#IMWAYR - Stop! It's #BookADay Time!

Be sure to hop on over to TeachMentorTexts.com for more great reads!

Summertime means extra time for reading, and joining in on Donalyn Miller's #bookaday challenge, in which I attempt to read a book a day throughout the summer. I know, you never would have gathered that from the hashtag title. I've been doing this since 2010, when I first read Miller's transformational book, The Book Whisperer. The best part is inviting my students to join in; we would make reading goals and book lists for each holiday break and then at the end of the year -- and there was something magical in the community we built around a common love of reading.

This year I didn't have my own class, and the multi-faced responsibilities of my job made it difficult to build a reading community. Next year, I aspire to be better about this. I have plans, my friends, solid plans. I'm hoping that next year at this time I'll be able to share what both my campus reading communities are eager to read over the summer.

For now, here's what I've read so far this summer:

All photos snagged from
Goodreads.com

 The Boy on the Porch, Sharon Creech
This magical story is told from the perspectives of John and Marta, a couple that find a small boy curled up on their porch one morning. Their entire lives are transformed by his appearance, even though he never says a word. It's a touching portrayal of how life changes once you find yourself responsible for a child. Best as a read aloud, I think, as young readers may struggle to connect with the story through the eyes of two adults, but a wondrous read for both the subject and Creech's as-always gorgeous writing style. So many of these sentences I wish I could claim as my own!

 The Miniature World of Marvin & James, Elise Broach, illustrated by Kelly Murphy
A fast, fun read for young readers ready for chapter books. I haven't read their original book, Masterpiece, but am adding it to my to-read list. In this book, James leaves for a vacation at the beach and Marvin is left behind and must find a way to pass the time. He ends up in a wacky little misadventure, worries that James may not miss him very much while he's gone, and learns a thing or two about friendship along the way.

Salt, Helen Frost
In Salt, Frost has created a story of friendship and the struggle that happens when cultural shifts threaten to tear those friendships apart. But more than that, she gives us a secret door into the world of pre-war 1812 in Indiana Territory, letting us glimpse a little of what life might have been like between Native Americans and the settlers that arrived there as traders and soldiers. An important book to add to any school or classroom library.

The Real Boy, Anne Ursu (currently reading)
This book was able to draw me in on the first few pages, something I've struggled with lately when reading fantasy. In The Real Boy, we find a world that is shifting, an orphan that seems destined for adventure, and magic running like a river through it all.
I'm eager to see where this story takes me.

#EveryDayinMay - Top Five Books for Summer!

Be sure to hop on over to see what Crystal is up to today!

With only four weeks of school left, I'm eagerly looking forward to my summer reading book stacks. The sheer number of titles I've piled up for the summer is part embarrassing and part overwhelming, while somehow still managing to be entirely exciting. It's a definitely possibility that I won't make it through all of them by summer's end, but it will be well worth the attempt!

Here are the top five reads I'm looking forward to:

All book pics from
GoodReads.com

The Eleventh Draft by Frank Conroy

This almost feels like cheating the summer reads theme, because this is a book for the class I am taking in June. But you guys -- essays on writing from faculty and students of the Iowa's Writers Workshop? Sign me up any day! I actually purchased this off my professor's recommendation only to find out it was on the book list for our summer short story class. Two birds, one stone, and all that jazz. It's been sitting on my desk since it came in over a month ago and I may not be able to wait until June to peek inside. You know you're in the perfect grad school program when nearly every book assigned is one you'd read on your own anyway!

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

I picked this up way back in November as a freebie at NCTE. Immediately afterwards, several of my teacher and book-loving peeps on Twitter were all chattering excitedly about it. And I can see why: a town that's lost its magic, a protagonist with some serious word love, and a writing style that has been heralded time and again as exquisite. This is at the top of my to-read list for June. Having played a bit with a few of my own stories involving places that once were magic but no longer are, I'm interested to read Lloyd's spin on it.

The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech

There's no denying that I have extreme love for Sharon Creech. Ever since reading Love That Dog, I've been hopelessly smitten. It didn't hurt when she posted a comment on one of my student's blog posts last year. If I hadn't loved her already, that would have vaulted her easily to the top of my idolized author list. The Boy on the Porch promises to be a story filled with love, hope, kindness, and family -- which, you know, happen to be some of my favorite things! I'm looking forward to add this to my list of books read so I can talk it up to students next year; I've already ordered it for both my libraries!

