try to make sure my classroom is welcoming with little pockets of my personality.  I'm sure that most of you have heard of the great new time-waster... Pinterest.  I've gotten some great ideas for my classroom on Pinterest!  It's like going to a great conference, collaborating with other teachers from across the country, even taking a peek into their classrooms, but all from the comfort of your own couch!  Genius.  Here are some projects I had ready for the beginning of school.  Some are from Pinterest.  Some are just from my brain.  Enjoy.

I love all the cute pennant banners!  I made this one to hang over my classroom door in the hallway.  Each pennant is a different type of print: R is an excerpt from Bridge to Terabithia from an old short story anthology, E is from the comic page, A is an "a" page from a vintage school dictionary I rescued from the free pile at a library sale, & D is from an old atlas.  I sewed the pompom fringe (which just makes everything happier) onto cardstock pennants, then attached the page to the pennants and drew on the letters.

I'm always looking for great storage ideas & bookshelves.  I love the 9-cube shelves that are made to hold those fabric organizer cubes.  I had the idea to get one of those to face into a cubbyhole reading area and attach a whiteboard to the back.  I thought the whiteboard would be a place where I could do small groups or students could work in pairs.  This picture shows the aftermath of our how to pick a good fit book lesson, thus the bag of shoes!

I LOVE these seats, but my students love them even more than I do!  I had seen a few different versions of these on Pinterest, but modified them to fit my needs.  The top lifts up for more storage.  One of them has clipboards, and I'm planning on putting stations in them once those are up & running.  My dad helped me make them.  I made sure to buy crates that had an inside edge made for hanging folders, then we cut a piece of board to nestle inside the crate.  I cut 3 pieces of foam... the bottom piece was a pre-made foam seat cushion from a fabric store that was just a little bigger than the board, the top two pieces were from an "eggcrate" foam mattress cover that were cut a little smaller than the board.  I used spray adhesive to attach all that together and to the board.  I stretched the fabric (I used fat quarters) around the foam & board, then stapled it.

Fun pencils!!  As soon as I saw this post linked on Pinterest I knew it may be the solution to the on- going case of the missing pencils.  It may backfire if students really like them, but hopefully not!  I modified the original directions, found here, for pencils. 

Hope you've enjoyed this peek into my classroom!