PhilWP Summer Institute 1

Hey Everybody

2008-09-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know how to invite folks to a blog? I am creating one for my senior students. I need to separate them from the freshman, therefore it is important for me to have an invite only blog. Also, I will use this venue at both levels to begin the writing process for the NWP activity, Letters to the Next President. Thanks anyone and I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year.

Back to School

2008-08-24T21:04:00.001-07:00

I just want to thank everyone for contributing to such a wonderful and insightful three weeks. As we all prepare to go back into our classrooms and unpack everything, including the boxes we packed away in June, I just wanted to share a web site that is offering a free reading kit for your classroom. It is as follows:

http://www.tabarron.com/for-educators

May we all have GREAT starts to our school year.
Michelle

setting up my classroom tomorrow!

2008-08-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody!

After an exhausting weekend, I'm looking forward to entering my new domain, of my classroom tomorrow, armed with the thousands of ideas I got from PhilWP and from you guys over the last 3 weeks. FYI, I found a set of Writing Workshop posters at AC Moore on sale for $5 over the weekend. I plan to teach my kids the steps and skills for each part of the process and to have them move their name cards along the wall as they progress through each step. I may also do the charting shown in the article by the first grade teacher that we read 2 weeks ago.
For those of you who are starting PD at your schools this week, hopefully you can be positive parts of that community experience and bring some of your PhilWP expertise into the mix of your staff!

Hasta Pronto!
Christina

Thank You PhilWP!

2008-08-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say how much I appreciated being a part of the Philadelphia writing project. I have learned a great deal. The facilitators, presentors, and the wonderful teachers that I got to spend a part of my summer with were engaging and extremely knowledgable and kind people. The readings were relevant and helpful to my pedagogy and practice. I will keep them for reference in the future as I am sure they will be helpful. All of the CI projects were informative and useful to my classroom practice. It seems like we crammed so much into three week and the time went quickly. I am so glad that I had the chance to be teamed up with such terrific professionals.

End of a good 3 weeks!

2008-08-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU!

Atuwfa, Chelsea, Bonnee, and Kathleen thank you for playing the role of students. During my turn in my CI group. It's not easy for me to stand before people. You didn't get a heads up but you played in with good spirits. Things could have gone differently, these three weeks again has proven the importance of community building. Trust and friendships were develop thank you.

To: Group 1 you are the best. I have learned from all of you Ladies you are a wealth of knowledge and strength. Thanks for allowing me to give my private group talks (what's said in the group stays in the group) (Judy smile luv you girl)

To: Philwp 2008 I could not have been more bless to meet and get to know a great bunch of people. You all have given me a piece of you and I say thank you. The knowledge that each of you hold money can't pay for. Best wishes for this new school year, we made it and are here to tell the people, community building and inquiry stance does work.

CI, etc.

2008-08-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hi, some random thoughts:
The presentations today were so engaging and provoked a lot of thought.
Also, an early P.S. to our (Group 5) CI: the Library of Congress website (loc.gov) is an useful resource for researching different countries, also historical projects post-sixties (particularly primary sources) and a photo file that contains many free use photos. I have used this site for units on the Great Depression, African American history, and the Gilded Age. The archive also includes some oral narratives, so if you have access to speakers, the students can actually hear a clip of a farmer who lived in the Dust Bowl or a song from long ago.

Does every other person who goes through Philwp feel that his/her group had the best people?
I don't know you very well at all, but just from listening to what each person shared in our discussions, reading what each person wrote, witnessing each person's presentation, I believe each of you are such fine individuals or as Brenda so aptly put it when the Institute first started, "You all are some kind of people." I am awed by your insight and expertise, and proud to call you, my colleague. Best wishes for a great school beginning!

I think our learning at the Institute is one for constructivism. Though sometimes I felt a little unsure when I was doing my assignments, I think in hindsight our facilitators' loose-ness in directions was an effective strategy. The learning came from us engaging in the activity and thinking so hard instead of being imposed from the teacher (facilitator) and following specific steps which requires little thinking. Now that could be a CI, right?

Some of your ideas I think some library journals may be interested in. Here are some addresses if you wish to submit your work for publication:
BookLinks 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611(www.ala.org/booklinks/)
VOYA (Voice of the Youth Advocate) -library magazine serving young adults--(www.voya.com)
Scarecrow Press,Inc., 4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
Also, there are School Library Journal and others but I don't have the addresses handy.

Finally, I wanted to find out what the One Book, One Philadelphia was for 2009 on the FLP site. No luck, but they do have some authors of interest to students coming in the fall. Among them are Cornelia Funke, Toni Morrison, a panel of graphic novelists, David Macauley. Those are the few this fried brain can recall, but if you're interested you can go online and check out these events. Some of them are free; some there is a charge. The FLP offers Teen author events and children's author events, but as I so sadly learned when I missed Jeff McKinney's visit (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, et al), if you aren't on their list, they don't call you or send you stuff. So I must have been on the list for teens, but not children. These events are usually on a school day afternoon and are free. The liason from the FLP comes to your school a few weeks prior to the event and delivers a class set of the author's book. I don't have the telephone number of the woman in charge here at home, but I'm sure you could just call the main library and ask about children's author events or teen author events. B the Book Lady

