November Mosaic -- NCTE12

This month's mosaic is all NCTE and Las Vegas. You can view the set on Flickr here.

How Do You Explain the NCTE Annual Convention to a 10 Year-Old?

First of all, NCTE is like a gigantic family reunion. I get to see friends from around the country who I haven't seen since last year, I get to meet people I only used to know through social media or (in the case of authors) their books. My two "family reunion" highlights this conference were

meeting Natalie Merchant (I wrote the teachers' guide for her book, Leave Your Sleep)

and presenting with these rockstar poets about the inspiration for our poetry and about the Poetry Friday Anthology

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, me, Lesléa Newman, Irene Latham,   (new poetry friend Janet Fagal), Janet Wong, Laura Purdie Salas)

NCTE is also a book-lover's paradise. I took two very lightly packed suitcases to Las Vegas and came home with two suitcases that both nearly tipped the 50 lb mark on the scale when I checked them! I'm happy to report that nearly every book I brought back is now in the hands of a reader! 

Here is a list of authors I heard speak or chatted with at a lunch or dinner or party:

Lemony Snicket,"Who Could That Be at This Hour?" (All the Wrong Questions) 

Jon Scieszka, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales  

Jenni Holmes, Babymouse #16: Babymouse for President

Anita Silvey, Children's Book-a-Day Almanac

Kate Messner, Capture the Flag

Janet Tashjian,  For What It's Worth

Cecil Castellucci, The Year of the Beasts  

Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Julie Paschkis, Mooshka, A Quilt Story

Monica Brown, author of Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People 

David Shannon, Jangles: A Big Fish Story

Deborah Ellis, My Name Is Parvana

Karen Lynn Williams, My Name Is Sangoel (Young Readers)

Floyd Cooper, These Hands (Golden Kite Honors (Awards))

Marla Frazee, Boot & Shoe 

Last of all, NCTE is like going back to college. There are so many great sessions/classes from which to choose. Here are some highlights of my session notes:

Jon Scieszka: "Tell the boys that reading something written by women won't kill them."

Lemony Snicket: "Don't ask the obvious questions, ask the important questions...Avoid temptation to know what story means and insert a moral."

David Shannon: "There's a fine line (fishing line--ha, ha) between liar and storyteller."

Sharon O'Neal (with others): In a nonfiction study, use a blend of traditional nonfiction, "new nonfiction" and nonfiction poetry.

Ann Marie Corgill (with others): "Teach, practice, reflect, share. Resist the the talking so we can listen. Resist teaching so we can learn and answering so we can question. Don't say you can't because, NEWS FLASH -- you can."

Deborah Ellis (at the CLA Workshop: Books that Make a Difference: Kids Taking Action for Social Justice):

War = anything that kills people unnecessarily (diseases we've allowed to spread, poverty)

Afghanistan -- what if she couldn't do whatever she wanted to do just because she's a woman? Spent time in refugee camps. Her books about this time all have kids for whom books are important (illegal books). Parvana books.

Josef Mengele had access to books and education. Books aren't the sole answer to the problems of the world. 

Social action is expensive. It costs. It makes us uncomfortable. It loses us friends. 

Feed the poor --> I am a saint. Ask "Why are there poor?" --> I am put in prison.

What if WE are the problem.

Center of the wheel is WAR. Poll -- raise your hand if you believe we will always have war, or if we will someday live without war as a part of our human story. Every human accomplishment has started out with a dream -- "What if..." It has to be the same with war. What do we really believe -- can we live in a world without war? Do we believe that governments can exist who don't use foreign policy to bash other countries?

Iraq war commentators tell about kinds of weapons being used, but forget to mention that there were people feeling the blasts, losing homes and being killed.

We know what war does. We have to decide what comes next. Are we going to continue to slaughter other people, or are we going to try something else. We're lying to kids if we tell them that anything else makes a difference in the world, until we settle in our minds what we're going to do to stop the war.

How will you answer when your children/students ask you, "What did you do to stop the war?"

Unless we can meet each other and talk to each other, we are the monsters under each others' beds.

