Holiday Writing Ideas

A couple of weeks ago, I submitted my final newspaper column for the time being. The newspaper is going to replace me with student writers, which is quite fine with me. I'm a writing teacher -- I love it when kids have something to say AND a place to say it. The local newspaper is a great forum for students. That said, though -- if you need a weekly newspaper columnist, let me know. I work cheap.
Anyway, here's the last piece. Hope you enjoy it.
_________________

When I was in high school, my father wrote me a letter out of the blue.

It was a short piece, a one-page note about the excitement of the “adventure” that I was on (I was on a church mission trip at the time, and was not told where we would be going or what we would be doing until we arrived.). My mother also wrote a letter, making for quite a special moment when I opened the “care package” from home.

I still have the letters in a box of treasures that I’ve kept from my childhood. I’ll always have them, because the words are permanent, forever there on the paper for me to read and reread whenever I need a reminder of that special time. I also keep a collection of the letters and cards my wife has written for me. They are in a special place where I can reach them whenever I want a reminder of special moments.

Writing is a way to make a mark on the world and on the people and issues that we care about. We write to share our experiences, our questions, and ourselves. At school, we teach students the conventions of writing so that they can communicate their thoughts, ideas, questions and experiences with whomever they choose to share them.

December being a month of gifts and giving, there is no better time to share your writing withthe people who are important to you. Here are a few prompts that you might use to complete a writing project for someone special this holiday. Sit down and try to get some writing done. You might choose a night as a family to sit down together and write presents for each other this year, or for family members in faraway places that can’t be with you. Remember to use all of your senses in your writing – each sense of taste, touch, smell, hearing and sight can bring something special and memorable to your essays, stories, letters and poems.

1. Write about how your family spends the holidays. Who or what makes that time together special? What unique family traditions do you have? Ask someone who knows how they might have gotten started and write down what they tell you.


2. Think about the places that you travel during this time of year. Who do you travel with? Where do you go? How do you get there? Have any crazy things happened during your travels?


3. In many families, holidays involve some pretty important shared meals. Write about a family meal that you remember as being exceptionally good or special or downright unusual. Was it the quality of the food? A special family dish or treat? Smells or tastes? Who was there to share the meal with you? What made it such a special or strange occasion?


4. Put all of the names of your family members into a hat. Ask each family member to draw one name. Write about the family member that you’ve picked. What makes them unique or special in your family? What would you like to tell them that you’ve never had the time to say or share? Is there a special memory that you have that you would like to get down on paper? Take an hour as a family to write about each other.

Whatever topic you choose to write about, make sure that you share your writing with your family. You can publish in a variety of ways:

• Send out the best family writing in a holiday letter or card.
• Box and wrap special pieces and give them as gifts.
• Post all the writing on a family website. Share the website with friends and family all over the world.
• Type up the good stuff, frame it, and hang it somewhere around the house where
  you will see it regularly.
• Set aside a corner of the fridge for your writing. Take turns being the “featured author” at home.

Take the time to write with your family. You will truly treasure the stories and experiences that you have to share with one another.

Bud Hunt is on the board of the Colorado State University Writing Project, teaches at Olde Columbine High School in Longmont, Colorado, and blogs at www.budtheteacher.com. Send e-mail to budtheteacher@gmail.com

NYTimes Editorial on Educational Practices in Japan

Interesting editorial in the New York Times today about Japanese teacher training programs. Here's a highlight:

The book has spawned growing interest in the Japanese teacher-development strategy in which teachers work cooperatively and intensively to improve their methods. This process, known as "lesson study," allows teachers to revise and refine lessons that are then shared with others, sometimes through video and sometimes at conventions. In addition to helping novices, this system builds a publicly accessible body of knowledge about what works in the classroom.

The lesson-study groups focus on refining methods that improve student understanding. In doing so, the groups go step by step, laying out successful strategies for teaching specific lessons. This reflects the Japanese view that successful teaching is the product of intensive teacher development and self-scrutiny.

