changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Friday, September 30, 2005
 A sick day is such a lovely thing. I think all the bed rest is helping. As long as I take the medicine, things hurt much less. The problem is that about 2 or 3 hours after taking the medicine, I feel dizzy and can't keep my eyes open. So there have been several naps.
Between naps, I've been working on a lesson plan about the Gettysburg Address. I can't seem to find my focus. I keep running into a wall where I'm not sure why I (or anyone) should be asking kids to work through this text. I know... it's a great historical document; it's one of those texts people expect you to know if you're an American. But I can't seem to figure out how to make it more than an exercise. I have great Web pages to use, and I know teachers teach it. It's a good topic, but it feels fake to me. I need to find an approach that feels right.
I have other lesson plans that I could work on. I need to edit one that uses Elie Wiesel's Night, another the works with The Grapes of Wrath, and an elementary one that I can't remember the topic of. I also have rough starts on some lessons that I'm writing—one on reading and writing in the digital world, a newspaper lesson, and a word definition lesson. I hate to give up on the Gettysburg Address though, so I'm sticking with it. I can fit it into the November calendar if I can get it written (Lincoln delivered the address on November 19). Must get back to digging around for an approach that feels comfortable.
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Thursday, September 29, 2005
 The proofreading corrections came in for my framing text, so my first task for the day was fixing the piece and turning it over so that the final Kits can be created and put in the warehouse. Something caused a minor delay so it won't make it to the online store by the end of the month, but it should be there next week.
We touched base on several lesson plans and on some PDFs I need to make for the NCTE store. Lisa, Sharon, and I went on a field trip to Michael's to look for a plastic box for another product we're working on. It was also an excuse to go through the Wendy's drive-thru for lunch. I managed to eat chicken strips with honey mustard with relatively little acid problems :)
I spent quality time decorating my cute little Circa notebook with stickers. When I had my update with Sharon, she wanted to know where I got my notebook cuz she liked it too. Maybe I'll start a new fad at NCTE. What I like the most about this silly notebook is that it's easy to be a perfectionist. I never have to start over. My biggest decision is whether to write on the back of the sheet if it's a different topic.
My back is still ouchy, and my brain is still mushy. I'm taking a sick day tomorrow so I can rest for three full days before I have to go back to work. I hope it helps. I have ReadWriteThink calendar and lesson plans to do while I'm sitting here at home, so it's not like I plan to sleep the WHOLE day. Then again, maybe I will. It's not my fault that the drugs make me sleepy. If I have to sleep all day, I'll just have to gather my courage and surrender to the bed.
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
So at some point overnight, I realized that going to work today was senseless. The pills had my brain mushy, and I was still in lots of pain. I remember calling Sharon around 9 AM or so, and telling her that I was taking a sick day. God only knows what else I told her. We had talked just a day or two ago about the gobs of sick time I've accumulated, so it didn't bother me to take some. Hell, I'm supposed to be able to take it, and it hurts to walk across the room. The idea of getting up and somehow showering, dressing, and getting into and out of the car is impossible.
I think I got back out of bed around 10 or 10:30, and I redosed on the medicines. I fiddled on the computer, but soon my brain was mush and I was yawning and unable to keep my eyes open. I went back to bed. The drugs are dehydrating me too, so I remember getting up for water at some point. Around 2 PM, I got the call from the doctor's office. The X-rays show disc narrowing at L4 and L5. No word on what the means I'm supposed to do.
About 30 minutes after that, I got the call from the physical therapy office to set up that appointment. They can't get me in until October 20, which is just as well because I'd rather be covered in bees than go do this. They also had me confirm all my personal info in the system. Turned out that neither of the people they had as emergency contacts were useful, seeing as they were both dead. :( I rolled over and went back to sleep again.
