DUBLIN LITERACY CONFERENCE-February 21

The brochure for the Dublin Literacy Conference is available online. This year, we have lots of great speakers.

Children's Authors:
Johanna Hurwitz
Grace Lin
Asma Mobin-Uddin
Barbara O'Connor
Amjed Qamar

Professional Authors:
Samantha Bennett, author of THAT WORKSHOP BOOK
Ruth Culham, author of 6+1 Traits Writing
Pat Johnson, author of ONE CHILD AT A TIME
The 2 Sisters, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser of THE DAILY 5 and

Come join us! It is always a fun day!

Dublin Literacy Conference 2012 Slides

This weekend, I gave a session on Comprehension in a Digital Reading Workshop. Below are the slides from the session.Dublin Literacy Conference 2012

View more presentations from Franki22.

The handout included these reflective questions for teachers about our workshops. They are questions I am using to think about digital texts across workshop routines.

What role do digital texts have in your reading workshop?

Read Aloud

Do I choose to read aloud only texts from traditional books or do I share digital texts, audio books, blogs, etc. during read aloud?

Do we use web resources such as author websites and book trailers to help us dig deeper into the book we are reading?

Do I read aloud from websites and blogs?

Independent Reading/Reading Conferences

Do we use online resources for book previewing and book selection?

Do I limit students' independent reading to traditional books or do they have a variety of options for their reading time?  Do I place equal value on reading on e-readers, reading websites, etc. as I do on reading novels?

Do I help my students use online tools to support their lives as readers? Do I value annotation tools, bookmarking tools, RSS feeds, etc. as part of my readers lives? Do I model these tools in minilessons?

Do I introduce digital pieces and discuss digital reading when conferring with students.

Have I updated my reading interview to include questions about digital reading?

Reading and Writing Minilessons

Do I use digital texts or pieces when teaching minilessons?

Do I rely completely on traditional text or do I use film clips, blog entries, podcasts, etc. when planning minilessons?

Do I share process in my minilessons? Do I tend to share process only as it relates to creating text-based pieces?

Do I share my own writing process?  Composing in several types of media?

Shared Reading

Have I reflected on the resources I rely on for Shared Reading?

Do I include web reading and viewing when thinking about Shared Reading experiences?

How can I include a variety of texts for students to process through together?

Content Reading

Have I found sources for content reading that go beyond textbooks and traditional text?

Do I rely on newspapers for talk around current events or do I tend to focus more on sites like DOGONews and other sites that combine text and video?

How am I supporting the importance of visual information in the content areas?

Thinking Ahead to 2014--I'm Not Calling These Resolutions

Well, 2013 was not a great year in terms of meeting any of my goals. A ridiculous concussion with a unique healing-turned-into-migraine-cycle, followed by drugs that didn't really help, made for a pretty blah year in terms of getting things done. It was a real bummer as I spent 2012 working hard to get in shape (Couch to 5K and Yoga) and read lots.  So, now, at the end of 2013, I am kind of back to where I was a few years ago. But when I look back, I learned lots.  I am not good at slowing down and the Concussion Year forced me to do that (since I had nothing else to do).

I realized that the goals aren't really so important.  Having a time in my life that I couldn't read, work or exercise was fascinating.  I really had nothing to do as I don't have many hobbies not related to reading, work or computers.  So, it forced me to take a break and to think about what I love and how I want to spend my time.  During my first week of the concussion rest, I told a friend that I thought God was telling me I needed to rest.  She said, "He has been trying to tell you that for a while. You just weren't listening."  Good friends say what you need to hear, I guess.

Anyway, going into 2013, I am just celebrating the fact that I can read again. And I can exercise again. And I can work a lot again. And I can write again. I do love work.  But I did learn that I also love rest. And I learned that I haven't been taking care of my own learning.  And I learned that I got so busy that I didn't even realize it.  And I realized that once I had to quit all of the ongoing projects I was involved in, it was okay.

As you can see from the list below, it isn't so balanced. I am really committing to a year of my own professional learning and that seems to take up most of my space here.  Visually, it looks unbalanced but I feel like I need a year like this while still fitting the other important things in.

Reading
So, this year, I want to read. I want to read more for me. I think I got so caught up in reading the newest books for my students, in reading the books that might win awards, in reading the books I thought I should, that I stopped reading YA and Adult Fiction that I love. I want to make a bit more time for that. My life is better when I'm reading.

And I want to use the library more. I am really bad about buying books I then don't really need.  I love owning books but clearly have too many.  When we got married, my husband told me that buying books was never something that would be a problem--you could never own too many books.  Well, he had no idea what that could become and I find myself with lots of books that I've read but don't necessarily need or want to own.  And the number of books I own is getting to be overwhelming to say the least.  So, I am going to try to use the library more often. It is right next door to my school and they have a great collection so there is really no excuse not to.

Fitness
Our #runteacherrun Facebook Group has grown to over 200 members! I haven't been very active on it this year as I've lost so much running time.  And I was never great at running anyway. But I do want to get back to it.  The Facebook Group started a challenge and I think I'll join.  With some modifications.  Here is their challenge:

2014 Run Teacher Run Challenge- join me?
*Run or work out at least 14 times a month in 2014.
*Post at least 14 times on run teacher run.
*Run at least 4 "real" or virtual races in 2014. (Or create your own with friends!)
*Run at least 400 miles in 2014. (Or create your own workout equivalent to miles.)
*Encourage 4 teacher friends to run/workout and join us here in this group!

I'll modify in a few ways.  I definitely want to work out at least 14 times a month in 2014 and I want to post at least 14 times on the Run Teacher Run page. I'll also encourage others to join the group.  In terms of races, I am going to try for 1 race or virtual race. I am not a big fan of races so one seems like plenty to me.  And I am not going to set a mile goal. I am a very slow runner (15 minute miles--slower than walking). I think my goal will to be to keep track of my mileage in 2014. That's all. Just to begin that habit.

