Western New York Writing Project

Ballot for the 2012 New York State Reading Association's Charlotte AwardCharlotte Award

2011-04-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

Named for the main character in E.B. White's Charlotte's Web, the purpose of the Charlotte Award is to encourage students to read outstanding literature and ultimately become life-long readers. Additionally, the award recognizes the authors and illustrators of such literature.

The Ballot for 2012 was announced today. We waited with baited breath to find out who would be nominated....

The Pre K-2 Primary list for this award is as follows:

Bubble Trouble
City Dog, Country Frog
Clever Jack Takes the Cake
Lousy Rotten Stinkin’ Grapes
Memoirs of a Goldfish
Otis
Stars Above Us
The Cat Can’t Stay
Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out!
We Planted a Tree

Call to Action: #blog4NWP

2011-03-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

On March 2, President Obama signed a bill to keep the government running until March 18. The bill cuts about $4 billion in spending from the FY 2011 budget, eliminating a number of education programs, including the National Writing Project, Reading is Fundamental, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and Teach for America.
These cuts, which jeopardize the work of the NWP—the nation's leading effort to improve writing and learning—impact NWP’s federal funding beginning October 1, 2011.
- from NWP Works

The NWP is in jeopardy. As you might suspect, we aren't taking this lying down. I'm assuming, since you're here, that like me, you found your experience with the Western New York Writing Project to be transformative, invigorating, and thought provoking. Maybe, like me, you consider it to be the most valuable professional relationship you have.

There's a growing movement among members of local members of National Writing Project sites to speak out in support of this organization that has meant so much to so many. Chad Sansing, active teacher blogger and Twitterer and member of the Central Virginia Writing Project has organized a movement called #blog4NWP. Excuse the long block quote, but here is his call (original can be found here):

I hope you’ll join me in blogging for the NWP this weekend, from Friday, March 18th through Sunday, March 20th, 2011. Please support the NWP by sharing your experiences with the project, its institutes, its teacher consultants, and the resources it freely provides for all teachers. If you haven’t participated in an institute or worked with the NWP, please join us in calling on the federal government to support the NWP in championing authentic professional development, teaching, and learning through programs like the writing project.
As you post, please share your links here, send the links to me via Twitter (@chadsansing, by @ or DM), or email your link to me. I will collect and publish the links here on the Coöp. If you tweet me, please include@EdPressSec, @Ed_Outreach, @nwpsiteleaders, and @whitehouse in your tweet.
Let’s use the hashtag #blog4NWP. If you post before or after this weekend’s window, please let me know and/or use the hashtag to make sure I pick up your article for inclusion on the #blog4NWP archive post.
Please also consider sending your writing as an email to your local and state representatives in federal government.
Be sure to tweet your posts to your followers. Also consider posting your compositions on FaceBook. Please RT calls to support the NWP and ask your followers to do the same.
If you don’t blog, but would like to write about your NWP experience in support of the program, let me know. I’d love to help you get started blogging or to facilitate guest-posting for you at the Coöp.

If you have a chance and believe strongly, as I do, that this is a program worth saving especially in this time of anti education rhetoric, please consider adding your thoughts to the conversation. If nothing else, take a look at the growing collection of blog posts from NWP teacher consultants all over the nation who are adding their voices to the conversation. This is an organization that celebrates writing in its very marrow. Can there be a more worthy cause to pick up a pen?

Mind, Body, Spirit

2011-03-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

On April 9th the WNYWP is sponsoring Mind, Body, Spirt, a celebration of poetry and the arts. Open to the entire community, this event fuses writing poetry with the arts for a good cause. Participants will have the opportunity to choose from 3 different creative writing workshops incorporating percussion performance, photography,and artwork to help express themselves on paper. For more information, download the brochure here.

Young Writer's Workshops

2011-03-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

We are now beginning to accept applications for the WNYWP Young Writer's Workshops! If you know a school age child or teen who enjoys writing and is looking to improve his or her craft in a community of like minded people, share this brochure!

2011 Summer Institute! 2011 Young Writer's Anthology!

2011-01-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

If you know any teachers interested in some high quality professional development, please pass along the word that the application for the 2011 Summer Institute is available.

Also, if you know any young writers, let them known that the WNYWP is beginning to solicit work for the 2011 Young Writer's Anthology.

2011-01-08T07:56:00.000-08:00

Congratulations! to our Summer Institute Co-coordinator, Lisa Fanaro. Her personal essay, "Treasuring the Memory of a Kindergarten Kindness," was published in the Jan 8, 2011 Women's Voices column of the Buffalo News.

Do you remember your first day in kindergarten? Lisa does. She shares with us the treasure she found on that first day and the life wisdom she learned along the way.

Spring Newsletter Submissions

2009-04-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

Chris Salamone is currently soliciting submissions for our spring newsletter. If you know of anything newsworthy, send her the good word. Here is the information:

It’s time for the spring edition of the Western New York Writing Project Newsletter and, as usual, I need your help.
We accept original poems, short stories, announcements of births, marriages, awards, photos, and anything else exciting.
Deadline for submissionsIsApril 24, 2009
Email all information to:
HYPERLINK "mailto:Salamone426@aol.com" Salamone426@aol.com

2009 CEE Conference

2009-02-16T16:34:00.000-08:00

2009 CEE Conference
The Council on English Education (CEE)is announcing its first conference which will be held in Chicago, IL on June 18 -21, 2009. As an affiliate of NCTE, CEE focuses on the professional life of the English educator and the policies that effect English education at all levels.

This conference will not only be informative, but it will also offer English teachers a venue for collaborative work to bring about change.

Tom O'Malley Published in My View

2009-02-09T16:31:00.000-08:00

Congratulations! to Tom O'Malley, 1986 Fellow, whose personal essay, "There is an Upside to Every Downturn," was published in Sunday's Buffalo News, My View column.

You can read his essay by clicking on the link below:

http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/myview/story/573162.html

Peaceprints Project Exhibition

2009-01-24T06:50:00.000-08:00

We begin this year with peace in our hearts and in our schools. This post is from Evelyn, our Peaceprints Project coordinator. Thank you, Evelyn.

This month Tapestry High School and Catholic Central, pilot schools for the WNY Writing Project's Peaceprints Project held events that celebrated Sister Karen Klimczak’s “peaceprints” ways to further a culture of nonviolence. At Tapestry students photographed examples of justice and injustice throughout the city and wrote social analysis pieces to accompany their photos. This was part of Tapestry’s expeditionary learning mission. The work was exhibited at the Grant Street Gallery January 15-18, 2009. Tapestry wrote: “Working with all of you [at the WNY Writing Project] on the Peaceprints Project you continued to show us the importance of encouraging peace and nonviolence with youth. As we put the finishing touches on the exhibition we could not help but see the vital links to the message you all bring. Peace, nonviolence, justice, and hope are really the foundations that we all hope to impart to the students we see every day.”

At Catholic Central, the St. Monica’s division held a Martin Luther King Peaceprints day sponsored by Americorp. Students from St. Joseph University School wrote peace poems under the direction of WNY Writing Project teacher mentors, Pat McClain and Evelyn Brady, and at St.Monica’s under the direction of visiting faculty. On Martin Luther King Day, the two schools came together to share their poems, enjoy peace activities, learn how to “sign” to the “Peaceprints” song and create art works that spoke of peaceprints and MLK’s message of nonviolence. The students integrated their written work in their art pieces. As a final activity, the art pieces were “quilted” together to produce a peace quilt that will be placed at the Sister Karen Center for Nonviolence.

Make Your Students Part of History

2009-01-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

In November my students took part in the PBS McNeil Lehrer Newshour "Video Your Vote" contest. My students used digital video cameras to document the essence of the election experience. They interviewed parents, students, and community members and weaved their stories into short videos. Here are a few examples that were featured on the PBS website.

As an extension of this project, Newshour has put together a podcasting project for inauguration day. All your students need is a cell phone (or a school phone that can dial toll free 1-888 numbers). Lizzy Berryman, the Director of the Newshour Teachers Center, is a NWP TC. Here is the blurb she sent me:

We are asking your students to call and record their thoughts and reflections on the Obama inauguration in less than two minutes...We will have students calling in from the parade, from the swearing in, one student calling in after singing back up for Beyonce, and of course kids calling from across the country in their classrooms and homes as they witness history. We will be publishing the posts on our student voices section of our website.

Lizzy asked me to spread the word to my teacher networks, and that means you. If you are interested, email me at malleyjoel@yahoo.com or jmalley@cheektowagacentral.org and I will forward the phone number, password, and extension.

Publication News and Other Tidbits

2009-01-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

It has come to our attention that Eva Doyle, 1986 Fellow, publishes regularly. From Suzanne's email:

In the years since she participated in the Summer Institute, she has written 9 books and over 3000 articles on the contributions of African Americans to our society and to the world.

Her 9th book, Warren Gamaliel Harding - One of America's Black Presidents, was featured in the Buffalo News in 2008 for Presidents' Day. The book is still available and can be purchased on Amberbooks.com for $18.00.

The WNYWP book club is currently reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. Join us to discuss the book on February 24 at the Borders Books store in Orchard Park. If you will be attending or have any questions email Greg at staniszg@aol.com. Hope to see all you dog and book lovers there.

Linda Drajem Published in My View

2009-01-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

WNYWP Fellow Linda Drajem was recently published in The Buffalo News' "My View" column. Her essay, "Let's focus on loving all of God's people" is a reflection on both the role of All Saints Church on her Riverside neighborhood in the 1950's and her sadness that the church seems to be pushing aside the teachings of inclusiveness and love for all people as it continues to preach against gay marriage and homosexuality.

It really is a powerful essay, no matter where you stand on the issue. Way to go Linda.

Obama, Education, and Arne Duncan

2009-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I apologize for the almost month long hiatus, but it's been a bit busy. One of my New Year's resolutions is to post more often.

My inbox has been teeming with a back and forth between members of the NWP Tech Liaison network. There's been a substantial amount of discussion about incoming Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. As you're probably aware, Stanford's Linda Darling Hammond was the favorite amongst progressive educators. To the chagrin of many, President Elect Obama appointed Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan instead.

It looks like Duncan is fan of the test driven education that became ubiquitious under NCLB. For more reading, feel free to check out this article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, or this one from Truthout.org, or this primer from Alfie Kohn published two days ago in The Nation.

Now, truthfully, I don't know what kind of sway the Secretary of Education actually has, but this seems like a letdown. It would have been nice to have an actual educator fill this position, especially one with more progressive views on education.

Putting a Bullet in the Five Paragraph Essay

2008-11-29T07:18:00.000-08:00

There's a great essay in this month's English Journal titled "The Five-Paragraph Essay and the Deficit Model of Education." In it UNC Charlotte WP representatives attack a 2007 column by Byung-In Seo defending this form. The article is a very interesting read, and the UNC WP pretty much crush Seo's article and any argument for formulaic writing.

I agree with the points in the article, but I still have a practical question. If not the five paragraph essay, then what? In the past, I have taught my kids that kind of thesis, restricted thesis, at least three body paragraph format because it seems like a good place to start to get students to at least flesh out that much (I know, deficit model). Then again, I've rarely been satisfied with the writing that comes out of assignments like the critical lens essay, controlling idea, etc. I think that most of us know how painful it is to score Regents exams (at least it was in the BPS), where only the top 10% are coherent and even less are original. Don't even get me started on the Task II essays (the factual reading).

So, I guess my question is, what is the alternative? Has anyone had success teaching essays* in any other format? What do you do?

________________________________
* not personal essays, obviously, which lend themselves to more authentic organization.
** I'd put up a link to the essay, but you have to subscribe to EJ. If you do not, but would like to have a read, shoot me an email at malleyjoel@yahoo.com.

NWP/NCTE, San Antonio, TX

2008-11-28T01:54:00.000-08:00

The WNYWP traveled down to San Antonio last week to attend the annual conventions of the National Writing Project and the National Council of Teachers of English. We had a wonderful time in a great city. To kick things off, we had a working dinner at The County Line, a restaurant on the San Antonio Riverwalk. The food was delicious, we shared thoughts and wrote to a writing prompt on a communal napkin (even though Jon Federick mistunderstood the assignment, as usual), and planned for our presentations the next day.

I didn't personally see much of the city outside of the Riverwalk, but I'm sure we'll hear plenty about San Antonio and see plenty of pictures at our open meeting Wednesday, December 10th at 4:30.

Our presentation went rather well, as we shared information about our use of technology within our site. Jon, Genevieve, Suzanne and I shared insights about digital video, blogging and our Red Carpet Inquiry. Thirty or so people piled into our room to check out our experiences, including NWP tech liaison coordinator Paul Oh and a representative from Google.

UB Anderson Gallery: Michael Goldberg

2008-11-27T06:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been on post NCTE/NWP information overload for the past week and haven't had an opportunity to share. We recently received word from the UB's Anderson Gallery about a writing program they are offering. Here are the details:

The art of abstract expressionist painter Michael Goldberg is now on view at the University at Buffalo Anderson Gallery through January 18^th, 2009.