We need to be careful who we allow to take and hold power, and make sure that no one's making money off all the bad stuff.

The first thing we have to change if we're going to believe that we live in a world where war doesn't have to exist is that we don't need to be afraid of the "other." They are like us more than they are different from us.

#NCTE12--Roundup

Before I even left NCTE this year, there were blog posts up reflecting on all of the learning and thinking that was part of the week. I was amazed that people could get their thoughts together so quickly. I am not there yet. I am still catching up on laundry, trying to transition back to school, enjoying the holiday weekend, etc. I have not had time to reflect on the amazing experience that #ncte was. But I knew that there were blog posts  going up faster than I could read them. Each was something I'd want to revisit once I caught my breath and could think again.  So I offered this roundup on Twitter. If I missed your post and you'd like it added, just let me know!

NCTE's annual convention is always a great energizer for me.  It seems to come at the perfect time in the school year and I always come back reenergized and I am always rethinking something.  But it is always tricky when someone asks me what I learned...because it isn't so much what I learned but what I came away thinking about.  Years ago, I'd go to NCTE's annual convention (I think I've been going for about 20+ years now, skipping only one--the year we adopted Ana :-) and I'd try to get caught up on everyone's thinking.  It was really my only chance to hear what my heroes like Ralph Fletcher, Lucy Calkins, Georgia Heard, Stephanie Harvey, Shelley Harwayne, Sharon Taberski, etc. had been thinking about all year.  But now, with social networking, I no longer have to wait until NCTE's Annual Convention to catch up on everyone's thinking. I have Twitter and blogs and Facebook and more to help me connect to people all year long. So, I realized that the NCTE experience has changed a bit for me. Instead of "learning something new," it has become more than that.  NCTE's annual convention is the time that we connect in person with all those people we learn with throughout the year. We continue conversations we've been having over Twitter and we start new ones.  We meet old friends for the first time and we make new friends who we immediately follow on Twitter. It is a time to connect and reconnect, a time to refocus our conversations.

I love love love when my friends meet my other friends. I love when all of my friends become friends.  I am always amazed that my friends don't know each other and I am always confident that they will love each other when they do meet. How could they not? I have great friends.  And NCTE networks all of our friends with each other and we get to meet our friends' friends.  What could be better? And what could energize conversations for the year to come any more than that?

Kudos to Sandy Hayes,  NCTE President and NCTE12 Convention Chair.  She did an amazing job putting this year's convention together. We learned and we laughed.  So, whether you attended NCTE12 or not, there is a lot of thinking being shared on blogs about new learning and thinking (and fun)! Below are some of the blog posts about the convention. Learn from them. Follow the bloggers on Twitter. Subscribe to their blogs.  Connect in some way so that you can continue to learn with them until NCTE13 and beyond :-)

Katherine Sokolowski has 2 reflections about the convention--NCTE 2012 and Lessons from NCTE 2012. I am always amazed at how quickly and thoughtfully Katherine can reflect on her learning. She may win the prize for first one to blog after the convention!

And if you missed the amazing Nerdy Book Club party in Vegas, you can read about it on the Nerdy Book Club Blog! Definitely a fun time!

Tony Ramono reflected in his post Vegas, NCTE12, and Sir Ken Robinson. I didn't get out of the hotel/conference center much at all so I was laughing at his section on what you might see in Vegas.

Kate and Maggie share some thinking on notetaking from an amazing session I was able to attend on Sunday. Smart thinking--lots to reflect on--In Which Our Hero Uses Colored Pencils to Save the World (of Note-Taking).  

Katie at Catching Readers Before They Fall shared her thinking in a post called Be the Change--Reflections on #NCTE12. (Just so you know, Katie ran 9 miles every morning before starting her NCTE days...impressive, very impressive).

And Pat at Catching Readers Before They Fall reflected on a session she presented (one that I couldn't get to so am so happy to be able to learn from her here!) Her post Storytelling Part 1-includes her own storytelling!  And Storytelling Part 2 shares another! Thanks, Pat!