Bibliography for Group 5's CI

2008-08-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hi, all. Here is our bibliography for our collaborative inquiry.
Inquiry Question: How can our students celebrate culture through researching foods and gardening?
Collaborative Inquiry Amodei, Cook, Kearney, Saxton 3
Additional Readings:
Demi. One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale. NY: Scholastic Press, 1997.
Retelling of this folktale set in India shows the multiplication of food when one is shared.
DiSalvo-Ryan, DyAnne. City Green. NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1994.
A young girl explores the development of a community garden. DiSalvo-Ryan used Philadelphia Green as the inspiration for this picture book.
Dooley, Norah. Everybody Bakes Bread. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Press, 1993.
Fleischman, Paul. Seedfolks.Illustrations by Judy Pederson. NY: Harper Collins, 1997.
Slim novel offering vignettes of people from a city neighborhood (Cleveland) who
farm a community garden.
Gelman, Rita Golden. Rice Is Life. Paintings by Yangsook Choi. NY: Henry Holt and Co., 1999.
Shows growth of rice plant in Indonesia. Coupled with poetry.
Hill, Lee Sullivan. Farms Feed the World. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1997.
Illustrated book describing how foods are grown around the world.
Kindersley, Barnabas and Anabel. Children Just Like Me. NY: DK Publishing, Inc., 1995.
Oversized book featuring brief facts about culture and customs of children around
the world.
Priceman, Marjorie. How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. NY: Alfred A. Knopf,
1994.
A closed market does not daunt the desire of a girl to bake an apple pie. She travels
the world to obtain the necessary ingredients. Also a Reading Rainbow video/DVD.
Regguinti, Gordon. The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering. Photographs by
Dale Kakkak. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1992.
Photographs enhance this nonfiction work telling of the history and modern production
of rice among the Ojibway people in the Great Lakes region.
Rendon, Marcie R., and Cheryl Walsh Bellville. Farmer’s Market: Families Working Together.
Photographs by Cheryl Walsh Bellville. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc, 2001.Photographs show how different cultures grow food and sell it at the market.
Rosa-Casanova, Sylvia. Mama Provi and the Pot of Rice. Illustrated by Robert Roh.
NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1997.
Main character collects different ingredients for pot of rice from neighbors of different cultures.
Solheim, James. It’s Disgusting and We Ate It!: True Food Facts Around the World and
Throughout History. Illustrated by Eric Brace. NY: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1998.
Illustrated in a cartoonish style, this book takes a breezy, comical approach to
identifying foods we may have in common with other people and times as well as how our culinary tastes may differ.
Zamorano, Ana.Let’s Eat! Illustrated by Julie Vivas.NY: Scholastic Press, 1996.
Expressive illustrations lead the reader through a family’s food preparation.
References to garden as a source of food and Spanish words included.

Heterosexual Questionnaire

2008-08-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I just wanted to continue the conversation started today during our CI presentations with regard to the heterosexual questionnaire. I am really interested in the responses, experiences, or associations you had when you answered the questions. I know that when I read these questions, I laugh because they really are turning assumption on its head. I have personally never been asked most of the questions except for things like

How do you know you're bisexual?
Aren't you just confused?
Don't you feel like you're being sort of greedy?

are the ones I remember along with some rather inappropriate ones from guys I've dated and my mother.

Wow, just doing the CI group kind of gave me permission to talk about this which I think speaks to how important it is to make space for these conversations in the classroom.

2008-08-21T05:27:00.000-07:00

I found Marsha Pincus's presentation inspiratioanal as a teacher. I appreciated that as a teacher she demonstrates that the classroom teacher is not just an entry level position. You can become a teacher leader through the classroom. As a teacher I have felt I need to decide what the next step of my carrer is going to be. I have felt the presure to consider graduate programs and can not decide which one I would like. I feel it needs to be able to put me into another type of position with in the district, outside the classroom. After this presentation I have realized that I do not want a position that takes me outside the classroom and that I can advance my carrer as a teacher inside the classroom and I have so many places that I can go with that.

More Websites To Check Out

2008-08-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a couple of websites that a colleague turned me onto. The first is the readinglady.com. There are a lot of great resources on this site. You can download lesson plans, posters, and reader's theater scripts. There are many other useful things if you have some time to look at it. The second site is called teacher ease. This site provides an online grade book. I have not discovered all of the features yet, but it can calculate your grades. It can also send an email to a child's parent if they miss two assignments in a row. This website is not free, but if you are one of the first three teachers at your school to signup you get a free year subscription. If you are not in the first three teachers you can still get three months use free. You can also keep your lesson plans on there, but again I am not familiar with everything it can do.

Circle of Inquiry

2008-08-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

The circle of inquiry illustration, Marsha Pincus presented to us today, made the inquiry process clearer for me. The dissonance forms the question which leads to the looking and the searching in order to make sense. From that sense, action is taken. The action taken will bring you back to the dissonance because new questions will be formed. She was very passionate about teachers being meaning makers and not "functionaries." She embraced the power of networks (such as PHILWP) and believes the networks, the research and our interaction with our students results in inquiry into classroom practices. After reading her article, Learning from Laramie, I found her intellectual journey very interesting. "This process of inquiry allows me to raise questions; search for answers both inside and outside of my classroom; make sense of what is happening there; and develop new ideas, stategies, and curricula. In short, I can have and active intellectual life that is linked to my teaching, each feeding the other." Thanks Marsha, your presentation will help me in my journey into inquiry.

Guest Speakers

2008-08-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

Still looking for a way to use inquiry in my classroom and process. I want to thank Atuwfa for centering my thoughts. I can start on a small scale as I learn, along with my students, how to navigate new waters. When thinking of it this way, it's not as daunting and I'm willing to give it a try. No doubt there will be a multitude of instances where the children want to know why and so do I.