The Summer I Wasn't Me by Jessica Verdi

This is another book picked up at NCTE that has been sitting in my neglected stack of books since last November! Not a book I can include in my elementary libraries, I'm reading this just for me and the YA writer that resides in my heart. I don't know anyone in my little reader circles that has read this yet, and perhaps it's because most of my reader friends are busily eating up MG books for their students or actually read books written for adults (like normal humans??). The topic in The Summer I Wasn't Me is a hard one -- the main character is sent to a "de-gaying camp" by her mother after she reads her diary. A heavy read for summer, but a worthy one.

The Real Boy by Anne Ursu

What is it about summer that pulls me toward books filled with magic? The Real Boy is set in a world filled with magic but lacking in wizards. This is another read that many of my Twitter pals are raving about -- partly because of the friendship in the book, partly due to magic, and definitely because of Ursu's ability to weave it all together brilliantly. Several call it the best Middle Grade book they've read this year, so of course I must give it a go and see what I think!

There are (literally) stacks and stacks of others I hope to swim through this summer, ranging all genres and targeted age group. I like to mix things up like that!

What are you planning to read this summer?

#EveryDayinMay - Wanderlust

I love Cheryl Strayed's book Wild, and not only for the story and her writing style -- though those combined are enough to sink deeply into her words and get lost on the Pacific Crest Trail right along with her. But learning about the trail, and the land she covers along her trip is a magnificent bonus.

One place she visited definitely stood out for me and is now on my list of must-see places to go. Bagby Hot Springs. She describes it as a tri-level series of decks set back in the woods of the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon. The decks hold various tubs that can be filled with water from the natural hot springs in the area. And get this -- it's practically free When Strayed went, it was free, but it looks like there is now a $5.00 "soaking fee" when you visit. It's not a huge resort or nature spa that you have to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to visit. There are no gift shops or spa packages to buy. In Wild, Strayed says you can go any time of day or night and enjoy what Bagby has to offer.

There are camping spots available nearby, and it doesn't seem like much of a hike to get up to Bagby. The photographs I've managed to find are absolutely gorgeous. I'm mesmerized.

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

The only question that remains for me is, "When can we go?" I'm ready!

#SOL14 - #IMWAYR - The Summer of Letting Go

Last November I found myself in Boston for the annual NCTE conference. I love this conference, but let's be honest -- one of the huge perks of going is so I can fangirl all over the place like a... uh... fangirl? (Shut up, it's Monday.)

Anyway, because of Teachers Write! I already knew that Gae Polisner was a seriously rockstar kind of chick -- like, you guys, she may be one of the few remaining reasons I even use FaceBook. I prefer Twitter, but since all Gae's funniest moments seem to happen on FaceBook, I've decided to stick around a while. She makes me laugh, and I can use more laughter in my life.

Also, she is a brilliant YA author. (I'm a little jealous.) How do I know this?

Let's go back to Boston at NCTE, shall we?

I posted on some form of social media (I've slept since then, give me a break) that I was sad to have missed Gae's book signing session, you know, because she's awesome and maybe if I stand close enough to her I can pick up on some of her wondrous writing juju.

She posted back that she happened to have one little ol' arc of The Summer of Letting Go still, and would I like it.

Um, yeah!

Luckily we both happened to be hanging out in the hotel lounge (I was working, she was rubbing elbows with hoity-toity's because that's what rockstar authors do), and after spinning around and around each other crazily we managed to bump into one another.

The stars in the heavens sang, y'all.

Okay, well maybe not. (No really, they did.)

We talked about our boys and our dogs and I'm not even sure what else, and she said she'd bring the arc to her session the next morning for me.

Each word, every interaction, speaks to the heart of what it is like to grow up a mixed-up teen in a very mixed-up world.

And she did, with additional Polisner scribbles added as a lovely bonus. I consider it a work of art. And not just because it's so stinking cute, either.

Gae is as empathetic a writer of Young Adult fiction as she is in person. She is kind and true and all the very best bits of her sing out in her writing. I gobbled up The Summer of Letting Go on my plane ride home to Dallas, Texas, only setting it down long enough to walk off the plane and begrudgingly talk with my husband on the ride home because really -- Just let me read! (Sorry, Husband, you know I love you.)

In this book, Francesca (known as Beans to her family), was supposed to be watching her little brother, Simon, at the beach, when he drowns. Afterward, her family begins to drift apart and Francesca blames herself. Then she meets Frankie Sky, a boy that seems all too similar to the brother she lost, and her life may never be the same.

Although Francesca is hurting and feels as if she is also losing her parents and her closest friend, Frankie Sky is so full of life and mischief that his rolling antics add just the right lightness to this achingly beautiful and memorable story of loss and grief and life and learning how to tread water again after all the trauma begins to wash away. Polisner's treatment of Francesca and each of her relationships with the other characters in this story are powerful. I found myself reliving those confused days of trying to navigate friendships, boyfriends, and parents that seem too far away to help, and cried right along with Francesca through it all. 