And if you missed it, Monday night's #engchat was focused on reflections from #ncte12.  You can find the archives here. It was an amazing conversation and lucky for me, I participated from the airplane--thanks to Southwest for offering $5 Wifi!

Troy Hicks reflected on NWP and NCTE in his post Mentoring Matters.  I so love the key theme that Troy pulled from the weekend.

And Rose focused on the Important Things about #NCTE12 in her post at Mentor Texts with Lynne and Rose.

And Joanne Levy from The Class of 2K12 reflected --again another powerful theme of Books and Community in her post.

And at THEDIRIGIBLEPLUM, the NCTE12 reflections are in the form of 17 Word Reviews. Such fun and so much power in so few words!

Karen at Literate Lives shared her NCTE12 learning complete with How to Make a Braided Scarf!  Great pictures show the energy of the convention.

Mr. Wyzlic shares his whirlwind days at NCTE12 and ALAN.  Brian gives us fun and thoughtful read complete with photos!

Kellee shares her experience at Teach Mentor Texts--Kellee's exclamation points and smiles make it clear how much she enjoyed NCTE12 and ALAN!

Jen (also at Teach Mentor Texts) has included 2 videos in her NCTE12 Recap post. I would highly suggest you follow everyone featured in her first video and make sure to take time to watch her ending video (#notmyhat).
And at Always a First year Teacher, the post How The NCTE Conference Helped Me Get Past My Manufactured Fears, is both reflective and empowering.

At YA Love, Sarah shared her learning as well as a link to her presentation.

Kristin at Children's Literature Crossroads reflected at NCTE 2012: Friends, Books, Networking and Nerdybooklovers --she had a ball and learned lots.

Sherry at Library Fanatic shared her first experience at NCTE/ALAN! I'm guessing by all she shared she will definitely be at NCTE and ALAN every year!

Mrs. Heise at Heise Reads and Recommends shares her highlights (and she has lots of them!) of NCTE and ALAN.  Another post that captures the pace and fun of this year's convention!

Sarah at The Reading Zone reflected on her trip, complete with Tweets from some sessions she attended!

Kristin (@FirstGradeThinks) shared slides from her session, Integrating Technology with Thoughtful Comprehension Instruction in the Elementary and Middle Grade Classroom.

Leslie at Healigan's Second Home shares her experience in two posts, Teacher Finds Home at NCTE 2012 and Teaching is art, learning is personal.  One powerful line in Leslie's post said exactly what I've been thinking about this year's convention: "I will trust my instincts with more confidence than I have allowed myself before."

Tony at atychiphobia shares the awesomeness that was NCTE12 for him in his post NCTE12 > Vegas.

Gail at Blogwalker posted her reflections at Back from NCTE 2012 Convention. She summarizes great learning from several sessions.

Gary at What's Not Wrong posted his reflection in a post called "Glimpsing the Future". He says, "It's an exciting time to be in this profession!"

Noel at Passion Tea Lemonade starts off her recap in a nonlinear way in her post A Series of Fortunate Events (ncte2012). She has a few good conference tips along the way!

Cathy at Reflect and Refine writes English Teachers in Vegas? She reflects on connections as well as powerful things she is thinking about after convention.

Chris at Thinking about Learning and Teaching shares Part 1 of her NCTE/ALAN reflection here. Lots of great learning and big ideas to ponder!

Cynthia at Teaching in Cute Shoes shares in NCTE: My (Incomplete) Recap. This post is complete with key leanings from great people as well as (of course) cute shoes!

Beth at A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust posts Bookish Teachers Invaded Las Vega for NCTE--filled with photos and fun!

Mrs. Bennett at Used Books in Class posted You shall know us by our shoes and Meeting Jon Scieszka, Rock Star. Both are fun reads packed with NCTE learning!

Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning posts NCTE 2012--Post, Ignite Style--great title and packed with top 20 things about her NCTE experience!

Ann Marie at AM Literacy Learning Log not only shares her NCTE learning but we also get to watch while she cashes in her big winnings!

