CRWP Daily Log

Daily Log 6/2/09

2009-06-08T05:51:00.003-07:00

Tuesday June 2, 2009

Breakfast: Julie made breakfast this morning. She had sausage & cream cheese crescent rolls, pancakes, and watermelon. Julie the food was delicious! Don’t forget to put that yummy recipe on our blog.

Olgetree started the morning out by saying “Were all waking up today a little bit. Yesterday we were all on time. Today. . . . Not so much!!!

We were prompted with the question “What did you think about last night when you got home, or this morning when you woke up?”

Cathy said “When I got up this morning, I felt like I wanted to write!” I think we all are starting to get a deeper connection into the writing world, aren’t we?

Read around with Ralph Fletcher’s book, What a writer needs

The majority of us agreed that this book was a pretty easy read. We discussed the fact that we were actually interested in reading on farther in the book than instructed to go.

Some parts of the book really spoke to us and here are a few of our favorite parts:

On page 11

“Mrs. Damon took a vigilant stance toward my penmanship

problem. She made it OUR problem, and set me to work on

rectifying it.” (said Miranda)

“But in first grade I was branded with a sloppy personality,

and I never quite got over it.” (said Eston)

On page 17 (which seemed to be our favorite page)

“Any writer who labors under such a right/wrong schema will

never allow herself the fluency and playfulness, the time and

perseverance she will need over the long haul to become a

skillful writer.”

“We need to redefine the success ethic, not just in writing

classes but during the entire school day, to mean not only

“Did you get it right?” but also “Did you take a chance? Did

you try something you have never tried before?””

“Passion remains the most important quality the mentor has to

offer. When we think back on those teachers we looked up to,

we don’t always remember exactly what they taught. Above

everything, we remember passion. Fire.” (said Julie)

How many of you agree with that?

On page 19

“We must speak to our students with an honesty tempered by

compassion: Our words will literally define the ways they

perceive themselves as writers.” (said Brooke)

Ogletree reminded us shortly after the book discussion that when we put our thoughts on paper, it is okay to chase rabbits!

Carol was worried and she said “Maybe I am one of those teachers [Fletcher] is speaking against.” But as we discussed her situation we decided that she probably just has high expectations for her children!

Work shopping with Cher Hendrix

She started off by asking us why are we here? What made us decide to do the Cherokee Rose Writing Project?

Sheri jokingly said “I am here for the free classes, not going to lie, BUT also to make myself a better writer to help my 4th grade students in English/Language Arts.”

Then she asked “How many people have written a fictional story before and why?

Cathy said “I wrote because I saw a lot of writing in my family. If it made us happy we would write about it.”

Charlene said “I wrote when I was a child because it was fun.”

Cher went on to give us a synopsis of what a writing workshop really was all about. She said that people will get together after writing a piece of work and sit around a table for about 2 hours and critique one another. She said to remember two things in your first writing workshop:

Leave your ego at the door
Learn to build trust in your group

She also informed us of a place called Hamidge Center for Creative Arts in Raben Gap, GA. You have to apply by sending in your writing or art work. A committee will review it and then invite you to their place. You pay $125.00 a week and it includes dinner, a studio/cabin, etc. and they have scholarships available for those who are in a financial bind.

She passed out a sheet titled “Format for Work shopping a Story” and then went over the correct way to work shop a story.

Remember the Golden Rule*

It doesn’t do anybody any good to make them feel like they are a failing writer.

During workshop everyone critiques. Everyone has to say something about the piece, so come prepared to talk.
Take the time to actually read into what was written to provide the writer with more help.
You are NOT allowed to speak during your critique- This is a time for group members to discuss strengths and weaknesses to best improve your story.
Take notes during your critique, you will have a time to talk at the end.
Read the pieces you are critiquing at least 2-3 times

1st time- read it as the reader
2nd time- read it as the writer
3rd time- read it and write notes to make improvements

At the beginning someone will be chosen to give a short synopsis of what the piece was about. It can usually be summed up in two to three sentences.

Start with the good notes then go into the areas that need improvement. Do not simply say “It didn’t work.” Provide feedback and suggestions to help improve their work.

We read a short fictional story, Wants, by Grace Paley and we did a brief writing workshop to help us out when we create our own piece.