I also started a membership to My Yoga Online. I love going to the yoga studio and we are lucky to have a few great ones and lots of great teachers here. But, some days, I just don't have the time for the driving, set up and 1 hour class. My Yoga Online has all different classes that I can do at home with my membership. If I add this as an option, I should be able to fit in 3 yoga classes a week.

Professional
My own learning is going to be a goal for 2014.  I have been in the classroom for 27 years and it is easy to burn out of this job without constantly learning, changing and growing. I have been so lucky to be part of lots of professional groups of people who are committed to learning and growing as educators.  Over the last several years, I've done lots of consulting and fit in my own learning when possible. When I had my concussion and had to cancel lots of my consulting work, I realized how much my own learning just kind of tagged along with my consulting work. I very seldom went to conferences over the last few years without presenting, etc. And I missed just being places as a learner. I love the consulting work and learn so much from that, but I realized in 2013, that I had lost my balance. Here is what I have planned for 2014.

I plan to attend several conferences over the year . A balance of topics and types of conferences. At some, I'll be presenting a bit and at others I'll attend with no responsibilities.  Here is what is on my professional conference plan.

OETC -Ohio Educational Technology Conference--I'll attend this one for one day and do a one hour session on digital learning at the conference. The rest of the day will be dedicated to my learning.

The Dublin Literacy Conference is one of my favorite days of the year. I'll be doing a session with Tony Keefer and Katie DiCesare.  I love this day. (Last year, my concussion was new so I was a little woozy during my presentation with Tony.  I am hoping to do my part a little better this year!)

I've been busy with my NCTE work over the last several years and because of that I've missed our state OCTELA Conference. This year, I'll be able to attend for a day and do a one hour session. This has always been one of my favorite conferences and I'm looking forward to getting back to it.

MRA will be a conference that I attend just for me and for fun. Driving with colleagues, having the weekend of learning is always a treat. 

I'm looking forward to the second part in our yearlong Literacy Connection study.  Ruth Ayres' visit in the fall was a highlight and I am looking forward to her April session! 

I'll be doing a few sessions at this year's All Write conference, one that I was SO SAD to miss last year because of my concussion.  This is definitely a favorite for so many reasons.  

Last year, I attended a Choice Literacy Writing Retreat and it reminded me of how much I love to write and that I wanted to dedicate more time to different types of writing.  It was an amazing few days and it changed me as a writer. Looking forward to another writing retreat.   I'd also love to participate in Kate Messner's Teacher's Write this summer too:-)

ISTE is one that I am thinking about attending. It isn't a conference I'd attend every year but one I'd like to attend once in a while and it is in Atlanta this year. If I can get organized to get there, I'm planning on it.

And of course, I can't wait for NerdcampMI!  Nerdcamp was one of my favorite days in 2013--from the moment we got in the car until the moment we got home, we had a great time. The team ran an amazing day and I'm looking forward to one that is a day and 1/2 this year. 

I'll be speaking at this year's Ohio Innovative Learning Environments Conference. This is an amazing week of learning and I'm excited to be part of it.

NCTE!!! Of Course!!


I'm also planning on revisiting professional books to really dig into the classroom piece a bit.  With 4 years out of the classroom and a year in 4th grade, it is taking me a little while to learn what works in a 3rd grade classroom. Now that I've had some time, I want to tweak a few things and learn a bit more as this age is so different than 4th.  

I'll also be finishing the NCTE book I am writing with Bill Bass. This is a great learning experience.  The book is on Digital Literacy: What's Essential? and it is really helping me think through what I understand about literacy and the ways tools are changing things.

I'll be teaching a few Choice Literacy Online Workshops (The Tech Savvy Literacy Teacher and Text Complexity in Grades 3-5). I just started these last year and I love the online learning format.  I love how groups come together online to learn around a topic and I love thinking about these topics with other educators.  

Word for 2014

So, I have always been fascinated by people who have a word for the year.  I haven't really had one of those as I could never think of the right one.  But I think I have one for 2014.  I was looking for one and have been pondering my need to "get things done", plan ahead, etc.  I never seem to just enjoy what I am doing as I am always worried about or thinking about what's next or what I don't have done or how behind I am.

Nerdlution has been good for me. Even though I have been on a 10 day nerdlution-vacation.  It helped me see that I do need breaks and balance.  And that I have to be careful not to think too far ahead.  Mary Lee posted this link to the #nerdlution Twitter group this week and it said a lot to me.  So my word for 2014 is going to be TODAY.  I am going to try really really really hard to not stress about all that is coming my way and enjoy each day whether it is a day full of work, rest, friends, exercise, whatever.  I love my days but so often I get caught up on what's next or what I didn't get done, that I don't enjoy the day or what I am currently doing as much as I should.  Each day is different and TODAY seems like a good word for me for 2014.

Birthday
And I will turn 50 in 2014.  I have been telling everyone and saying I'm 50 for a while so as not to be too shocked when it actually happens.  (See why TODAY is such a good word for me!)

Author Interview: April Pulley Sayre

Back in February, April was the visiting author at my school and at Franki's school, and then she was one of the featured authors at the Dublin Literacy Conference. If you don't know her books, it's time for a trip to the library or the bookstore! Please welcome...




April Pulley Sayre!


Tell a bit about how the places you've visited in the world have wound up in the books you write.

My idea of a great day is standing in an army ant swarm in Panama or swimming with squid in the Caribbean. My husband and I travel to many biomes but focus our trips on rain forests and coral reefs. We've visited rain forests in Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, Belize, and Panama. We've even led adventure tours to Panama so we know that country well. The direct experiences we've had in Panama have shown up in ARMY ANT PARADE and an upcoming book about howler monkeys. (I love to witness army ant swarms and see the many birds that follow the chaos.)


