November 6, 2005
no is such a small word
yet i didn’t use it
when i should have
i didn’t tell myself
i didn’t say it to you
ever since i cry
for what i did
for what i didn’t do
for what i’ll never know
November 5, 2005
The presentation went well. A couple of people were interested in writing lessons for the site; and there was lots of positive feedback. After class, we went off to Noodles & Company for a lovely group lunch. After we ate, I got another nice hug from Jim, and then I was on my way again.
The trip to Stevenson was sad in a way. I had to walk right down that first floor hallway where my Willie Bobbie used to dwell, and now, he’s way far away and hard to get to.
Because sadness drives me to eat, actually everything drives me to eat, but back to the point, I was forced to make a little side trip. Forced, I tell you. I’ve never actually been to paradise, um, I mean, to a Krispy Kreme store. I got to see the whole donut making process, from frying to glazing to eating. I bought some for me, and then a bunch of pumpkin spice donut holes to take to work on Monday. Then I was on the road, on my way back home, eating donuts along the way.
November 5, 2005
Somehow, the entries that I wrote on Saturday have disappeared. I must have clicked the wrong button :( This is a re-creation of that sad, missing entry.
So here I am in the Illinois State computer classroom. Jim Kalmbach invited me to talk to his Using Technology to Teach Writing in Middle School and High School class. I’ve gotten here a few minutes early, so a student is doing a presentation on wikis. I’m multitasking—looking at the sites being presented and cramming for my own presentation. Stupidly, I dropped my stuff as I walked in the door. That means I’m over here at a computer, and it’s all over there by the door. I miss my water bottle.
Oops. Time for my presentation. More later… Must get on with the ReadWriteThink show.
November 4, 2005
“A language that no one actually ‘speaks’” from the Pocono Record Online offers a mainstream explanation of 133t5p33k. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that replacing my E’s with 3’s is going to result in “being cool and keeping … parents (or anybody else looking over [my] shoulder) guessing.”
November 2, 2005
I blame Dr. B:
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You scored as Nerd Cat. Holy crap, poindexter. Try buying some new specs instead of taping them together. Yeah, Bill Gates made a lot of money, but he’s also the devil. You’ve got a long way to go.
Which Absurd Cat are you? |
November 2, 2005
I decided to try the 43 folders thing at work, because I’m a mess. I keep having deadlines explode in front of me. I’m still completely skeptical that it will help. I’ve always thought these systems looked like a lot of trouble and nonsense. I’m running out of options though, and everything is a disaster. Everything is thoroughly out of control. And this is one of the few things left to try. So I set one up at work and one at home. Everyone thinks I’m crazy, and I’ve already had shortcomings pointed out (how will you know when anything is due w/o going through 30 or 40 folders?) And the answer is that I don’t know. I only know that I’m a disaster.
One of the millions of things that I’m behind on is writing up specs for our next Flash interactive, which will allow students to design book covers and dust jackets. I need to spend the rest of the night writing up just how that will happen. I need to send it before morning so I can at least say I accomplished something when I have my weekly update tomorrow.
Native American Heritage (Inbox Ideas)
November 1, 2005
The Ideas section for this week’s Inbox focuses on Native American Heritage, in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. The section links to the related ReadWriteThink calendar entry, which includes several relevant lesson plans.
The first of the month also means it’s time for a content report. Between last night and today, I edited and posted two more lessons. Designing Museum Exhibits for The Grapes of Wrath: A Multigenre Project is a 9-12 lesson plan that asks students to create six artifacts in a variety of genres that demonstrate their understanding of a related research topic and its significance.
The second lesson, Choosing One Word: Summarizing Shel Silverstein’s “Sick,” explores comprehension by asking K-2 students to pick one word that represents a reading. In this case it’s the Silverstein poem, but the activity could be completed with any text.
Tags: English language arts | K12 instruction | lesson plans | NCTE Inbox | ReadWriteThink
October 31, 2005
While I was looking for resources for a lesson on the Grapes of Wrath, I found a National Archive lesson plan that’s interesting in this time of War on Terrorism. Teaching With Documents: FDR’s First Inaugural Address Declaring “War” on the Great Depression. Ties directly to the details from Bob Probst’s talk at IATE as well.