“Tiny Little Disturbances of Man” is the book of short stories this story came out of. Cher informed us that Ogletree would not like this type of book because it “wasn’t her style.”

Then we read the short story of Shiloh, and discussed points of view.

Cher told us to move our students away from 3rd person omniscient because nobody reads that anymore.

Then we read Pam Houston’s, How to talk to a Hunter, which was written in 2nd person. We found out that the writer was talking to herself and Cher had us think about what quality or emotions would be lost or gained if we changed the point of view of this story.

Description
Dialogue
Action

These are the 3 things people will usually have in their story.

Towards the end Dan brought up a great question. He said “So when I’m in the workshop and two people have different views on my work, which one do I go with?”

Cher responded with “It depends on whatever your purpose for writing is. If you have a point you are going for, do which ever one is more closely related to that.”

Here is what we found out that you DON”T do-

DON’T describe too much

DON’T use big, descriptive words when writing dialogue. Simply stated, just say what was said.

DON’T modify verbs into adverbs. Everything does not have to be elaborated

DON’T use exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DON’T keep the parts in your work that readers tend to skip.

The point is to write something that can make the reader feel

Brandi was afraid of making common mistakes writers tend to make so she asked “Can I have the long list of rules for writing, or is there like a ‘Golden Bible’ somewhere for me to look at?” LOL

We broke into study groups to discuss our reading selections and Doheny went around making sure all were satisfied with our book choice. She took the words from Frank Smith, and said we had the choice to abandon our book if we wanted to, and that it was all about choice! Shortly afterwards we met with our mentors to get help with our teaching demonstration.

Craft Lesson w/ Doheny: Finding Significance

She said conferencing is at the heart of teaching writing. We discussed the On-and-On story and how to get kids to avoid it.

She showed us an example titled “My Weekend” which was a list of things she had done over the weekend but written in narrative form.

Doheny said to think about PURPOSE and AUDIENCE. She said you have to find a way to get children to add details. So she showed us another story with a few more details added but still it was missing the “Wow Factor.”

She told us about what Lucy Calkins says which was if we give our kids big topics they will write a lot of nothing, so you have to get to the seed of the fruit.

So, as teachers we have to get a child to pick out one thing they did over the weekend, for example, and focus completely on that topic.

Doheny said the two things that really help in writing are Balance and Purpose. She used Calkins “seed idea” which is to take a snap shot in your memory and grow that one instance into a story.

ADD DATES TO ALL OF YOUR WRITING

Fish Bowl Model Writing Groups

Doheny shared her writing called My Sister’s House, with Saurino and Ogletree doing her critique. This was to model writer’s workshop, and we got to see what and how to do it.

Ogletree and Saurino did a GREAT job critiquing Doheny’s work. They provided a positive-negative-positive feedback approach which was beneficial to both the writers and those who are critiquing.

Ogletree announced out writing groups where we got together and exchanged information. The writing groups are as follows:

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

Brandi Miranda Cathy Gary

Dan Nena Ian Esten

Sheila Julie Sheri Rochelle

Brooke Carol Debra Charlene

Sign-up sheets should be ready this morning so make sure you sign up for a day to do your Teaching Demonstration!!!!!

That’s All Folks!!!!!!!!!!!!

6-4 daily log

2009-06-08T05:51:00.001-07:00

The Cherokee Rose Chit Chat or Your Could call It Our Daily Log

June 4, 2009

We had the pleasure of listening to and learning from Chad Davidson. We introduced ourselves to as a way for him to learn our names. He stressed the importance of knowing your student’s by their first name; this creates a community among everyone.

Geary actually taught Chad how to use the Promethium Board. Way to go Geary.

Some points that Chad made:

* We all have a childlike fascination with poems.

*Don’t analyze a poem as an equation.

* Most poems are more concrete over the abstract.

* Push the limits; write like no one has written before.

* concrete/abstract

* show don’t tell

* poem are specificity, specificity, specificity

* privilege Gremanic or Latinate

* “ Poetry is about the how.”

*Play games with the words. That is what poets do. If you like the sound, use it again on the next line.

* “Verbal Economy” – Words can be free

example: stench, bouquet, cockroach

* When you hear a poem or certain words, they should make your ears perk up like a dog’s ears would perk if he heard his name being called.

Eston provided a delicious breakfast of cinnamon rolls and danishes. Cathleen also wowed us with her amazing meatless “meatloaf”. Thanks for the breakfast ladies.