The “Ode to Michael Goldberg: Selective Thievery and the Practice of Looking” exhibition consists of paintings and drawings on loan from the artist’s estate, Knoedler Gallery in New York City and seminal paintings in the university’s collection. The work in this exhibition traces the artist’s career from the early 1940s through the 1980s. Also highlighted in this exhibition are Goldberg’s art and poetry collaborations with poet Frank O’Hara.

A 28-minute long video “Bowery Studio Days” (1998-2000) that includes footage of Goldberg in the process of creating paintings in his studio, along with one-on-one interviews, is available for viewing in the gallery’s exhibition space. As a member of the influential New York School in the 1950s and 1960s, the artist drew influence from first generation abstract expressionist painters Willem de Kooning, Clyfford Still and Franz Kline. Goldberg believed that art-making requires an engagement on the part of the artist with other works of art, both historical and contemporary. He stated simply, “art comes out of art.”

K-12 Teachers are invited to schedule exhibition tours for their students between December 8th 2008 and January 18^th 2009. Available also for students are art activities based on Goldberg’s art, art making processes and collaborations with O’Hara. The activities are designed to address NYS Learning Standards and can be customized and included as tour-related follow-up sessions. To schedule a tour, discuss transportation options, or for further information, contact education curator Ginny Lohr at UB Anderson Gallery, 829-3754 or Email: ginny@andersongallery.org.

Tom O'Malley Published!

2008-11-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

Our original Fellow, Tom O'Malley, is once more leading the way for us with his publications.
This time in conjunction with the opening of the new Burchfield Penny Gallery at Buffalo State College, Tom reflects on the importance of Burchfield's works.

Contemporary Writer Series

2008-11-08T09:27:00.001-08:00

Long time fellow Debbie Beis sent this heads up about the last of Mich Cochrane's Contemporary Writer Series:

The "Contemprary Writers Series" is ten years old this year, and Mick Cochrane is to be congratulated on bringing so many fine authors to Canisius, with no cost to the public. At Ann Patchett's presentation, there were two groups of high school students in attendance, who had all read her newest novel,RUN. So other HS teachers should think of assigning a novel of a upcoming speaker, and reserving seats for your students to hear the author speak of his/her work. Not only do the authors read from their books, but they also share what they know of the craft of writing.
Uwem Akpan's SAY YOU'RE ONE OF THEM is his first book, and hs scoffed when someone in the audience asked him how he dealt with "fame." Maybe I shouldn't say "scoffed," because he actually giggled at the suggestion that he might be famous. He was delightful!

Ann Patchett was very witty - one can tell that her command of language extends beyond the written word. She was easy to listen to, and she signed books for a very long time, long after the delectable desserts were just memories.
Mick has arranged for one more author to come this year, Rishi Reddi, who speak on Thursday, November 13, at 7:00 pm.

If you have the chance, check out Rishi Redd at Canisius on the above date. Thanks Debbie!

House on Mango Street Project

2008-11-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

I think this is a good place to share writing ideas and projects that were successful. In that vein (am I using the right vein? Vain? Anyways...), my students are finishing reading The House on Mango Street. As part of the project, they wrote vignettes in some way related to their neighborhood or to themes in the novella. They composed their vignettes using Google Docs, shared them with me and their peers for editing/revision purposes, and ultimately "published" their pieces into web pages.

After they published their pieces (and thus creating individual URL's for their stories), we created a collaborative Google Map, plotted the location for each Vignette, and then hyperlinked our vignettes. Now you can scan the map, click on a push pin, and read student stories related to the novel. Next week we're going to discuss our collection much as we did Cisneros' book.

View Larger Map

Lisa Mangione in My View

2008-11-01T10:53:00.001-07:00

Lisa Mangione, 2003 fellow (and my writing group sister), was published this morning in The Buffalo News' My View section. Take a look at her essay "It's tough to part ways with a good mechanic." Here's a snippet:

My mechanic broke up with me. Then again, I did cheat on him. After 10 years of fidelity I started to stray, despite the fact that the garage was convenient, the mechanic and his employees were honest, friendly and reliable and the service was solid.
So why did I stray? I believe the adage “you get what you pay for” is a theorem bordering on fact: I paid a premium for such service.

Generation We

2008-10-31T18:24:00.001-07:00

Check out this great video about millenials.

Generation WE: The Movement Begins... from Generation We on Vimeo.

Book Club News

2008-10-29T09:20:00.001-07:00

The WNYWP book club met for its first meeting at Dog Ears Bookstore on October 28th. Our group discussed Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. A lively bunch, our discussion topics ranged from fishing, drinking and the power women hold over men. The bookstore and literary arts center (www.enlightenthedog.org) is a new non-profit organization that hopes to host more WNYWP events. Our next meeting, which will be held in January, will focus on a discussion of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. Please grab a copy and start reading so you can join us this winter.

Nicholas Carr on NPR

2008-10-19T12:58:00.001-07:00

Listen to Nicholas Carr defend his position about the Internet on this thought provoking NPR podcast.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

2008-10-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

How do you spend your reading time - Dickens or the internet? On a grey Buffalo winter day, do you settle in with a lengthy Russian novel filled with deep description, intersecting plotlines and probing political rhetoric, or do you frenetically Google your way through the day moving from hyperlink to hyperlink. According to Nicholas Carr, the author of this article you've already lost interest in this short paragraph. Is he right? Is Google changing the way we read and think? And if it is, what are the consequences?

Virtual Social Spaces and Teachers

2008-10-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

I found this article about Facebook and teachers very interesting.
Inside this article is another one about My Space and teachers. Do virtual social spaces like Facebook and My Space put a teacher at risk and why? What are your thoughts?

Watershed Poetry Contest

2008-10-06T16:21:00.001-07:00

From Suzanne/Jennifer:

The competition is hosted by River of Words, a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise environmental awareness. The organization trains teachers and other professionals in ways to "incorporate observation-based nature exploration and the arts into their work with young people" (http://riverofwords.org/home/introduction.html).

Every year in affiliation with the Library of Congress, the organization conducts a poetry and art contest for students from age 5 to 19.

For more information about the contest click on http://riverofwords.org/contest/index.html

Web English Teacher

2008-09-29T10:32:00.001-07:00

Check out this site for great lesson ideas, book report prompts and resources for novels: www.webenglishteacher.com

WNYWP at CVCV Conference!

2008-09-27T20:00:00.001-07:00

The Western New York Writing Project was well represented at the City Voices, City Visions conference on digital video on Friday. Suzanne, Jon, Genevieve, and Jennifer presented to a standing room only crowd of teachers, principals, and superintendents in the board room at WNED.

Jon presented a few of the films from the Red Carpet Inquiry the past two summers. Alex Baker's Grammar Man was very well received, as was last year's film about cyberbullying. Several participants lingered to ask about using that video with their own students.

Genevieve shared a couple of films her Hamburg students created. One film, Indifference, was a statement her students made about race. She also shared her students' film on drunk driving.

Jennifer ended the program by sharing her Biology and Chemistry films, as well as explaining how these films fit into the grand scheme of her curriculum.

Overall, the crowd was intrigued, and there were several questions and lively discussion.

Kicking off Saturdays at 10!

2008-09-23T18:24:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday's Meet the New Fellows got our year off to a rousing start. It was a wonderful reunion for the Summer Institute 2008 new fellows and staff, and everyone present enjoyed seeing the SI inquiry movies.

It was also a wonderful opportunity for everyone to meet the members of the Fellows Council and hear about the programs being planned for this year.

The next Saturdays at 10 will be on Oct 18 in Old Main 210. Mark your calendars for a Lesson Exchange!

Bring a few copies of your favorite lesson
Be prepared to give a brief explanation of the lesson
Exchange it with someone else's favorite lesson

As always, this program is free and open to the public, so feel free to bring a friend.

FREE BOOKS~really they're Free!!

2008-09-23T11:32:00.001-07:00

The Picnic Basket is a blog which brings together school and library professionals and publishers. They will send you free books! The Blog has a collection of books that the publishers want to be reviewed. You email the publisher with you school mailing info, they send you the book, you write a short review(a paragraph if you like).

http://www.thepicnic-basket.com/

Tom O'Malley in My View (and other interesting Buffalo News tidbits)

2008-09-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Tom O'Malley's essay "Take My Advice, Stay Out of the Attic" appeared in The Buffalo News this morning. It's a humorous essay about the tough decisions we all make in the effort to declutter. Here's my favorite line:

The word attic is derived from “Attica,” the name for the land of the ancient Greeks — a society that accumulated so much junk that museums had to be built all over the world to accommodate it. Thus, in the modern house the attic is the place to put things that don’t fit anywhere else.

Those few sentences rank up with the best that Dave Barry ever wrote. Good stuff. Read the rest of the essay here.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Two other writing related stories in The News today:

Read an inspirational story of a Canisius high school student drive to send books to Liberia.
A pretty good profile of US Poet Laureate Kay Ryan.

Contemporary Writers Series at Canisius

2008-09-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

Our very good friend and supporter, Mick Cochrane, has once again lined up an extraordinary array of writers for the Canisius College Contemporary Writers Series. This is a free program, open to the public.

The first writer, Uwem Akpan, will be reading in the Grupp Fireside Lounge in the Student Center this Thursday, Sept 18 at 7pm. The reading will be followed by a Q & A, reception and book signing.

If you'd like to know more about the author, or see the line-up for the year, click on the link below.

WNYWP at CVCV Conference!

2008-09-16T17:32:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Sept 26, several fellows of our WP will be presenting at the City Voices, City Visions conference, "Digital Video Composing for Improving Student Achievement: Lessons from the the Buffalo CVCV Project." Come see WNYWP heart throb Jon Federick as he leads a group of potential digital video infusers through some of our projects.

“Digital Video Composing for Improving Student Achievement:
Lessons from the Buffalo CV-CV Project”

Friday, September 26, 2008

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Registration
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Program

WNED Studios
150 Lower Terrace
Buffalo, New York

More information and Registration

Our Book Group

2008-09-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

"You are all a lost generation." Thus opined Gertrude Stein of the post World War I expatriates in France. This group is the focus of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. Are there connections between the soldiers returning from that war and the current soldiers returning from Iraq? Can damaged men and women truly find love? Why was Hemingway’s writing style so revolutionary? These questions and more can be answered when the WNYWP’s book group gathers for its inaugural meeting on October 28. Pick up a copy of this classic, start reading and email Greg if you are interested in joining us for deep literary discussion. Greg can be emailed at staniszg@aol.com.

Two Writing Teachers

2008-09-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

I've been poking around the Internet the last few days searching for good writing instruction blogs. Today I found a site chronicling the teaching experiences of two writing teachers who tell the story of their teaching, share lessons and links and responses to other conversations on writing. I've just started perusing, but the site looks great. Check out Two Writing Teachers when you've got a few seconds to spare. Add it to your Google Reader if your interest is piqued.

Orwell Diaries

2008-08-31T20:51:00.001-07:00

A few weeks back I shared a link to a blog which is posting George Orwell's diary. They are posting each entry exactly 70 years from it's original date of publication. I fell behind immediately, but tonight decided to empty my Google Reader and go back and read the 14 or so entries so far.

It's an extremely interesting site, both because of Orwell's reputation but also because of the insight into his writing process. The entries I've read so far are all between one sentence and one paragraph, and they are simply observations about his day. He is accounting the different species of snake, owl and moths he is encountering, the weather, and other natural observations. What's really cool is that the creators of the site have linked any reference to specific objects or places to their Wikipedia entry and have created a Google Map with push pins in the places he mentions.

I guess that Orwell starts to get political in his September entries, but so far it's been all snakes and weather descriptions. If you get the chance, it's rather fascinating.

Mary Jo Gill in My View

2008-08-31T06:05:00.001-07:00

Make sure to venture over to the Buffalo News to check out WNYWP fellow Mary Jo Gill's personal essay "Rainy Days at the Beach Aren't So Bad After All."

It's a wonderful account of her recent summer trip. If you've ever stepped into the muck of Lake Erie and wondered what you were stepping in, this humorous essay will resonate.

Great Opportunity at Notre Dame

2008-08-27T20:03:00.001-07:00

Notre Dame Club of Buffalo and Western New York to Sponsor Attendance at Excellence in Teaching Conference on the Notre Dame Campus October 17-19, 2008.

Application deadline: Monday, Sept. 15, 2008

Educators in kindergarten through senior high school from both private and public schools are invited to participate in the Excellence in Teaching Conference to be held on the Notre Dame Campus on October 17-19, 2008. The conference is designed to stimulate more charismatic and effective styles of teaching. Ideas learned in this workshop help deepen the participants’ appreciation for their vocation and contributions they make to their students.

Once again in 2008, the Notre Dame Club of Buffalo and Western New York will sponsor one teacher’s participation in the conference. Sponsorship will include payment of the registration fee and lodging plus a stipend to be used toward the cost of transportation. Selection criteria will include financial need of the school and the teacher’s willingness to serve as an ambassador to enhance the relationship between Notre Dame, his/her school and its students. A participant does not need to be a Notre Dame graduate. Teachers involved with honors/advanced placement students from Catholic high schools with a significant population of ethnic minority students are particularly encouraged to apply. To see the conference brochure go to: http://www.alumni.nd.edu/atf/cf/{5F212737-0C98-46E9-B450-01EFD9518DEB}/eit_08_brochure.pdf

To apply, please forward a completed application (attached), including an essay and letter of recommendation, to Nancy Langer at the address listed on the application. Questions may be directed to the Excellence in Teaching Committee c/o Nancy Langer at NMLanger@aol.com or (716) 984-5146.