This is a book I want to put in the hands of every teenage reader, if only to let them know that there are authors out there who get it, there are adults out there who can help, and there are books out there that sometimes (just sometimes) can help us understand that we aren't alone, even when we are hurting.

Go. Read. Cry. Laugh. Live.

Isn't that what all good stories are supposed to help us do?

#Slice2013 - Day 12 of 31

This afternoon on FaceBook I read an article about Bridget Zinn, who was offered representation for her debut novel back in 2009. Not long after that, she found out she had stage four colon cancer. She passed away in May of 2011. She was only 33.

Her quirky YA fairy tale, Poison, is set to come out this month. It's up to her friends and family to launch the book, and they're doing an amazing job of honoring her memory while making sure her novel makes it into the hands of readers everywhere. You can read a review of Zinn's Poison here.

Beyond the heartbreak I felt for Zinn and her family, beyond the desire to have her book in my hands, this article left me pondering the fickleness of time. Our best laid plans mean little if we aren't here long enough to reach our goals. Procrastination, fear, the busyness of life - all these and more have often become my excuses for not putting a bold effort toward my own goals. If my time on Earth is abruptly cut short, I wondered, what dreams will I have left unclaimed?

My mind first drifted to the partially edited manuscript for my own YA novel. To the picture book manuscripts unsent. To the half-written stories, and the seeds of stories wanting to be written. To the local critique groups I know of, but shy away from, too afraid to sit in that circle and be seen. To the days spent not writing, when writing is - has always been - where I am most fulfilled.

I have other dreams, of course. For my children, for travel, and other less precious things. But those dreams? The writing dreams? They are the dreams I have the most control over, yet push against the hardest. Those are the dreams I need to be actively running toward, because just sitting here thinking about losing them fills me with regret.

What about you? What unclaimed dreams are waiting for you to run and greet them?

Week 2: So What Do They Really Know?

Guys! I have to tell you that I love this book. (Okay, if you haven't been following along, I'll tell you -- Cris Tovani's So What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning)

Go check out Book Journey for more reading awesomeness!

I'm finding a good balance between moments when I think, "Yes! Why haven't I thought of that before? I'm doing that tomorrow!" and "Woot! Tovani and I could be teaching BFF's! I do that all the time!"

Okay, I never promised you a well-structured stuffy book review when I said I wanted to use this for a book study. Suffice it to say, when I'm excited about something, it shows!

Chapter 3
Favorite quote:

Whether learners are struggling, gifted, or in between, they all deserve a year's worth of growth.

I think she may have written this quote just for me. This year I have two classes -- my morning class consists mainly of students that struggle in several areas, receive Special Education services, or are somewhere in the middle of the RTI process. My afternoon class has students that are typically high achieving and/or in the Gifted and Talented program. And of coure I have my kiddos that are sitting right in the middle academically but each have their own set of special gifts and skills.

So. Yeah. I wholeheartedly believe they each deserve every ounce of growth I can help them achieve. I work hard to make sure none of our time or efforts are wasted.

I enjoyed the overview of the workshop model -- I mean, sure, I've seen it before. I believe in its effectiveness. But the truth is, as I get busy with meeting timelines and upcoming tests and the system in which we all must live, I often start to veer off-course. This was a good reminder of why I believe in this mode of instruction: the students do the work! It makes sense that when students are the ones working, they are the ones learning! I need to make sure I give them enough time each day to do the hard work of learning.

The curriculum flow map she shares on page 43 was also helpful to me. Since this is my first year as a departmentalized teacher, I'm really struggling to reign in my schedule and routine! I have less than two hours each day with my guys for reading, writing, and social studies. Although the system she has in place for her high school students won't quite work for me in 4th grade, I do want to try making a special bookshelf or area in the room where I can include supplemental texts for students to read and share in a similar way.

So my first goal is to stay on-track with the time to work that I give my students! I'll report back on how I do this week in my next reflection.

Chapter 4
The first thing that popped out at me in Chapter 4 was the learning targets and assessments table. In my school district, we have to post daily objectives and products. The objective is what we will learn together and the product is how the student will show their learning before they leave class. I like doing this because it keeps us all on track, so it was neat to see it in Tovani's book!