Charlene shared her notes from our Wednesday class. We finally discovered some truths and a few little white lies about each other. Did you know that Tami is now a matchmaker? She wants Charlene to hook up with a guy that rides his Harley to the square. I think Tami secretly wants to sit in the side car, but don’t tell.

I don’t think Miranda really knows her name.

Tami is a little jealous of Cathleen for having her senior prom at Heidelburg Castle, even though the balloons and crape paper made the VFW look very romantic.

Leslie Rutledge and Shoney Brice shared a Teaching Demonstration.

Burning Question:

How can writing memoirs help improve narrative writing?

*They both discussed how gifts of momiors are bright or dark spots in your life.

*They focus on a brief moment of time. These memories help the writer to write about the small moment.

*Leslie and Shoney shared the set of teacher resource books written by Calkins. They also showed the video of Calkins discussing with a group of children how to use memoirs to help with writing a narrative. ( Calkins stated: “The first words you write can be anyone’s words. Make them you’re your own.” Ex. Make a normal kitchen your kitchen.)

*We also found out that Heineken not only produces beer, but also publish books. Tami will share her set of books with us.

*We broke into groups and shared the items that we brought.

Cathy shared her magnet from New York City. It sounds like she got a little wild and crazy in the city that never sleeps.

Sherry shared her experiences about moving from one town to another while in service. The house was very special.

*We wrote for 30 minutes about our special something.

* Here are a list of authors:

Cynthia Rylant

Lee Bennett Hopkins

James Howe

Eve Bunting

Denis Lewis Patrick

Patricia Polacco

Chad Davidson continued…

* After discussing the poem Cigarettes, we discovered that Tami wanted to marry the Marlboro Man.

* He suggested to get a “trigger” subject then get away from it.

* It’s easy to write about everyday items.

* Think small

* Don’t feel the need to explain, let the reader explain it.

CHALLENGES

( They must be ready in two weeks.)

1. memorize a poem, (find one that is outside of your comfort zone)

Places to look for your poem:

> Poets.org

> poems.com

> versedaily.org

>fishouse.org

Find a poem that has been written by a Modern America poet

Bob Dylan, Chad Davidson, Aaron Kramer, Weldon Kees, Philips Levine, Frank O’Hara, Charles Olson

2. Write a “Martian” poem.

3. Linguistic challenge

Gobble up Tally up

Wolf down mark it down

Make some up and bring them in two weeks.

We broke into our writing groups. Make sure if you miss group time, you must critique someone’s writing even though you were out.

That is the law of the land!

Penny explained how to upload onto Google Docs, but Tami’s bunny hopped across in front of me and I began to follow it. You will have to ask Penny how to upload. Sorry

Ideas for the classroom when using memoirs:

Memory books

Class memoir box – share at the end of the year

Memory quilt

Tissue box could be turned into a memory box. Write memories on paper and keep in the box. Give away as a gift for later.

June 4

2009-06-08T05:30:00.000-07:00

DAILY BLOG
A review of June 3, 2009.

Breakfast
•Miranda is our official overachiever for providing us with a detailed Daily Log and a scrumptious breakfast. The cereal and muffins started our day off right and you brought the best ice ever! (oops- no exclamation marks)
•Thank you Eston for initiating getting pizza for lunch and thanks again to our overachiever for organizing the delivery.
•We Signed Up for TDs.
•Brooke, you’re signed up for the morning of June 17.
•Specific times and dates are posted on the “Questions” board.
–Week 2
•Julie, Brandi, Sheila, Eston, and Miranda
–Week 3
•Dan, Ian, Cathy, Brooke, Charlene, Geary
–Week 4
•Debra, Sheri, Carol, Rachelle, Nena