Check In!

2008-08-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

Thank you team for the check in conversation. I believe it help to enlighten some of us to looking at racism in another manner. To our facilitators thank you for allowing us the time to vent. We were still able to conduct ourselves as the professionals that we truly are.

Breakfast

2008-08-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Group 1 I just want to say thank you for the wonderful breakfast. You guys really know how to lay a spread. Maybe we can all get together again before the year is over.

Some more picture books for older readers

2008-08-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hi. I've been searching through picture books. Here are some suggestions:

Picture Books for Older Readers

Most of these books are available at your local public library. The main library and some of its branches are shelving these books under the label, “skinny fiction.”

Bartone, Elissa. Peppe the Lamplighter. Young Italian immigrant works hard igniting the street lamps in old New York at night and goes to school during the day.

Bunting, Eve. Gleam and Glow. Set in Bosnia during the recent conflict, a young boy’s father gives him two fish to care when he goes away to fight in the Resistance.

Bunting, Eve. How Many Days to America? Modern Thanksgiving story with immigrants from some unknown Latin American country.

Bunting, Eve. The Memory String. A young girl comes to terms with her mother’s death.

Bunting, Eve. Smoky Nights. Caldecott winner. Story takes place in the aftermath of the LA riots after the Rodney King trial.

Cherry, Lynne. River Ran Wild. Ecological story of the pollution of a New England river.

Coerr, Eleanor. Sadako and the Paper Cranes. Picture book version of the novel about the young Japanese girl who died from leukemia.

Cohen, Barbara. Molly’s Pilgrim. Picture book version of the story of a recent Russian immigrant girl who learns the real meaning of the American holiday, Thanksgiving.

Cooper, Ilene. The Golden Rule. BookLinks calls this book an “understated story . . .about the Golden Rule.”

Dooley, Norah. Everybody Bakes Bread; Everyone Cooks Rice; Everybody Serves Soup; Everybody Eats Noodles. Highlights different cultures by describing different foods.

Figueredo, D.H. The Road to Santiago. Fleeing from Communist regime in Cuba of the 50s.

Fleischman, Paul. Weslandia. A boy creates his own world in his backyard.

Heide, Florence Parry. Sami and the Time of Trouble. Young boy living in war torn Middle East.

Hesse, Karen. Cats in Krasinski Square. Warsaw ghetto, WWII.

Ricnard Wright and The Library Card.

Hobbs, Will. Bear Dream. Native American character

Hopkinson, Deborah. Under the Quilt of Night. Underground Railroad.

Khan, Rukhsana. The Roses in My Carpets. Refugees from Afghanistan.

LaMarche. The Raft. A young boy learns to appreciate nature on a raft ride down the river.
Levine, Ellen. Henry’s Freedom Box. Based on the true story of an escaped slave who ships himself to Philadelphia in a wooden box.
McBrier, Page. Beatrice’s Goat. Project Heifer. Ugandan girl receives a goat and also sustenance for her poor village.Ant
McCully, Emily. The Bobbin Girl. Turn of the century factory girl.
McKe experiences the prejudices of her small town until she reaches her destination, the public library.
Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us & Heroes. Japanese internment camps.
Napoli, Donna Jo.Albert. An agrophobic young man becomes the fledgling of a mother bird.
Nelson, Marilyn. Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color. Story of Prudence Crandall, who admitted African American girls into her Connecticut boarding school.
Polacco, Patricia. The Butterfly. Holocaust story.
Polacco, Patricia. I Can Hear the Sun. Homelessness fable.
Polacco, Patricia. Pink and Say. Civil War story of a white boy and a former slave.
Pryor, Bonnie. The Dream Jar. A young immigrant girl yearns to be able to go to school.
Rosen, Michael. Michael Rosen’s Sad Book. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. The main character’s son has died and the father must now cope with this sadness.

Say, Allen. Grandfather’s Journey. Born in America the main character returns after growing up in Japan.

Sis, Peter. The Wall. An autobiographical picture book about the author’s life behind the Berlin Wall. This author/illustrator usually writes books with sophisticated themes.

Steig, William. Amos and Boris. Friendship between a whale and a mouse.
Other Steig titles are also more sophisticated.

Stewart, Sarah. The Gardener. Set in letter form, a young girl grows a rooftop garden during the depression in Chicago.

Thomas, Joyce Carol. I Have Heard of a Land. a young African American woman expresses her joy and hope at becoming a homesteader.

Van Allsburg, Chris. The Sweetest Fig. Pompous, selfish man mistreats his dog, then eats a magical fig that reverses their roles.

Van Allsburg, Chris. The Witch’s Broom. A magical witch’s broom

Wells, Rosemary. Streets of Gold. True immigrant story of Mary Antin.

Yen. Coolies. Two Chinese brothers cross the Pacific to become railroad workers in California.

Yolen, Jane. Encounter. Viewing the arrival of Columbus through the eyes of a Taino boy.

My Understanding from Mrs. Davis

2008-08-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today, our speaker was Mattie Davis an active educator and researcher of the PhilWP. I believe that her goal for today was to emphasize the stance of inquiry as a method to really look into their students and see what is really needed. One of the driving forces of her visit was to build a community and allow our students to direct us, the teacher to better serve them; at least that’s what I got of today’s session.

It's almost over!

2008-08-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that our time here at PhilWP is almost over. Although I'm excited because I now have great ideas to share with my new students in September, I'm going to miss the great people I've met here. I'm especially going to miss my Journal Group. You ladies have made a great impact in my life and I'd love for us to continue our great discussions. I wish everyone luck and peace on our last week here!