Sound familiar? Here's my letter to the editor on the subject:

To The Editors:

In Why the United States Should Look to Japan for Better Schools, you lauded the Japanese practice of “lesson-study groups” in which teachers come together to share best practices, thereby promoting instructional mastery and student achievement.

While such practices may not be commonplace in American public schools or university education programs, they do occur in 189 locations around the U.S. every summer.

The National Writing Project (NWP) offers fellowships to teachers interested in improving their pedagogy, increasing their resources and expanding their professional networks. The month-long summer institutes focus on teacher research, writing, and the sharing of best practices through peer-to-peer teaching demonstrations. Following the institutes, teachers return to their own schools and districts to offer professional development to their colleagues. As stated on the NWP web site, the main purposes are “developing teacher knowledge and leadership in their home communities and putting this knowledge and leadership to work to improve student achievement”.

We don’t need to look to Japan for a model with which to revitalize American education; we need to recognize the successful models we already have and begin to integrate them into the mainstream of American teacher training.

Sincerely,

Megan Freeman
Fellow, Colorado State University Writing Project

Coverage Continues

Joey, a RUWP tech liaison, is also live-blogging the NWP Meeting. Here's his take on today's kick off sessions.

Poetry Idol?

Cool.

By HILLEL ITALIE
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The National Endowment for the Arts and the publisher of Poetry Magazine have organized a national poetry reading competition for high school students, with the winner receiving a $20,000 college scholarship.
“There’s a twofold importance in a program like this,” Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
“One half is education; students come into contact with great poetry and language and learn it by heart. There’s also an equal, and often overlooked practical importance. It will improve the student’s command of language, and will provide much needed training for speaking in public. A student speaking well will do better in the job market and better in life.”
The program, co-sponsored by the NEA and the Chicago-based Poetry Foundation, was officially announced Thursday in Pittsburgh at the annual convention of the National Council of Teachers of English.

(Cross posted at Bud the Teacher)

NWP National Meeting

While I'm not at the NWP National Meeting this year, I know that we're well represented. Several board members are present and some are even presenting.
I'm following the events via blogs like this one from folks who are posting as stuff happens. Thanks, Red Cedar WP and everyone else sharing info for those of us left behind.
I'm only mostly jealous.

A Loss

James Gray, the founder of the National Writing Project, has passed away. I never met the man, but he's been making a difference in my life, and the life of my students, for the last five years or more.
Well done, sir.

Teacher as Researcher Gathering

The Teacher as Researcher group will meet the 4th Friday of the month - that's Friday, October 28th. Everyone is invited to bring their current classroom questions and a few bucks for a drink to Starry Night Cafe at 3:45. It's a great chance to catch up and talk about our work. We'll be out of there by 5-ish, or move on to other nearby venues for more writing, talking, and relaxing. See you there!

New Student Blog

Hi everyone!

I started a blog with my poetry club at school. Check out The Wednesday Afternoon Poetry Club. The club consists of twelve girls in grades 9 and 10, and we meet twice a month as part of the school day. I thought the blog would be a way for us to get a lot more out of the group, and create an online writing community. In the three days we've been at it, they've already posted 15 poems, and commented on all of them, so I think it's working! I used the NWP e-anthology's bless-press-address format for soliciting comments, and that's working well, too.

It sure would be awesome if some other teacher started an online writing group at a different school...then students could visit each other's blog and share feedback...

Any takers?

Thank you, Billy Collins

Here's the poem inspired by Billy Collins's visit last week...

We'd Like to Thank The Ready-Mix Concrete Company

In the crowded auditorium
(with the professors
and the farmers
and the students
with tooled leather journals on their laps)
noticing the art nouveau flowers
on the recently renovated walls
I listen with appreciation
to the list of sponsors and donors
who made the event possible
and I look up in surprise at the last name mentioned

the company that created a foundation
on which to support the poet’s visit

who paved the way to bring him
to this former sugar beet town

who smoothed out the bumps
that rose along the way

and cemented the date in the minds
of all who were lucky enough
early enough
organized enough to get a ticket.