Read Around
•Miranda- once again proving she is the official overachiever- leads the Read Around like a pro. Great idea about us giving a synopsis (it was not only helpful but also good practice for workshopping).
•Dan started the conversation off with suggesting we all read Graves, D. – Discover Your Own Literacy because it is very relevant to what we’re doing in this writing project. The article shares the epiphany that teachers can enjoy reading and writing along with their students.
•Cathy shared her experience with free writing in her Kindergarten class. She got the idea from Orientation and said that her students loved it when she shared her own free-writing.
•Carol and Cathy read Learning How to Teach Writing by Atwell, N. and shared how it talked about teachers moving away from their comfort zone of same old teaching and saw improvements.
•Carol discussed how teachers can get stuck in a style and may need to change it sometimes to be an effective teacher.
•“You need to know when to throw it away.”- Carol
•Rachelle was reminded of herself while reading, Listen to Teach by Graves, D..
•She gets to know her students very well because of her open ears.
•Recommends all of us to reread the bullet points on p. 85.
•Shares her technique of listening in the classroom- The Speaking Stone
•Brandi wondered if that would work with her future 3rd graders. Sheri explains how the technique could work with even 4th graders if you set the expectations high at the beginning of the year.
•Cathy uses the Learning Focus Strategy called Think-Pair-Share and has her Kindergartners share what their partner talked about instead of their own opinions to practice their listening skills.
•Brandi and Charlene read Delpit L.- Language, Diversity, and Learning to learn more about how to approach codeswitching in our classrooms.
•A lot of us seem to have diversity concerns in our classrooms.
•We all agreed that English is very complex.
•Ian mentioned how texting has become a popular writing language.
•Cathleen reminds us that for a lot of students, Standard English is only addressed at school and that Standard English gets the job- “culture with the capital.”
•We discussed technology with children. Food for Thought- Children are proficient with texting but never taught it. Why?
•The purpose of this Read Around was to get us in the Flash Drive to get an idea of what was there- it was successful.
•A recommended book to read about setting up writing- Breakthroughs by Amy Bauman and Art Peterson.

“We all have bunnies in our life.”
•Gary is our Time Keeper while Julie helped hold his thought.
•We learned that Penny has 8 children! (again with the exclamation mark)
Technology Tools
•Penny gave an excellent presentation of the New Literacys and shared her dinosaur phone experience. She’s a digital immigrant. Doheney feels more like a digital alien but claims she is digitally hopeful. What are you?
•Penny recommends the authors Wilhelm, Luke, and James Paul G.
•After a quote by Elliot Eisner, Tammy brags about having her picture taken with him. She also throws in that he remembers her well. She then questioned if that is a good thing.

•We learned that the NAEP reports national assessments on writing, reading, and math every four years. However, the pattern of results hasn’t really changed. These assessments help set the standards.
•Eston shared that the majority of incarcerated people read on a 4th grade level.
•Cathleen made a great point, “It costs more to incarcerate than to educate.”
•Eston also shared the literacy program she is forced to use at her school called the Dr. Sarah approach. The idea is to stretch children’s knowledge rather than build it up. Eston is not a fan.
•Carol mentions that teachers are often working so hard with the lower-end achievers that they don’t always challenge their higher kids enough.

•Penny shares a video on the Doll Experiment. We discovered that the majority of Black children chose the White dolls as the “good” ones and the “prettiest.” They chose the Black dolls as the “bad” ones. It was heartbreaking to see the little girl recognize herself in the Black doll after just labeling it as the “bad” one.
•On a more positive note, Good Morning America redid the experiment after Obama was elected and the results changed.

Technology
•Penny introduced many of us to
–Twitter- a way to stalk people
–Flixr- an online photo album
–Google Docs- ability to collaboratively work on documents without the annoyance of email attachments
–voicethread.com- a way to comment in different ways to a picture
–youthradio.com- public broadcasts created by kids
–trailfire.com- a way to make a collection of web pages and share collections
–visuwords.com- the coolest dictionary, thesaurus, etc. ever! (I can’t help it. I like exclamation marks.)
•Then we got to explore the different sites ourselves to help get over our tech fears.
•We passed around a hardcover book and a calendar filled with photos of Tami and Cathleen.

Schedule Changes
•Geary handled the changes very well.
•Cathleen mentioned pacing our writing pieces so we don’t get overwhelmed.
•We learn more about the Kudzu Writing Camp next Friday. Got a sneak peek at the flip cameras we’ll use.
•Talked more about the 3 published pieces. Reminder, they’ll be placed in an anthology for public viewing so be wary of personal pieces.
•Given freedom to work for 2 hours.

•We regrouped and talked about how we spent our time. Most of us are still improving our TDs.
•We were told that you can’t get out of Workshop- if you miss it, you need to participate through email.
•Cathleen shared her Tattle Bunny idea and her love for Middle Schoolers. Her words- “If it was up to me I would send them off to a colony like Lord of the Flies.” Followed by her “Duh, duh, duh” and “Robble, Robble, Robble” experiences.