Just Because I am From Public School

2008-08-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

I was motivated to write this after listening to a former public school student & teacher.... Mrs. Vanessa Brown

Just Because I Am From Public School

Just Because I am From Public School doesn't mean that I didn't have to do homework, write my spelling words 5x each, or memorize the multiplication tables

Just Because I Went to Public School doesn't mean that we weren't taught to follow the rules, sit up straight, fold your hands, or raise your hand to speak, Our teachers had to discipline us because they couldn't threaten to throw us out to that other school!!!!!

Just Because I Went to Public School doesn't mean that I wasn't taught penmanship,

In Fact, my teachers thought that my handwriting was atrocious!

Just Because I Went to Public School doesn't mean that I didn't go to college

in Fact, I was one of the few females from my neighborhood who did graduate college

Getting Students to Post to Blog

2008-08-16T05:11:00.000-07:00

I'm using this blog as a sounding board to find out if certain things are possible when it comes to getting students to post to a blog I want to create during the school year.
If they need to get a google account, how do I handle them getting an email address? Are all students supposed to have an email address through the district? If so, can I have them use that to create this google account?
Are there standard parent forms when it comes to getting parent permission for putting pictures on a blog, requiring students to post to a blog at least once a week either at school, home or library?
I think this is all for now.
Thanks!

Hail Mary Full of Grace

2008-08-15T14:46:00.001-07:00

Athena and Gail suggested I put this vignette on the blog - thanks ladies for the encouragement
I hope it fits
In 1989, my son Patrick entered Saint Dominic's School where he had the good fortune of being placed in Mrs. Gallagher's first grade class. Mrs. Gallagher was in a class all her own when it came to organization, neatness and kindness. She was a pioneer for the term "student engagement." Early in the year, Mrs. Gallagher thought it would be fun, during religion period, to teach the children sign language as they learned the prayer - The Hail Mary. Day after day, she molded the small slender fingers and those still chubby with baby fat ( Patrick's were somewhere in the middle) into the signs that would bring life to the words. Night after night, Patrick would practice showing us the parts of the prayer he learned to sign that day until his older brother would yell, "Enough with Hail Mary" or words to that effect. After awhile, Hail Mary took a back seat to the other new and exciting things Mrs. Gallagher was teaching. Later that year, Patrick's Aunt Christine, who is actually a sign language interpreter, came to the house with a little girl who was deaf. After Christine signed some introductions and directons to the little girl, Christine and I headed to the kitchen while Patrick and the little girl hurried to the dining room to color. While they were coloring Hail Mary awoke from her dormant state and began to surface. What I can only imagine as the performance of his life Patrick signed the Hail Mary to the little girl. After the signing, Patrick rushed into the kitchen annoyed and upset followed by a very confused little girl. Patrick's eyes misty with tears said to Aunt Christine, "Are you sure she is deaf. She didn't know what I signed" Well what did you sign?" asked Aunt Christine. " I signed the Hail Mary" (of course) was Patrick's reply. As Aunt Christine wrapped her arms around Patrick a smile broke out on her face as she told him, "Oh honey she didn't know what you signed because she is Jewish!! So Mrs. Gallagher, wherever you are, thanks to you, today there is a Young Jewish Woman who will always remember her first Hail Mary and a Young Catholic Man who learned about Judaism.

Thanks Vanessa

2008-08-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

Thank you Vanessa for you presentation and for sharing with us this morning. Your articles on Welcoming and Your beliefs about teaching and learning came through your own experiences as a student and a teacher. Both contributed to the success in your classroom practices.

Informal Reading Inventories?

2008-08-15T08:29:00.002-07:00

Does anyone have any good informal reading inventories I can do with students to assess their reading levels early in the year so I can get to know them better? We use SRI but last year it was not working so I got really stuck.
Actually, any inventories you use to get to know your students early in the year would be really helpful to know.
Thanks!

Refelction of a Student

2008-08-15T08:29:00.001-07:00

Vanessa Brown’s activity of speaking to a student allowed me to realize just how much journaling could allow me to become a better teacher. In our pre-institute reading Journals for Collaboration, Curriculum, and Assessment I understood the importance of the journal, but held on to the belief of when will I really find the time for this and how much can it really help me. Although the reflection on a student was not an official journal the reflection of my teaching experiences and discussion of it with Bernadette has allowed me understand the situation differently and think of how else I can make this situation become a positive experience for myself and the child. I hope that as I deal with other students with similar behaviors I go into the situation better equipped to help this student. I hope that in the future I do take the time to reflect and journal about all of the unique experiences that I encounter as a teacher.

Take a statement for a walk

2008-08-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

In today’s class, our morning sessions required TCs agree or disagree with certain statements read by the facilitators. It was not a question of raising hands but stepping on one side of a line, the line represented the differences between belief and doubt. Since we had a limited amount of time to offer our positions, I thought I’d use this space to walk these lines.
Statement: Teachers should have the right to address homosexuality in the classroom.
I know this statement was made but it’s where my position is as well. Saying that teachers have the right to address homosexuality in the classroom is the same as saying that teachers have the right not to address the subject. We have read quite a bit of material and had numerous discussions about how not mentioning something can equate to dismissing it. Students then feel as though they are not adequately represented and that their orientation must be hidden. Do we just wait for teachable moments when it comes to this subject? If so, will it ever come up? Are there stories in Elements of Literature that contain stories about homosexual individuals? Without explicitly stating that a character is homosexual, how do we know that the segment of that population is adequately represented? We know we want multicultural literature in the classroom so that we embed the values of all of our students so perhaps this too falls within the realm.