Photos from the rain forest are in my young readers book, TROPICAL RAIN FOREST, and in SECRETS OF SOUND: STUDYING THE CALLS OF WHALES, ELEPHANTS, AND BIRDS.

What do you feel is the best quality of your writing?

I think the best technical quality of my writing is probably what people have called "lyrical language." When I write picture books, in particular, I approach them with a certain voice, and polish them until they have a push and pull of language that is pleasing to my ear. The words have to be right. When I am done polishing a picture book it lingers in my mind—the rhythms and rhymes. I have a great sense of satisfaction when I am done writing these picture books and I never tire of reading them out loud. Perhaps that is the point. A great picture book has to hold up to repeated readings. It has to be delicious in every way.

My specialty is narrative nonfiction—material that is true but that uses suspense and other narrative techniques to give the feel of a story. I like to choose material that has layers of meaning. Often my books seem to be about something small but ultimately make a reader feel connected to something deep and large, such as the sunrise, the water cycle, and so on.

What's your favorite of all the books you've written, and what's the story behind that book?

I love so many of my books and each in its own way. One of my favorites is certainly DIG, WAIT, LISTEN: A DESERT TOAD'S TALE. It's about listening for the sound of desert rain. The illustrator, Barbara Bash, and the art director and designer just made it the perfect book. Kids just hug it to them. You can tell each part of the book was made with love. THE BUMBLEBEE QUEEN had that same quality and the illustrator, Patricia Wynne, made that text sing.



One of my favorite book texts is certainly my recent picture book STARS BENEATH YOUR BED: THE SURPRISING STORY OF DUST. It's about how you and I help create the color of the sunset and sunrise. It's about how we live in a world sprinkled with star dust and dust from long ago, even dust in which dinosaurs rolled. Again, it's one of those think small, think big kind of books. It's probably my best writing. I thought it would never be published; it was rejected 52 times over the course of 8 years until the wonderful Rebecca Davis, who was at Greenwillow, took the risk of making a book about dust. When STARS BENEATH YOUR BED won the best Science Picture Book of the Year from the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru/Science Books and Films, I cried I was so happy. I was so amazed that book would now have a life.

Would you tell us a little about your upcoming books?

I have three books coming out this year and two next year. My first, in April, is HUSH, LITTLE PUPPY, from Holt. It is a loving lullaby with beautiful illustrations by British artist Susan Winter.

In the fall my third chant book, BIRD, BIRD, BIRD: A CHIRPING CHANT will be released. A new chant illustrator, Gary Locke, has done this one and his work is spectacular. Really laugh out loud hilarious with an underlying bubble of good-natured joy.

The third book is VULTURE VIEW by Holt. I am so excited about this book. It's illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner Steve Jenkins. I think it's one of my best read aloud books and a perfect pairing with Steve's art and sensibility. I can hardly wait until it's released by Holt in October 2007. It's not just about vultures; it teaches about physics...how warming air rises and cooling air falls.

I wrote the book while standing on a tower in Panama. Yet the book isn't set in Panama at all. I was taking care of a tour participant who had gotten too excited while watching all the sloths, migrating hawks, toucans, and other spectacular things. She literally needed to rest and calm down. So, I sat with her. As I did, I looked out the window and a troop of howlers came and peeked in at us but I couldn't tell her they were there. Then, vultures started circling up out of a valley and suddenly I could hear in my head how my new book, VULTURE VIEW, should go. I had to grab a notebook and scribble the words.

In 2008, another spectacular book is coming: TROUT ARE MADE OF TREES. Of course this will be a great pairing with my book TROUT, TROUT, TROUT: A FISH CHANT. But TROUT ARE MADE OF TREES, from Charlesbridge, is another one of my deep lyrical nonfiction books, about how leaves fall into streams and are eaten by insects that are eaten by trout that are eaten by people and bears. It begins "Trout are made of trees. In fall, trees let go of leaves, which twirl and swirl and slip into streams..." I just saw the first art by Kate Endle. It is colorful and amazing collage...almost quilt like. It shows a family exploring the aquatic side of a stream.

Anything else?

Well, I just returned from speaking at the Dublin Literacy Conference, near Columbus, Ohio. It's run by you and the teachers of your district. Perhaps you're too modest to mention it, but that conference ROCKS! Any authors who are invited should definitely go. My only complaint is that I had to speak so I couldn't attend all the sessions. Moan. Moan. But I'm already using some of what I learned there.

On another note, one of the things I emphasize to kids is that not all the "cool" stuff is in rain forests and far away countries. Many of my great nature experiences have happened right here in the Midwest, in my Indiana backyard. The biodiversity here is terrific and there are lots of camouflaged, wild and wonderful creatures to see. My husband used to run a native plants nursery and he's kind of an expert in that field. So we've landscaped our tiny yard with prairie, wetland, and forest plants that bring creatures to our door.

Even a small patch of milkweed and other butterfly plants can bring great wildlife viewing to a yard or schoolyard. The future of wild life and wild experiences in the U.S. is really in the hands of landowners, even those with tiny yards. It's about planting trees and allowing places to be a little bit wild so there is room for birds, frogs, and the berries and insects they depend upon. Seeing a butterfly or a frog can make my whole day and many children feel that way, too. We need to keep that, for our health and quality of life.

I welcome teachers to take a look at my site, www.aprilsayre.com. It has lots of extension activities for my books. When I visit schools I try to take photos of what teachers are doing with the books and post those photos on my site. I better get to work because I have a lot of new material to add!