Call For Manuscripts

2008-08-27T20:02:00.001-07:00

Have you been part of a tour at the Albright Knox and been inspired to write a poem about a work that "spoke" to you? Would you like to try putting into words what a piece of art means to you, to describe it or how it makes you feel or what it makes you think? If you have, please submit a copy of your work to WNYWP for possible inclusion in an anthology of poems and short pieces about works at the Albright Knox. We hope to interest the gallery in such a work to be placed for sale in their shop. Send submissions or questions to Suzanne Borowicz at borowics@canisius.edu or to Julie Ricci at julricnow@roadrunner.com.

Announcing the WNYWP Book Club:

2008-08-27T20:00:00.001-07:00

The WNYWP will be reconvening it's book club. If you're interested, we'll be holding book discussion groups three times this school year. Our first meeting will be a discussion of the classic novel The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. We will meet on October 28 at 6pm...place TBA. If you are interested, please email Greg to let him know and then start reading. Hope to see you then.

Greg Staniszewski staniszg@aol.com

Letters to the Next President

2008-08-26T20:57:00.000-07:00

The National Writing Project and Google Docs announced an exciting partnership last week, combining on a project titled "Letters to the Next President."

Letters to the Next President: Writing Our Future is an online writing and publishing project that invites young people to write about the issues and concerns they would want the next president to address and, with the support of their teachers, to publish their writing for a national audience.

During the presidential campaign, U.S. high school teachers and mentors guide students through the process of writing a persuasive letter or essay to the presidential candidates. Students' work should encourage the candidates to give attention to issues and concerns that students feel are central to their future. Topics are chosen by the students themselves to reflect their specific personal, regional, and age-related interests, and teachers will be able to support student writing and publishing in a way that most directly fits their local curricula and educational goals.

Sounds like a great opportunity, especially with the historic frenzy that is this year's presidential election. Follow the link above to find out more, and also read about how you and your students can participate.

Important: You must register by September 8th

Jessica Wagner in My View

2008-08-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Jessica Wagner, 2006 fellow, who just had her essay "New School Supplies Offer Us a Fresh Start" published in the My View section of the Buffalo News. Here's an excerpt

The sweltering heat of August itches like a tight wool sweater. The lush lawn becomes sharp brown blades that torture bare feet. The shapeless days of summer begin to turn into restlessness. But in the midst of all this unpleasantness, the anticipation of returning to school bubbles inside my chest.

Make sure you click on the link above and read the whole essay.

As we are all getting ready for new year, it might be a good opportunity to take stock in what we've done and where we're going. Blogger and Colorado Writing Project fellow Bud Hunt recently published an open letter to teachers which makes many valid points.

First. I hope you take lots of risks for the sake of learning this year. Not just for your students, but also for you. Make it a goal to try to learn something in a sustained and meaningful way that has little to do with your classroom life. I’ve been trying to learn photography this year, and while I’m nowhere close to proficient, it has been helpful to be in the mindset of a learner who’s struggling. That’s how many of our students feel everyday.

Use the comments section below to share any thoughts about Jessica's essay, or share your own back to school stories, past or present.

A Big Ol' Congrats

2008-08-20T17:27:00.001-07:00

As you may have heard, we all owe a big congratulatory shout out loud to Mary Jo Gill, Kathy Moldenhauer, Carla Thompson and Ruth Hassler, all of whom have been to the NWP National Evaluation Scoring Conference to be held in Chicago in late September. They will join "teacher-consultants from across the country to learn to use and apply the NWP's Analytic Writing Continuum as they score middle school students' writing."

Great job fellows!

Zombie Haiku

2008-08-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but this is too cool not to share. Ever wonder what kind of verse the undead would write? If so, then follow the link to the following video to check out some zombie haiku. It's a three minute video, but it contains some morbid tongue in cheek zombie violence, so if you're easily grossed out you might want to skip this one.

I'm posting it however, because it's a cool idea. Instead of Zombie haiku on video, what about American historical haiku, or paramecium haiku, or isosceles triangle haiku? Seems like a cool way to get creative writing across the content areas and still reinforce important concepts. Go a step further and it could also make a nice, short video project. Anyways, for what it's worth, click here for some gruesomely hilarious undead haiku.

_______________________
This was originally covered at Boingboing.net...which, as I've said, an excellent blog to check out if you're new to reading blogs.

Some Notable Recent Links

2008-08-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

Over the past week I've come across a interesting writing relating links. Check them out if you get a chance.

George Orwell diaries - While reading Boingboing.net, a "directory of wonderful things, I came across this story. Beginning August 9th this website will Orwell's diary entries, one per day and chronologically. Seems like an accessible way to wrestle with the ideas of one of the 20th century's greatest thinkers.
Storychasers - On his blog Moving at the Speed of Creativity, Wesley Fryer shared about a new project he is starting to record stories.
Storychasers is a multi-state (and potentially multi-national) educational collaborative empowering students and teachers to responsibly record and share stories of local, regional and global interest as citizen journalists.
This evolving project has a multimodal bent, as they are seeking out documentaries and newscasts. Seems like an interesting effort to get involved with, either directly or in spirit.
Blogging Tips - David Warlick's 2 Cents discussed Teaching Tips 50 Useful Blogging Tools for Teachers. If you were hip to the blogging at the Summer Institute, or just looking for a good resource, check it out. Lots of good stuff here.
Telling Stories of our Shared Humanity - TedTalks recently published Nigerian Poet Chris Albani's presentation.
Chris Abani tells stories of people: People standing up to soldiers. People being compassionate. People being human and reclaiming their humanity. It's "ubuntu," he says: the only way for me to be human is for you to reflect my humanity back at me.
This is a powerful story and worth 16 minutes of your time.
Tell Me a Story - Radiolab just published a recent Robert Krulwich commencement address arguing for the importance of storytelling in science. It's a good listen for content areas outside of English (well, maybe us too), as it highlights the importance of compelling storytelling as a way to influence people towards truth.

Photos from the Albright Knox Art Gallery Tour

2008-08-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hi all. As promised, I have posted a number of photos from our AKAG tour a couple of weeks ago. I'm still working on titling and crediting all the artists (I have it all written down, but haven't transferred all info yet). If you see something you don't have the info for, comment there or here and I'll make sure to get it to you if I know it.

See the slideshow here.

July 30, 2008

2008-08-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

Breakfast

A scrumptious breakfast was provided this morning by Jon & Patti. Our healthy choice was raspberries, blueberries, yogurt, and granola (I found myself thinking twigs, no! delicious, yes!). We also had our choice of delicious doughnuts.

Read & Respond

Greg shared with us a William Stafford Poem from the beginning of Early Morning: Remembering my Father, William Stafford by Kim Stafford. The poem titled “The Way It Is” Had us all thinking about threads. Mark shared how his thread lead him astray and returned him home again. Brenda searched for the meaning of our threads. Chris thanked her mother for her thread ( I’ll admit this one made me tear up a bit), and Ellen picked up her thread from her father and hopes to snare her students with her thread.

Red Carpet Inquiry Groups

The computer room was abuzz today with music, movie dialogue and calls for Jon’s help in the final editing process of our Research Project Imovies. A few snippets that peaked our interest included:

· Joel, Patti, and Sean’s Repeating Law & Order theme and Jack Nicholson (or is it Sean?) shouting “You can’t handle the truth!”

· Mulu, Chris, Ruth & Nicole’s computer droning “Bueller, Bueller”, a scary teacher asking students for hall passes, and something about a crazy French lady

Lunch & Book Talk

What better combination could there be but books and food? Everyone met at the Dock at the Bay in Hamburg for lunch and conversation about Early Morning: Remembering my Father, William Stafford by Kim Stafford. Many read their favorite poem or ideas from the book. Brooke shared her thoughts about Happy Problems. A lengthy discussion about kindness and taking the time to write letters to others was shared Before everyone left full of good food and dessert we had a group picture taken out on the deck.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

2008-07-29T17:53:00.001-07:00

WNYWP Daily Log for Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Breakfast

“A day without carbs is like a day without sunshine,” Ruth exclaimed as Brenda, Mulu, and Sean set out a sumptuous spread of bagels, coffee cake, bagels, fruit, juice, and (did I mention?) bagels. Suzanne proudly shared photos taken at Hawk’s Creek brought in for Patty’s demo lesson this afternoon.

Reading and Reflection

Missy read a selection from a novel by Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried. This reading described not only the physical, but emotional load these soldiers in Vietnam carried with them into battle.

This thought-provoking passage led Patty to share a description of her 98-year-old grandmother, and what she carries from her long, productive life. Angela shared the wisdom her boyfriend gained from a tour in Afghanistan; always carry cigarettes and baby wipes. The death of one of the novel’s characters inspired Sean to describe what he considers worse than death.

Writing Groups

This was our last official day to meet with writing groups. Our group decided to work on a letter to Oprah, extolling the virtues of everyone in Summer Institute, hoping this would earn us an invitation to be on her show. For some reason, we quickly ran out of virtues to extol. If you can help us out, send your suggestions to me.
I will greatly miss the time we had together. Our group was incredibly supportive of each other. I know everyone else thinks their writing group was best, but I know that ours is tops!

Demo Lesson 1

The final two demo lessons were scheduled for today. Mulu presented a thought-provoking lesson entitled, “Mistakes Across Cultures. Educating English Language Learners.” Mulu explained that the number of students with limited English proficiency is growing rapidly. We became her ELL students as she led us through activities that helped illustrate the difficulties these students face understanding language and culture. We all gained an awareness of the need to accept the cultures these students bring, and the importance of helping them gain proficiency in our very difficult English language.

When asked to retell an experience we had with “cultural clash,” Angela recalled an unpleasant dining experience that made us all vow to keep our dogs on a close watch.

Lunch

We have all reveled in the uncommon (for teachers) luxury of a one-hour lunch. We all agreed we would miss the opportunity we had to chew, swallow, digest, soak in the sun, and engage in conversations that ranged from the mundane to the philosophical. This day included the added bonus of watching science camp students enjoy recess on the lawn.

Demo Lesson 2

Last, and by no means least, Patty presented the very last demo lesson of Summer Institute ’08. Her lesson, “Sensational Writing,” started off with exploring “senses” stations and finished with an opportunity to write a personal narrative using our own pictures. It was obviously an engaging lesson, as many of us planned to continue working on our narratives. We also learned that we would never look at a Hershey’s kiss in quite the same way.

Inquiry Groups

We had a brief time to plan how we would present our research and iMovie on Thursday. Some groups used this time to fine-tune the research papers, while others listened to music from the Muppets. Scott graciously volunteered to speak for our group. You rock, Scott!

New Fellow Liaison

Jessica described the duties of the new fellow liaison, and asked for nominations. Beth, Tom, and Karen are candidates for this important position. The results of our vote will be revealed tomorrow. And the winner is….

Writing Folders

We received folders to fill with any writing we have completed this summer. We will all get the opportunity to read our fellow writers’ contributions during the Gallery Walk Thursday morning.

Letters

Address envelopes for the letters describing your participation in WNYWP. These could be sent to principals, superintendents, curriculum coordinators, or anyone else of your choice.
Submitted by Ellen

2008-07-29T11:42:00.001-07:00

WNYWP
Daily Log
Wednesday July 23, 2008

As usual we began our day with breakfast of assorted goodies. Thank you Tom and Joel.

R&R

➢ Sean Ross read our Read & Reflect passage. He chose a chapter from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
➢ Suzanne, Brenda and Ruth shared their writing.

Writing Groups – We all worked in our writing groups.

Guest Speakers

➢ Former writing project participants, Tom O’Malley and Evelyn Brady were our guest speakers for the day. Their theme was entitled “Writing for peace”.

➢ Suzanne introduced the guest speakers and highlighted their work/contribution as WNYWP fellows. She stated that:

o Evelyn edited Peaceprints.
o Tom was the first WNYWP participant and contributes articles to Buffalo News "MyView section and to some other media outlets
o Evelyn was a director of the Buffalo Teachers' Center before her retirement and is a published poet.

Evelyn’s Presentation

In her opening Evelyn posed a question to the participants and brainstormed on what the role of an editor should be. Finally, she shared her experience as the editor of Peaceprints as follows:

➢ She reflected Sister Karen’s spirit
➢ She made sure that the style is understandable and
➢ The authentic voice is heard

In her conclusion, Evelyn mentioned that a lesson plan on peace is in progress and it is to be piloted in the fall.

Tom’s Presentation

Tom started by applauding the participants for being accepted into the WNYWP. He said, “You can’t imagine what this training might do for you for your teaching profession and above all as writers.”

He stated that exercising imagination is a good tool for writing and gives students an opportunity to exercise their own imagination.