Thanks

2008-08-14T15:48:00.001-07:00

Dear Brenda: Thank you for your kindness. Gail

Party

2008-08-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

Last week (which seems like a year ago) Geoff mentioned having a party at someone's house. I would love to have everyone at my home (Hey Shannon-I would go to yours!). My house is in Langhorne (about 5 mins. from Neshaminy Mall) and is easy to get to but far. I'd be glad to drive in and can fit 4 people in my car. Also, the R3 train is nearby so I can pick up and drop off from there. Please let me know so I can wash my smelly dog. Gail

Morning Read

2008-08-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

Thank you Michelle for this mornings read. You did an excellent job and selected a book that peaked my interest. You left me with a very powerful quote which was " Racism either makes you withdraw from yourself, hate yourself, or discover yourself". I plan to hang this up in my classroom because racism is even among my own. I want to use this during the times I have group discussions to help resolve confict. Again thank you!

2008-08-14T08:47:00.001-07:00

Today’s double journal entry activity was so powerful. I learned a lot from the article, but I learned so much more from my colleague’s personal insights and experiences. The article states “I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible system conferring dominance on my group”. WOW! I had a hard pill to swallow here. Being a compassionate white girl didn’t disqualify me from having white privilege and being part of an oppressive system. I have looked at my personal struggles. My father is an alcoholic and my mother died of cancer when I was 13. When people talked about white privilege, I didn’t feel so privledged with these struggles.

But now I realize that these struggles would have been compounded by racism and discrimination. Insult to injury. However, minorities need to avoid assuming white privilege does not guarantee a perfect life. We all struggle. We all have our stories. We all deserve respect.

What norms make good discussion?

2008-08-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

I keep pinching myself to remind myself that creating a community of inquiry in 2nd grade is not going to be as easy as it seems to have been for us this summer in the Institute!

So, I've been keeping a little side journal where I am trying to analylize the soft skills I would need to teach in order to make each activity work.

Here's a few ideas that I started jotting down for how to have a good, respectful discussion.

* establish a respectful and safe connection between participants for being honest
* give them structured chances get to know each other by telling their individual stories.

* one person talks at a time.
* raise your hand quietly AFTER a person finishes talking
* teacher says the order of 3-4 people that will speak next
* speaker says, "I want to go off of what ____ said, ..." or "What ___ said made me think about..."
* teacher reinforces the respectful and thoughtful comment behaviors of the speakers and the 'audience' in between comments.

I am trying to listen to phrasing that softens the tone, making offenses less likely. (This is the ESL teacher in me!) If anyone else notices these details it would be great to hear them!

Christina

Thank you, Jessica!

2008-08-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

Many of you probably didn't even notice me stumbling over my words yesterday during our jigsaw assignment. I, however, was struggling with an overwhelming degree of anxiety. I FEAR speaking in front of my peers....(yes, it is different in front of children). I felt a need to speak publically yesterday because of the comments being made to those of us who weren't participating enough in class. (That was the only reason I felt a need to conquer this fear...) Well, as I struggled, stumbled, and nearly passed out....I quietly asked Jessica to recover our summary I was trying to describe to the group. Jessica didn't hesitate to pick up where I left off, which was so smooth....you probably didn't even realize!
PhilWP is a learning experience in so many ways. My experience right now is directly from yesterday's reaction sheet....."Working outside your comfort level usually leads to growth." So, thank you for these words of wisdom and thank you again, Jessica!

Religion in school

2008-08-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

This is such an upsetting discussion for me and always makes me want to cry. We spend a lot of time discussing how people view race, and white priviledge (not a point I'm arguing), but haven't disucssed religion and priviledge. In much the same way whites have priviledge, so do Christians. When you are a Christian, the world surrounds your beliefs. Many people don't see that others see the world differently and they don't have too because they're the majority. Again, this year, there was a Christmas tree in the lobby of my school. Why is the symbol of one religion (and yes it represents a very important holiday) in the lobby but no others? I feel that nothing should be in the lobby. Don't throw a menorah and kinara out there so then it's okay to put up the tree. What about the students who don't have a defined religion or do not believe in G-d? What do we do for them? This year there was no Halloween dance because it is a pagan holiday. Maybe we have a few pagans. Who has the right to tell someone what to believe? Of course, my religion has formed my feelings on this matter, but this issue isn't about a specific religion. It's about the school being a place where everyone belongs.

Special Thanks

2008-08-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to Goeff, for his guidance on our CI project, his guidance made me feel that with all the ideas in our groups none of them were wrong, but all great. And also THANKS to the whole group of facilitators (Dave & Jenn) for not giving us such confined working instructions, but for letting us find our way. Even though we may feel really really lost, but I understand.....DON'T STOMP THE CREATIVITY!!!
Shannon

CNN Article addressing tech friendships

2008-08-13T19:55:00.001-07:00

Okay, I know we had a great SIG today from Bernadette and Shannon about using popular magazines/websites as sources for information but having seen this online, I thought it might be helpful to see what the general population, including parents, is reading about online friendships between students and teachers.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/12/studentsteachers.online/index.html