There is great hope for a civilization
where in a world of economic depressions
and wars
natural disasters
and famine
concrete companies bring
poets laureate
to stand on wooden platforms
in vintage theaters
to share their poetry
with the gathered people.

Thank you, Ready-Mix Concrete.

September 29th Coloradoan Article

Extra Helpings of Education (I forgot what the title was edited into)
By Greg Pierson

The other day I observed a woman ladling food onto her husband’s plate at the all-you-can-eat buffet. I was curious – obviously this man was perfectly capable of helping himself. I mean, why would you help a person with something they could do for themselves? And then the teacher in me kicked in. How can parents and teachers get students to quit playing victim and help themselves?
I do not want this to turn into an episode of Jerry McGwire where parents end up pleading, “Help me help you!” Humans are the only creatures that expect better results while continuing in the same cycles. We all play the victim at times. Sometimes we need a bit of help but don’t know where to turn. My goal is to help students and parents get extra help on schoolwork by knowing when, where and how to access information.
To begin with, extra help is not coming in one minute before class. Extra help is not time to suck up. It is not time for grade grubbing, whining, or any extreme measures (including violence, blackmail or forgery). Most of all, extra help is not punishment. After all, if a coach asked your child to stay after sports practice for a little one-on-one instruction would you balk?
Extra help is a time commitment, which shows effort from a student. Sometimes it is before school, sometimes at lunch, sometimes after school. Many times students can help themselves and they are not even aware. Even in this age of instant gratification getting extra help still takes a wee bit of time.
Attending classes is the main course in education; however, most teacher contracts’ allow them time before and after the school day. This is a brilliant time for students to get some individualized attention.
If personalized instruction isn’t what you have in mind, computer labs on campus are commonplace. Computers are in school for a reason (not Ebay) -- for students to complete schoolwork. Help yourselves. Knowing when a media center or computer lab opens is individual to schools. If your student needs to complete their work on a computer, perhaps a call to the main office is in your near future.
Lately, in discussions with my colleagues, I’ve learned how differently each teacher makes time and information available. For example, math teacher Eric Harding has set up his own website complete with daily notes scanned in from his overhead. Students can be self-sufficient and parents can keep things (due dates and study help) in check with a simple visit to the school homepage and a click on “staff websites.” On the other hand, Sheila Long, language arts teacher, has her students create their own plan for makeup work. This plan includes: work the student needs, when they need it, when and where the student will work on the assignment, and finally when the teacher can expect it. The more specific the plan is – the more successful the turn in rate.
Occasionally “when” and “where” are troublesome specifics of a meeting. My wife used a three-ring notebook for students to sign up for extra help. The binder was always available to students on a counter in her room. That way her students could make the call on “when” (day and time) to meet. The “where”(as with most teachers) was in her classroom and, with a quick signature, students knew they’d get her full attention for their own needs, questions, make up work or advisement.


Maya Angelou said, “Education helps one cease being intimidated by strange situations.” It never fails that in teaching kids to become responsible citizens we create intimidating situations. Information is the key to unlock that door whether it be a visit to the computer lab, a quick look at a teacher website, or an individualized conference. I am all for students being proactive in their education- many times all it takes is a nudge from mom and dad instead of a heaping spoonful on their plates. Encourage your kids to get the information they need on their own but be aware of staff websites. Students, the easiest way to find out what teachers expect is to ask. Just think of extra help as a second helping of mental nourishment that you can spoonfeed yourself.

Anybody see Billy?

Just curious- did anyone venture to Loveland to see our EX-poet laureate, Billy Collins? If so, I want a full report on my desk in the morning!