He shared his stories and writing tools such as a duck tape, a hammer, softball glove, a door knob, and an apron among many others - each symbolizing different ideas.

As Tom wrapped up, he advised the participants to pay attention to everyday things in front of us for we never know what might inspire us to write.

Both presenters engaged and inspired the participants.

Lunch Break

Lesson Demo

Scott Weidmann presented the afternoon lesson demo. His topic was entitled “I Mean What I Say and Say What I Mean… Or Do I?”

The lesson focused on extending the understanding of ideas beyond text when writing. He modeled the writing activity and gave the groups a list of clichés to write an extended meaning.

Transitional Activity - Groups explored the differences in meaning between fair and equal and rotated to share and confirm ideas for accuracy and understanding.

Writing - Participants reflected their personal responses & also wrote a response to the given question: Which would you rather live in, an equal world or a fair world? Why?

It was a very engaging and interesting lesson demonstration.

Work Time - Possibilities included: inquiry groups, workshop development and writing.

Mulu Belete

Opportunity to Share and Reflect

2008-07-29T04:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight I received this email from the NWP Tech Liaison list serve:

Dear Colleagues:

Susan Ettenheim and I are looking for guests for this weeks Teachers
Teaching Teachers webcast, broadcast every Wednesday at 9:00 PM Eastern /
6:00 PM Pacific at http:// EdTechTalk.com/live

What have you been learning this summer? Many (most?) National Writing
Projects have completed their Summer Institutes by now. I'd love to invite
anybody who has been in a Summer Institute or workshop... Writing Project or
not, participant or facilitator... to join me on Teachers Teaching Teachers
this week, Wednesday, July 30th, 9:00 PM Eastern / 6:00 PM Pacific.

If anyone is interested, email me at malleyjoel@yahoo.com. I think you only need to sign into that website at a specific time, but it may be more involved.

Monday, July 28, 2008 - Daily Log

2008-07-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Western New York Writing Project
Daily Log
Monday, July 28, 2008

Breakfast:
Wow! Wham! (onomatopoeia) We were welcomed and wooed as we waddled to breakfast with a wonderful whiff of what we might call, warm deliciousness that weakened our willpower to watch our calories. (alliteration) What a treat! Was it a soufflé or a quiche? It doesn’t matter. It was good. Our choices were peppers, sausage, and mozzarella, and, broccoli and cheese. We also had a million boxes (hyperbole) of cereal at our fingertips to start our day!

R&R:
Chris read a selection from Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, a book of short stories that discusses how acting without thinking, especially judging others, can negatively affect the way our choices work out in the end. The title of the selection read was “The Warren Harding Era”. During our sharing, we learned about the skin of peaches, Jessica loves her fruit, and a woman wearing blue pumps with a lot of luggage.

Announcements:
· We found out that Ellen is starting a new career as a professional interviewee as CMT talked with her at the Ghost Walk.
· The servers were down this morning and Jon, the caring, supportive man he is, reminded us that it is not his problem, the I-movies are due Thursday, and have a nice day! Just kidding. Time passed by (personification) and he saved the day. (idiom)
· Suzanne offered an opportunity to continue our enthusiasm for what we’ve accomplished during the summer institute by providing postcards for us to write words of encouragement to ourselves in the future. Will the universe collapse when we receive them, or is that only when we meet ourselves in the future?
· Please email Suzanne any poems or writings inspired by our visit to the Art Gallery
· Don’t forget your pictures for Patty’s lesson tomorrow.
· We also learned some sad news. Our thoughts and prayers are with Katrina and her family.

Writing Groups:
Due to the servers still being down, our agenda changed and we met in our writing groups this morning instead of the afternoon. Some words of advice: revenge is best served by choosing the right parking spot and burning houses to the ground is not the most productive way to cope with being angry.
Remember to bring in a hardcopy of your writing pieces that you submitted to the anthology.

Demo Lesson:
Kathy provided an insightful lesson on figurative language, Eight Figures – Making Your Writing Rich. We worked in groups and individually defining the eight literary terms, using book quotes to apply the terms, writing stories as groups using the terms creatively, and then writing our own stories. The group stories were about Bobby surfing, puppies pooping and gambling, girls dancing, gardens, and a rodeo with an unhappy bronco.
Well Done, Kathy!

Lunch:
We ate lunch like ravenous wolves. (simile) Well, some of us did. Others sang the Oscar Mayer Wiener song. And one weird man pulled a sandwich from his pocket, creating suspicion and confusion on the faces of those around him, as they raised eyebrows in disbelief, tilted their heads in perplexing manners, and sat shocked with wide eyes and drooping jaws. (imagery) It was a very odd hour in the cafeteria.

Inquiry Groups:
Holy smokes! At first, we thought this movie was a beast. (metaphor) But now we know, with a little help from our friends, we can accomplish most things! We worked on our I-movies and research for the remainder of the day.

Until tomorrow…

Scott

Teen Writing Workshop - Week One

2008-07-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe the first week of the Teen Writing Workshop is already over. Frank, Franklin, Matt and I are constantly amazed with the quality and creativity of the students we attract to this camp. They never fail to inspire us and each other.

During the week we were visited by writer, teacher, Thoreau scholar, and "charter" WNYWP member Tom O'Malley, who helped us climb a metaphorical tree and mine our pasts for writing ideas. Students also met in writing groups, read their works at an open mic, and convinced me to create a private Facebook group (open only to past and present WNYWP Teen Writing Workshop members), which seems like a nice complement to the teen blog. Students have stepped up to help administer and there is even strong talk of weekly writing prompts to carry us into next year's camp. Very cool stuff indeed.

Here are some pics!

WNYWP Teen Camp 2008 Week One - Upload a Document to Scribd

WNYWP Summer Institure Daily Log: 7.25

2008-07-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Breakfast

Back in the sunlight after yesterday’s rain, we started the day with yet another delicious breakfast thanks to Beth and Kathy. Crumbcake, cheese danish, donut holes, and a very interesting blueberry pumpkin streusel were the fare. And can I just add … COFFEE!

Reading and Reflection

Patty inspired our morning writing with another selection from the ubiquitous “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. Pizza never sounded so scrumptious or Italy so argumentative in a cute-little-girl-flipping-you-off kind of way. Patty communicated Gilbert’s struggles with and delight in her “no carb left behind tour” of the boot-shaped peninsula with her usual verve and humor. The reflections followed Patty’s lead and we learned …

• perhaps a bit more than we wanted to about Scott’s Speedo,
• that Tom’s grandma Rosie O. is as pugnacious as she is Polish,
• and that Suzanne’s telephonicus interruptus led to a telephonica apolagetica

Writing Groups

As always, we broke into our writing groups for the morning. It has been interesting to see my group’s writing evolve. As we become more familiar with each other’s writing, we become more familiar with each other. Sharing writing can be an intense experience, as has been shown in some of our reflections and open mic moments. Today was also the last chance to share writing before anthology submissions this weekend.

During my group's discussions we also shared a publishing opportunity. NPR is always accepting submissions of short essays (around 450 words). The guidelines are here.

Good luck and happy writing to all!

Lesson Demo

Missy was introduced by Katrina. Missy’s lesson, “Talking Beads: Using Oral Tradition to Inspire Writing”, introduced us to her Seneca heritage as well as teaching us the value of oral traditions. She shared stories her father and grandmother shared with her as a girl and that she plans to share with her children one day, passing on her family’s and culture’s traditions. We listened, reflected, drew, shared, created our own stories, and made wampum belts (or bracelets) to symbolize our own oral traditions.

Lunch

I ate with Karen and had a salad (and some pizza!). It was good.

Red Carpet Inquiry Work Time

Editing, editing, editing! After lunch we continued working on our Red Carpet Inquiry projects, moving to the editing room after completing most, if not all, of the filming. Speaking for my own group, editing seems like it will present a daunting challenge. I hope we haven’t been too ambitious!

Anthology Discussion

After our RCI time, we sat down to discuss the specs for anthology submissions and a title. The anthology specs are as follows:

1. Make all anthology submissions to safari135@hotmail.com no later than Sunday, July 27th. Please write in the subject line your name followed by “08 anthology” (example: Betty Smith – 08 anthology).
2. Each fellow is required to submit at least one piece of original writing for the anthology
3. Each fellow has four pages allotted for their submissions. Negotiations can be made for people who need more or less pages.
4. Be sure that your submissions are camera ready. NO modifications will be made to your work.
5. Be sure your name accompanies each and every piece – preferably following the title of the piece.
6. Every writing piece should have a title. If your piece is titled “Untitled”, then titled it “Untitled”.
7. Use only clean, legible fonts. Example: Times New Roman is good, Wing Dings is bad (try to avoid bolding too).
8. Do not number your pages.

Following the discussion of this information we turned to the issue of a title for our anthology. The early entries were light-hearted and turned to a bit raunchy. We changed course when we were reminded by Brenda that our writing is more serious and we will want to show the anthology to others. In the end we agreed upon “Exploding Camels: Storyweaving for the Seventh Generation”.

Open Mic

Our last Friday open mic included many thoughtful and personal pieces. Missy, Jess, Chris, Beth, Tom, Angela, Brenda, Patty, Greg, Ellen, Karen, and Sean shared (please forgive me if I left anybody out, I wrote the names down from memory after the fact!). Because I have seen Karen’s writing grow and evolve through our writing group, I am impressed with her writing and how her stories have evolved over the past weeks. I am sure this applies to everyone, but a little editorial shout out to my group is acceptable I’m sure!

BigJoel (you know which one ... )

Thursday, July 24, 2008 - Daily Log

2008-07-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

Breakfast:
We chatted with our mouths full of gigantic muffins and a variety of cereals and fruit. I reminisced on my childhood as I ate Lucky Charms for the first time in over 12 years. They truly are magically delicious! Breakfast was brought to you today by: Patty, Ellen, and the letters Y-U-M!

R&R:
Ellen read a chapter from The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron. Everyone in the group was able to relate personally to the story of a boy and his father who found a special bond through books. Karen, Beth and Missy were courageous enough to share their personal reflections with us. There is a wonderful level of comfort and trust that the members of this writing project share.

Writing Groups:
We continue to share our writing pieces, and watch them grow, in preparation for the much awaited anthology. Just a reminder that all entries for the anthology are due this Sunday!

Teaching Demo:
Mark presented his demo lesson, “Through the Eyes of the People”. This lesson engages students through interaction with an expository text, an excerpt from a memoir and photographs. Different styles of writing are required throughout the lesson to illustrate an understanding of the horrors of the Holocaust. This was a difficult subject to present and everyone was emotionally involved in today’s activity. It is our hope as educators that through this emotional engagement, students will be more connected to and interested in learning about history.
Congratulations on the job Mark! Based on today’s lesson, your students will be very successful with the materials you present to them.
During our feedback time to Mark, Keri asked an essential question that led to a mini-Socratic. “Should we ask our students to put themselves in the shoes of other people in history?” is the question that was openly discussed. The Holocaust Museum requests that teachers refrain from doing these activities. Through our discussion many of us were exposed to new perspectives and possibly altered our own educational philosophies a bit. This is the type of discourse that many of us have been craving for a long time.

Lunch:
The morning long rain prevented many of us from our routine of basking outside in the sun while eating lunch. So as Noah loaded up his animals in the courtyard, some of us dined in the dining hall where they were serving homemade comfort foods. Some of these tasty delights were chicken and broccoli on top of penne pasta with alfredo sauce, sweet & creamy corn chowder, and soft & chewy chocolate chip coconut granola bars that were big enough to feed two. Mmmm, mmm, good!

Inquiry Groups:
“Quiet on the set please!” Inquiry groups were in full swing today. All groups were filming portions of their I-movies at various locations on campus. There were costumes, voiceovers, product placements, dangerous stunts, and plenty of bloopers. Movies must be finished by next Wednesday and will be viewed on Thursday. I smell an Oscar…

Until tomorrow…
“It’s Log! It’s Log!” Ren & Stimpy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPHtKarae2Q
Nicole L-ski

2008-07-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Daily Log – July 22, 2008

The sun peeked out from behind the clouds as we enjoyed a delicious breakfast together after our long weekend apart. Ruth and Scott laid out a fantastic buffet of croissants, biscuits and fresh fruit. We added some coffee and our brains slowly began to roll into action.

Brooke read a chapter from Elizabeth Gilbert’s book “Eat, Pray, Love” for the morning reflection. In our small group we discussed best friends, depression, the amazing synchronicity of events and ‘being your own best friend’. Joel read his thoughts about the eternal question, “who am I?” to the whole group and gave us many questions to ponder as we headed off to writing groups.

Upon our return from writing groups, a gray blanket of clouds literally rolled over Canisius as Joel prepared to share his lesson: “Exploring Historical Imagination: 18^th Century Atlantic Slavery”, perhaps this was a bit of foreshadowing for the mood to follow? Joel’s PhD in history was evident as he expertly guided us through an exploration of the Atlantic slave trade. His goal was to get us to think creatively and construct our own perspectives while learning about this cruel episode in our history. Mission accomplished! We spent an intense 75 minutes investigating our feelings and connections to the brutality of slavery.