Reflection on practice

2008-08-13T18:55:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all the encouraging remarks. I accept them humbly on behalf of all school librarians. Maybe some of you can be instrumental in advocating for a spot on the faculty for a school librarian. The elimination of librarians, art, music teachers from urban schools is an obvious example of inequity. Most times, I feel not smart enough for my job or inadequate addressing the technology needs of staff and students, so it's nice to be of help. I located the source on Follett Library Resources under Grants and Awards, there's a link to school librarian resources. This link would be helpful to any teacher searching for good websites for literature or research. I found a link there for an article entitled, "The Reading Cure." It gave a list of risky books, novels not picture books, primarily for book clubs but high school teachers may be able to find something appropriate (ex., Secret Life of Bees is there) or middle school teachers may be able to excerpt something.
James Baldwin's talk to Teachers is a revelation. Written in 1963, much of what he says is sadly still applicable today. Lots of implications to Poisonwood Bible, other readings, the state of our country today. He writes, ". . .the boys and girls who were born during the era of the Third Reich, when educated to the purposes of the Third Reich, became barbarians. " This quote could be framed in a query if students read Markus Zuzka's The Book Thief, a story about a girl of Communist parents who lives through WWII with an older couple in a small town in Germany. This book shows the helplessness some Germans felt toward the oppression of the Nazis and the punishment they received when they rebelled against the government. Why did some become barbarians? Are the rest of the people saved from being barbarians because they sympathesized with the Jews but did little else? Just a suggestion. Thank you all for how your insights make me think. That's what we all need, us, our students, time to think and compelling information and experiences to think about. B the Book Lady

Shout Out

2008-08-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

I want to give a shout out to Bernadette and Shannon for a wonderful SIG. Bernadette, you have been a wonderful resource. Now that my school no longer has a librarian, this makes me wonder what other great sources of support were available that I didn't realize I had.

I HAVE TO DRAW BY MYSELF?

2008-08-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

I was in such a frenzy today as I had to face one of my most dreaded realities; I cannot draw! I am horrible at creating a piece of art. Although we were told that the activity was not about the artwork, just the idea of creating a picture book shut me down!

Now I worry about how to deal with my students' insecurities about an activity I may present to them. How am I to respond to them when they shut down from fear of exposing a major fault. I need serious help!

differentiated instruction in the classroom

2008-08-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Good Day,

Today we received a presentation/workshop on the above topic by S. (Dot) Carter. She gave a discussion of the basics of the topic and then we broke up into groups. All that to say I was elated to see everyone working on activities that were solely hands on. Beyond the directions, the majority of the student Teachers found the pictures were more beneficial to the end all goal of the activity. Yes, I was able to find the road to the completed task. However I held back to see what was going to happen. It was de-li-ci-o-so. I was happy to see the results:) .
In our readings, # 10, a quoted author,Kathleen O'Shaughnessy says" ...the feeling of power and freedom that comes with finding one's own way." This is how I feel when I tackle a task. Today this is how you all looked to me when my group of #4's produced five boxes by their own hands. I don't want to wine about any other part of the day, but that one portion was soothing to the pallet.

Differentiated Instruction

2008-08-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a great experience today with Sharon Carter. After reflecting on my own learning, I realized that I am not the visual learner I thought I was before. This also made me think about how I teach my students. Some points that really stuck out to me were how educators assess at the end of a unit, and in reality....assessment should be how to understand your students to better educate them next. Also, how assessment should be how we can help our students grow. This experience was a great big wake-up call for me and how I can use data in my classroom to help my students to grow and not just label where they are in the system.

Once Again

2008-08-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

I've made it on to the blog space. Let's see if I can post either later today again or tomorrow. The last time it shut me down from posting. All I could do was respond to Fellows' post. Thanks Chelsea for talking me around the problem! A solution is always in the midst -- you just have to be open for the new knowledge to come in your surroundings. I aksed, I waited and new knowledge came...

Here I am. Peace all!

Whose Core Is It?

2008-08-13T06:02:00.000-07:00

After reading this article I found myself thinking Christina is not alone. Every workshop or professional development I've been in all the teachers express the same sentiments. This makes me wonder, who are the teachers who agreed with the writing of this. Are they still in the classroom or have they opt to be coaches who visit first year teachers only? Along with the Core there should be a core writer assigned to every school. First to teach in the various classrooms instead of using the check list during walk-through(s).

The article was written by a Philadelphia School teacher ( one of our own). The fact that she found a support group is encouraging.

I Can't Wait!

2008-08-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about all of the great ideas I have gained from the facilitators and other teachers here at PhilWP. There are so many activities I want to complete with my students, that I can't wait until September. I know that sounds crazy, but I also know that many of you are feeling the same way. I think I'm going to be sad when the three weeks is over because I've created special bonds with many people, especially my Journal Group!

Bonnee is very thoughtful.

2008-08-12T05:50:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post to say what a thoughtful person Bonnee is. I don't know her very well but she listened to my group's "I am from.." presentation and went and picked up a movie for me because she thought I would enjoy and relate to the movie. That was very nice of you Bonnee and I wanted everyone to know.

Poisonwood bible

2008-08-12T05:29:00.000-07:00

The discussion on yesterday gave deep insight to thoughts on gender. It was good to hear the views on Nathan Price. This activity helped me to see the things I concluded about Nathan, some others felt the same. I thought of Orleanna as a weak person until my colleagues pointed out her strengths. This caused me to delve deeper into my thinking about who she was. I also liked the activity on body biography. It was interesting seeing which characters were chosen.

2008-08-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

In class we read a narrative by Jamiaca Kincade “Girl” and this was my verse after her fashion.