I think I checked e-mail again around 4. Went back to bed by 5 or so, and didn't get up until 10:00 PM. It was a day of much sleeping and unhappy discomfort. I've fiddled around online a bit, and mostly feel very sleepy. The only thing I've actually accomplished was making a new cover for my cute little notebook out of some purple cardstock that I had. I am -so- loving this notebook. One of the most interesting things this evening was my realization that I could be a perfectionist with this thing and not be stuck in the 'what if' stage. With something like a new notebook, I spend too much time trying to plan out how to use it, asking myself questions about what to put in which sections, how to organize things so that I can find them, and so on. I was sitting here looking at the notebook tonight and suddenly realized that the beauty of this thing is that I can try out different ways of organizing because I'm not ever going to be stuck. I can easily rearrange them. I could kiss John's feet. I'm so glad that his explanation of this thing finally clicked, because I can see it changing my perfectionist ways in positive ways. Of course, making that cover took all of about 5 minutes top (had to get it trimmed to the right size, which took some trial and error). Not really much of an accomplishment to brag about.
I tried to do some work on a lesson plan, focusing on reading and writing definitions. I haven't gotten very far. Damned mushy brain. And you know the mushy brain thing wouldn't be so bad if the drugs were actually knocking out all of the pain. But they aren't. It hurts just to move. I have taken extra medicine that I'm not supposed to (because of the acid reflux). I know it's stupid, but it hurts and I want it to stop. I guess I may as well go back to bed. At least when I'm sleeping I only have to deal with pain when I try to change positions. It's not like the horror of walking around. I need a helper monkey—and a handicapped parking tag for my car.
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
I almost forgot! The Ideas section for this week's Inbox focuses on National Newspaper Week, which is Oct 2-8. The articles and lesson plans focus on reading, analyzing, and composing newspaper stories. The section includes a link to a sample chapter from an NCTE book which provides some nice scenarios.
Tags: English language arts |
journalism |
K12 instruction |
lesson plans |
NCTE Inbox
Labels: Inbox
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
 My beautiful, cute, new Circa journal arrived today, while I was at the doctor's office over my horrible back problems (more on that later). The good news is that my notebook is perfect and lovely. I even realized that I could tear some pages out of the flower journal, trim the pages, punch them, and add them to the new notebook.
I remembered that I had a rolodex punch from my days at Daedalus. I dug it out, and it works perfectly for adding pages. Okay, so I have to punch it 7 times, but I already own it. I wanted to keep the spending very low until I was certain that this is what I want to do. I may eventually get a punch from Levenger's, but this seems quite perfect for now. Now I just need to transfer information over from the old notebook so that I don't have to carry them both around.
 On to the doctor. I did something to my back. AGAIN. I don't remember doing anything. In fact, I've been overly careful, and while my sister was here, I didn't lift anything. She carried all the stuff that needed carrying. Whatever it is, it came on very fast this time. I feel like someone is poking a fork into my lower back and twirling it so the muscles knot around it and tighten (like you'd twirl spaghetti on that fork).
I couldn't even get to the office till 1, and within 30 minutes, I knew I was in deep trouble. I called the doctor, and through some miracle, they had an opening at 1:40. So I went off to the doctor, who gave me prescriptions for Flexeril and Darvocet. She also said I had to go get x-rays and do physical therapy. :( The x-ray tech was very nice, and while it was very, very uncomfortable, it wasn't as bad as the last time. No word on the x-rays till the doctor sees them though.
After all that, I went back to the office. Partly because I knew that if I went home, I would just go back to bed, but also because I knew that my notebook was out for delivery, and I wanted it. I didn't last till 6:30 though. I left around 5. It just hurts too much, and I couldn't think. Took a nap when I got home, then I got up to play with my cute notebook.
I sure hope that the drugs start working soon. It's hard to walk around in the house. How on earth can I walk around the office? It's really painful and hard :(
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Monday, September 26, 2005
Got all the reviews for the Teaching Media-Savvy Students kit on Friday, so I finished the revisions today. It's off for the finally proofreading by the editors tomorrow. Should be in the online store by the end of the month. And no, I don't get royalties, but I'm eager to see it finished and for sale.
Also wrote my Ideas section for Inbox, but I'm not telling you what it's about so that you have to come back tomorrow to find out.