Planning for My Professional Learning 2010-11

I am so energized by all that I have been learning lately.  There are so many exciting opportunities for our students. I know that, for me, my own learning is key to the work I do with kids. Even though so much of my learning comes from reading blogs and finding resources on Twitter, I like to go to a few conferences every year.  I have always found it important to keep up with the thinking and learning through these kinds of events.  They all help keep me focused on the right work. There are so many opportunities for learning and I want to take advantage of those that I think will support my goals this year. There are so many great opportunities, it is always hard to decide on the most worthwhile and doable events. Luckily, most of these events take place on weekends. I have always thought it was well worth it to spend a few weekends dedicated to my own learning. I can also take a personal day or two each day to attend conferences if I need to.

I am taking another course via distance learning (University of Alberta's amazing program) toward a degree in Teacher-Librarianship.  My fall course focuses on Web 2.0 and it is right where my thinking is right now. Talking and thinking and learning with others on this topic will be great fun and I am hoping to figure out what all of this means for the elementary library.

On October 2, The Literacy Connection is sponsoring a daylong workshop with Christian Long on Designing a 21st Century Learning Environment.  This will be perfect timing for this thinking.  As you know if you read this blog, it was Christian Long who introduced me to The Third Teacher and I have had the opportunity to hear him talk at the Ohio Summit and at Dublin City Schools' Opening Day Convocation. He is grounded in his beliefs about kids and I am anxious to learn from him for a full day at this event.  Plus, I love the Literacy Connection events because I love having time to learn from and with this group of people.

Jennifer Branch of the University of Alberta told us about the 2010 SLJ Leadership Summit-The Future of Reading in Chicago this fall.  The speakers look amazing. There are a few of us from my district who will attend and I'll also get to meet the people I am taking classes with--face to face! I have already learned so much from my online course that it will be nice to get to meet "in real life". This summit looks to be packed with information and new learning, specific to school libraries.

Of course, my highlight of the fall is always NCTE's Annual Convention in November in Orlando.  It is always the place where I reconnect with others and learn from amazing educators each year.  I went to my first NCTE convention about 20 years ago and have been hooked ever since.  As a literacy educator, this is the place where the best thinking comes together and grows each year.  This year, I am looking forward to Thursday's sessions with Bud Hunt, Troy Hicks and Sara Kajder. I am also thrilled to be able to be part of the Elementary Section Get-Together in which Philippa Stratton will be honored. On Sunday, I'll be presenting with Mary Lee, Donalyn Miller, and Aimee Buckner.

I have been wanting to attend Educon at SLA for a few years . This year, I am planning to attending Educon 2.3 in January. I so appreciate that the bulk of this conference is over the weekend.  I have learned so much from the work of Chris Lehmann and all of the others who have been part of Educon that I am looking forward to hearing their latest thinking and in participating in this event. (If you have not heard Chris Lehman's TED talk or his graduation speech, they both give you a sense of what SLA is about.

In February, we will host the 22nd Dublin Literacy Conference. This year, professional speakers include Kelly Gallagher, Patrick Allen, Troy Hicks, and Christian Long. Children's authors include Brian Pinkney, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Wendy Mass and Loren Long.  (Site for that will be coming soon.)

In April, I will have the opportunity to hear Debbie Miller in Columbus. Debbie will be the speaker at The Literacy Connection's yearlong study. We will begin the year in October and we will study Debbie's newest book,  Teaching With Intention. In April, Debbie will do demonstration teaching as well as a workshop for participants. This yearlong study is always a highlight.  Last year, Samantha Bennett was amazing and I am so looking forward to learning from Debbie Miller this year.

And, I would LOVE to attend November Learning/BLC 11 again next summer. BLC10 was the best learning I've had in a long time and I find myself reflecting on the speakers there often.  Alan November and his group put on such an amazing event.

So, my year is packed with great learning opportunities already. I am sure some new events will pop up as the year goes on, but I find that a monthly dose of great thinking and learning is perfect for me.  It helps focus my thinking a bit when working with students.

Coming in March: Tech Playground for Families

One of the things the Dublin Literacy Conference has been thinking about this year is how to make student learning visible. A component of our conference has always been the display of student work. These have changed over the years. When the conference began 21 years ago, an entire area was designated to students displays. They took up walls and walls of space and celebrated our students' learning. But recently, we have had to rethink these "displays" based on the kinds of work our kids are creating. Jason Blair, one of our elementary art teachers, was the committee member who volunteered to rethink displays. He set up a great area of student digital displays that conference participants were able to see. But, Jason also wanted a place where teachers could try things out, where they could get their hands on some of the new tools. So he came up with the idea of a "Tech Playground".

At this year's conference, thanks to Jason's brilliant idea, we hosted our first Tech Playground. One room was designated as a place where participants could play with some of the new tools available to our students. The room had a portable SMARTBoard, Kindles, iPods, Cameras, Flip Videos, Laptops and more. Students and staff were available in the room to help out if needed. The room was a great hit. I went in a few times over the lunch break and the room was packed with participants trying out new tools. It was a fun room with lots of energy--a bit like any Apple Store.

I loved the idea of this Tech Playground and have decided to host one for our families in our school library. We've received so many great new tools through various funds for our students at Riverside that I think it would be great for them to be able to share the tools with their families. A Tech Playground seems the perfect idea for families.

After talking to some colleagues about the idea, we've decided to host the Tech Playground for Families during our Spring Book Fair in a few weeks. We always host our book fair during parent-teacher conference nights because so many families are in the building. It makes sense to tie the Tech Playground to this time since so many of our parents and families visit the library for the Book Fair. This will give parents another reason to come to the library and it will give everyone a chance to buy books and learn a bit about the new tech tools. Families buying books and playing with new tech tools--it sounds like the perfect combination to me!

November Learning--Building Learning Communities 2010

I attended one of the best conferences ever last week. My husband, Scott and I attended November Learning's BLC conference in Boston. WOW! It was an amazing experience. Every minute was worth it.