Patty commented, “I wish I had a social studies teacher that taught this way. The most exciting thing that ever happened in my class was getting to turn the film strip knob. Today I didn’t want to stop writing!”

Ellen agreed that, “Joel really brought the subject to life. It was so vivid, nothing like reading about slavery in a textbook.

During our discussion afterwards Tom commented that he had felt the full effect of the disturbing reality of the slave trade during the lesson.

I don’t think anyone will forget this remarkable opportunity to investigate an appalling part of history and, as Ruth noted, use our writing as a way to further our thinking and deepen our understanding.

After a subdued lunch (we couldn’t stop talking about slavery, then we moved on to book banning!) we headed into the computer lab with Jonathan. He showed us how to access the E-Anthology on the National Writing Project website. This site makes it possible to share our writing with a virtual community of writing project members around the country. He also directed us to a section called ‘Classroom Matters’, an area of the website where teachers write about classroom events.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to our inquiry projects. One group began filming while the rest of us used our time to finish up our storyboards and organize our ideas. Our goal is to finish filming our videos by Thursday afternoon and use the following days to edit.

Finally, under threatening clouds. we trudged home to digest our biscuits and the powerful events of the day – thank you everyone!

Daily Log for Friday, July 18

2008-07-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

Joel started our morning with a reading from Lester Bang’s Main Lines, Blood Feasts, and Bad Taste. In sharing our responses, we learned that:
· Chris attended a Stones concert and set her jeans on fire.
· Ruth hopes she can keep her artistic virtue intact (unless she finds the perfect story of Lincoln’s Doctor’s dog).
· Brenda, who is a musician, thinks music can sooth and save.
· Missy would sneak down to the basement to listen to her brother’s band.
· Sean thinks there is something to savor about nothing.

Brooke gave an excellent demonstration lesson on introducing revision for not only a first grader audience, but for students of all ages. After dissecting the word revision, we were then encouraged to look at our writing with new eyes (with the help of colorful sunglasses!). Brooke’s lesson was a great reminder for all of us to revise, revise, revise.

Jonathan guaranteed that shooting our i-movies would be fun. To inspire everyone, we watched our short-movies about “I teach because”. (See reverse side for a list of inspirational reasons.) Jon was very impressed by the use of sound effects, imagery, and collaboration. Groups should be ready to start turning their research in to movies and begin shooting their videos on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. The creative and informative i-movie should be 3-5 minutes in length. Remember to take a deep breath and have fun!

Jonathan introduced us to a writing opportunity through the Smithsonsian Project. NWP teacher-consultants are being asked to submit writing about the influence of photography in their lives. Submission deadline is August 1. For more information, go to the NWP homepage (www.nwp.org) and follow the links for click: photography changes everything.

Stories inspired by our children, parents, loneliness, regret, and the metric system were shared. Some were shared willingly, other under the pressure from writing groups!

Of course there is the bonus of summer vacation and random snow days, but the benefit of being a teacher is much more than that. Here are the reasons why we teach. (Keep these handy for those days when you ask yourself why you do.)

We teach because...we can
open students’ eyes to the endless possibilities
around them...we can give students knowledge that
can never be taken away...we can inspire passion
in their lives...we can create a shared record of
the human experience...we are too short for the
NBA...we have a love a learning that we can
evoke in others...we can introduce students to
books they will never forget...learning is an
adventure where you can be a participant and
a guide...we can help children explore the world
and themselves...we can cut through the enigma
that is the teenager’s mind...students can learn…
we find joy in seeing students take flight...we
can share our love of books and see students fall
in love with those same stories....it makes us
better people.

Jessica Wagner

Connections Between Art Forms

2008-07-22T04:51:00.000-07:00

After our tour Thursday at the Albright Knox, many of us wrote in response to the pieces we viewed. I happened to post a photo and the piece I wrote on my poetry blog and it was noticed by the Buffalo News ArtsBeat blog.

Here's the link.

PS--The title of my poem is Redrawn, not 'the perfect circle.'

-Brenda

Daily Log for Thursday, July 17

2008-07-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

Daily Log for Thursday, July 17

The WNYWP Summer Institute Fellows woke to a beautiful morning today. I hopped on my bike, half asleep of course, and rode over to Canisius. When I arrived…I was hungry…and in luck. We started off today with an amazing breakfast of extreme variety. You name it, we had it.

Before our R&R, we were given a quick agenda run though by Keri. Mostly, we were warned about the NO PEN!!! Rule at the art gallery. To ease our minds we were supplied with pencils…Thank you Suzanne!

For our R&R today, Ruth read a wonderful and thought provoking piece entitled “Lesson of the Moth” by Don Marquis. The piece was wonderful, with mind ticklers such as, “expression is the need of my soul.” As for responders…Sean was the man, the only man that is. There were no other responders. His response was great. Missed it? I’m sure if you ask him nicely he will be willing to share it with you again.

Next we broke into our Writing Groups. I’m sure all the groups are really enjoying their time together, as we are becoming more comfortable with one another; it is really turning into a great experience. Just a quick note…my group rules…I’m learning a lot from the ladies…and yes, rumors are true, we are going to be on Oprah.

Following a short break, Beth gave a wonderful demonstration presentation entitled “Alphabet Stew.” Beth showed us the use and challenge of using alphabet books as creative writing pieces in our classrooms. We got the chance to write an alphabet book about schools as a group and then we got to make our own on our favorite places to travel to. Beth’s presentation was great because it showed us that alphabet books can be used in numerous ways and in numerous subjects. Also…those things are not easy to make! We all now have a new found respect for alphabet book authors. Thanks for sharing your ideas with us Beth!!!

Lunch time…at the Albright-Knox cafe, or at home, or you could have joined me at Globe Market. Yummmmmm.

After lunch, we meet us at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. What can I say about this place…I love, I can’t get enough of it, and while I’ve been there numerous times (including today), I already want to go back. We were all taken in by the beauty of the art and we had the pleasure of being led though the gallery by a very informed tour guide. I could write about the gallery forever.

When we were done in the gallery, we met outside and some of the fellows shared pieces that our trip to the gallery inspired. We also discussed the idea of writing pieces about specific art in the gallery for a book…pretty exciting…make sure you all keep this in mind!!! Then we all said goodbye and ended our day.

Seriously…What an amazing way to spend the day. I’m a happy camper.

-Mark B-

Google LitTrips

2008-07-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow Fellows - especially those currently in the throes of the Summer Institute.

I'm still hard at work in my master's degree program focusing on WNYWP...and have come across something called Google LitTrips. Has anyone out there used it/created a lit trip with your class? I'd love to hear about it for my research. Send me an email at ckrajna1@gmail.com

If you don't know what it's all about, go to
www.googlelittrips.org

(You must have GoogleEarth on your computer, which is free.)

Google Docs

2008-07-17T06:13:00.003-07:00

From a productivity/activity standpoint, Google Docs significantly altered the fabric of my classroom this year (not quite as much as Blogger). For those of you who don't know, it is an online word processor that allows students, teachers, clergymen and vivisected animals to create "Word" documents and edit them anytime and from any computer. Students can also share their work with teachers by inviting them as collaborators (handing the work in) and even collaborate with other students. Better yet, it's free and there is significant support for educators.

For those of you already wading in the pristine waters of Google Docs, I happened upon a few useful sites today. The first is a blog post from ICT in My Classroom entitled "Making Work in Google Docs." The article outlines some practical ways that Tom Barrett, the author, has used Docs in his classroom. He focuses on such things as commenting, revisions, and organizing work. Very useful.

Google Docs also has a nice little article explaining it's usefulness in the classroom, titled Using Google Docs in the classroom: Simple as ABC.

7-16 Log

2008-07-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

DAILY LOG FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2008 @ THE WNYWP

We began our day with a breakfast of cereal, milk, coffee, and Danish. Thank you, Katrina and Tom.
Kathy read our Read & Reflect passage. She chose a chapter from Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love, about the narrator chanting in the New Year at an ashram in India. Jessica and Scott shared their writing.
After a quick break, Ellen presented The River of Content: R.A.F.T.S. to the Rescue. She demonstrated how to use R.A.F.T.S. style prompts to incorporate reading into all content areas. She did a wonderful job, and we were impressed with how widely applicable her lesson was. Thanks, Ellen.
Following lunch, (some of us took advantage of the weekly cook-out, while some of us soaked up the sun in the quad) we held a Socratic seminar on Because Writing Matters. Thanks to the prep work done by Keri and Greg, we were all ready with our talking sticks and a willing attitude. We began by examining how we could involve the it’s-not-my-job teachers in our buildings in writing. We moved on to meshing the writing process with students whose cultures/backgrounds might conflict with assignment requirements. We ended by examining what role business should have in education. In our final week, we will have a seminar on Early Morning.
We enjoyed some unstructured work time – demonstration lessons, inquiry projects, personal writing – whatever was most necessary got our attention.
We concluded our day with an I-Share. Jon answered questions about the research projects and digital videos, encouraged us to share our progress, and reassured us that all would be possible.
We left, anticipating our field trip to the art gallery tomorrow.

Tokoni

2008-07-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

life is full of stories. tell yours.

I was just perusing the email that has I've received via the NWP Tech Liaison Network and was directed to a site that I think is right up our alley. Tokoni seems to be a social networking site built around the sharing of writing. Seems the gist is that writers sign up, share a story, connect it thematically or contextually to other stories, and then read and comment on other people's work. It seems like a great community of writers...sort of like a Youtube for writers. Check it out if you get a chance.

2008-07-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

Confessions of the Log Keep

July 15^th, 2008

Breakfast

This beautiful sunny day began with breakfast served in the form of Waffles and Donuts and was well received by all.

R&R

Beth began the day by reading a chapter from the book Okracoke Odyssey by Pat Garber.

Ellen shared her appreciation for the inquiring minds of scientists, but clearly enjoys the simpler things in life, such as good shoes and reruns of Seinfeld.

Brenda shared her writing piece on Buffalo in all its glory. She imprinted on our imaginations the picture that she took of Buffalo and the Peace Bridge. She spoke of this photo op as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Finally, Katrina shared her recipe for “Okracoke” and though it is an original and creative recipe, I secretly hope she keeps it off the breakfast menu.

Writing Groups

Demo Lesson 1- Come Together-Write Now

by Nicole

Nicole presented her demo lesson on determining Thematic Connections between two pieces of writing. She started by having us connect Disney Movie themes. Next, she had us use a graphic organizer designed to look like a math addition problem to help us write a Thesis Statement.

The second portion of the lesson was differentiated to meet the needs of the Social Studies, Elementary ELA, and Secondary ELA teachers (Nice touch), providing each of us with appropriate resources for our group. Each group member was assigned a role and then asked to connect themes in two writing pieces and compose a thesis statement.

Lunch-The outdoor lunch group was disappointed to find Goldie Locks sitting on Mama Bear’s bench, but managed to act as if they were not bothered.

1:05 Patty realized that she was supposed to be taking the daily log and broke into a sweat. After a good mental berating, she began reenacting the day’s events.

Demo Lesson 2 – Postcards from the Past…Postcards to the Future

By Karen

Karen provided the group with authentic postcards from days gone by. She had us fill out a graphic organizer to get us seeing through the eyes of the characters on the cards. Then she had us compose a postcard from that character. After sharing our postcards, she provided pictures of each of us and asked us to tell our story. Mine was the story of “The Woman With No Hairbrush”, but we will save that one for another time.

Socratic Seminar Tutorial

Keri read us an excerpt from Socrates Café by Christopher Phillips. After discussing what we know about Socratic Seminars she provided a brief overview and assigned us the task of developing two questions to be used the following day. She also distributed 3 popsicle sticks with no popsicles. (cruel joke)

-Patty

Daily Log for Monday 7/14

2008-07-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

Breakfast Time!!!

Jessica, Patti, and Joel brought us a scrumptious breakfast selection of fresh fruit, French toast, and an omelet-esque egg dish, and everything was deeeeee-lish.

Some fun facts from breakfast conversations:

- Joel chops fruit for giant mouths

- Tom was around germy people all weekend

- Nicole has curly hair

- Everyone should get their hair cut at Phoenix Salon

- Jessica's kids think she's a good writing teacher

- Miss Lippy's car… is green.

For R&R Scott chose an interesting reading from Anton Chekov entitled "Misery". There was a munching mare, a hunchback in galoshes, some belligerent Russian passengers and a guy that just needed to talk. We learned that the cell phone rule must also be applied to walkie-talkies and the Canisius engineering staff.

For response time, Mark had the crap depressed out of him, and Mulu began and ended with a question mark, like Spanish.

Writing Groups

What happens in writing groups, stays in writing groups… (unless someone reads at open mic)

Demo 1- Sean, "Weaving Webs"

Sean's demo taught us how to make connections between literature and our peers, with the use of the Whitman poem "A Noiseless, Patient Spider" and an awesome activity in which we wove postcard webs of our own. Trina chose to knit a doily with her web-weaving materials. Joel is a bug musher and smusher, Keri and Greg were touching each other's nuclei.