I'm still suffering from the acid reflux. I'm trying to eat really, really bland things until it straightens out again. I'm remembering that I ate some honey mustard last week. Maybe that was part of the problem. Whatever it was, it's accompanied now by a side order of major back pain. I didn't do anything improper, so I'm dumbfounded by the back issue. All I can think is that it's the changes in my bed. My sister and I raised it so the top is elevated 8 inches, as all the acid reflux information advises. Maybe it's causing me to sleep differently and I've caused the muscles to tighten up or something? I'm sitting with an ice pack tonight and that seems to help some.
Thanks to John's comments yesterday, I realized that I needed those Circa notebooks too.
 I have spent days looking for a notebook that I liked. I'm surprised that I didn't get thrown out of Pages for all the testing I was doing—trying to decide if it would lie on the desk properly, would stand up to wear and tear, had pages that turned easily, etc. I finally decided that I was just going to have to settle for something that I was only lukewarm about and make do. It's a cute flowered spiral journal, but not really perfect. Not what I wanted.
I never understood those Circa notebooks, so they didn't seem like an option. A former employee at NCTE swore by them and had all the employees she managed using them; but they just seemed pricey with no real benefit. I thought they were silly. After all I can tear paper out of my notebook now, why do I need a fancy system. John's explanation suddenly made it make sense. Especially given the standard stuff that I have to just copy over and the running lists that I need to keep. As I understand the Circa system, these notebooks will simplify things for me.
I got the shipping confirmation this evening so it's on its way—one junior notebook and a pack of dividers. I decided to buy the cheapest basics to start with just to make sure I like it.
Even though I like the idea of being able to arrange the pages and whatnot, there's this manuscript lover's voice in my head that is hesitant. Naturally, nothing I put in a notebook will matter in the long run. No one is going to study my papers. Still, I have this feeling that it's just wrong to rearrange pages in a journal. It kills me to remove a page from a notebook—especially the bound kind where you have to cut out a page for some reason. It's like some crime against humanity to take a page out of its original place. Very paper-based and linear of me really. I'm trying to convince myself to get over it. After all, my notebook left the FEDEX ramp in Fort Lauderdale at 21:52:00.
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Sunday, September 25, 2005
 First, I must admit that I did indeed steal green tomatoes from my neighbor's yard on Wednesday and send them home to my mother. They were on my side of the fence, and she needed them I assure you. Perhaps I'll go to hell, but at least it will be for a good reason.
I seem to be punished for it. I have had an evil return of the acid reflux problems—burping and acid and boiling. I can't figure out what I've changed greatly about my eating. I promise that I didn't eat any of those tomatoes. Both of them went to Virginia. All I can think of is that I was perhaps eating regular meals while my sister was in town, and my schedule is all wacky again now that she's gone. I also remember trying a tropical punch Fuze Tuesday night. It contained some pineapple juice and turned out to be a bad idea; but could it have caused all this? It doesn't feel good, and I am really quite unpleasant to be around. Good thing I don't have friends around to listen to this horror.
Yesterday, I went to Pages for All Ages, the local indy bookstore, to take advantage of my birthday discount. I got two YA books that dabble in multimodal kinds of writing in some way:
I also bought Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I've always thought that the book looked freaky and wasn't interested in reading it as a result. Lisa got a copy along with a huge pile of books for a graphic novel project we're working on. Sharon said that she and her son liked the book, and there was a Terry Pratchett quotation on the back. So I decided that maybe I should try not to look at the pictures and read it anyway. Maybe if I put it in that cloth paperback book cover I have... We'll see.
All this is sort of silly. I have 21 books on the table that I need to write reviews of for my other site, and I have 13 books lying there that I haven't read yet. 15 books if you count the books in the Bromeliad Triology separately. Just noticed that the next book in the Johnny Maxwell trilogy is due out in January. I'm not sure about buying it though. Book one seemed somewhat pushed and obvious. Fortunately, I have months to decide.
changelog @ tengrrl.com: Cleaning the old notebook
Cleaning the old notebook
I'm in the process of starting a new notebook for work, which means that I have to go through and copy over the info that I need to keep. These are assorted things that I found in the process and wanted to save for whatever reason. If you're not entertained by the list, try the Bush Speechmaker instead.