•Tami shared a fabulous Haiku.
–“Ode to the yellow dog. He runs very (pause) fast…” Then a bunny came along so we didn’t get to hear the end.
•Cathleen also makes stuff up on the spot.
-Synopsis
-Strengths
-Suggestios
-The 3 “S” for Workshop
•Then we were off to work again.

Workshopping
•We regrouped to discuss feelings from the Writers and Responders.
•Overall, we seemed to agree that it was an uncomfortable but positive experience on both sides.
•Congratulations to Sheila for taking a risk and finding the poet in herself.
•Cathleen is proud of all of us for breaking out of our comfort zones.
•FYI, if you’re workshopping Miranda’s piece you may say “This line looks like crap.” but for the rest of us please phrase your negatives in the form of questions to spare hurt feelings.
•Carol wondered if Nena was just a good pretender behind her smile. Did we ever find out?
Discoveries
•Ian doesn’t think he’s had anyone explain his writing to him in person. It’s always just been written down on his papers.
•Tami snorts
•When you get married life ends and you stop traveling.
•What the heck is an “epigrammatic?”
•Tami chants a haiku about Chad Davidson, our visitor today.
•Things started getting too silly so we took a break.
Writing Marathon
•Mary and Shoney share their experience and prepare us for Friday’s trip to Bowton (Sorry, no idea how to spell that).
•Reminders:
–Go as a writer. Take the teacher out.
–Relax and have fun.
–The map is not the determiner.
–Need to Carpool (leaves UWG @ 9:00)
–Meet at Bowton Coffee Shop @ 9:30.
–Breakfast will be served there.
–Wear comfortable shoes.
–Bring water if needed.
–Bring a journal and a pen.
–No big bags.
–Return back to Coffee Shop between 12:00 and 12:30
•Shoney suggests taking ten minutes to stop and write or longer “If it blows your skirt up.”
National Writing Project website
•Cathleen shared some articles from the nwp site that made her think of some of us. Tons of great resources! You can even read about dead canoes.
The End
•We shared leftover pizza, packed up, and went home.

•Did you remember to bring your significant item today?

•Welcome Chad Davidson!

June 1 Brandi

2009-06-07T16:26:00.001-07:00

Cherokee Rose Writing Project: June 1, 2009

Move in and unpack.

Home-style cookin’ from Debra’s Diner.

Thank you Debra for all your hard work.

Cathleen: Orientation, schedule, and syllabus Review

Daily Log Presentation Model

Penny modeled a daily log presentation and identified the differences between digital natives and digital immigrants. She also spoke of a time long, long ago, when all people didn’t have computers, perhaps during the early Mesozoic Era.

Daily Log Recorder: Take detailed notes

Type notes in Microsoft Word

E-mail to Penny, or post on Googledocs Present log the following day 8:00-8:30

It’s Official!

The bathroom is now Unisex

Ian is the temporary “tech-guy” until Dr. Baylen returns

*If you show up, and you get everything done you get an (A). Ogletree/Doheney:

*Later amended by Ogletree: If you take our books, you get an (F)!

Teaching for Social Justice:

Tami was “drugged and loopy”. Before presenting, she provided a disclaimer,

“I am not responsible for what I say or do”

The class voted, and we decided it would be in Tami’s best interest if she began all

forms of communication in this manner.

Big Ideas:

The importance of voice, teaching social justice, and listening loudly

No matter how young or old everyone has a voice to share

We have to “listen loudly” to hear the voices

We teach individual little people, not numbers or subjects

Engaged pedagogy-shared learning experience model

By inviting students lives in the classroom we make students feel significant

It’s all about the students

Share, Share, Share

Narrative Poetic Experience:

Where I’m From by: George Ella Lyon (Read aloud, Writing time, Share)

We are from……..

“pop not coke”, gumbo, Red Stripe beer, and grits-“not that instant stuff”

Deep south, Hernando Beach, and muddy creeks

Doodlebug, “keep your head up”, and Dinners flyin’ off the porch in rage

“Show me your company and I’ll show you who you are” and “Birds of a feather flock together”

Charlene got a little homesick sharing, but she tried again. That-a-girl, Charlene!