We also learned that Sean has many disagreements, likes to investigate tangents, and is a former member of the X-Men, his power… super-sensitive feet. Professor X wasn't exactly heartbroken when Sean decided to pursue teaching, but based on his great lesson we're glad he did.

Lunch Time!

Mulu is a very interesting person, and Keri, Tom, and Greg made a mad dash for Dagwood's and managed to stick it to the man by avoiding the parking police.

Work Time!

The groups ventured off into LibraryLand to work on their Red Carpet projects and Demos.

Demo 2- Ruth, "Show AND Tell"

Ruth's lesson taught us how to balance out explanatory and descriptive language in our writing through a series of well scaffolded activities and Ruth's awesome sense of humor and hand-talking. We got to play a guessing game and expose how secretly stereotypical and judgmental we all really are by picking on Ted.

Nicole exposed her multiple personalities and we got a peek at the angry, Aquafina hurling French woman dwelling inside her, and Scott likes paper in his coffee.

O'Malley's View

2008-07-14T06:37:00.000-07:00

Congrats to charter member Tom O'Malley who published a memoir in yesterday's Buffalo News titled "Whole World Revolved Around Old Front Steps."

Here's an excerpt:

Just sit back against the old storm door and revel in the twin comforts embedded here. Safe harbor of domestic comfort and launching pad for adventures just around the corner. A whole world revolved around those steps. A world always seen but never noticed. It was a safe, sane world that could be dull, predictable and beautiful all at the same time.

Share your own memories in the comments section of this post!

2008-07-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2008
Summer Institute Log
Editor: Beth Latko

The day started with Matt and Keri having us sit at a new table with different people. Comments by the end of the day were that this gave us the opportunity to really meet the other people in our group! One of my new table partners, Joel, and I had a conversations about research papers J (I know…thrilling)

Breakfast was brought by Brooke, Karen, and Keri. Breakfast pizza, rice krispy treats and juice. We all ate well today!

R & R
Brenda read a picture book entitled The Three Questions. It is a story from Leo Tolstoy. A boy has three questions. Does he find the answers?

Writing Groups
Everyone says that their writing group is the best. That is a good sign that we are all getting along in large and small groups! In our group, Patti shared an Ode which she later shared in Open Mic. Our group said we should write an Oprah Wish List Letter and send it to her.

Lesson Demo 1
Katrina introduced Tom. He was an intern last year and now a fellow this year. He will be going into his senior year at Canisius.

Tom said that reluctant readers and writers can get into the writing process. Let students use their personal experience or prior knowledge in your courses.

His lesson is entitled Inspirational Framing! A Lesson in Getting Started. Tom had us starting with dirt to seeds to seedlings, all with tender loving care in between. We traveled between three stations to help us arrive at our plant status. The stations included a You Tube video entitled “Did You Know?”, a song by Thrice, and Chapter 20 from Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.

We then completed our Dear Tom note cards and then the reflection pool. Great Job Tom!!

Lunch
On our own. Many of us gather in the quad to enjoy the sun and discuss pertinent education topics and other items.

Lesson Demo 2
Brenda who is a Library Media Specialist had a lesson entitled We All Have a Story to Tell – Writing and Sharing Your Story.
Students often don’t know where to begin so Brenda had some great writing prompts that ignited our own writing.

To begin, Brenda showed us an online video/photo story of someone telling a major event in his life but through the use of ironing. The she showed us a podcast of a student’s story and then an example of someone’s personal story example. To help us organize our own stories we could “draw” the story or use a story diagram. We then too one of the writing prompts and began to compose our own story.

We then composed our Dear Brenda note cards and participated in the reflection pool.

Another great Lesson Demo!!

Open Mic
We hold the record……… Everyone took the step forward and shared something they wrote to the entire group. We heard many great poems, stories, etc. We look forward for perspectives fellows and returning fellows’ contributions next week.

Daily Log July 9, 2008

2008-07-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

DAILY LOG
Wednesday, July 9, 2008

The rain did not dampen anyone’s spirits as we gathered for another day of the WNYWP. Breakfast was provided by Ellen, Nicole and Beth as we chatted about the rain, and the heavier than usual amount of traffic many of us encountered on our drive to Canisius College this morning.

For today’s R & R, Katrina read two short poems titled “The Problem of Discovering Color” and “The Problem of Discovering Trees” from TIME AND MATERIALS, Poems from 1997-2005 by Robert Hass. The book was a gift from her son for Mother’s Day! Beth shared her response to the reading which was thoughtfully written and full of imagery. Tom shared his response in a version of “Katrina poetry.” I think I would like to hear some of the poetry Katrina has written!

Next, we broke up into our writing groups. Clearly our group is becoming very comfortable as we freely share our written work which is very often about family and very personal issues. Feedback from our group members is very enlightening as we are encouraged to continue our creative writing by digging deeper to keep the thoughts and ideas flowing.

Following a short break, Chris, a returning SI fellow from 2003, presented her demonstration lesson titled “One Man’s Treasure: A Lesson In Marketing.” Chris’s lesson had several creative tasks for us to participate in. These tasks ranged from brainstorming about what markets are, understanding vocabulary for that lesson, writing an individual short synopsis about a particular marketing picture, integrating the specific vocabulary for this lesson, and watching clips from “Friends” and “Jingle All the Way” bringing funny visuals about marketing to this lesson. The final activity was writing an ad for the product that was in our mystery bag to encourage our marketing skills. Time was given to trade our product however the majority were not too anxious to trade! The lesson was enjoyed by all and Chris was given wonderful feedback in the Reflection Pool. Thank you, Chris. Your lesson was top notch!

After lunch, we convened in the computer lab where Jonathan patiently guided us (me!) on completing our imovie. All of our finished clips were saved on Jonathan’s flash drive to be viewed at a later date….and the Oscar Goes To…!
We were then able to work with our Inquiry Group discussing our “game plan” and continued with research for our particular topic.

We ended with positive reflections about our day and announcements concerning tomorrow…..Open Mike, 2 demo lessons, titles needed for demo lessons…AND……socializing at the Pearl Street Grill. Kathy

Daily Log for Tuesday July 8, 2008

2008-07-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

The Summer Institute Fellows started their day with a beautiful, sunny morning. The day began with homemade muffins, fruit salad, juice, and to get everyone off to a great start, of course, coffee!

SI Fellow, Nicole, read a hilarious excerpt from Laurie Notaro’s The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club. The column entitled, “All Smut and Perverts” had the whole group laughing as one girl describes her mother’s trouble with using the Internet. The group reflected and Mark, Greg, Ellen, and Keri opted to share their feelings about technology and the World Wide Web.

After Nicole’s R & R, the writing groups scattered to share stories, poems, and other creative writing works. I am getting the hang of how things flow during the Summer Institute.

A short time later, the Workshop Development Groups discovered the resources at Andrew L. Bouwhuis Library. The SI Fellows researched, collaborated, and planned their teaching demonstrations. Many of us also experienced “Title Trauma” as we had trouble tapping into our creative side to come up with exciting titles for our demonstrations.

For lunchtime, some of us chose to enjoy the weather outside for lunch, while others opted for an indoor meal.

After lunch, the Inquiry Groups joined forces to research and prepare for their I-movies. I don’t know about you, but I am very excited to see the finished products.

The Fellows then took a lovely trip to Canisius’ Public Safety for gorgeous photos of themselves for their I.D. cards. Steve, the “I.D. man” did a great job of taking everyone’s snapshots.

For the remainder of our day, we worked on our teaching demonstrations. Katrina and Jessica did a great job of helping the Fellows plan their lessons.

We ended the day with reflection and I look forward to hearing Katrina’s choice for R & R tomorrow!

summer institute log for Monday, July 7, 2008

2008-07-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

The Daily Log
The official newspaper of the Western New York Writing Project

Vol. 1, No. 1. Chris Salamone, editor Monday, July 7, 2008

First Day of SI Starts a Little Behind Schedule
The official “first” day of the 23rd annual WNYWP Summer Institute got underway a little late Monday.
Suzanne, director of the WNYWP, assured the participants that the first day often runs a little late because the new fellows are not yet familiar with the Summer Institute routine.
She reminded the fellows that breakfast is from 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. followed by the morning reading and reflection. People assigned to bring breakfast should arrive by 8 a.m. to set up the food. They are also responsible for keeping the “kitchen” area clean throughout the day, and clearing the area at the end of the day.

Julia’s Child:
Cause For Reflection
A humorous short story, written by Augusten Burroughs in his book, Possible Side Effects, was read Monday by Keri.
The story, entitled, Julia’s Child, told about a boy’s memory of his mother painting and writing, being “babysat” by Julia Child, and his misadventures in the kitchen.
After the reading, the fellows reflected on the piece in their notebooks. Several fellows shared their reflections with the group.

Author Encourages
Fellows To Write
Mick Cochrane, th e author of three novels and Canisius College’s Artist In Residence, was the first guest of the Summer Institute. Mick, who revealed his real first name is Hamilton, read from two of his novels, answered questions and shared his successful writing tips with the fellows.
Working on his fourth novel, Mick said it takes him about three years to complete a novel and he tries to spend at least two hours at a time on writing. He said he doesn’t plan his work or start out with a plot, but the story evolves as he writes. He writes about places he knows, and his third novel, The Girl Who Threw Butterflies, is set in Kenmore.
He explained how each work is read and edited by several “trusted” people, including his agent and editor, and shared the cover of the new book with the fellows. He also passed out business cards and urged the Fellows to contact him if they have any more questions.
Mick is also the author of Fleshwounds, and Sport.

Bring Or Buy Your Lunch The new fellows got their first taste of Canisius College lunchtime fare Monday in the school eatery located in the basement of Old Main. Offerings include pizza, sandwiches, salads and a daily special. Fellows can buy or bring their lunches.
A refrigerator is available in the Summer Institute classroom to store perishable food items and the lunchroom has a microwave that can be used to heat up frozen entries.

SI Fellows Learn To Make Movies
Fellows of the Summer Institute became filmmakers during the afternoon session of the Summer Institute.
Jonathan, the WNYWP’s technical expert, walked the fellows through the steps for making an i Movie in a day. His patient and step-by-step instructional approach gave the fellows the confidence to film a voice over shot on why they became a teacher.
The clips, which will be seen at a later date, were a precursor for the inquiry research project that the fellows will undertake in groups of 4 or 5. After learning the basics of movie making the fellows met in their groups to discuss ideas for their movie projects.

Announcements
· Demonstrations that need to be copied should be emailed to the Summer Institute’s two summer interns, Angela and Nicole, who will make the copies. Daily Logs should also be emailed to them.
· The first Socratic Seminar will be held next week on Writing Matters.
· Each fellow has a “mailbox” file in the back of the room where information and handouts will be placed. Please check your mailbox daily.
· Bring your user name and password with you to class daily.
· Be sure to check the lists in the back of the room so you know when you are scheduled for morning readings, breakfast or other duties.

Daily Log for Super Saturday, June 14th, 2008

2008-06-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

Buffalo can be dreary, and this particular morning, our second Super Saturday for the writing project, was not an exception. Despite it being the first day of the long-standing Allentown Art Festival and that some had made commitments to attend fund-raising events that day, everyone was present for our session at Canisius. Talk of Father's day activities the following day, interspersed with other getting-to-know-you conversation, could be heard as fellows munched on treats of fruit, muffins, juice, danish, and coffee.

At 9 AM the official agenda began. Greg read a passage to us from the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, for the Reading & Response portion of the day (one of my favorite things, incidentally). Fellows followed this with 10 minutes or so of the response to the reading. A few people opted to read their responses aloud, including Katrina and Ruth. Thanks to them for sharing!

Following the R & R, we broke into our writing groups and dispersed to various places in the building, or outside (still dreary, but thankfully, no rain). First we discussed what a writing group is and how it might function. We agreed we might not all have a piece of writing every day to share (and not enough time if everyone did have a piece) so that would be fine. But we did discuss the responsibility to keep the group moving along by making sure we did bring pieces of writing to share consistently. Also discussed was the idea of using post-its for sharing of feedback. People seemed to feel this was a good idea. Several of us shared some writing as well: Scott- a piece on his dad/Ruth- a poem written during our poetry walk the last Super Saturday/myself- a poem about childhood.

Following a short break, we reconvened for Jessica's demonstration lesson on Golden Verbs (see 6 Traits for more on word choice). Lots of interactive activities, post-it notes, brainstorming, and numerous chances to write during the lesson. Several fellows again shared their pieces created during the lesson and feedback followed the lesson. One thing I personally found engaging and exciting about the lesson was how Jessica used picture books to facilitate thinking and writing regarding word choice. Thanks Jess for the great, well-organized demonstration!

Off to lunch. Still a bit dreary, but still no rain (yeah!). Tuna, roast beast (anyone know what I'm referencing here?), and turkey wraps, chips, soda and water and finally, yummy brownies. More conversation and before we knew it, back to Old Main, to finish the last half of the day.

The Web 2.0 portion of the day commenced, thanks to the creator of this blog, Mr. Malley. He showed some awesome videos ("Machine is Us" and "Blogs in Plain English"--see post below), demonstration of blogging and just general discussion regarding the exciting developments of social networking and collaborating on the web. And of course, how this might be of benefit to our students.