BOY
Did you brush your teeth and wash your face? Go, go back and brush your teeth and wash your face. You are very able to maintain the basic hygiene. Shower, bathe daily which means EVERYDAY and don’t forget your deodorant. Nobody wants to smell your B.O. Young men should take pride in them selves. Now don’t forget to put things back because you don’t have a maid and oh yes you can clean that bathroom especially behind that toilet seat; when you get your own who do you think is going to do that for you, remember you don’t have a maid. Bring your clothes down to the laundry room, remember dark clothes here, medium color there and white put them here; dark cold water, medium warm water (or sometimes cold) and white hot water (or sometimes warm); who do you think is going to do this, you don’t have a maid.
Shannon

Growing in technology

2008-08-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

It took a week but I'm finally able to Blog. Watch out I'm dangerous now.

If Brenda isn't an extravert, what is?!?

2008-08-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

As we all know, Brenda is the "life of the party" type of person: very expressive, ready with something to funny, interesting or dramatic for any given conversation. So, some people were surprised to learn that she doesn't think of herself as a "people person" or an extravert. Why not?

I had a definition for extravert and introvert that she said "described her." So I thought that I'd write it on the blog because a few other people were interested too.

Definitions:
INTROVERT- a person who gains energy from solitude

EXTROVERT- a person who gains energy from being around people.

Brenda, and many other people I've known and loved and discussed personality traits with, spend their energy when they are with people - all that wittiness and the outgoing behaviors
actually drain them of energy. These "life of the party" people all need large pockets of their day alone. This solitude is really what gives them the energy to interact with people in the way that we all love.

I, on the other hand, am and extrovert. I am not a "life of the party" person, but I really enjoy being around people. In fact, if I'm by myself for several hours, I start to think I'm going crazy; it's actually something I've trained myself to be somewhat comfortable. I, and other extroverts, gain energy from just the company of others, even if we're not the ones doing the talking or "entertaining."

Hope someone else will find these definitions as interesting and useful in understanding others as I have!

Greatest Silence

2008-08-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

On HBO documentaries there is a special entitled Greatest Silence. It is about the continuous rape and agonies of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I am ashamed to admit that I know so little of what happens elsewhere and if it wasn't because I had to read Poisonwood Bible, I doubt this would have been of interest to me. It is a remarkable documentary and I urge you to watch it (on 77 minutes long). In fact, I welcome any Philwp friends to watch it at my home.

1st Week at PhilWP: First Impressions

2008-08-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

The first week at the Philadelphia Writing Institute was all that I thought it would be and more. I have come to collaborate with others about life, teaching, and learning. We have completed many reading assignments, activities, and thoughtful discussions which were authentic, emotional, and valuable experiences which have made deep and lasting impressions in my mind.

One of the biggest correlations or epiphanies that I made this week was one that came from my reading of the "Poisonwood Bible" while there were many messages. The message that I could best analogize was Natan's relationship to his village being as important to a teacher's relationship to her classroom. Meaning that Nathan did not take the time to get to know his village and spend real time with his neighbors, causing many miscommunications and catastrophies that may have been avoided. As a teacher you don't want to make the same mistakes. To me this first week has been spent on learning how to make deeper connections within ourselves and our students. Instead of just coming in and making assumptions about where your students academic capabilities are and "preaching" to them about what they need to learn. A good teacher will communicate with and understand her students needs and strengths. She will incorporate several types of learning strategies and encourage her students to dig deep within themselves, so that they will value their writing and be motivated to write more. Unlike, Nathan if we take the time to invest in our students, and our classroom communities our classrooms will flurish.

Seeking direction on short reading passages?

2008-08-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

As we go through this Summer Institute, I'm making notes about what I want to implement in my classroom. I'm thinking about the homework I want to assign and I'm looking for short, interesting reading passages so that students will read and write about them on their own. Does anyone have anything that's worked successfully for them?
I have a ton of books that are test prep reads but I'm hoping to find stuff that's more engaging for students, something that makes them want to write. I know the scholastic magazines work a bit but sometimes they are a bit immature, too tongue- in-cheek. Any suggestions on resources would be great. Thanks again!

A very gracious thank you!

2008-08-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I left PhilWP overwhelmed with emotion. We spent the day laughing and crying with each other. I want to thank everyone for those stories that needed to be told; I'm grateful that you trusted us enough to share such very personal stories.
I met up with a few friends on Friday night for drinks and tried to explain what was happening. It's so hard to tell others not in this community how we went from total strangers to knowing very intimate facts about one another.
Next week is going to challenge all of us, I know. As we embark on discussions of racism and social justice, let us remember and refer to the autobiographies. We are all people who have stories, very profound, some deeply sad. We are our students who bring alot to the table. We are going through next week's process so that our discomfort will be eased.
From our beginning conversations about The Poisonwood Bible, we know there will be discomfort. There will be tension. Brenda, I do believe this is what your friend meant when she said arguments occur. It's intended so that we can go through the emotions now so that we can handle what arises in our class surrounding these issues.
Anyway, this is what I THINK I KNOW about that which we are embarking.

Becoming a Writer

2008-08-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

Not being a writer and often being shy when speaking about myself I found that this first week of the institute allowed me to push myself. I was able to speak about myself in such a wonderful environment. All of the activities I improved who I am as a writer. I would also like to mentions how everyone was so accepting of who we all are and celebrated who we all are. I am amazed with all of the ideas that were shared and discussed already that I can bring back to the classroom. I look forward to these following weeks and learning so much more.