I haven't used the inner voice sheets yet, and honestly, I'm not a big fan of making that many copies. We do have reader's notebooks and my students keep notes about their reading, but I call it our reading palette. Whenever I do a read aloud they keep notes, but it looks a little different from the Figure 4.2 on Annotation in Chapter 4. My class creates a table with 4 boxes. Each box is for a different thing, and sometimes I vary what I have them title the boxes, but normally it looks like this:

•  Questions
• Connections
• Predictions/Thoughts on what is happening
• Word Love (a place to capture words, phrases, sentences that their writing ear appreciates)

Alternatively, I tell my kiddos to sketch pictures with captions of what they see in their mind as I read. So I guess we are doing something similar to her inner voice sheet! I go back and forth on having them do this during their own reading, because I really want them in "the reading zone" (gotta throw out a little Atwell love, of course). I felt better about this after I read about her work with Raymond, who didn't want to stop and write while he read. She struck a compromise with him and he writes a little during the last five minutes of reading time. This way he gets to stay in the zone, and she can still get an idea of where he is as a reader. Great balance!

The other part that jumped out at me in this chapter was about debriefing. I am guilty about cutting out the debriefing when we are running short on time. In the future, I'm making a note to myself to try partner debriefing! In the beginning of the year my students hadn't experienced much time working cooperatively with other students, so we have worked very hard to get to a place where we can have conversations about our learning. I think we are ready to try debriefing this way! We also have a Twitter Wall for exit tickets, but I think I need to be a little more deliberate in what I ask them to write each day before they leave. I like Tovani's idea to have students write one question they still have before leaving. Another idea to try this week!

And here's my favorite quote, although it may not seem very important to anyone else!

The evidence I collect isn't very fancy.

This seven word sentence says so much! My evidence is not fancy -- I have sticky notes, pictures, audio clips, scribbled bits of conversations, conversation calendars, conferring notes saved in Evernote -- just bits and pieces of our days, held digitally and on paper. But this is real. Real kids, real moments, real work, real learning.

It doesn't have to be fancy for it to matter. Just keep it real!

Week 1: So What Do They Really Know?

This summer, I followed the Stenhouse Summer Blogstitute. A variety of amazing authors posted on their blog each week and readers were asked to respond in the comments. If the wealth of information shared in the blog posts wasn't enough of a reason to follow, anyone that shared a comment each week was entered into a drawing to win five (5, people!!) Stenhouse titles.

I was a lucky winner (yes, I did a happy book dance when I found out) and Cris Tovani's So What Do They Really Know? was one of the books I requested.

I could not be more pleased with my selection! After reading the first few chapters, I realized I wanted to share what I was reading with some of my teacher friends. And this little bloggy book study was born. This week I reread chapters 1 & 2, highlighting the points that stood out to me.

Chapter One
Here's a favorite quote from the first two chapters (found in chapter one):

"Teachers don't need any more numerical 'data.' What they need is validation to use the data that matters most--like student work and student talk--to help them figure out next steps for the learners in their educational care."

I connect to this book on several levels -- her sour taste for assessment along with the desire to really know her students quickly grabbed my interest. I feel exactly the same way. But I do like that right away she lets the reader know she doesn't feel like assessment deserves all the blame:

"I realized that assessment wasn't the enemy; it was the way it was being used to judge and punish instead of inform and help educators get smarter about teaching and learning."

 I also thought her comparison between multiple choice tests and open-ended questions was spot on! Just because a student can ace a multiple choice test does not mean they know the material. I think the same is true in reverse. Who hasn't been completely bewildered or frustrated when a student bombs a test over material they know?

If you know me at all, you've probably seen my eye-rolling sneer when the topic of standardized testing comes up. I abhor the district benchmarks, grumble about the STAAR, and shake my head at any assessment that barely skims the surface of what my students know and the progress they have made from where we began. I really identified with Tovani's thoughts on how she had mostly ignored the assessments she was forced to give, even while feeling it wasn't the best way to handle things. I often feel the same way. Finding a balance between the standardized testing students must take and my personal feelings on assessment is a difficult thing for me!

Chapter one ended with our first challenge -- write and define your definition of assessment. Again, this really challenges my over-analytic brain to make some concrete decisions! But if I have to put it in words, this is my working definition of assessment: any interaction or work example that shows a picture of what a student knows and understands at a given time. This can include what seems like an infinite number of possibilities. Audio clips, video, photographs, written work, blog posts ... really, anything that I can use to inform me on where my student is and what they need from me to grow -- that's assessment.

Chapter Two
You guys! I had a hard time narrowing down my favorite quote from this chapter, but here you go:

"When I know my students well, I am a better teacher."

This chapter involved a lot of fist pumping and excited book waving about in the air. I may have read sections to my husband and then stared at him all doe-eyed expecting him to engage me in deep, meaningful conversation about the importance of getting to know your students.

This did not happen.

