FIRST SATURDAY -- September 13

Here we are, back in Bailey Hall, though one flight up and a vast improvement from the second floor. We are comfortable with more space and less humidity.  As happy as we are to see one another, we feel the absence of friends who could not join us for the Fall sessions.  We will miss them.

Patricia Opened the day with some wonderful six-word memoirs.  

We had a quick refresher on the expectations for the Fall (see "helpful links" or the shared folder for the Fall Requirements Doc), and a couple of cool announcements:  1) SMWP is hosting a Writing Marathon in Portland next weekend. Bring a pen, bring a friend, and join us for a day writing around the Old Port!

 2) The Technology Conference is definitely happening on November 7, so ask for a professional day this week and register early (keep your eye on your inbox for registration information).  You'll recognize some names on the presenter list and have an opportunity to meet some great people while learning some things about technology that you can share with your own colleagues.

Writing Time -- any time at all during the school year is a gift, and writing time in particular comes as a rare and precious commodity.

Book Discussion -- small groups gathered by book choice and answered three questions about the book from the Rethinking Teaching Practice category: Thinking Out Loud on Paper, Room 109, Crafting Digital Writing and When Writing Workshop isn't Working.  Each group shared a strategy, idea or concept that participants agreed was important.  

Presentation Blurbs -- fascinating and dynamic brochure-worthy blurbs were crafted and shared on a google doc.  

Closing Moment -- Rebecca shared ZeFrank's eloquent video "Sad Cat Diary."  If you enjoyed today's clip, check out his True Facts videos.

Just Sharing-nErDcamp Northern New England "Unconference" is Coming in January

Hi everyone, 
I just wanted to share this FREE professional development opportunity that is coming in January. 
It is a great day for K-12 to discuss, share and learn together. Did I mention it's free AND there are door prizes! 

http://nerdcampnorthernnewengland.blogspot.com/

Six Word Memoirs

September 13, 2014

In the Opening Moment we viewed a series of illustrated six-word memoirs created by students of various ages which you can see on the Washington Post website below.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/through-childrens-eyes-love-fear-hope-jokes/2012/12/20/1ff1862a-494d-11e2-ad54-580638ede391_gallery.html

Teachers at the Center-Review

I'm Sorry but I Have to Be Honest

As I was reading this book, I kept thinking about what I would post about it. Not much came to mind. Did I learn anything I could use in my teaching? No. Did I learn any new writing insights? Not really. Did I gain an understanding of where the whole idea of the SMWP came from? Yes. Did I need to read this book to understand that? 

This is where the honesty comes in. Besides a captive audience like those of us in this Institute, who really is the audience for this book? No idea, really, except the people he talks about non-stop. It sort of reminded me of one of those "bed to bed" stories second graders write. "First I got up, then I had breakfast. I had Cap'n Crunch. Then my mom told me to get ready for school, then I went to the bus stop and saw my friend Tommy"...and so on. He chronicled every moment of every year starting in 1943!!!

Truthfully, Rebecca and Brigid, you could have given us a five minute summary and we would have understood why SMWP does things the way it does. Hopefully I am not being too harsh. Maybe I missed something I should have gotten from this book? If you are looking for recommendations about whether to use this title next year, I would say no. (Unless you would like my copy as a donation for a future fellow!)

Chair Writing Activity

Writing Homework

You have a writing assignment that is due on Thursday.  Your assignment is to write a character description based upon a picture of a chair.  

Your first paragraph should contain the name of the person who would sit in that chair and what they look like.

Your second paragraph should contain at least five sentences describing their personality.

The third paragraph should be a description of what they carry in their pockets or pocketbook.

The fourth and final paragraph should be description of the most unexpected thing that person has ever done.

Because this assignment is clearly split  up into paragraphs, you must have paragraphs on your paper!!!  Your work should be typed, if possible, or be neat.  You should edit it for spelling mistakes and other punctuation errors.

Florence Boodle

The name of the woman who sits in this chair is Ms. Florence (aka Floss) Boodle.  She’s a thin, insecure woman who  wears slightly too much blue eye shadow and rouge.  She prefers designer clothes and always smells of French perfume.

Floss is the kind of woman who expects you to open doors for her.  She rarely shakes hands, but will kiss you on both cheeks, even if she doesn’t know you.  She loves talking about shopping and the great bargains she gets.  Shopping is her greatest sport and she’s very competitive about it.  She’s generous to herself, but very stingy with others, considering her wealth.  She has never held a job.

In the Louis Vuitton pocketbook Floss always carries there are twenty gold and platinum credit cards, her psychiatrist's phone number, perfume, migrane medicine.  She also currently has some Euros from her last trip to Paris.  She has a special brag book with more than 30 pictures of all of her children.

The most unexpected thing Floss has ever done was to spend a year of her life as a volunteer helper to Mother Theresa when she was 19 years old.

When Writing Workshop Isn’t Working, Mark Overmeyer

Wendy Cannon

Points to Remember

Students—Writing and sharing IS expected.

Choice is key--Teacher can provide a topic/prompt that is general enough that will allow choice but also give some focus. For example the smells writing we did at SMWP orientation.

Anchor Writing--provide common experiences that all students can relate to, refer back to, gives everyone a positive experience with writing.

 

Poetry--capitalize on word choice, simile, strong verbs and this can lead to more vivid prose

Assessment--purpose needs to be clear to both students and teachers-for a grade or to have a body of work to see whether there has been growth.

Conventions--have kids look for their own conventions errors, using a different color, this way you can see what they can fix. Priority to have kids be able to edit as they work—want them to be as independent as possible. Kids need to be comfortable writing and be able to get enough on the page before focusing on conventions and sentence structure.

Overmeyer says that story should focus on actions, Lamott says the big focus is having good characters first, then see what they do. In Neglected R book, Monica Wood also stated that the action of the character (in response to 'trouble') is what makes the story interesting.

Teaching the Neglected "R" Response

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/xqf1BJFGpj

Hi Everyone, I played around with Haiku Deck.

Hope all is well with everyone and that you had a restful summer!