Alan November and his staff ran an unbelievable conference for educators across the world. This conference was one that I had heard about for a while and one that seemed worth going to. I had heard so many good things. When I first heard of Alan November and had the chance to hear him when he spoke in Ohio, my friend, Bill Bass said he was a "Presenter Ninja"! After hearing him speak and hearing more about BLC, I knew I had to go. Not only is Alan November a Presenter Ninja, but he is also a Conference Planning Ninja. He runs a conference that is life-changing for many who attend. It was not my usual--I typically attend literacy conferences and have been immersed in the literacy world for a while. One of the things I love about what Web 2.0 tools are allowing us to do is to connect groups of people that might not normally connect. So this was a new kind of learning for me and I am so glad I stretched myself a bit.

The conference was really not a tech conference, but more about learning and education. One of the things that was important to me was that every speaker had the same beliefs and philosophies about education and the same optimism about what is possible. Technology was definitely a part of everything, but the way tech is being used by the experts here is based in good learning theory. The belief in children and learning was ubiquitous.

Every minute was amazing. Every single session that I attended was worthwhile and gave me so much to think about.

All of the keynote speakers that we heard were amazing. The morning keynotes were given by Mitch Resnick, Michael Wesch, and Rahaf Harfoush. I can't even begin to share all of the thinking these people inspired. Adora Svitak was an afternoon keynote that I heard. I will post more about Adora later this week.

The conference also gave me an opportunity to hear, in person, some people who I have been learning about through blogs and twitter for a while. It was such a great experience to hear presentations given by so many people who have shared their work so willingly online. I will share more as I make sense of all I learned, but if you are looking for new people to follow or learn from, the people I heard have so much to offer through their blogs, twitter accounts, etc.

Since I took the semi-new job as a librarian, Joyce Valenza's work has been so important to my own thinking. Even though she is a high school librarian, her vision for her role has been very inspiring to me. I was able to hear two of Joyce's sessions at BLC and they were amazing. She shared about 10,000 new things--tools, sites, ideas that I need to explore further. If I could just be like Joyce Valenza in my own role...She definitely gave me so much to work toward.

I have been an Angela Maiers fan for a while. We share similar beliefs about elementary literacy instruction. She was actually one of the people who encouraged me to attend the conference and it was great to meet her in person. I was able to attend her session on writing (which I will write more about later this week). She has so many great resources on her site and it was powerful to hear her thinking in person.

I was also able to hear Lee Kolbert. So many of us in Dublin follow her on Twitter and read her blog regularly. It was great to hear the honest work that she is doing with kids. She is doing such amazing things with her students and was honest about the challenges that come with web 2.0 and elementary kids. Loved meeting her too!

I was also able to hear Marco Torres and Jeff Utecht. Marco gave me so many ideas about film and documentaries and Jeff Utech spoke about blended classrooms.

I also found new people to learn from:
Kathy Cassidy, an amazing 1st grade teacher.
Sue Miller and Valerie Becker from http://www.westtisbury-ma.gov/ who shared the work done in Sue's 5th grade classroom. (4 students presented with them in this session.)

Zoe Sprankle (Bob Sprankle's daughter) was a part of Angela Maiers' session. I will be sharing more about what I learned from her later in the week.

Shelley Paul shared her work with teachers and her course on teaching Web 2.0 tools. I had not heard her before but it was clear that her work is so powerful for teachers.

I captured pages and pages of my thinking on Evernote and can't wait to dig in and make sense of it all. I also took lots of pictures, as did other BLC10 participants.

I will be sharing more about the conference throughout the week. I have not had a learning experience like this one in years. I am anxious to make sense of it all and to continue my learning. The dates for 2011 are already set for late July and I am already looking forward to it. This conference is rather addicting. I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who wants an amazing learning experience.

Chris Lehman will be Speaker at 2015-2016 Literacy Connection Events

Mark your calendars now!

The Literacy  Connection is happy to host Chris Lehman as our 2015-2016 speaker. As we do every year, we'll host a yearlong study around a professional book. This year, the book will be Falling in Love With Close Reading.  The year will kick off on Saturday, October 3 (in Dublin, Ohio) with a full day session with Chris.  There will be 2 after school sessions offered for those wishing to participate in the yearlong study. Then we will end our year on Saturday, March 12 for another day with Chris Lehman.

I love these events because they start great conversations with colleagues and friends. I wasn't able to hear Chris speak at the Dublin Literacy Conference but everyone who heard him said that his work in close reading is great for all grades K-12.

So, save the date--you can pick and choose the days you want to attend, or like many teachers--attend all 4 for this yearlong study.

More info to come but as you are thinking about your own learning for the 2015-2016 school year, this might be one you want to add to your calendar!

EGGS by Jerry Spinelli

Today, we have a guest review by Larry Swartz. This weekend, we had our Dublin Literacy Conference. This conference is a teacher conference put on by the Dublin City Schools run by a committee of teachers. We had lots of great speakers--children's authors, professional authors, teachers, and more! It was a great day. Larry Swartz was one of the speakers. 