Instead, I'll share here, because I know you guys will be much more excited. First of all, you need to know that I have been using the Conversation Calendars for about a month in my classroom. I love them! I started out letting students just write to me about anything they wanted. I was a little nervous, thinking they might not give me much to work with. I mean, I'm no Cris Tovani -- maybe those calendars are magical in her classroom, but in mine they were just going to be extra paper littering my classroom floor.

But wow -- I mean, honestly. Without the calendars, I wouldn't have learned that one of my students blames herself for her parents divorce. I wouldn't know the struggles one of them has every day with a difficult sibling. I wouldn't know many things. And they might not know how much I care. But every Tuesday and Thursday we write back and forth to each other and learn about one another and become a tighter community. It's golden. I just love it. Have I mentioned that already?

A couple weeks ago, I started asking them to write to me about the read aloud we're doing in collaboration with The Global Read Aloud. We're reading The One and Only Ivan and this is a book that practically begs for hours of rich discussion. It doesn't matter how much we discuss in class, everyone always has more to share. So we are sharing through the calendar and I am learning so much about them as people and as readers -- I know who is grasping the deeper themes and who is paying attention to word choice and figurative language. I can tell which of them could benefit from some note taking as I read (sticky notes, sketches, word captures, whatever works) and which do better to just sit and listen. It is  a magical thing, but not just in Tovani's room. It's working in mine, too. When we finish this book, I'll have students start responding to their own reading. I'm excited to see where that leads us.

I feel strongly that student-teacher relationships make all the difference in the success of every student. Brain research tells us that all humans need to be enveloped in a safe environment for learning to take place. I work hard to make my students feel secure enough to take risks and explore learning.

The challenges in this chapter really stuck with me. It's so important that we show our students that we see them -- not just that they are a body in our classroom, but that we acknowledge their importance in the universe, and we respond to it.

Tovani's student surveys seem like a great way to let students know that you are invested in their success.  Next week I plan to ask my students what they believe their role is as a reader. What do they think about all the reading we do? What importance do they put in it? I'm interested in those answers.

The challenge at the end of chapter two also included asking readers to make a list of student needs and to-do's. In my Evernote app, each student has a notebook with a list like this (created after my first read of this chapter). I love having this in the app, because anytime I learn something new about a student I can use my phone to enter new info into their note. Before reading about this, I always thought getting to know my students was something I was pretty good at. But having this ongoing list keeps it at the front of my mind, and I find I'm learning more about my students than ever before.

Next Week
For next week, read chapters three and four and be ready to share some more reflections!

Slice of Life: Stop, it's NaNoWriMo Time!

November is definitely my favorite month of the year. Why, you ask? Well...

• It begins one day after Halloween (candy and costumes, guys - c'mon.)
• It's (typically) less than 100 degrees here in sunny Texas
• NaNoWriMo mania means I get to writewritewrite my heart out!
• I get to spend every morning before school writing along side several 4th and 5th grade students -- no grades, no homework, just a bunch of writers with a shared purpose!

This year I used Animoto for the first time to make a video for all 150 students to watch. They were pretty excited!

Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.

I'm eager to see how many show up on the 29th to learn more! This year I'm starting my club just a few days early to help students flesh out ideas and get the ball rolling. In the meantime, I thought it might be helpful to round up some handy NaNoWriMo apps and sites that will help all us wacky WriMo'ers get the job done!

• Write or Die: I'm a huge fan of both the desktop and iPad version of this writing block killah. The concept is simple: as long as you type, you're fine. Stop typing and the trouble begins! This is a great way to get out some fast writing bursts when you're lacking motivation or need some extra oomph to keep writing.
• Storyist is another great program for writers, available on iPad or Mac. Maybe it's the gadget lover in me, but I fell in love with all the options for organizing various story elements. And if you're a little on the... um, less than organized side, Storyist is a huge help!
• Okay, okay, I know. You want the free stuff. When it comes to free writing apps, there's a long list to choose from. Honestly, I like the extra bells and whistles Storyist provides me, and feel like if I just wanted to write without organization I could use my Notepad. Alternatively, I've seen people use apps like Evernote and Write 2 Lite for on-the-go writing.
• But most importantly, be sure to hang out on the NaNoWriMo forums for tons of advice, tips, and tricks! Being involved in a group of writers makes all the difference when it comes to reaching the finish line at 50,000 (or more!) words.

So what are you doing to prepare for the NaNoWriMo frenzy of writing?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (And a challenge!)

It's Monday! Huzzah! It's Monday and I'm sitting at home on my big comfy couch, surrounded by books.

You just gotta love a three day weekend, right?

I've been reading oodles of books lately, partially in hopes of finding the just right way to reach my new students in my new school where I feel a little like Alice and a little like Goldilocks, and a lot like Mr. Magoo.

So between the bumps and bruises of adjusting to my new school home, I read.