- "Teaching you how to rest and teach you how to achieve a sense of proportion."
- "It's easier to leave than be left behind."
- multimodal literacies. what tools count for whom, for what purposes. how children & adults interpret, navigate, and produce meaning about themselves and others w/ digital multimodal text.
- Sausage Bacon Bites
Line dish with foil. Cut bacon in thirds. Wrap around little smokies. Smother in brown sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Thursday, September 22, 2005
 So that's how today started. Every machine I touched crashed. I never really did get anything concrete done. Had a few meetings. Crashed machines. Talked to IT folks about crashed machines. Finally gave up and came home early. I'm sure it's all related to the fact that Snuffles has gone home to Virginia :(
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
So the weeping began about 11 AM, when my sister and Snuffles the poodle loaded into the car and started the trek back to Virginia.
My house is very empty, and there is no one at my back door. :(
changelog @ tengrrl.com: Preparing for Banned Books Week
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Preparing for Banned Books Week
The Ideas section in this week's Inbox focuses on Banned Books Week, which runs September 24 to October 1. The resources in the section explore ways to discuss censorship issues with students as well as ways to respond to text challenges in your school.
Tags: English language arts |
K12 instruction |
lesson plans |
NCTE Inbox
Labels: Inbox
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
 Just a pic of The Mystery Machine for Beastie, the world's best lover of Scooby Snacks.
changelog @ tengrrl.com: Error! Error!
Whoever came up with this obviously got something wrong...
Today's Horoscope
Whoever said that it's impossible to have it all clearly never met you. As one of the most can-do signs in the zodiac, you're able to set your sights on a goal and get there. Your trick? You never let yourself get overwhelmed.
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Saturday, September 17, 2005
 
 
 Herewith are assorted poodle pictures. When there's a poodle in the house, you have to do what the poodle wants you to do. It doesn't matter if you had plans of your own. Poodles decide for you. Mostly, they apparently want to have their ears rubbed and for you to give them whatever it is that you are eating.
I've also snuck in a picture of my new USB lava lamp :) A birthday present from my sister and niece and nephew.
Today we did get some things done in spite of poodle interruptions. Most importantly, I got a new chair to sit on at the desk. My old one was (1) dirty and resisting cleaning, and (2) no longer letting me adjust it. It had one height setting, the lowest one. This new one seems to have better back support, though it doesn't tilt back like the old one. I think it will work however, and it wasn't very expensive.
We also got some pillows and such stuff to try to adjust my bed further. I'm supposed to be sleeping with the head of the bed raised 8 inches because of the acid reflux. I've put wedge pillows between the mattress and box springs. That seems to be working, but my sister is going to help me put some non-slip padding between the two so that the wedge pillows quit sliding the bed down. Going to try to fit the pillows in better and make things more stable. The pillows made all the difference for my sleeping without problems, so I need a more permanent solution.
I did actually open a lesson plan today, but I never got anything done on it. I blame the poodle.
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Friday, September 16, 2005
Despite the fact that I just got flowers last week for Stanley's memorial, my mom sent flowers and a stuffed teddy today for my birthday. :)
   
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
My sister and one of her poodles, Snuffles, have arrived for a birthday visit. I've been older for an hour and two minutes. Snuffles, named after Sirius Black's alias, is shown here attempting to camouflage into the couch.
He keeps checking me out in the living room, even though Kerri is in bed. You can never tell when I might get out a steak or open the doggie treats. Earlier this evening, he was outside chasing bugs. I'm not sure what he planned to do with them when he caught them.
On a work note, I sent out the ReadWriteThink content report, listing the latest three lessons. We now have 11 of our 60 needed for the year. I'm editing one on the Holocaust, and I'm writing one of my own on Reading and Writing in the Digital Age, which asks students to widen their definition of "text."