Larry Swartz is an instructor in the Elementary Pre-service Program at OISE/UT and the Principal of Dramatic Arts Additional Qualifications courses at OISE/UT. He is frequently called upon to share his expertise with children's literature, classroom talk, and anti-bullying strategies. Here is his review of EGGS by Jerry Spinelli. I’ll start off by saying that I think Jerry Spinelli is one of the best authors for readers 10 – 13 years old. I would say that his books appeal to boys and girls. His characterization is always rich. The problems that he presents in his books connect to his readers because they can easily identify with them (i.e., peer pressure in Wringer, belonging in Loser, outcast in Star Girl, heroism in Maniac Magee). The stories have just enough of an imaginative twist to take readers into an imaginative world that is the stuff of fiction (Does a community exist that forces boys to wring the neck of pigeons?). Milkweed aside, there is a veneer of humour in Spinelli’s novel events, in the dialogue and in character quirks. A student teacher recently gave me an advance copy of his newest novel EGGS and since I was heading off on a plane, I was thrilled to have a new Spinelli to keep me company. A good read it was. As I was reading, I couldn’t help thinking about the novels that I recently read that featured characters whose parents have died. . Give me a fifth grade class and I would love to organize Literature Circles (when all titles are available in paperback) around THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, JEREMY FINK AND THE MEANING OF LIFE, WING NUT and EGGS, not only because one or more character has a missing parent, but because they get inside the skin and hearts of these kids who are coping with life’s rotten eggs and hoping to make omelets out of life’s dilemmas-large and small. Take David and Primrose. David lost his mother to a freak accident. His father is often away on business and so the young boy lives with his grandmother. Primrose only knows of her father from a photograph. She lives with a mother whose talent is telling fortunes and whose outlook on life is a little less mature than her daughter’s. David and Primrose are friends, despite an age difference of four years (Primrose is older). It’s very tempting to use an egg metaphor as a review of this book (hard boiled, scrambled, over easy, poached) but here I’ll pay tribute to the egg carton and offer a dozen reasons for admiring and respecting Spinelli’s new work. 1. Boy and girl protagonists. I’m a bit concerned about boy reads and girl reads. Yes, enjoyed the Newbery winner, but few boys are going to choose this book by the cover, by the title and because of its female protagonist. Spinnelli’s strength is in boy characters, but here he has a friendship between a boy and a girl. How clever too to make Primrose an ‘older’ friend. Without reading the book, can’t you imagine how a character named ‘Primrose’ might behave? 2. 224 pages. 42 chapters. Book is divided into sections (Eggs, The Waving Man, Nightcrawlers, Painted Windows, Who Cares, Only Children). I like / many kids like short chapters. 3. The “Ha Ha” factor. When David first meets, Primrose’s fortune-telling mother, she predicts his future by reading the soul of his bare foot. 4. The Gross factor. David and Primrose have a tug of war fight over a nightcrawler. Each wants to capture the twelve-inch worm to raise money. Primrose pulled. David pulled - Thp. Each then held six inches of flailing nightcrawler. Gross! 5. A moment to touch-your-heart factor. Memories of David’s dead mother linger throughout. On the day she died in a bad fall, David decided to never break any rules. David believe if he went long enough without breaking a rule. sooner or later his mother would come back and they would together see the sunrise, that she promised they’d see together. In one episode, David clings to Primrose, sobbing. “I’m not her you, she,” she whispered hoarsely. “I’m only me. Primrose.” He nodded against her. “I know.” (Goosebumps.) 6. Great dialogue… “Are we gonna be out all night?” “Yerp.” “You don’t even care. Do you? “Nerp.” 7. This-only-happens-in-books episode. David first meets Primrose during an Easter Egg Hunt. While on his search, he comes across the still body of a girl hidden amongst the leaves. He takes a yellow egg from the mouth of the body and asks, “Are you dead yet?”. The girl does not answer. Later we learn, that the body belonged to Primrose who was just playing a trick on the boy, just like Spinelli was playing a trick on the reader. This is not a murder mystery. 8. A quirky character (or two). Spinelli’s short descriptions of a character paint a wide portrait in a sentence or two. Refrigerator John, “who was neither as tall nor as wide as a refrigerator. “His own right leg had been withered since birth. When he walked, the leg flapped out sideways, as though he were shaking a dog loose. Madame Dufee. Her body was lost in a robe of flowers, birds, and dragons with flaming tongues. Golden hoops you could pitch a baseball through hung from her earlobes.” 9. Two characters, so different, so the same. They plot together. They argue. “What was with these two? The thirteen year-old girl, the nine year old boy. What brought them together? Sometimes they acted their own ages, Sometimes they switched. Sometimes they both seemed to be nine, other times thirteen. Both were touchy, ready to squawk over nothing.” (note to publisher: Terrific passage for a book jacket blurb). 10. The omelets-out-of rotten-egg factor. David and Primrose take the bad things that life offers and learn to make the best of them. They learn from each other. They need each other. They take care of each other. They’re going to be all right! 11. A touch of symbolism giving readers lots to think about. Eggs figure into the plot (early in the book, David goes on an Easter Egg Hunt, vandals splatter eggs against Primrose’s bedroom window, the sunrise is described as crisp and sharp and beautiful and smooth as a painted egg.). I would love to ask ten year-olds what the title makes them think about: Does it tell the truth of the story?Why six eggs on the cover? How are David and Primrose like eggs? What kind of egg dish might each character be? 12. Great cover. No boys. No girls. Just six eggs resting in a robin’s egg blue carton.

#nerdcampbc-An Amazing Day!!

There are a few professional days each year that I live for.  Conferences that I look forward to as anchors to my year--where I go to learn, reconnect with friends, and re-energize. I can't imagine being a teacher without these few events each year. NCTE, the Dublin Literacy Conference, the Literacy Connection, All Write. They have become part of who I am.  This week, I added a new anchor to my list--#nerdcampbc.  For those of you that missed out on #nerdcampbc, this is the brainchild of Colby Sharp and you can learn more about it on the nerdcamp site.

Thank goodness Sherry told me about #nerdcamp!

Most of you know that I have pretty much been tethered to my house for the last few months due to a concussion and that #nerdcampbc was my first big professional outing.  I had a few hesitations this week as I realized how much I have to do to get ready for school in the fall and I feel pretty behind having had to take so much time off.  And then there were the bigger issues of wearing something other than yoga pants and putting on make-up and earrings :-).  But I could not pass up the chance to be part of this event.  Seeing all of my tweeps and learning together was something I had been looking forward to since Sherry had mentioned it to me. And I am so glad I attended! What a great day!