Recently, I've read quite a few fabulous middle grade novels, with a stack of promising reads to keep me busy for at least another month. Here's a sample of what I've read so far:

Somehow, between having students with really good taste, and some excellent timing, I've managed to read (or reread) a few delightful books by Sharon Creech throughout the month of September. Love That Dog will always remain a favorite for me -- combining poetry with dog love and a boy learning to love words? Yeah -- you got me. I hadn't planned to read it to my classes so early in the year, but they prodded me and it ended up being a perfect beginning for us. Afterwards, a student handed me Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, which I hadn't read before. I love how Creech weaves together past and present in this short but touching tale of friendship. I'll definitely be passing it along to more students!

Love That Dog * Granny Torrelli * The Great Unexpected

And finally, I picked up a copy of the recently published The Great Unexpected. Interestingly, I heard a little bit of Rosie's voice from Granny Torrelli piping through in Naomi's best friend, Lizzie. I'm curious if anyone else heard that, as well! In The Great Unexpected, Creech tosses together folk tales with a little magic realism and a lot of love to create a story that any Creech follower is sure to appreciate. I know exactly which student I'll be handing this book to first thing tomorrow morning!

Almost Home

I also just finished Joan Bauer's Almost Home, which is as heartbreaking as it is endearing. I quickly fell in love with Sugar Mae Cole, the 12-year-old main character, and her tag along puppy, Shush. Exploring themes that perfectly spark #chooseKind conversations, Bauer also employs a variety of text genres. Readers will quickly understand how important words are in Sugar's world, while seeing models of letter writing, poetry, memoirs, and more. Within minutes of book talking this new title to my students, I had kids scrambling to be the first to read it. And now it's being passed from hand to hand. Almost Home is a beautiful story that any child with family struggles can relate to, and learn from.

Starry River of the Sky

Currently, I'm splitting my time between Grace Lin's Starry River of the Sky (I'm just on page 43) and an unwieldy stack of profession development books. My husband also keeps nudging Patrick Rothfuss' Wise Man's Fear at me, and on a good day, I read maybe a page of it at a time. I loved the first book in this trilogy, The Name of the Wind, but making time for this type of epic fantasy is hard for me these days! And even with as much as I am reading these days, my to-read stack just keeps growing... I need a vacation to catch up on my reading! Does this sound familiar?



The thing I love about reading this much is how it seems to effect my students. Each Monday we sit together and set a reading goal -- they hold me to mine, and I hold them to their goals, too. And when the following Monday arrives, if anyone hasn't met their goal they are expected to know why and have a solution. If they don't have a solution, our class community of readers offers suggestions. It's powerful to watch them transform each week from this simple conversation. So for as long as my nightly reading seems to inspire them to keep chugging along, I will keep reading. I don't know how many reader role models they have in their lives, but at least they can't count on me as one.

So What Do They Really Know?

While I have all these books spinning wildly about, I feel like I need to do something to ground myself in what I'm learning through my PD books. From October 14 through November 11, I'll be reading Cris Tovani's So What Do They Really Know? and posting each week to reflect on my reading. I'd like to invite you to join me. Comment if you're interested -- I'll post details tomorrow! (Be thinking weekly posts, twitter chat opportunities, and maybe even a google hangout to chat n' learn!) What say you, readers? Do you have time to spend a minute filling out this form so we can read and share together?

Writerly Wednesday: Beware the Kraken?

Let's start with the important announcement of the day:

I am a big, fat liar-head.

After spending last week revising my current picture book manuscript, I felt like I needed to push it through my crit group one last time. Sadly, this means waiting a couple of weeks before I get to send in my YA chapters (which I promised last week I would do!), but it felt right to keep working on the picture book. The more I revise it, the less it feels like me and I wonder what that means. Is it not really picture book material? Should I pour more into it and sculpt it into a chapter book? Do I have any clue what I am doing? Is it all just complete crap? Or, of course, the most logical place for my brain to leap:

Maybe I'm not a writer, after all.

Yep, that's right -- I'm admitting it. When I have even the tiniest mouse-sized doubt enter my mind, I immediately jump ship -- and although I may be wading in ankle deep water, I'm envisioning sharks and squid and the Kraken all torpedoing straight for me. Death is imminent, my friends. Imminent.

So let's review, shall we?

How I feel when doubting myself as a writer:

Actual level of threat when said writing is in "peril":

And even though somewhere in the extremely tiny logic-side of my brain, I know -- I KNOW -- I am being ridiculous... I still mope. I'm not sure if this has ever been identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but it really needs to be. We can call it Writers' Hysteria Syndrome.

Please tell me I'm not alone here.