Also learned that the member price for my Kit will be $47.95. That seems like a good price for the packet of info. It could easily be a course packet for a grad class or methods class, so it seems about right to me. We'll see what happens when it hits the online store later this month. Reviews aren't back from the reviewers, so I guess I get to spend the weekend goofin' off rather than revising. I'm taking Friday and Monday off to be with my sister. :)
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Thursday, September 15, 2005
" Google Lets Surfers Sift Through Blogs" from The Washington Post
Apparently Google wasn't searching enough things so now they're searching blogs too. Of course, you could find blogs in the regular search. I'm guessing the idea is that they help you limit the hits that are returned. I'd just like to know how they're defining a blog and whether they're going to be able to filter out the spam blogs (splogs).
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
 I
now have a scan of the folder cover for the Topical Resource Kit I'm
working on, Engaging Media-Savvy Students: Exploring Multimodal
Literacies through Popular Culture and Technology (Click the image
for a bigger version).
The manuscript is currently with reviewers. It's supposed to be back by the end of the week. Unless something changes violently because of their comments, the collection will include two full journal issues plus nine additional articles. The resources provide inquiry materials for study groups (or teachers' ed/graduate classes) exploring these framing questions about teaching multimodal literacies through popular culture and technology:
- What are multimodal literacies? How does the definition affect our understanding of reading and composing?
- How do multimodal teaching practices help students learn?
- How do we teach multimodal literacies in both digital and non-digital environments?
- How do we build on the multimodal literacies that students bring to the classroom?
- How do we balance students’ exploration and use of multimodal resources with ethical concerns such as respect for intellectual property rights?
The Kit should be in the NCTE bookstore within a month and will be in the books booth at the NCTE convention in Pittsburgh.
Tags: English language arts |
K12 instruction |
lesson plans |
multimodal literacy
changelog @ tengrrl.com: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
This week's Ideas section for NCTE's Inbox focuses on Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins on September 15. The resources focus on classroom activities for teaching works by Latino/a authors, including Sandra Cisneros, Pat Mora, and Gary Soto.
Tags: English language arts |
K12 instruction |
lesson plans |
NCTE Inbox
Labels: Inbox
changelog @ tengrrl.com: Miscellany
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Cleaning out my Bloglines clippings folder (e.g., procrastinating):
- "I Found It on the Internet: Coming of Age Online," from the July 28, 2005 California Computer News Magazine, reviews a new ALA book on teens and their Internet habits. The book was written by the librarian at University High School in Champaign.
- "From Early On, Multimedia Rules," from the August 3, 2005 New York Times discusses use of PowerPoint and other presentation software for oral reports, but conveys concern about the potential for plagiarism among young users who are focus more on appearance than content. The article states, "But some teachers and parents fear that, like students before them who spent more time on a project's artistic design than the actual research, today's computer-savvy students will focus more on the presentation than on the work behind it. Indeed, teachers tell stories of students who produce sophisticated computer-aided presentations, but the information contained in them is simply cut and pasted from Web sites. And those teachers who lack experience using the software could be swayed by a professional-looking presentation when grading."
- "Comics Escape a Paper Box, and Electronic Questions Pop Out," from August 17, 2005 New York Times, explores how genre boundaries and definitions are affected when texts move online by comparing paper-based and web-based comics.
- Literary Letters, Lost in Cyberspace, from the Sept 4, 2005 New York Times, considers how our traditional methods of digging into the biographical and literary practices of writers will change as more writers move online, composing e-mail, blogs, instant messages, and other online texts instead of communicating on pieces of paper.
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Saturday, September 10, 2005
People who know me will be surprised to hear that I got out of bed and was dressed before noon, and I actually left the house and ran some errands. People who know me very well will not be surprised to learn that the only reason this really happened is that I couldn't get to the pharmacy yesterday before it closed and I was out of medicine. Apparently medicine is the only thing that I'll actually leave the house for. There's really so little reason to even get dressed normally.
People who know me will also be surprised to hear that I did a major purging in the bathroom. No, not that kind. I went through the ceiling to floor cabinet and threw away a full kitchen-sized trash can full of stuff. Then I rearranged what was left using some kitchen cabinet-type organizers (a turntable, a corner stacker you're supposed to use for dishes). About 2/3 of the way through, I lamented that I didn't take a before to compare to an after picture. Oh well. Anyway, people who know me well will not be surprised to learn that all this happened because I have a house guest coming and the bathroom was a disaster. Okay, the whole house is a disaster. I wasn't thinking about it, but I guess I was doing the smallest room first. There's still a ton of work to do to make the house inhabitable.