Teacher-Consultant is Also a Columnist

I'm pleased to report that Greg, a T-C in the 2005 class of CSUWP, had an excellent guest column published in today's Fort Collins Coloradoan. Hopefully, we can get him to reprint it here or on his blog. The piece, which you should all read, is about how students can get help at school when they need it. I intend to share it with my students over the next several days.
Unfortunately, for some reason, the paper doesn't post education columns online.

Let's Share!

Hey all!

I personally think that we should saturate the CLAS conference in March with CSUWP presentations. So we are going to have a get together on Oct. 17 at 4 pm at Fossil Ridge High School. We will meet for 15-20 minutes as a large group, then break out to work on our proposals. You can stay as long as you want, just remember you need to submit your proposal by Halloween.

We are planning a follow-up to workshop presentations on Feb. 4th.

Hope to see you all there!

Governing Board Minutes

The minutes from the last CSUWP Governing Board meeting are up. The meeting, held last Monday, was a good chance to catch up on each other's work and to share a great meal (Thanks, Cam!) while discussing future projects.

Starry Night

We had a really productive meeting at the Starry Night. Great coffee, Breakfast Burrito, conversations about teacher reseach, and a funny essay about life in 6th grade.

The next meeting is at Starry Night, October 28th @ 3:45pm.

Peace out.

Teacher Research Group -- 1st Meeting

I'm writing right now from a table at a Fort Collins coffeehouse where the first meeting of the CSUWP's all new teacher research group is meeting. Right now, Kim D. is sharing some of the stratagies that she is using to incorporate more writing into her high school math classroom.
Want to learn more about math and writing working together to build understanding?
Tell Kim. She'll share. Honest.
Want to know more about teacher research in the CSUWP? Here's an okay place to start.
Our next meeting, if you want to join us (and we'd love to have you!), is Friday, October 28th, at 3:30pm. E-mail Megan for a location.

New Blogs

I've just added links to the blogs of members of the CSUWP. They're over there in the right margin. Many of them are new blogs -- so you might want to drop in and say hello. If you're a CSUWP teacher consultant with a blog, let me know and I'll add you to the blogroll.

Thanks for today

It was great to see everyone. Here's the text of the poem you all inspired today.

Ancestors

there are twenty-five ghosts in this room
standing behind me and all around

moving in and out of chairs
perched on bookshelves and under desks

my posse
my choir

singing backup to verses
we sang all summer long

the shades of their fingerprints
dust the chalk rails and the dictionaries

the memory of their footfalls
reverberates off the concrete slabs

the collected wisdom of their high voltage brains
fuels the furnace that warms this room

and makes a place where
you are loved and brilliant and will succeed

in spite of yourselves
and in spite of your plan

and in spite of the fact
that you can’t spell perseverance

there are twenty-five ghosts in this room
who’ve beaten the path into submission

cut back the thorny brambles
and softened the soil

where you will place your feet
to tap out the rhythm of your prose

so lift up your faces
make an altar of your rhymes

es el dia de los muertos

Teacher as Researcher Group First Meeting!

Hey, y'all! Come to the first Teacher as Researcher Group meeting on Friday, September 23 at 3:45 at Starry Night. Bring your brain, your questions, your feedback, your planner! We'll talk about our work and set our next meeting. Email Megan B. if you have questions: meganb@psdschools.org.

Welcome to Blogging 102. Let's Get to Work

Good morning.

I'm tickled to death to have the opportunity to spend the morning with you on the next step of using blogs and blogging with and/or for your students. Over the summer, we used this blog to communicate, share ideas, listen to each others' readings, and to share our work with others. Some of you became bloggers -- many of you didn't. Many of you still will/might/could. The writing project believes that technology is a big piece of writing. Here's some information on how they're thinking about blogs.

Today, we're going to look at some education blogs, write our own posts, and sign up for an account with a web-based aggregator. We're also going to review the CSUWP website and some of the features that you can use in your classrooms. We're going to do all that in the next 90 minutes.