In other news, here are some nifty writerly websites I spent time at this week (when I wasn't throwing darts at my WIP, I mean.)

1. Query Shark - a crit partner sent me here, and it's genius. Really. You can trust me, regardless of how the above rant may prove otherwise.
2. Verla Kay's Blue Boards - I'm sure I've shared this before, but it's really worth the time if you're working on building your craft!
3. Jo Knowles' LiveJournal - I just finished reading See You at Harry's, which is wise and beautiful and funny and true, and you should read it too. Jo has been posting weekly writing warm-ups in conjunction with Teacher's Write, and they are always a great way to get started.
4. Stenhouse Blogstitute - this is a great site to follow if you happen to be doubly blessed as a teacher and a writer (hahaha). This week Jeff Anderson is the writer and he shares some great tips, including...

A writer in motion stays in motion.

Kind of difficult to argue with that, even if your logic-center is as small and whispery as mine tends to be. So I guess this week's lesson is simply this: The Kraken is less likely to get you if you keep in motion!!

Or something. I'll leave the lesson-learning up to you.

Once Upon an Outline

Maybe you recall the other day when I freaked smooth out about my latest writing struggles. In the past, this would be the time when I would close the story up, toss it in the corner, and ignore it. Honestly, people. If you only knew the stacks of would-be's lying around my house.

Don't get me wrong -- I most definitely have been writing mental death threats to my main character, and yes, I've even talked to a new character on the sly, thinking life just might be greener (and wordier!) if I left my current MC.

I know, I know. I'm an evil, heartless woman.

But don't hate me too much. It's only an affair of the heart! I've also been working through my latest plot problems. Oh. So. Slowly. The good thing is, with all work, eventually there is progress. And I am definitely seeing some progress.

Last night I listened to two podcasts over at Writing Excuses --

Wait. If you don't follow this site, you should. Go do it now. I'll be here when you get back.

All set? Good! You can thank me later.

Anyway, their latest episodes focus on the ever-elusive outline. Well, elusive to me. I'm new to this whole "making a plan" thing. I can barely follow a plan in class (shocking!) so it shouldn't be surprising that when writing I'm more of a wanderer than a GPS drone. But I really am trying to make a plan and stick with it. After all, it wasn't until I had a detailed outline in hand that I was able to finish my first novel.

These two episodes are dedicated to breaking apart an outline of one of Mary Robinette Kowal's first novels, which also happen to be middle grade. Score! She even has the outline and her first chapters available on her website. Pretty awesome, if you ask me. It's especially helpful to hear the dialogue between the authors (Did I mention Brandon Sanderson and Howard Taylor are a part of this crew?) as they dissect the different elements of plot building and characterization throughout the story. Definitely worth a listen!

At the tail end of the episode 7.15, they mention that Dora the Explorer is actually a pretty decent example to follow when outlining a "quest" style story. In fact, I think it was Dan Wells that said he and his wife had once outlined the entire Lord of the Rings plot in true Dora fashion. As a teacher, I'm excited to watch a few episodes and use this format to help my students have a better grasp on outlining their fictional stories.

As a writer, I'm going to use this tip to grab my current MC by the throat and drag him through this story, whether he likes it or not.

We can always revise it later.

A: angry, allergies, autism

This month I'm joining the insanity over at the A to Z Challenge. Basically, this means I'll write my way through the alphabet by the end of April. Since I love a good theme, I've decided to take a page from Amy Krouse Rosenthal's book Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. So by the end of the month we'll all realize (at the very least) one of two things:

1. I'm entirely boring
2. I'm entirely crazy

I look forward to hearing your appraisal at the end of this journey! That said, I give you -- 

a

ALLERGIES
Every time I go to the doctor, they ask me what allergies I have. I want to say, "Hey, I've been coming here for over 10 years! Why don't you know my allergies as well as you know your shoe size?"

But I don't.

I just rattle off my very short list -- sulfa (makes me stop breathing) and demerol (turns me into a paralyzed psychopath, which, I guess if you are going to have a psychopath around, paralyzed is a good way to go).



ANGRY, THINGS THAT MAKE ME
Table

being told what to do	Mom likes to remind me that my favorite phrase from about age three into, well, the present, has always been, “I can do it myself!” I was the only person in our family that delighted in standing up to my Papa (my dad’s dad). Everyone else indulged his crank-fest demands. Me? Not so much. One might say I have a problem with authority. Or perhaps I just don’t understand how stupid people keep ending up in charge of important decisions.
food	I’m angry when it’s not time to eat. I’m angry when it is time to eat, because this means choosing between a) eating delicious morsels of ultimate awesomeness or b) healthy food that will keep me alive and youthful. This shouldn’t be a choice. It’s 2012. Certainly some uber-scientist can combine the two and make my life easier.
things that are slow	When that little pinwheel of despair shows up on my screen, telling me that I need to “please hold” whilst my Mac’s brain searches for the appropriate file? I want to shoot things. I like to attempt the illusion of kindness. Often, I do the little “no, you go!” hand wave when driving through a parking lot. When the thankless dolts walking across the street don’t hurry to the other side? Again, target practice fantasies.

