Friday, June 15, 2007

Week in Review

New ideas I've gained:
Ways I contributed:
Questions raised:
Feelings I've experienced:
Thoughts about the small writing group:
Insights about myself as a writer:
Posted by at

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kelly's Week in Review

New ideas I've gained - Oh, so many. Reading out loud and with gusto is so cool. Remembering how to make my students feel safe in the classroom. Learning should be BIG, visual, hands on.

Ways I contributed - being brave by reading, jumpin in, even when inside I was screaming, "No! Don't do it!"

Questions raised - why have I not done this before? How many NWP opportunities can I participate in before someone says - "Hey, you need to move over sister."

Feelings I have experienced - courage, happiness, trust, confidence.

Thoughts about SWG - Wow, what can I say about these talented people. Zak - you rock with your creativity and devotion to creative classroom practices. Teri - you really care about your students and your teaching and it shows in your easy to read prose. Don't forget to mail that letter! Julie - We missed you near the end and hope for good health. Thank you for being brave, for writing outside your comfort zone and then courageously sharing with us!

Insights about myself as a writer - I love to write with others and am learning, even after a workshop drama, that I can train myself to share again with confidence - maybe. :)

2:44 PM
Ashlei said...

NIIG: Go-charts, writing territories, scaffolding, blogging, confined conversation

QRIMM: Why did I stop writing when I started teaching?

TASGW: I really like giving and getting feedback in a situation where people really care about what I have to say, even when it doesn't affect their grade.

WIC: writing, reading, talking, falling behind....

FIE: excitement, exhaustion, amazement-you all are such great teachers!, ovewhelmed.

IAMAAW:I like to write, I like to have it read, I like to know what other people say about it. Being in an environment that demands writing helps me produce writing. Practice makes perfect.

I love this!

2:47 PM
Ms. James said...

Ideas are abundant...from new ways to flesh out my own thoughts on paper...to uses and applications in the classroom. Laura's powerful yet simple way of approaching poetry writing makes it accessible to me as a poet and I'm sure my kids would have responded well to the lessons. Teri brought me to tears. She also opened that door to using or copying a great idea to make my own. (I had grown very tired of looking at the "prescription" poetry of fill in the blanks from earlier middle school years.) Teri's poems she worked with lent themselves beautifully to creative thought (as did the aromatic spray and music). You touched the hearts and the senses.
Liz reminded us all that we are all kids at heart, and no matter how old we all are (and our kids) we love to be read to. I love to read out loud to my students, and you just validated my reasoning for doing so. Michael's writing exercise made me look at the way a story is created and woven. Powerful stuff. It dazzled me to hear renditions from our own group and those from his night class.
Insights about myself as a writer??? I have a long way to go, Baby. Ways I have contributed? Good question. I have tried to keep up with the pace...a challenge. I have loved hearing the writings from my small group and have appreciated their support in hearing and reading mine.
Questions in my mind...don't know...don't really have any right now.
Guess that's it. I do need more time, but don't we all?

2:48 PM
Liz Salchow said...

New ideas: sentence poetry, poem starters, blogging, and putting "myself"/my voice back into my creative writing. I cannot wait to show 2nd graders how to turn a sentence into a poem THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO RHYME! They are so conditioned to Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein and Mother Goose. I am going to save student work on voice for Michael's presentations in the future. 2nd graders might not be good at creating dynamic dialogue, but they can anthropromorphize inannimate objects and create tension through the experiences of that object. I'll be interested to see what comes of that.

Ways I contributed: I shared my demo this week about using Read Aloud texts to spark creative writing in genre. I also participated with my SWG and wrote letters of unconditional positive regard to the presenters.

Questions raised in my mind: Will I maintain my energy for two more weeks? Will my 2nd graders be able to learn to post on a newly created classroom blog? And, if they do, will they post?

Feelings I've experienced: What a week of growth...overwhelmed, nervous, excited, relieved, vulnerable, respected, validated...

Thoughts I have about how our small group works: We are becoming like a family, and I am so glad we have a fourth member now. The family feels complete.

Insights about myself as a writer: I am finding that I have been so lonely. Much of my writing is cathartic and introspective. That's where the vulnerable part comes in...and hopefully comes out.

2:54 PM
Laura Burdette said...

Laura's Week in Review

Everyone's presentation has been amazing...Liz's lesson applies to my new job... and Barb, I'm getting more comfortable with this blogging monster every day (she even has some information about an elementary librarian blogging)... the other lessons I will have in my back pocket while I teach a night class this fall.

Questions raised--How can we move to the site to the next level? How can we affect more teachers and therefore affect the lives and successes of more students?

Feelings I have experienced--Excitement, eagerness to implement the lessons, insecurities, commraderie

Thoughts about SWG--This is my third year with OWP and every year has been a unique, learning experience. Keri is amazing!

Insights about myself as a writer--Stories are everywhere, in everyone I meet, they are hiding near the vending machine and beside the coffee pot; I love finding them!

5:33 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)