I hope.

TASK #1 (10:33-10:48)

You're going to use the next 15 minutes to create a blog and record your first post. We'll be creating today in Blogger. Go ahead and register for a new blog by clicking on the arrow on the bottom right of the main page in Blogger. You might want to open a second browser window so that you can follow along with this blog post as you work. The username that you create is something that you should write down, as is your password. Don't forget, too, to write down the URL of your blog. You'll need it later.

After you register, go ahead and make your first post. It can be a simple "hello!" or an introduction. Even better -- write about what you've taken from the writing project back into your classrooms. What cool stuff are you doing with writing?

Just make sure you make a first post -- your blog won't exist if you don't. After you make that post, come back to this blog and post a comment telling us the URL of your new blog.I'll be around to answer questions and to help out.Let's get this done quickly so that we can get to the good stuff.

Essential Steps of Task #1

• Create an account in Blogger.


• Write your first post.


• Post a comment to this blog sharing your new blog's URL.

TASK #2 (10:48-11:18)

Let's take a look at some blogs that other teachers either use with students or for conversations with other teachers. You can find links to a pile of educational blogs via my blog and aggregator. Also, you might want to read the article on blogging that ran in the Coloradoan last week (I posted it here.) Still having trouble finding blogs to consider? Try a blog search engine, like Icerocket or Technorati. Just type in a topic you're curious about and see what the blogosphere spits back.

Your task is simply to read to see what's out there. You're looking for something that you can share with the group. The trick is that we won't be sharing out loud -- you'll be sharing on the blog that you just created. You've got 30 minutes.

Find one use of a blog that you find interesting, frustrating, or otherwise response-worthy. Write a post on your blog sharing your response, question, or idea for using a blog in your own classroom. Make sure you link back to the blog that got you thinking.Go.

Essential Steps of Task #2

• Find a blog or blogs that you would like to respond to.


• Post a response on your new blog.


• Make sure to link back to the blog that you're responding to. Use other hyperlinks when and where you're comfortable.

TASK #3 (11:18-11:33)

Blogs are great, but who has time to go to a ton of different websites every week to check in? I certainly don't -- and I don't expect that you do, either. In fact, no one does. Luckily, we don't have to.

An aggregator is a piece of software that collects and brings blogs and other information to you. It does so using a technology called RSS. If you want to know more about how that works, check out this link. All you need to know right now is that you can use an aggregator to look at lots of blogs in one place.

You're going to subscribe to your brand new blog with your brand new Bloglines account. Bloglines is a web-based aggregator. You can log on and read from anywhere that you have a web connection.

You'll have 20 minutes to create an account at Bloglines and to subscribe to your own blog, as well as any other blogs that you found that you'd like to keep an eye on. Also, you should subscribe to Will Richardson's Weblogg-ed and Anne Davis' Edublog Insights.

To add a blog to your Bloglines account, click on Add in the top left corner of your screen. Follow the on-screen instructions from there. (Hint: All you need to add a Blogger account to Bloglines is the first part of the URL. For example, if you wanted to add the CSUWP blog (http://csuwp.blogspot.com) to your account, you'd only need to enter the csuwp from the URL.). I'll be circulating throughout the room to help you through this.

Essential Steps of Task #3

• Create a Bloglines account.


• Add your own blog and any others you found interesting or important.


• Add the blogs of other CSUWP members.


• Marvel at how much work you've done in the last hour.

TASK #4 (11:33-12:00pm)

Okay. We've done a lot with tech this morning. We'll take the rest of our time to review the CSUWP web site and to answer any questions that you might have about all we've done today.

Then we'll eat some lunch.

You've earned it. I'm asking you to take a big risk for the sake of learning today -- thank you. I hope some piece of it was useful. Let me know how I and the other board members can be helpful to you in your work.

Essential Steps of Task #4

• Ask good questions.


• Take a breath.


• Eat lunch.