But I've fallen back into that lackadaisical mode now. Partly, I'm probably just tired. I mean it's Saturday, and I didn't take a nap. Beyond that, there is an impossible amount to do, and I feel defeated already. People who know me know that I always feel stupid and defeated though.
Am I working on all these tasks? No. I've been sitting at the computer for an hour or two trying to find something to write a lesson plan about. I need to write one on plagiarism, but I'm not feeling inspired. I can't seem to find anything that I actually want to do. I just want to try to create 5 lessons before Thursday (which would be impossible, but all my goals are impossible. I'm a stupid fool, remember?)
Now my head is working on explaining why I should just go to bed. It's earlier than I've gone to bed on a Saturday in a very long time, but that's what my head is arguing. I'm not sure I want to sleep. I had a very worrisome dream this morning. It's still very vivid. I was at a conference somewhere. People from the conference and others were just wandering around and doing things. Talking. Whatever. We'd go from building to building. Some were these oddly draped off conference rooms. But I also very clearly remember that there was a Home Depot. There was someone I was supposed to meet. He had been nice to me, and I was desparate to get back to him, though I can't remember what he looked like at all. Just some nice guy, and I was supposed to get back to the conference hotel to meet him.
But then people started shouting and pointing, and overhead there were these two huge passenger planes, 727s or 747 or something, and one was sort of chasing the other flying far too closely. They were very brightly colored. Crisp whites, pink, blue, purples. And just past where I could see, they finally flew into each other. I heard the noise and saw the flash. People screamed and started running in the buildings. Then I was anxiously running through the buildings, trying to get back to meet this person who I was desparate to see. I think there was this thought that in the buildings we were safe. I was having to crawl under the draped dividers for the conference rooms to get from room to room. There didn't seem to be any halls. Finally, I got to the door, and went outside. That was the only way to get back to the hotel. But now there were even more airplanes and now also blimps, flying into each other and crashing into crowds and buildings. I had to try to stay hidden, running from shadow to shadow. If they couldn't see you, they couldn't crash into you. I remember hugging the shadows of a kind of warehouse/industrial building. Across the street was Home Depot, and outside was some plastic tent thing. The blimp was diving for the building I was hiding by, so I dashed for the tent.
Inside, there was some odd hip hop party going on. They were trying to convince me to stay with them. I have no idea why they wanted me there. But I knew that I had to leave. I needed to get back to the hotel. So I crawled out from under the side of the tent (there's a lot of crawling out from under draped places???), and I ran and hid in the shadows. Still planes and blimps flying into each other and into people. Why didn't the hip hop party people care? Why were they having a party instead of hiding?
I made it into a school. Maybe it was the conference school. I'm not sure, but there were students all around. I ended up in some kind of student center/dining hall. People were lining up to get food in the cafeteria, but there were also a lot of people bowling and another area where they were playing pool. I was trying to make my way through the building, but then the planes and blimps started penetrating the building. It was this odd, soft, horrifying entrance. They flowed into the building. People would be walking or sitting there, and all of a sudden, the nose of one of these crisp, brightly painted planes would begin flowing through the bricks. The bricks seemed to stay there in place. Almost like they were ghost planes and blimps, simply floating through the wall and into the building. The soft flowing motion seemed so innocent and peaceful, but in reality, I was gripped with anxiety and horror.
I began hiding in the shadows again. If only they couldn't see me, I might be safe; but the planes kept flowing into the building, and it was clear that I was barely keeping ahead of them. They kept flowing in, and it seemed impossible to escape. It seemed impossible to even understand. Where could so many planes have come from? Were there really this many terrorists in this small town? And it was clear that I would never get to my destination. No matter how much I ran and hide and tried not to be noticed, I would never get there.