Cindy at Charting by the Stars posts My Big Vegas Winnings shares her highlights:-)

Mary Lee here at A Year of Reading tells about NCTE the way she explained it to her students. Her November Mosaic of photos is comprised entirely of pictures from NCTE and Las Vegas.

Getting Ready for NCTE!

We'll be posting infrequently as we get sub plans ready, finish report cards, polish our presentations and pack, so you won't see much of us here on the blog in the next two weeks, but maybe we'll get a chance to say hello in person at NCTE! See you in Vegas!!

Already Looking Forward to #NCTE12 !!!

As I mentioned in a previous post, NCTE's Annual Convention marks the end of fall for me.  I love the start of a new school year--August, September, October.  I love getting to know new students and families. I love the weather (not too hot, not too cold), and I am usually fairly organized after summer vacation.  Then when it's time for NCTE's annual convention, I am ready for new learning. I am ready to think hard about instruction with this particular group of children in mind. I am excited to pick up new books that this group of students will love. I am ready to reenergize and focus for the remainder of the school year. Absolute perfect timing for me.

So, I tend to get excited about the convention a little earlier than most. I spent some time this weekend really looking at the newest Council Chronicle with the Annual Convention Preview.  I also spent a little bit of time online looking at the searchable program.  Here are some things I am excited about already:

*There will be an App for the convention program this year. How convenient!  A good reason to purchase the iPad mini or the iPhone5  if they becomes reality before convention, don't you think?

*So many of my newest heroes will be there. I am excited about all of the experts around 21st Century Learning such as Sir Ken Robinson (Friday morning General Session) and Will Richardson. I was able to hear Will Richardson for the first time this summer and learned so much. And I've never had the opportunity to hear Sir Ken Robinson speak in person.

*Presenting with Sara Kajder, Teri Lesesne and Donalyn Miller will definitely be a highlight. These girls are brilliant and I always learn so much from them. And they are fun. What better combination is there?

*I will be doing one IGNITE presentation as part of a panel. I am excited about the challenge it will be to create my first real IGNITE presentation for an audience.  Harder than it looks, I imagine! And I love the IGNITE sessions. I am especially excited to attend the one on
BUILDING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING NETWORKS--to hear so many smart people in one session sounds too good to be true!

*There are so many great authors at convention this year. A few that I am especially excited about are
Jon Szieszka, Lemony Snicket, David Shannon, and Sherman Alexie!

*The exhibit hall is always great fun. There are lots of great new professional books out around convention time.  Kylene Beers' and Bob Probst's new Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading is one I can't WAIT to read.  These two are brilliant!  And I've heard Penny Kittle share a bit about her upcoming book, Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers, and can't wait to read it!

*I loved Ralph Fletcher's Guy-Write: What Every Guy Writer Needs to Know and a looking forward to his session (with Chris Crutcher) on the topic.

*The Day on Early Childhood is always a great day for elementary teachers. I was thrilled to see Vivian Vasquez as the Closing Keynote for that day--LITERACY PRACTICES IN VIRTUAL WORLDS. I purchased her book, Technology and Critical Literacy in Early Childhood, the day it came out but haven't had time to dig in yet.  Such an important topic!

*There is a session on THE NERDY BOOK CLUB and a few on NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOKS.  COMMON CORE and MATH LITERACY are other topics I saw when flipping through the preview.

*Many friends and colleagues are participating in sessions that will be great learning for me.
*Katherine and I plan to run on the strip in Vegas. A little healthy exercise before the day begins. Maybe we'll all wear our Nerdy Book Club running attire?

*The exhibits already look like such fun. I am thinking that I should definitely have an empty suitcase for new books for the classroom this year!

*And of course, my favorite part of convention, is always learning informally with others attending the conference. Seeing old friends and meeting new ones--around the topic of literacy education--is always so energizing.

I am sure I won't get to see everything I've listed here and I am certain that I missed lots on my first look through the program. It is never easy to fit in every great learning opportunity at convention.  But the possibilities are endless. And this year's conference looks amazing!

By the way, the official hashtag for the NCTE Annual Convention this year is #NCTE12

Let the Tweets begin!