Next came our workshop development groups. Here we tossed about ideas for our demonstration lessons and how we go about constructing them. Some thoughts included lessons centered on historical imagination and writing, English language learners, multiculturalism, and storytelling. A few brave souls were solicited to present their demos the first week.

Another break, bathrooms, movement, conversation and final munching on treats before the conclusion of our day.

Red carpet inquiry--a project in which small groups of us will research and report on (via a video) an educational issue of importance. Brainstorming brought out all kinds of issues which people were interested in. The group then categorized these into the following areas:

Writing issues
New trends in education
Resource equity
Technology in the 21st Century classroom
Assessment
Discipline and Classroom management
Bullying and Building empathy
Relevant resources for the 21st Century reader
Students in Unique situations

Your mission for the first week of the institute (which begins on July 7th)? Complete the following:

Read "Because Writing Matters" by Carl Nagin and the National Writing Project
Read this blog post :)
Make note of your times for breakfast and log and blog responsibilities

Who's in charge of breakfast that first day?

Brenda-- bringing bagels, muffin-like items, and creamer.
Mark-- bringing juices
Brooke-- bringing various fruits

**Note that food needs to be brought for 25 people.

Day ended with no rain! Off to our respective evening activities.

Question: Do we have an email listserv that people can post to or email list of fellows so we can email each other if we have to? Thanks :)

Is Homework Working?

2008-06-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

Lisa Mangione, 2003 fellow and member of the awesomest writing group ever, recently published an article in Kappan titled "Is Homework Working?" Here's an excerpt:

Unfortunately, the students who most need the practice and discipline of self-guided assignments are the ones who just never do them. The fact that we continually penalize these students baffles me. During the school day, they are the ones for whom you stand on your head, devise rewards, and do whatever works - all in a futile attempt to motivate them. Still, we expect these same kids to skip home, plop down at a kitchen table (where I assume a wholesome snack of milk and cookies is waiting), and spend an additional two or three hours poring over what they refused to do earlier. Interesting logic. We may think that grading homework sends a message that it isn't optional, but the fact is, the students who are most at risk will almost always opt out.

Follow the link and have a read. Feel free to discuss the comments in the comments section of this post.

Who is a Writer?

2008-06-16T19:07:00.001-07:00

Suzanne sent out this link via the list serve today, which is a search to "[collect] reflections on writing and writing instruction from teachers, students, and the public" and join in on the Writing Program Administrators' (WPA) National Conversation on Writing.

The National Conversation on Writing addresses these questions:
How, where, and why do people write?
What do people write?
What do people like and not like to write?
Who considers themselves a writer, who not, and why?

Looks like a cool way to share our collected insight into the role of writing in the classroom and in our lives. What's more, they are not only seeking written reflections but audio and video participation as well.

Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival

2008-06-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

I received a notice via paper mail about this year's Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, so I thought I'd post it for any of you who might be interested. The Dodge Poetry Festival, held in Waterloo, NY during the month of September, is an opportunity to interact with poets such as, Maxine Kumin, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ted Kooser, Billy Collins and many more.

Friday, September 26, is Teacher Day - free admission for teachers and lots of poetry activities specific to teaching poetry.

Suzanne

Blogging 101

2008-06-13T19:47:00.000-07:00

Your Task: On your assigned date, publish your daily log on the WNYWP blog.

The following video, The Machine is Us/ing Us demonstrates the power of the Read/Write web (Web 2.0).

Blogs in Plain English

Your Task (Longterm): Become a contributor to an evolving conversation about writing by sharing interesting articles, presentations, or lessons via our blog or by commenting on blog posts left by other WNYWP members.

Alternate video (5 minutes)

Five Blogs to Check Out

2008-06-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Over the past year, I've been extending my arms into the blogosphere in order to find new voices and ideas to inform my classroom practice. As I receive little to no worthwhile or relevant professional development via my district, I have to look elsewhere to grow develop my professional learning network.

I've previously shared David Warlick's 2 Cents and Will Richardson's Weblogg-ed, as they are two must read feeds in my Google reader. These two guys publish daily, sharing insights from professional development sessions, conferences, and their own wide reading.

Here are three more blogs I've found my way to recently. They are fantastic and worth five minutes of your daily time:

Dangerously Irrelevant - Published under the premise that traditional education systems are becoming dangerously irrelevant, Dr. Scott McLeod shares news of blogging, pragmatic ed tech posts, video games in learning, 21st century skills, and much much more.
Blue Skunk Blog - Doug Johnson, the Director of Media and Technology in the Mankato Schools regularly blogs about technology and other techn0logy matters. He outlines some of his more prominent educational ideas in his recent post Everything I Know in 15 Minutes
Moving at the Speed of Creativity - Wes Fryer is a prolific blogger, posting insights, podcasts, and interesting links daily. Some recent posts have covered Google Earth, Moodle, and online safety. He's got the goods.

If you come across any great educational sites, you should share them via this blog. We'll go over that later on today.

__________________
Image Citation
“Another Look.” mnsc's Photostream. 9 Aug 2006. 14 Jun 2008 http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnsc/219073625/.

End of the Year Gala

2008-06-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night we gathered together at Ilio DiPaulo's to share in some pasta and WNYWP news. We reflected on another successful year and shared ideas for 2008-2009. Featured were Jon Federick's Summer Institute highlight film and a Red Carpet Inquiry presentation of a 2008 group's No Child Left Behind film. Suzanne also shared this Powerpoint presentation covering 2007-2008.

Super Saturday #1

2008-05-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning we kicked off the Summer Institute in grand fashion, convening in Old Main for our first Super Saturday. It was a day full of writing and introductions and more writing. Suzanne led off the morning with her R&R (Reading and Reflection) sharing of Marge Piercy's "To Be of Use."

Introductions followed, and fellows developed writing topic list and met in their writing groups for the first time.

Katrina shared the year's first teaching demonstration, walking us through "Cozy Cushions on the Couch of Poetry." (Note: I have uploaded Katrina's teaching demonstration.) It was a wonderful presentation with multiple opportunities to try write poetry, both independently and collaboratively. The presentation had magical qualities...at one point a group verbally wished the sun would emerge, and it did immediately afterward. Shouts of "I wish I had more money" and "I wish for world peace quickly followed." The presentation ended with a "Poetry Walk" and our sharing of poetry utilizing sensory imagery. As is the norm, we followed with feedback via a reflection pool.

Before lunch, we met in our Workshop Development Groups and discussed ground rules and preliminary ideas for teaching demonstrations. After a delicious lunch of hot dogs and pasta salad (and Grey Poupon!), we reconvened to give further discussion of writing groups. Jon, Jessica, Keri, and Katrina demonstrated the typical writing group, while the group shared observations about the nature of the groups, culminating in a document titled "What Happens in Writing Groups."

To end the day, Jon introduced the Red Carpet Inquiry project and shared some...ummm...eye opening films created by last year's fellows. We watched "Grammar Man"; the result of an inquiry into effective grammar instruction, and a movie looking at the adverse effects of NCLB on ESL students. Here's "Grammar Man."

NCTE Web Seminars

2008-05-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

This one has been hanging around my inbox for a few days. Apparently, NCTE is now offering

...interactive, multimedia professional development experiences delivered over the Internet featuring some of NCTE�s most experienced presenters. During a Web seminar, attendees are able to participate in the session by responding to polls, providing feedback on the whiteboard, and asking/answering questions in the chat area. Elluminate Live!^TM,the application used for the Web seminars, ensures that all participants are in sync, regardless of Internet connection speeds.

Maybe your department is looking for a good professional development opportunity, or maybe you're just looking for some growth. These seminars are $79 a computer (although, with a projector, this could be quite a large audience).

E-Voice May/June 2008

2008-05-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

National recently published the May/June edition of their newsletter; E-Voice. In addition to reports on yearly events such as the Annual Meeting and upcoming summer institutes, there are several articles that you may find noteworthy:

Tricia Hall's article about her use of a lifebook journal in her primary grade classes and their impact helping students become more fluent writers.
An article by Suzanne Cherry on comma splices.
Bev Matulis' article on helping students experiment with sentence structure.

Rosenfeld on Free Writing

2008-05-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

Emmet Rosenfeld, NWP fellow and blogger for Teacher Magazine, wrote a nice little piece about the challenges and rewards of freewriting in the classroom. I know we all know freewriting like the pages of our marble composition books, but he raises some interesting questions/reminders/reflections.

...in fact, there are those who would argue that they tend to go through the motions even more than “regular” kids, so adept have our students become at the business of school.

Freewriting isn’t business. It isn’t about doing an assignment efficiently or for the grade. It’s really about letting go, losing yourself in a swirl of thoughts that may or may not go where you think it should. This is the creative ferment that leads to original ideas, in my experience, an absolutely essential stage along the path to more ordered, meaningful expression. I’ve explicitly taught it in a limited way, moreso implicitly by modeling and consistently having kids do it. Some get it, some don’t.

Read the whole post here...

Saturdays at 10 - Technology in the Classroom

2008-05-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

We met this morning in Old Main 214 to share ideas about technology in the classroom. There were so many wonderful ideas and projects shared, I barely know where to start. I guess at the beginning.

Jenn B. started off the festivities by sharing projects from her science classrooms. Her students filmed clips representing basic life processes and organelles in her Biology classroom, and made a film about the periodic table in her Chemistry classroom. Metabolism, heavy metals, homeostasis and many more came alive on screen as her students found different low tech ways to capture the essence of the scientific terms. They were a nice blend of student humor and creativity. Jenn is currently working on Chemistry Karaoke with her students, and we're all anxiously awaiting these Weird Al type parody videos.

Jenn ended her presentation with stories about her emerging use of her school's blog engine, as well as information about her students experience IM'ing scientists on National DNA Day (sorry Jenn...I may have missed the title...so email me and I'll fix that).

Keri Davis shared a Powerpoint project her students completed in conjunction with Witness, a free verse novel by Karen Hesse about racism in the 1920's. Her students created digital found poems using five words from the novel and five words from a modern song that helped illustrate one of the themes of her novel. The student project we watched was nothing short of amazing.

We then had a pretty good discussion of Powerpoint in the classroom. It was noted that Keri's students used the technology the way it was meant to be used; a multimodal and engaging digital storytelling tool. We further discussed the merits of the technology and Kristen Frawley made a good point when she surmised that an added benefit of Powerpoint is that students become literate in the talk of technology. Terms like rendering and formatting, etc. become ingrained in student thinking. One person had a question about good photography resources, and I mentioned Flickr. Here's a link to the Creative Common group. There are currenty 9035 pictures offered up for creative use. Just make sure to give proper credit. Also, if anyone wants to see third grade Joel, look for the kid in the top row with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Jon Federick was up next, and he shared films from his Mass Media and Production class. Jon shared very personal films that his students made; one, a short film that grew out of a piece of poetry about the death of a cousin, the other an inquiry driven documentary on the effects of family issues on today's teens. They were moving, honest, and inspiring. Jon also shared his observations about how he sees many students transform and evolve in his year long video class as his charges attempt to say something personal and meaningful with video.

Kristen Frawley was next to present, sharing a bevy of resources she has used in her Enrichment classes. Her students create podcasts about the goings on of East Elementary, some of which have been featured on WIVB. Kristen also shared one of her student's claymation film about an unfair race, which was downright amazing.

To end, Kristen shared this video from Youtube, which raises a lot of important points about technology in the classroom. We should have started the program with this. What a powerful statement.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Unfortunately for me, I had to leave while Pat McCabe was presenting as I was overdue for my nephew's first communion party. I'm going to bug Suzanne for information on Pat and Amy's presentations so that I can share them via this blog. I also promised to share the videos that went along with my handouts, as I was unable to stick around.

Basically, I wanted to share a project my students completed in my AP Lit class. As I am somewhat beholden to an exam, I have to keep an eye on more traditional tasks. In order to accomplish this and also integrate video, I had my students interpret a passage on film and also write a more traditional, analytical essay. Here are the films:

The Queen is Dead

Jocasta's Advice to Oedipus

And here are the original handouts:

What Are You Doing at 10am Tomorrow?

2008-05-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

Old Main 214
Canisius College
Free and open to the public
Hope to see you there!

Benefits of Blogging Via eSchoolNews

2008-05-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today, I picked up this article in a twit from Bud the Teacher. The article unveils different results of a study done by Pew Internet and American Life Project and examines the the positive ways that blogging helps students perceive themselves and the importance of writing. The article includes a lot of interesting statistics on teen writing. I found this passage most interesting:

Teen bloggers, however, write more frequently both online and offline, the study says.

Forty-seven percent of teen bloggers write outside of school for personal reasons several times a week or more, compared with 33 percent of teens without blogs. Sixty-five percent of teen bloggers believe that writing is essential to later success in life; 53 percent of non-bloggers say the same thing.

Bradley A. Hammer, who teaches in Duke University's writing program, says the kind of writing students do on blogs and other digital formats actually can be better than the writing style they learn in school, because it is better suited to true intellectual pursuit than is SAT-style writing.

