Final In House Day of Summer Institute

This morning we read Because Writing Matters, emphasizing the importance of teaching writing! It is always great to be reminded of why we do what we do!

Today was a celebration of our work. We shared our e-portfolios with our writing groups, cake and ice cream with Shasta for her birthday, and our National Day of Writing Videos!

Tommorw we will celebrate some more at Table Rock!

Morning Reflection of Summer Institute Experience

During my experience with the Upstate Writing Project’s Summer Institute I have grown both as a teacher of writing and as a writer myself. Through support of my mentor and classmates I developed a research based teaching demonstration on using onomatopoeia to add descriptive details to writing. I successfully completed my first professional presentation with this teaching demonstration. I then converted this demonstration into a lesson plan to publish on the Upstate Writing Project’s website. After more revision I plan to publish this lesson plan on readwritethink.org as well.

I have also grown in my technological abilities during the Summer Institute as well. I have used Photo Story, a program I had previously been exposed to, in a more enhanced manner. I plan to use Photo Story in my classroom as a publishing tool. I will probably begin with me demonstrating how to use the program and eventually progress towards my students creating their own. I have learned how to podcast my voice, and I can’t wait to use it as a publishing tool for my classroom as well. I have perfected the use of hyper linking, and I have had some exposure with Movie Maker.

As a writer, I have regained the passion for writing that dwindled years ago. I have gained more confidence in my writing by sharing with my writing group, my classmates, and nationally on the National Writing Project’s E-Anthology. I know this passion for writing will transfer into my teaching and into my students writing. I plan to write on a regular basis in order to maintain this passion.

Writing Marathon in Downtown Greenville

The writing marathon in Downtown Greenville was a lot of fun. We began with our morning journal. I was inspired by this tree pictured at the left. This is the poem I wrote...

Mr. Old Tree, tall and leaning,

with the weight of a lifetime on your shoulders,

How did your life begin?

Were you put here by a person with a purpose,

or did God's hand place you in your home?

You are a happy tree.

Your life is full of memories.

Lone artists sit in your shade creating their masterpieces,

Your sturdy trunk is a resting place for a tired traveler,

or a hiding place for young love to steal a kiss.

Your long arms embrace the tiny birds,

Your canopy, their refuge.

You lend your leaves to warm the ground,

during the cold months of winter.

Although you are old you still have lots of life to live,

and lots of gifts to share,

As you stand tall and leaning,

with the weight of a lifetime on your shoulders.

During the marathon we traveled to many places as a writing group. We first went to the art museum. This location inspired much writing. I completed five pieces here! Next we moved to the Mast General Store. It was an interesting place to visit but no writing was inspired here. Then we ate lunch at Trio. During lunch we wrote a group poem, and I was also inspired to write three other pieces. Finally we moved to Coffee Underground where we shared our writing we had completed that day. It was a wonderful experience to allow everyday experiences to inspire creations.

Summer Institute Reflection Day 4 Week 4

Thursday during Summer Institute we opened our morning with a focus on our professional writing pieces. We collaborated in our groups to share format clarification and any suggestions to help complete this important piece.

We enjoyed two demos that I will definitely be using in my classroom this coming school year. Jennifer shared a teaching demo on creating good leads, including three different types. This is something I did not teach as well as I would have liked last year. I think providing students with only three choices at the age I teach would eliminate some frustration. I also think providing them with published literature that doesn't have the best leads allows them to identify with the author and encourages them in their writing. Kevin's demo encourages the excellent character trait of appreciation. It allows students to focus on what they are thankful for that someone else has done for them. Writing a letter to this person and also creating a poem for them demonstrates how rewarding showing appreciation can be.

Summer Institute Reflection Day 3 Week 4

Today was a very packed day! We had the privilege to meet some of the participants in the young writers camp. Pasty and I shared our writing with the children, and they shared their writing with us. I was amazed at the quality of writing these students were creating. It was inspiring to see such driven young writers.

Amanda's demo was fun! We were able to put ourselves in someones shoes. It was a great strategy to teach perspective. I can't wait to use this strategy with my students.

The time to writing today was definitely needed and well spent. I am having trouble bringing my pieces to a resting place. I know you are never truly finished with writing, but I struggle leaving mine alone. I am enjoying the time to write! I'm ready to see what tomorrow brings.

In-service Opportunities

My first reaction to presenting my demo again is sheer nerves, but after thinking for a few minutes about how I successfully presented to my demo to my close peer group, I know I am capable of presenting to a greater audience. The places I see myself presenting are in conferences, graduate courses, and after-school professional development. I can picture myself presenting at in all of these areas because I know my audience will be eager to learn what I have to share.
I can picture myself presenting at conferences the easiest. I have attended two UWP conferences both as a student and as a teacher. I know how eager I was to learn new strategies and how excited I was leaving the conference with new ideas.
I also picture myself presenting for graduate courses because I have only been out of student mode for a year. I understand the demands students face and I believe my demo would be, not only useful, but also entertaining.
I picture myself presenting in after-school professional development as I have already shared some of the strategies I have learned with some faculty members at the school I am moving to. I have even been asked to aid the instructional coach in the first faculty meeting using the jazzing the text and found poetry strategy I learned from Shasta.
Being a new teacher I don’t feel like I can give a tremendous amount of time outside of my new school and classroom, but I do feel like my demo would be helpful as well as entertaining to teachers.

Summer Institute Reflection Day 2 Week 4

Today was a wonderful day with the Upstate Writing Project's Summer Institute. I cannot wait to use both strategies presented in the teaching demos today in my own classroom. Anna's demo on scenic sound can greatly enhance my lesson on onomatopoeia, further adding description to writing. Mindy's demo on evoking emotion will greatly enhance my social studies instruction as well as other subject areas. Using role play evokes emotion and makes writing more authentic, especially in young children.

The reading group session was interesting today as well. I enjoyed getting to meet with peers that are reading different texts and teaching different grade levels. It was great to make the connection that no matter what grade level we teach, we still have many things in common.

The tech session today has been my favorite thus far. Podcasting is incredibly easy! I cannot wait to use this strategy to publish in my classroom, enhance my presentations, build classroom community, and all the many uses podcasting lends to. I also enjoyed viewing the footage my writing gathered for our National Day of Writing awareness video. I can't wait to see what new footage has been gathered this evening.