I woke up as I was still running and hiding, trying to stay in the dark places and not be noticed. I did what people do when they wake up, and then I went back to bed. I have this odd ability to sometimes be able to pick a dream back up. Even though I've gotten out of bed and done something, the dream is still there sort of on pause on some subconscious level, and I can will it to come back. I don't know how this works. Probably dream researchers would say it's not possible. But I have done it many times. So I got back in bed and willed the dream back. The thing is I think it was as much, if not more, to see why all these planes were doing this. Willing the dream back did me no good. I was stuck in the same loop, running and hiding in the student center. I only remember more hiding and planes flowing through walls in that slow, macabre way. No matter how dark the place or how carefully I hid, planes continued to fly through the walls and I had to dash to some new dark place.
If I go to bed now, will it start back of its own will? Am I going to spend the night in anxiety attacks as I try to find a place where the shadows are dark enough that the planes cannot flow through the walls and find me? And who is this guy I'm trying to meet? I have no idea why I have this desparate need to see him. So I may now be off to spend another night in desparation and anxiety, hiding in the darkest corners and always, always being found.
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Friday, September 09, 2005
Wrote and posted a 6-8 lesson plan, Investigating Names to Explore Personal History and Cultural Traditions. It's based on some of the resources from a 9-12 lesson plan on naming online. The 6-8 version focuses instead on copy-change imitation, using a passage from Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street. The new lesson will be featured in next week's Inbox, which will focus on resources for Hispanic Heritage Week.
Tags: English language arts |
K12 instruction |
lesson plans | ReadWriteThink
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Edited and posted a 3-5 lesson plan: Literature Circle Roles Reframed: Reading as a Film Crew. Basically, students are asked to think about the roles that a film crew plays when a book is turned into a movie. They read the book from the perspective of one of the members of the crew. For instance, a student reading from the perspective of costume designer would look for evidence in the text and then choose the clothing that the actors would wear for the particular episode in the text.
Tags: English language arts |
K12 instruction |
lesson plans |
ReadWriteThink
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
 Memorial flowers from my family, to celebrate the swimming life of dearly departed Stanley.
Mom wanted to send a note that said:
Stanley will be missed by one and all.
Don't forget to close the door on the bathroom stall.
Because of her keen knowledge of possible confusion at the florists, she used only the first line and shared the second line on the phone when I called to thank her.
Barely visible, down at the bottom is a lovely card with a swimmy fish on it from Lisa too. Poor Stanley :(
changelog @ tengrrl.com:
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Tidied my office today, because my world is messy and confused and scattered and I am lost. I have no idea if it will work, but it will probably fake people out. At least there are no longer piles of things lying about. Though I still need to get my computer set up.
Also finished editing and posted a new 9-12 lesson, So What Do You Think? Writing a Review. It's a well-structured piece on writing book reviews.
The Ideas section for this week's Inbox focuses on National Library Card Month. Though really, I wrote that yesterday. I always write it the day before though.
Tags: English language arts |
K12 instruction |
NCTE Inbox |
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changelog @ tengrrl.com: swimmy no more
Stanley
2003-2005
RIP
Stanley Fish, know affectionately as "Swimmy" to family members, went to meet his maker on Wednesday, September 7, 2005. :(
Stanley is survived by his sad Spongebob and Patrick tank friends as well as the ReadWriteThink staff.
In lieu of flowers, please send money directly to Traci Gardner. Unless they are very pretty flowers. In that case, send them to me at work, so everyone is jealous.
changelog @ tengrrl.com: Dear Librarian: Writing a Persuasive Letter
Monday, September 05, 2005
Dear Librarian: Writing a Persuasive Letter
Finished editing and posted Dear Librarian: Writing a Persuasive Letter, a 3-5 lesson inspired by events in Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary.
Tags: English language arts |
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ReadWriteThink
Posted Friday, 24-Aug-2007 17:08:34 PDT
Copyright © 1998-2011 Traci Gardner, P. O. Box 11836, Blacksburg, VA 24060-1836.
These materials may be referenced, linked to, and indexed, but their contents
may not be duplicated without express written consent of the author. See the
Copying and Sharing page for more details.
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