Resources:

Paulo Freire-Engaged Pedagogy http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/contemporaryed/Paulo_Freire/paulo_freire.html

StoryCorps website- honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening www.Storycorps.org

Studs Terkel: A major contributor to StoryCorps and the rise of social justice

National Writing Project Website www.nwp.org

Netiquette:

Thank you, Penny, for provided tips for avoiding distractions during the W.W.

***We are responsible for self-monitoring***

Eyes and ears on speaker

Wireless during writing time/breaks

Cell phones-silent/vibrate

Headphones in the back if needed (not while Cathleen is talkingJ

Study Group Selection and Planning

Lunch/Group mentor meeting

Teaching Demonstration: Christy

Topic: Using Author’s Texts as Writing Mentors

Modeled Storytelling allowed time to talk time to write

Shared student writing time to share ask questions

Key Points:

Let students talk

Use high quality literature to scaffold

Allow students to become the authors they want to be

(even if it involves graphic novels)

Empowerment:

Cathleen shared a favorite quote: “Ignorance is contempt prior to investigation” Herbert Spencer?

She challenged us saying, “Open our mind and hear, then make informed decisions.”

She also said we must not wait on others to empower us, we must empower ourselves by listening, investigating, questioning, and analyzing.

Housekeeping:

At the end of every day:

Turn off coffee pot

Turn off all plugs and lights

Empty trash

Lock door

Daily Log 6-2-09

2009-06-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

Tuesday June 2, 2009

Breakfast: Julie made breakfast this morning. She had sausage & cream cheese crescent rolls, pancakes, and watermelon. Julie the food was delicious! Don’t forget to put that yummy recipe on our blog.

Olgetree started the morning out by saying “Were all waking up today a little bit. Yesterday we were all on time. Today. . . . Not so much!!!

We were prompted with the question “What did you think about last night when you got home, or this morning when you woke up?”
Cathy said “When I got up this morning, I felt like I wanted to write!” I think we all are starting to get a deeper connection into the writing world, aren’t we?

Read around with Ralph Fletcher’s book, What a writer needs
The majority of us agreed that this book was a pretty easy read. We discussed the fact that we were actually interested in reading on farther in the book than instructed to go.

Some parts of the book really spoke to us and here are a few of our favorite parts:
On page 11
“Mrs. Damon took a vigilant stance toward my penmanship
problem. She made it OUR problem, and set me to work on
rectifying it.” (said Miranda)
“But in first grade I was branded with a sloppy personality,
and I never quite got over it.” (said Eston)

On page 17 (which seemed to be our favorite page)
“Any writer who labors under such a right/wrong schema will
never allow herself the fluency and playfulness, the time and
perseverance she will need over the long haul to become a
skillful writer.”
“We need to redefine the success ethic, not just in writing
classes but during the entire school day, to mean not only
“Did you get it right?” but also “Did you take a chance? Did
you try something you have never tried before?””

“Passion remains the most important quality the mentor has to
offer. When we think back on those teachers we looked up to,
we don’t always remember exactly what they taught. Above
everything, we remember passion. Fire.” (said Julie)

How many of you agree with that?

On page 19
“We must speak to our students with an honesty tempered by
compassion: Our words will literally define the ways they
perceive themselves as writers.” (said Brooke)

Ogletree reminded us shortly after the book discussion that when we put our thoughts on paper, it is okay to chase rabbits!

Carol was worried and she said “Maybe I am one of those teachers [Fletcher] is speaking against.” But as we discussed her situation we decided that she probably just has high expectations for her children!

Work shopping with Cher Hendrix
She started off by asking us why are we here? What made us decide to do the Cherokee Rose Writing Project?

Sheri jokingly said “I am here for the free classes, not going to lie, BUT also to make myself a better writer to help my 4th grade students in English/Language Arts.”

Then she asked “How many people have written a fictional story before and why?

Cathy said “I wrote because I saw a lot of writing in my family. If it made us happy we would write about it.”

Charlene said “I wrote when I was a child because it was fun.”

Cher went on to give us a synopsis of what a writing workshop really was all about. She said that people will get together after writing a piece of work and sit around a table for about 2 hours and critique one another. She said to remember two things in your first writing workshop:

· Leave your ego at the door
· Learn to build trust in your group

She also informed us of a place called Hamidge Center for Creative Arts in Raben Gap, GA. You have to apply by sending in your writing or art work. A committee will review it and then invite you to their place. You pay $125.00 a week and it includes dinner, a studio/cabin, etc. and they have scholarships available for those who are in a financial bind.