"In real ways, blogging and other forms of virtual debate actually foster the very types of intellectual exchange, analysis, and argumentative writing that universities value," he wrote in an op-ed piece last August.

I'm not sure if and how my student writing changes when blogged. I know it increases opportunity for sharing/discussion, but I'm wondering how the writing differs. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Do your students blog, and if so, what type of writing are they doing?

WNYWP Fellows Publish InnerSessions!

2008-05-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Let's give a Roadhouse Yeehaw! for two WNYWP fellows for the publication of InnerSessions. Here's a bit from the Buffalo News article:

"At 7 p.m. Wednesday (May 7th), Talking Leaves Books at 3158 Main St. will host a reading and book signing event to celebrate the release of InnerSessions, a new collection of individual and shared poems by Linda Drajem, Barbara Faust and Kathleen Shoemaker.

InnerSessions is described as a collaborative book project in which the voices of the three writers meld and diverge as they illuminate family themes, explore the stages of life and take up issues in the wider world. The book opens with a section of poems on Women and Writing that features the voices of the three poets alternately building and commenting on one another, before moving to separate sections for each poet."

Congratulations to Linda who is a 1987 WP fellow, and to Barbara who is a 1988 WP fellow.

No Time to Blog? Watch Less TV!

2008-04-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

Clay Shirky, adjunct professor at NYU and author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations recently gave a talk at a Web 2.0 conference about the participatory internet being the new outlet for the cognitive surplus Americans spend mindlessly consuming sitcoms. Shirky's pretty cool, has some interesting things to say, and I thought I would share the talk with you. It's about 16 minutes long, and gives some good reasons behind the rise in creative collaboration.

A few films for thought...

2008-04-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

Keith Hughes, a social studies teacher at McKinley High School and adjunct professor at UB, shared this film one of his grad students made. It is a humorous look at the differences between Buffalo and Cleveland. If you have time check it out.

On a similar note, if you have a few minutes, my father made a two part movie about the family dog. My dad is in no way affiliated with the WNYWP, but I thought his film was pretty touching. Blitzer is about 12 years old and, unfortunately, quickly approaching death. He's blind and can't run as fast anymore, so my dad brought the video camera along for a walk around Cazenovia Golf Course. It's a walk they've done 2-3 times a week since Blitzer was a puppy, and my father narrates his walk with stories of their time together. It's sad and cathartic and, essentially, the reason we all write. So, if you have a chance, go on over and take a look. The films should be the two most recent posts titled "Caz Park" and "Part Deux Caz Park."

WNWYP Teen Writer at Sheas!

2008-04-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

Meredith Jones, an amazing writer from Hamburg who has been a repeat participant in our Teen Writing Camps, won a competition to have an original one act play performed at Shea's. This Sunday her play, "Being What We Are," a telling of the story Leo Frank, will be performed at 3pm. Hey, if you got the time, are looking for a cheap matinee date, love theater, or whatever, stop on down and support one of the finest writers we've seen...well...since we started running the camps.

Saturdays At 10 - May Edition

2008-04-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

In a few Saturdays, we will reconvene at Canisius for our rescheduled program entitled "Technology in the Classroom." Find the flyer here. Here's the program description:

Saturday, May 10, 2008
10am – Noon
Free and Open to the Public

Joel Malley will lead the program with WNYWP fellows who will demonstrate how they integrate various technologies with writing in their classrooms.

Technologies that will be demonstrated
Digital Video
Podcasting
Blogging
Power Point
And much more

Where: Canisius College, Old Main Room 214

Refreshments will be served

To reserve your seat contact: Rosemary Evans @ the WNYWP Office 888-3134 or evansr@canisius.edu

Perhaps my favorite aspect of the flyer is the embedded picture representing technology. What is that, an Apple IIe? Hope to see everyone there, and make sure to bring your floppy disks and the printer paper with the detachable strips with perforated holes on each side. We're going to be playing Oregon Trail and may even make banners!

Regents Learning Standards Review Initiative

2008-04-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

Apparently, NYSED is crisscrossing NY gathering suggestions for revamping the NYS ELA standards. Their first meeting was held on Thursday at BOCES over on Harlem Road.

I was about twenty minutes late (had to stop home to check email for any responses to my mass call for suggestions and then had to get gas), so I missed the opening statements by Robert Bennett and Donald Ogilvie.

The meeting was populated by English and ESL teachers and administrators from acros Western New York. Essentially, tables were asked to address the following three major areas and report back to the larger group after one hour (Taken from "Standards Review Initiative Public Forum Discussion Group Assignments"):

ELA/ESL Standards Content and Substance. Considering the content and substance of the Standards and Performance Indicators, what do you recommend be kept? What do you recommend be dropped? What do you fell is missing? What needs to be updated and/or revised
Organization and Format of the ELA/ESL Standards. Is the organization/format of the current Standards and Performance Indicators easy to understand by teachers and others? Does the current format and organization promote engagement by teachers and does this format make the Standards easily "usable" by students? What organization and format would you recommend be considered?
Are the ELA/ESL Standards Measurable? How do you fell about the current ability of these Standards and Performance Indicators to be properly measured? Can student understanding or proficiency be measured through multiple assessment approaches? In your discussion, please address measurability of the Standards through local assessment measures, state assessments and classroom methods (observation, portfolio evaluation, etc.)

I tried to quickly jot down the recommendations of each table, so here goes (note: some are standards related, some are soapbox related):

there should be a prerecorded listening passage from the state to ensure consistency and fairness on the first task of the 11th grade Regents
we should be integrating art instruction into ELA...(?)
Abandon the exam altogether for portfolio assessment (combination of a few tables)

the test is not process oriented, and that should be a 12 hour test. Everything we teach about writing must be thrown out the window to write under extreme timed conditions..."test of endurance more than skill"
adopt an authentic, growth model of assessment

especially for ESL and IEP kids...

universal literacy indicators (mic from the other room cut out for that one...not too sure what they were talking about)
ELA standards should be integrated into all content areas (echoed by two others...not too sure what that had to do with the question...maybe frustration over feeling responsible for having to teach writing for all content areas?)
Increased specificity regarding year to year progression, benchmarks, etc. One table said, to great applause, that the standards are hard to read and a more user friendly matrices showing introduction, proficiency, and mastery of individual PI's and literacy competencies would be...appreciated. Also, track kids year to year based on these matrices
More tech - reflect the real world. Get rid of handwriting and institute keyboarding early on (hallelujah), ditch friendly letter and work on email, etc. Integrate digital text/multimedia composition
Less PI's
Literacy Competencies to help guide 9-12, as they cut off after 8th grade
tasks should match the standards

I think I hit all the major points. BOCES had password protected Wifi, so I couldn't live blog it, and it's been more than 24 hours so a few points are a little murkier than when they were first delivered.

One more important note. They also attached a sheet titled "Standards Review Working Principles" Here's the text (man I wish my scanner was hooked up, lol).

Through this comprehensive standards review initiative, we will:

1. Include three levels of standards:
a. Student standards (content)
b. Teacher standards; and
c. System standards (infrastructure)

2. Develop a single set of standards for each content area, although some students may need different levels of support or scaffolding to achieve the learning outcomes (e.g. struggling learners, English language learners, students with disabilities).

3. Infuse literacy throughout all the content areas.

4. Infuse cultural competence throughout all the content areas.

5. Develop the measurable standards.

6. Review PreK-12 standards within the context of a seamless p-16 continuum.

7. Integrate technology throughout all the content areas.

So, I don't know, what do you think? Anything noteworthy here, or more of the same?

Growing Nationwide, Writing Problem

2008-04-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

It's about, time, that someone, called attention to this, problem. It's sheer, pervasivenss, is vexing, and quite, frankly, distracting.

NYS Learning Standards

2008-04-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

Esteemed colleagues,

On Thursday, I have the opportunity to go over to the Erie 1 BOCES for a town meeting of sorts. Bob Bennett will be there along with other members of the State Education Department, and they will be gathering ideas as they start the process of reviewing the ELA standards. So, as there are quite a few English teachers who are WNYWP fellows, I thought I'd solicit some ideas. Undoubtedly, I'll see some of you there.

What improvements would you like to see in the ELA standards? What gets too much attention? What gets too little? What is outdated? What needs updating?

Please add your thoughts in the comment section of this post.

- Joel

WNY Writing Project Goes to Washington

2008-04-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

It's taken me awhile to post this, but here it is -- the WNYWP under the guise of Jessica, Suzanne, and husband Carl as the official photographer, successfully lobbied in Washington DC for National Writing Project funds. April 3 was a beautiful spring day in DC with the cherry blossoms in bloom and happy tourists snapping pictures. (Carl snapped a few for us too.) It was a stark contrast to the armed guards lining the streets and securing every entrance to the buildings that represent freedom.

However, we did experience the democratic process first hand. We met with Senator Clinton's and Senator Schumer's education aides. We missed meeting with Congresswoman Slaughter by one day, but we did talk with her aide. Best of all, we met with Congressman Brian Higgins, who purposely delayed his own travel schedule so that he could speak to us, however briefly. We had a lengthy discussion with his education aide and were treated to a personal tour of the Capitol building by a staff member.

And with that, despite the swollen feet and sore leg muscles, we felt welcomed, valued and a part of the process.

Suzanne

Indexed

2008-04-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

A cool little blog came to my attention via the Time Magazine first annual Blog Index. This site, Indexed, is the creative venture of Jessica Hagy. She creates an Venn Diagram or chart every day in order to "make fun of some things and sense of others...[and] to think a little more relationally without resorting to doing actual math." This is a cool little site, and as there is only one diagram a day it makes for a tasty, quick read.

This seems like a fun, yet thematically fun activity which could be useful in most classroom content areas. Since I'm an English teacher, here's my attempt (made with Skitch, the awesomest[sic] and easiest to use drawing, screen capturing, and sharing tool around):

2008-04-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

April 19th Saturdays at 10

2008-04-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

Heather Waldron did an internship at Nanci Atwell's Center for Teaching and Learning. On April 19th she'll share about her experience (and make us even more jealous, lol).

Congrats Krista!

2008-04-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

Please join me in congratulating Krista Kieser, (2000 Fellow).

Krista has been invited to participate in an NEH Summer Seminar. She'll be studying poetry for 3 weeks at Harvard this July. This is quite an honor since only 15 people from across the U.S. were chosen to participate in this seminar.

Congratulations! Krista.

Suzanne

Not On the Test

2008-04-04T19:38:00.001-07:00

Found this linked on a discussion at We-blogged. Here's Tom Chapin's site. Hee hee.

Chapin shares this on his website:

Why this song?

As a kid who grew up in NYC, I am a great fan of America’s public education. I attended P.S. 46 in Greenwich Village, then P. S. 8 in Brooklyn Heights, then on to Brooklyn Technical High School and S.U.N.Y. Plattsburgh.

And now, as a father and a grandfather, I so appreciate the tough job that faces every teacher. I believe they need all the help they can get: anything that excites a student, opens their eyes, and hearts and minds is a positive that makes a child invest in school.

Music, art, drama and sports - these are what kept me involved when I was in school. And these very things, that make a teacher’s (and student’s) job easier and more rewarding, are what’s been cut from curriculums across the country.

Now we are teaching by rote again - where the test, and only the test, becomes the reason to teach and study.

It’s no secret that American industry has outsourced most factory jobs to other countries to take advantage of cheaper labor costs. So why are we putting so much effort into a form of education in which there is no creativity? This is the time that our youth should be taught to think ”out of the box,” not be put into a tighter one!

This is the larger context that John Forster and I wanted to address in a satirical song for NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

25% of Nation's 12th Graders Proficient Writers

2008-04-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

This from an article from today's New York Times. It reminded me of the conversation in another discussion about the nation's overall writing ability.

“Overall, American students’ writing skills are deteriorating,” said Will Fitzhugh, the founder of Concord Review, a journal published in Massachusetts that features history research papers written by high school students. He expressed skepticism that the national assessment accurately measured students’ overall writing skills because, he said, it only tests their ability to write very brief essays jotted out in half an hour...Mr. Fitzhugh cited findings of a 2006 survey of college professors, in which a large majority said they thought most high school graduates came to college with limited writing skills.

I'm not familiar with Fitzhugh or the the Concord Review, but this again raises some very important questions. In your opinion, are writing skills deteriorating? In what ways? Is there there is enough (or any)communication between college professors and high school teachers? Between businesses and high school teachers? How can improvement be made?

Nashua Teacher Walkout

2008-03-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Interesting article over at Will Richardson's Weblogg-ed today. It's about the Nashua High Schools in NH. Seems there's going to be a job action, and the students there are using digital video, blogs, and other social networking tools to cover the walkout. Wonder if they were inspired by the recent Hollywood writers strike use of similar tools to draw attention to their cause and keep people informed. Anyway, this seems pretty relevant to the discussion going on in the other Will Richardson post about NCTE standards. I think it's pretty marvelous that these students seem both media savvy, tech enhanced AND engaged in issues in their world.

What's most interesting is the discussion going on amongst the students of these two students on "the wall" of their Facebook profile.