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| Mindy Hoffar closing the All Write Conference |
Tuesday's sessions were as good as Monday's. It was a conference in which every session was incredible.
I began the day in Georgia Heard's session. Her topic was A PLACE FOR WONDER
and I see huge possibilities for the library. I have read and loved all of Georgia Heard's books. She was the person who years ago at a Teacher's College Writing Project Summer Institute convinced me that I could include poetry reading and writing in my classroom. Her book, FOR THE GOOD OF EARTH AND SUN is still the resource I go back to again and again for inspiration in the teaching of poetry. This topic, A Place of Wonder, follows Georgia's theme--helping kids find and live their passions--but in this book, she focuses more on nonfiction. I have been especially interested in nonfiction lately, thinking about how to get more kids at our school reading nonfiction by choice. I see huge implications for the library after hearing Georgia talk. I think I read this book when I was new to the library and now that things are set, it seems the perfect time to implement some of the ideas that Georgia shares in the library. One of the key things Georgia talked about was the importance of valuing student questions and having a permanent place in the classroom to capture those. She also talked about the idea of "pondering time" when a class could explore one question together as a way into class shared research. She says, "Google can answer questions. We want them to think about things. We want them to put opinions with fact-they need voice." She wove all of this in with the teaching of nonfiction and what struck me was the idea that research is not about report writing. It is about wondering, finding answers, thinking together and finding voice because you understand. I will be revisiting this book with an eye toward the library this summer.
Cris Tovani (@ctovani) talked about her upcoming book, SO WHAT DO THEY REALLY KNOW? ASSESSMENT THAT INFORMS TEACHING AND LEARNING
(due out from Stenhouse in July). She talked about the importance of getting back to our beliefs about students and learning. She shared that when your beliefs don't match your practice, you get burnt out. She said, "If you don't believe that children can read, you won't do the learning needed to figure out how to scaffold them so they can read for 90 minutes." She really pushed us to think about our practice--why do we do what we do. She did this by sharing her own process and her own thinking over the year. She reminded us that Reading Workshop is not an activity--that it is a planning structure. And she talked about assessment that matters--the kind that helps us know where to take kids next. I am anxious to read her new book. Her first book, I READ IT BUT I DON'T GET IT
, impacted me incredibly years ago. Even though Cris was a high school teacher and I was teaching 4th grade at the time, the issues she shares are universal. Cris's work is work that can support our thinking and learning about literacy K-12.
Lester Laminack really pushed us to think about the role of setting in books. He is brilliant in his 
understanding of the subtle things an author does in a text and the way that it impacts the reader. As always, listening to Lester was a treat. He can bring powerful thinking to us with his humor and wit. This was the first time I was able to hear Lester read aloud from his new picture book THREE HENS AND A PEACOCK
. I love that he can use his own writing to share the decisions he makes as an author. This combination is a unique one for a presenter--his understanding of child development, literacy learning, and the life of a writer. Setting is often one of those things I don't pay attention to but Lester gave us ways to really look at the way setting impacts a story--when it matters. I hope to reread some picture books that he recommended to begin to make sense of setting myself. Lester's blog is also a great source of information.
No matter how many times I hear Debbie Miller, she keeps me grounded. Debbie shared student samples from K-5 on how she is helping students make their thinking permanent. She is brilliant in her choice of books and shared picture books like THE MAGIC FISH
and THE HARMONICA
as ways to help students at different levels make sense of text at deeper levels. I loved Debbie's book READING WITH MEANING
--it helped me see what kids were capable of when time was given to thinking. But her book TEACHING WITH INTENTION
is one that has impacted my thinking most in the last several years. In that book, as in this presentation, she shared the thought process she goes through to show how intentional she is about every move she makes in the classroom. Everything she does is purposeful and every book she chooses, she does with intent. For me, Debbie is always about thinking hard about the ways in which we spend time with kids--keeping our classrooms authentic and powerful places for learning.All Write was definitely an energizer. The speakers all gave me so much to think about. And June is a great time to start thinking and planning! :-)
Jeff Anderson, author of 
kicked of the All Write conference with the opening keynote. Jeff has an upcoming book called 10 THINGS EVERY WRITER NEEDS TO KNOW (Stenhouse). In his keynote, Jeff talked a bit about the new book and made some points that I have been thinking about. One point he made early on about the title of the new book was to point out that the book was not called "THE" 10 THINGS A WRITER NEEDS TO KNOW. But these are 10 things that stay true. At the beginning of Jeff's talk, he mentioned all of the ways technology are expanding our opportunities to write. But, he asked, "What are the things about writing that stay true no matter what?" He continued to push us to think about ways we supported writing in our classrooms. 
and 
most often but I think I will revisit 
after hearing this talk.
into her session. Ruth talked about the things she learned about teaching writing from her children's swim teacher. The talk was brilliant and the message was huge. It was a gift to be part of her session. The thing about Ruth that most struck me was her reflective stance--she is constantly reflecting on her practice and carries the reflection a bit further than most of us do. She is continually looking at the bigger picture of our work with children. This is evident in all of her writing and her work. Ruth is one of those people that truly amazes me. I am not sure how she does what she does. Ruth is generous with sharing her own learning--when you look for Ruth online, you can find webcasts, presentations and more. Her book 
is packed with ideas to help teachers reflect. She is also working on a new book and keeps up with not one, but two blogs, 
I have heard Ann Marie Corgill (@acorgill on Twitter) speak many times over the years. I always learn so much from her and am able to rethink my work with young writers. At All Write, I was able to hear her talk about writing assessment and the use of Learning Journey folders. Ann Marie wrote about these in her book 
and I have been thinking a great deal about making the process of learning more visible. These folders are something I need to look at again--I plan to revisit that section of her book soon. Ann Marie is someone who understands writing workshop at all levels. She has experience teaching grades 1-6 and shares her learning in many ways. Her 
Twitter). Terry has taught me so much about the possibilities with graphica over the years. His book, 
has helped me embrace this format as both a reader and a teacher. I am still not totally comfortable with graphica so anytime I have a chance to hear Terry, I do. Terry talked a lot about the ways that graphic novels give our kids visual supports for comprehension and that these books often create a scaffold for more traditional texts. He had us work through a few examples of the skills and strategies needed to understand graphic novels and I could more easily see how using graphica in minilessons can make strategies more visible for kids. I have always used picture books in this way, but had not thought about it with graphica. 
years ago, when it first came out. I fell in love with it and then went on to read all of Patchett's book. I've loved all of them but none has really compared to Bel Canto for me. Until I read her newest, STATE OF WONDER
. Many reviewers are saying the same thing. I finished this book Thursday and was so sad to close the last page and leave the characters and the story behind.
by Louis Sachar
was the first graphic novel I read this week. It is a short biography from the 
by 
I also read 
by Laura Lee Gulledge. This is more of a young adult novel. I see it as more middle school/high school. The story is about a girl named Paige who moves to New York City. It is a growing up story in which Paige learns to be herself, explore her feelings through her art, make friends, fall in love and more. There are a few edgy parts to the book--one that makes it perfect for middle school/high school. A great story about a character I came to love early in the book. I thought this was a well-done book trailer on the book.
by 
I picked up 
by Alison Murray today while I was out shopping. It is an adorable alphabet book and dog story combined. In this story, a dog's owner makes an apple pie and he wants a taste. The book is unique in that it is an alphabet book, but the pages go together to tell a story. Each of the pages focuses on one letter and a simple phrase to tell the story of how hard this dog works to get a taste of the pie. For example the F page says, "find a crumb", H says, "have to get a lick of it" and N says, "not giving up". That gives you a clue into the story.