She passed out a sheet titled “Format for Work shopping a Story” and then went over the correct way to work shop a story.

· Remember the Golden Rule*
It doesn’t do anybody any good to make them feel like they are a failing writer.
· During workshop everyone critiques. Everyone has to say something about the piece, so come prepared to talk.
· Take the time to actually read into what was written to provide the writer with more help.
· You are NOT allowed to speak during your critique- This is a time for group members to discuss strengths and weaknesses to best improve your story.
· Take notes during your critique, you will have a time to talk at the end.
· Read the pieces you are critiquing at least 2-3 times
o 1st time- read it as the reader
o 2nd time- read it as the writer
o 3rd time- read it and write notes to make improvements
· At the beginning someone will be chosen to give a short synopsis of what the piece was about. It can usually be summed up in two to three sentences.
· Start with the good notes then go into the areas that need improvement. Do not simply say “It didn’t work.” Provide feedback and suggestions to help improve their work.

We read a short fictional story, Wants, by Grace Paley and we did a brief writing workshop to help us out when we create our own piece.

“Tiny Little Disturbances of Man” is the book of short stories this story came out of. Cher informed us that Ogletree would not like this type of book because it “wasn’t her style.”

Then we read the short story of Shiloh, and discussed points of view.

Cher told us to move our students away from 3rd person omniscient because nobody reads that anymore.

Then we read Pam Houston’s, How to talk to a Hunter, which was written in 2nd person. We found out that the writer was talking to herself and Cher had us think about what quality or emotions would be lost or gained if we changed the point of view of this story.

· Description
· Dialogue
· Action
These are the 3 things people will usually have in their story.

Towards the end Dan brought up a great question. He said “So when I’m in the workshop and two people have different views on my work, which one do I go with?”

Cher responded with “It depends on whatever your purpose for writing is. If you have a point you are going for, do which ever one is more closely related to that.”

Here is what we found out that you DON”T do-

DON’T describe too much
DON’T use big, descriptive words when writing dialogue. Simply stated, just say what was said.
DON’T modify verbs into adverbs. Everything does not have to be elaborated
DON’T use exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DON’T keep the parts in your work that readers tend to skip.

The point is to write something that can make the reader feel

Brandi was afraid of making common mistakes writers tend to make so she asked “Can I have the long list of rules for writing, or is there like a ‘Golden Bible’ somewhere for me to look at?” LOL

We broke into study groups to discuss our reading selections and Doheny went around making sure all were satisfied with our book choice. She took the words from Frank Smith, and said we had the choice to abandon our book if we wanted to, and that it was all about choice! Shortly afterwards we met with our mentors to get help with our teaching demonstration.

Craft Lesson w/ Doheny: Finding Significance
She said conferencing is at the heart of teaching writing. We discussed the On-and-On story and how to get kids to avoid it.

She showed us an example titled “My Weekend” which was a list of things she had done over the weekend but written in narrative form.

Doheny said to think about PURPOSE and AUDIENCE. She said you have to find a way to get children to add details. So she showed us another story with a few more details added but still it was missing the “Wow Factor.”

She told us about what Lucy Calkins says which was if we give our kids big topics they will write a lot of nothing, so you have to get to the seed of the fruit.

So, as teachers we have to get a child to pick out one thing they did over the weekend, for example, and focus completely on that topic.
Doheny said the two things that really help in writing are Balance and Purpose. She used Calkins “seed idea” which is to take a snap shot in your memory and grow that one instance into a story.

ADD DATES TO ALL OF YOUR WRITING

Fish Bowl Model Writing Groups
Doheny shared her writing called My Sister’s House, with Saurino and Ogletree doing her critique. This was to model writer’s workshop, and we got to see what and how to do it.
Ogletree and Saurino did a GREAT job critiquing Doheny’s work. They provided a positive-negative-positive feedback approach which was beneficial to both the writers and those who are critiquing.