Colby and Donalyn at dinner Wednesday night.

From the moment I got in the car with my Car PD girls--Cathy Mere, Karen Terlecky, Stephanie Shouldis, and Katie Strawser, I knew it was going to be a fabulous two days. Although we were not so talented at directions, I learned so much just talking and learning from them on the trip. So much great informal talk.  Even through a few possible tornado warnings, we arrived in Battle Creek in time for dinner with a great group of people. It was great to connect with old friends and to meet new ones. Laughing together and talking books started right away.

Alaina explains the board!

Colby, Alaina and the #nerdcamp team started the camp bright and early Thursday morning. Most of us had never been to an Edcamp which I thought was a huge tribute to the planning team.  We attended because we trusted them.  We had no idea what we were attending but we loved the team and jumped on board because we knew they would plan something amazing.

We built the sessions that morning and it was such a hard decision as to which sessions to attend. Travis at 100 Scope Notes has a great post on how the day worked if you've never attended an Edcamp. I must say, the energy in the room was amazing. It was just a huge party of excitement about how it would turn out. It felt like a big game show, with Colby as our host. I loved watching the process as new sessions were added to the board and the program came together. And I love that Colby had this Literacy Edcamp idea at all--the idea of Edcamp with a Literacy focus made it all the more fun to watch unfold.

I attended four great sessions. I learned more about Evernote for record keeping and lesson planning from Cathy Mere, Karen Terlecky Alaina Sharp in Session A2.  I learned about Motivating Reading and Writing Through Technology from Donalyn Miller and Suzanne Gibbs in Session B2. In Session 3 I learned about Sister Classrooms from Brian Wyzlic and Jillian Heise. (We also continued the #hatback conversation here..). And in Session 4, I learned about Battle of the Books and One Book, One School from Sherry Gick  and Kathy Burnette.

A great thing about #nerdcamp is that all the sessions had a notetaker so you can access the notes of sessions you attended or sessions you could not attend right from the Google Doc/Idea Board. I'm pretty sure I'll be exploring the thinking for weeks.  It was a truly great set up for continuing the conversation and it is a great resource for those who could not attend #nerdcamp.

The Twitter hashtag is another great way to join in on the conversation that is still going on (#nerdcampbc).


And then there were prizes!! Such a great way to end a great day!

\

The Real Boy!!

Finally,  it was time to say goodbye to Old Friends and New Friends! No one seemed tired as everyone was so happy and energized and already looking forward to next year's #nerdcamp!

#Nerdcampbc is definitely an event I will try to plan my future summers around because I never want to miss it.  It was a day that made me happy.  So many great new friends. So much great learning. A perfect summer day in my opinion.

THANK YOU, #nerdcampbc Team!

Thank You, #nerdcampbc Team!

365 Things to Make and Do--USBORNE ACTIVITIES

Yesterday, I made my first summer purchase for the library--365 THINGS TO MAKE AND DO. This is not a new book, but it is new to me and will be new to the students. Cookbooks and Craft books are quite popular in our school library. And I think they are critical pieces to a good collection. I think "how to" reading is important, especially as our kids grow as readers. Knowing how to read this type of writing as well as reading the visuals that go along with it, goes a long way toward the visual literacy skills we want for kids. I worry that sometimes, when we are talking about skills like visual literacy, we automatically think about technology tools. But I think our young children can begin to understand visuals in ways that make sense for them. One way is through books like this.

This book is definitely visually appealing. It is a large book --it has to be in order to fit 365 ideas in it! This is not really 365 different ideas. The book is divided into about 125 projects. Each project idea is shared on a two-page spread. For example, one page deals with "Pretty Masks". The page shares the steps to make the mask in a step-by-step column. Then a variety of samples are shared. (Each of these counts as one of the 365 things in the book.).

I love creation and I think kids do too. My daughter recently started her own blog called FUN THINGS TO MAKE. (Her review of the book is here.) When she has free time, making things is often her activity of choice. And she makes things with a variety of tools. She has a cabinet full of "stuff" and the process of creativity is fun to watch, as a mom. The thing is, she creates with pipe cleaners with the same thoughtfulness that she uses when creating with tools of technology. I love to watch her when we shop at the Craft Store--she is shopping for possibilities, more than for things. Looking around to see what is possible. As much as I think it is so important that our kids be creators of information and creators with tools of technology, I also think it is important that they create lots of things with lots of stuff. I have been thinking about this a lot since spending time on children author, Amy Krouse Rosenthal's site. Her home page says, "Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a person who likes to make things." I so love this. A clip that really got me thinking about creation was her film called "17 Things I Made". Watch it if you have time. For Amy, it seems that she too likes creating a variety of things.


(And did I mention that Amy Krouse Rosenthal will be a speaker at our Dublin Literacy Conference this year (February 2011) as well as our school's author visit!!!!!)

When I think about the big 21st Century skills, creation is key. I worry about creation being seen as fluff and that our kids are not having time to create and enjoy the process of creation in school.

I am not usually drawn to books like this--a craft that kids make where the child's product looks like the example. But I see this book as an invitation to kids who love to create. Because each project idea has lots of samples and ways to use the idea, I feel like it just gives kids lots of new ideas for creation. A child might go to the masks page, figure out how to make the basic mask, look at the ideas and try a mask that is different from those shown. Or a child may try one of these exactly as-is to learn the technique (painted papers) and then use the technique in a future project. Just like writers might try new things out that they see other writers use, I think creators of anything do this same thing. I love this as a great invitation for kids--one that shouts out, "Look What is Possible! Give it a Try!". I am trying to figure out how to make this kind of creation a more standard part of the library--having not only the technology tools to create with but also tools like these--paint, paper, etc. for kids to create ways to share learning and information. Such an important piece to children's whole development.