A reflection on 1st week at Philwp

2008-08-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

something I heard this week....."Becoming a better writer myself will make me a better teacher of writing." Everthing we have done this week is leading me there. The readings, the storytelling with Dr. Schultz, and take a line for a walk technique were helpful to my personal growth as a writer but most valuable to me was the collaboration with my journal group and the suggestions from others in writing my autobiography. Thank you Jeff for recommending I
"Stretch." I am glad I didn't play it so safe.

"Shared Reading" : What books do your kids love?

2008-08-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today I overheard Jessica discussing how much her students love the Bluford books, a series of young adult fiction written by a few different authors and telling the loosely tied stories of adolescents at the a school called Bluford high. The Bluford books are great in a way-- they are low- reading level/high interest stories that depict African-American kids in an urban setting with both accuracy and respect. Kids really, really love them. Beyond entertainment, though they have a pretty low literary value (ok, this is my opinion...but I stand by it!), and students who love them don't always let this translate into an interest in classroom reading, especially when confronted with harder texts. Jessica and I had a quick quick talk about using slightly more advanced realistic fiction as a bridge between easy reads like Bluford and harder literature. I said I would try to make a list of books that my 7th and 8th graders really enjoyed, and then I got inspired by the Technology Day and decided to put it on the blog so that everyone could add on ideas and we could use each other as a resource. I have read a bunch of these books but not all of them. I hope thisis an ok use of the blog.

Chelsea

Some authors and books my students enjoyed:

Sharon Flake:

Bang!

The Skin I'm In

Begging for Change

Who Am I Without Him?

Angela Johnson:

The First Part Last

Heaven

Rita Williams-Garcia:

Like Sisters on the Homefront

Walter Dean Myers:

Monster

Bad Boy: A Memoir

Hoops

Slam

145th Street

Paul Volponi:

Black and White (this book isn't that well known but it is AWESOME, my kids, especially the boys, loved it!)

Gary Soto

Taking Sides

Carolyn Mackler: The Earth, MyButt, and other Big, Round Things

Roald Dahl

Boy

Gary Paulson:

Hatchett

"Reading the World of School Literacy: Contextualizing the Experience of a Young African American Male"

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

Arlette Ingram Willis uses the example of her own son Jake and his reluctance to enter a writing competition and his primary grade teachers' teaching styles to illustrate school society's inability to include diverse cultures in its curriculum. Not to make light of the issue, but after I read about her third experience with a teacher who still did not incorporate multicultural literature into her curriculum, I thought, "Where does this lady live?" Then I compared Willis's disappointment (too weak a word) with the limited view each one of her son's teachers had about culture with the deflation I feel when one of my students writes a research paper on adoption and comes up short on what I understand about adoption as an adoptive parent. The paper may be well written, technically perfect, cited appropriately, but the interpretation is off. Willis writes, "Educators have not effectively built upon the culture and language of every child, and have set arbitrary standards of acceptance and defined them as normative" (47). I like to think my education as a librarian has prompted me to be aware of diverse cultures and addressing their needs, gender issues, learning styles. But this article, the one about African-American venacular, and others in the packet remind me that I can never get too comfortable, to be open to my students' ( and their parents') needs and ideas. B the Book Lady

Video I mentioned in class

2008-08-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfwf8

If you put this in the address bar it should work. The video has the same message as the one from this morning. I think this one is slightly more powerful.

Technology in the classroom

2008-08-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

This was a very useful discussion for a person who is a little shy of using tech in the classroom. My personal computer is very old and has really limited my ability to extend my own technological knowledge. I will, hopefully, have a new computer as of this weekend and I am going to push myself to learn more. Unfortunately, my school has limited access to tech, but high expectations for its use. I'm going to use FaceBook or MySpace pages by photocopying the framework and using it for published student work. We will also use 3x5 cards to simulate e-mail exchanges. This might not be directly tech, but it will bring the concepts into my class. Any other suggestions to use tech without the available hardware?

Wednesday Reading Ball AAVE

2008-08-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

Evaluating the writing of culturally and linguistically diverse students: The case of African American Vernacular English Speaker
Arnetha F Ball

This article addressed specific grammatical structures I have seen often I student writing but marked as grammatical errors. I failed to recognize the legitamacy of AAVE. The author states "Since AAVE does not require the use of the -s present tense marking following a third person singular, Jelani does not use one in this instance." How many times have I seen this as a grammatical error without recognizing it as a structural element of another language?

As teachers, this poses a conflict. By red penning AAVE, are we taking away from the cultural expression? Would Nina Simone's song be as powerful if it was called "I Don't Have Any" instead of "Ain't Got No"? How can AAVE be appreciated while simultaneously preparing student for "mainstream" writing and speaking?

Poisonwood Bible

2008-07-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

I truly enjoyed reading this book for several reasons. The first is it was a great work of fiction! Telling this story through the eyes of the family members was a fascinating way to tell this historical fiction story.
This book also was an eye opener for me because my lack of knowledge on America's position in African history. I feel that most Americans have no idea about our politics & how it affects on other countries/ continents.
I appreciated the opportunity to read this. I was aware of this book, but never found the time to read it!

I made it

2008-07-23T05:31:00.001-07:00

Letting you know I found my way here. See everyone very, very soon.

Bonnee

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

2008-07-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

This year, we are reading the Poisonwood Bible by Babara Kingsolver.

The story is about a missionary family, the Prices, who move to the Belgian Congo in 1959. The family consists of the Baptist father, Nathan Price, his wife, Orleanna, and their four daughters - Rachel, Leah, Adah and Ruth May. Their story is narrated by each of the female characters.

As we journey with them in their missionary journey, we will use this as a forum about the conflicts that develop in the book and any connections we make to with our own lives and beliefs.