Ogletree announced out writing groups where we got together and exchanged information. The writing groups are as follows:

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
Brandi Miranda Cathy Gary
Dan Nena Ian Esten
Sheila Julie Sheri Rochelle
Brooke Carol Debra Charlene

Sign-up sheets should be ready this morning so make sure you sign up for a day to do your Teaching Demonstration!!!!!

That’s All Folks!!!!!!!!!!!!

Orientation Retreat - Daily Log

2009-05-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

May 2, 2009

Cherokee Rose Writing Project Retreat

Breakfast: We were wooed and welcomed to our retreat by the smells and flavors of Tami’s delicious breakfast casserole (or was it soufflé or quiche). You out did yourself on that one, Tami. Fresh fruit, donuts and other treats rounded out our first meal together. It was all good. Slurp! Sip! Sup! Yum!

Icebreaker:

We began the day with a trip into our imaginations by time traveling to the year 3009. Upon arrival we found that we were on an archeological site titled Uni sity of Georg. As archiologists, our task was to interpret how an ancient civilization from the year 2009 would use some of the artifacts discovered on the site. Some of your miraculous revelations were as follows:

* Miranda discovered star shaped sticky things. Through her extensive research, she concluded that the 2009 Homo sapiens thought the objects were sent from the heavens by gods and were rewarded to only the most chosen people.

* Brandi uncovered an ancient eating devise that could be used by any species with or without thumbs.

* Ian and company determined that their devices could be linked together to become an ancient time travel machine. Through your many efforts, new discoveries were made. Many thanks to you, our talented researchers who participated in this historically important event.

Teachers Teaching Teachers:

Shoney Brice from ISI 08 shared her many experiences with the Cherokee Rose Writing Project including the anxieties she felt when she first arrived at the ISI, the close bonds with her new found friends, the feeling of living the writerly life, helping her students discover the writer within, meeting Ralph fletcher at the National Writing Project Conference, and sharing her experiences with other teachers. Yep, once a CRWP fellow, always a CRWP fellow.

Demonstrating a Demonstration: How can teachers motivate students to want to write and what is a demonstration anyway? We developed a beginning idea of what a demonstration is while learning more about writing in the classroom. Based on the works of Donald Graves, Peter Elbow, Nancy Atwell, and Lucy Calkins, Cathleen shared with us how to motivate young writers. Young writers need a teacher who:

* understands writing on demand

* shows and tells how to write

* develops a writing community where it is safe to share

* includes time for writing

* provides opportunities for feedback

* invites students to join in writing adventures

* provides an authentic audience who celebrates published works

Cathleen then demonstrated for all of us how she uncovers her writing spaces. Through the process we learned that she has a “condo” for her dogs and a marvelous “farm”! The rest of us participated in a “forced choice” to select a topic, and did some free writing. Did you notice our many new participants who shared their writing? That was fantastic.

All in all, we gained a clearer understanding of what a demonstration is and became better writers as well. However, participants looked like "Doe in the Headlights" when told to bring drafts of their teaching demonstrations in by June 1.

Lunch yet?

Lunch was delayed just a bit so that participants could learn about blogging the CRWP way. Danilo and Penny showed how to sign on to gmail to contribute to the CRWP Blog. Little did you know that there is a technical side to Writing Project.

Yes, Lunch!

Cathleen and Penny shared a scrumptious lunch of spaghetti and meatballs, tossed salad, bread, and cookies. Would you believe it took Cathleen days and days to make her homemade meatballs and Penny baked cookies for hours? Don’t.

Writing Project is ...

Tami introduced us to the many “opportunities” we will have during writing project including:

* the difference between a log, blog, teacher demonstration, writing group, inquiry group, and peer conferencing

* signing up for your chance to bring breakfast

* how to get a “legal” parking space

* how registration occurs including 6 incredible hours of credit

* how to find the CRWP website

* the many treasures to be found on the NWP website

* how inquiry groups will be determined on our Blog … so what do you want to learn anyway?

* What should you do if you have a question? Ask it on the Blog … our CRWP social network … and you thought Twitter was the latest greatest social buzz.

Can't wait to see what happens on our first day!

You may also view today's Log on googledocs (link below)

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfk3v42w_146g7ww32hp&hl=en

Enjoy!

2009-05-31T18:25:00.000-07:00

2009-05-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

Are you curious about this new addition to the CRWP Blog? It will all be explained on the first day of our Invitational Summer Institute (ISI) 09.

See you soon,

Penny