Vicki Vinton on Conferencing at #dublit13

I don't know about you, but I can NEVER get too many tips on effective reading conferences.

I was thrilled when Vicki Vinton (check out her amazing blog, To Make A Prairie) gave us 5 quick DOs and DON'Ts in her C session at the Dublin Literacy Conference. I've given these a try in the last two weeks and they work like charms!

(First of all, Vinton's metaphor for a reading conference was brilliant. She likened it to "parachuting into a text" and having to find your way around.)

DO focus on the reader's thinking about the book.
DON'T focus on the plot. 

(Do you know how hard it is not to sit down by a kid and say, "What's your book about?" Do you know how much more thinking the child will have to do if you don't give them this easy way out? Read on for the question that will stop them in their tracks and make them T-H-I-N-K think.)

DO begin by asking the reader what they're working on as a reader. (What are you wondering about, trying to figure out…)
DON'T open the door to a retelling of the book. Don't even let them get started with it!

DO ask the student to read a little right where he left off.
DON'T ask the student to re-read something they've already processed. (In one of the first conferences I did when I put this into place, I was thrilled that the reader anticipated the times when she would need to stop and explain things to me! Is that comprehension, or what?!?)

DO read a few paragraphs or page alongside the student.
DON'T take a running record as the student reads.

• As you read alongside the student draft your own understanding:
• What have you been able to comprehend? 
• What did you have to do to do that (infer, connect details, make a connection, etc)?
• Have you picked up any clues about possible themes or big ideas? 

DO ask the student to SUMMARIZE what you just read together.
DON'T ask the student to summarize or retell the whole story. After all, you want the conference to last about 5 minutes so that you can get to 3 or 4 more students that day and every child in the room every week!

Vicki Vinton is the co-author of

What Readers Really Do: Teaching the Process of Meaning Making
by Dorothy Barnhouse and Vicki Vinton
Heinemann, 2012

(I'm thinking I need to re-read this book.)

Celebrate Today!

We LOVE the tradition Ruth Ayres has created our blog inviting bloggers to Celebrate each week. Take some time to visit her blog for the link up of everyone's celebrations this week!

Today is our 25th annual Dublin Literacy Conference!  We love this conference--it is one of our favorite days of the year. Not only do we learn lots, but we get to see so many friends and colleagues.  We get to hear amazing speakers and buy books.  So we thought today, we'd do a daylong photo essay. Throughout the day, we'll be adding photos to this post to celebrate the day!  So check back for new additions:-) We hope you enjoy the day with us!

Celebrating student work. 

Celebrating technology: the Blogger app (we're blogging from our phones today), the Mosaicam app ("celebrity" photos to follow), and the Skitch app (which I used to annotate this screen shot on my phone)! We will also be celebrating technology later this morning when we Skype with Gene Barretta, the only author who was not able to make it here yesterday during the Great Pre-Conference Flight Delay Mayhem. 

Top, L to R, celebrating blogger friends from far and near -- Betsy and Julie. Bottom row -- Celebrating Gene Barretta's flexibility in Skyping for our family session. 

More celebrities! Cathy, Bud Hunt, Katie and Franki. 

#dublit14 Authors: Penny Kittle, Bryan Collier, Kassia Wedekind, Don Brown

Look what Penny brought for me!

Dublin Literacy Conference 2008

Saturday, February 23
+/- 700 teachers and librarians
8 great authors: Pam Munoz Ryan, Jenni Holm, Jennifer Roy, Melanie Watt, Sharon Taberski, Jen Allen, Aimee Buckner, and Terry Thompson

Lots of fun moments, but this was my favorite: I was doing my presentation on blogging. Approximately 1% of the conference attendees were in my session, most notably, Megan, from Read, Read, Read. Karen came in towards the end. Katie was at the conference, too, and of course, so was Franki. Small world, eh? It gets better.

My formal (if you can call it that) presentation was over and conversation had turned to tracking blog statistics. I went to SiteMeter. Just for fun, I showed them the world map view of the last hundred visitors to A Year of Reading. When our blog was new, I used to spend a lot of time poring over that map, wondering how someone in India or Australia had found our blog. It's been a long time since I looked at the map. As the cursor passed over the UK and the ID box for Glasgow popped up, I realized that I knew who that was! TadMack, you, too were at my presentation on Saturday. Now that's a small world!

Dublin Literacy Conference

The screen behind Dr. Tim Tyson says, "School Can Be Anything That You Can Imagine." Dr. Tyson's thinking about the transformative capabilities of technology in our classrooms set the tone for the conference with the first keynote. (Check out #DubLit2010 on Twitter for a running commentary on his and other speakers' presentations.)

To continue with the theme of 21st Century Literacies, we collected digital as well as traditional student displays for attendees to view, and there was a "Technology Playground" with a myriad of tools (Flip Video, Kindle, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, etc) for folks to try out.

With our children's authors Denise Fleming, Melissa Sweet, and Patrick Carman, we celebrated the joy of reading words and pictures and books that come in multiple formats, and with David J. Smith, the importance of reading the world .

It seems appropriate that today is Edna St. Vincent Millay's birthday. She's the poet who wrote,

"My candle burns at both ends;

It will not last the night;

But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends —

It gives a lovely light!"

The committee, the teacher presenters, and the featured speakers all worked hard to make this conference one of the best of the 21 we've held. And now we are all turning back to our day jobs, hopefully enriched and enthused and challenged and inspired to do our work better and smarter and with the knowledge that all we do every day (whether as teacher, author, or illustrator) does indeed make a huge difference -- a "lovely light" -- in the world.