AUTISM
I have a friend that calls me "the autism whisperer." This is probably a huge faux pas, but honestly, I am a huge faux pas, so my concern-o-meter is barely raised. Growing up, I had never even heard the term autism. But here I am, 37 years old, and my connections to this strange little world seem huge and far-reaching.

• My 15-year-old son has Asperger's, and it only took me approximately 8 years of his life to figure it out!
• My 10-year-old stepson has autism, is mostly nonverbal, and spends most of his days in a world we can neither share nor completely understand -- but not for lack of wanting
• My aunt, who we'll call Aunt Bestie, to protect the innocent, has been a teacher of students with severe hearing impairments and autism for more than 25 years
• The ratio of autistic to non-autistic students that appear in my classroom each year seems to be growing
• One of my very closest friends happens to be a teacher of children with autism

I'm too much a believer in fate and serendipity and the "all things happen for a reason" path of enlightenment to not seek meaning from my autistic connections. In fact, being surrounded by people affected with autism (brilliant, creative, loving, and quirky as they may be) has made me much more aware of the many idiosyncrasies we all smother beneath our masks.

More and more, I am convinced that Lewis Carroll was correct when he penned the term, "We're all mad here." Be it autism, anxiety, or any other myriad anomalies found in each and every human on the planet -- there's not one of us with an unscratched neurological center.

We're all mad here.

Writerly Wednesday

I'm really digging these mini-writing updates. They help me be accountable and the feedback I'm getting makes me feel like maybe I'm helping some other secret #nerdywriterclub members start to come out of their shell, too. I'm not gonna lie -- that's a pretty good feeling.

First, here are some of my favorite writerly reads this week:

1. Script Frenzy: this is a no brainer. Since I'm gearing up to write my big screenplay, I'm spending mad online time browsing this site. Lots of helpful tips and forums as busy as the local sports bar on $2 wells night. (p.s. I have a plot!! I know, a lot can change for me in one day, right?) There's also a site for teachers, if you fancy running this month o' madness in your classroom (and you should).
2. Donna Newton's Blog: writer, runner, mother, storm chaser -- this chick can do it all. And when she isn't off living large, she's blogging about nifty writer stuffs, such as contests, workshops, and author interviews. Check her out!
3. Texas Sweethearts (& Scoundrels): 7 authors and illustrators from Texas that write for kids and teens. You can access all the author's websites from here, and I have a weird love of reading author blogs (is this how some people feel about reading People magazine??) so you should definitely give them a visit -- who knows, maybe you'll even find some new books to read!
4. AdvancedFictionWriting.com: Another great site filled to overflowing with tips, tricks, and helpful info. You could spend way too much time here reading about writing, and not actually writing! So I'm linking you straight to my current favorite page -- an article on the "snowflake" method of writing a novel.
5. Writing Excuses: this is a super-rockin' website with podcasts on just about every writing topic you can dream up. The line-up of talent on this blog is pretty spectacular, too. I like to listen when I'm feeling a bit deflated. I hope you'll give it a listen, too!

On my own personal writing front, I'm knee-deep in edits on my picture book. I took the best advice from the 8 critiques I've received and have been able to tighten up my sentence structure, reorder a few lagging moments, and let some unnecessary words take a hike. I'm feeling good about sending it out soon! Once the edits are done, I'm going to work on some of the other titles I have in mind for this character. I think she'd be a character many kids can relate to, and I'd like to submit the first picture book with the promise of other titles to follow. I'm not sure that will help sell the book to a publisher, but I've read it never hurts to show you have other stuff lined up. I'll let you know how it works out -- by next week, I should be working on this stage. Exciting stuff, guys!

And as a little edit to yesterday's floundering post-of-much-whining, I'm pleased to say I've come up with my screenplay idea. It's an idea that I actually had about 5 years ago. I wrote this tiny snippet down and never went back to it, but the main character keeps kicking around in my head lately, so I decided I may as well give him some time in the spotlight. I'll spend the rest of this week fleshing out his character and rubbing the rust off the story details. I'm pretty hyped to share my story with my class, and can't wait to see what they want to work on. I have a feeling April will be a very good month!

So guys -- what about you? What have you been writing this week?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, so I'm popping in on Teach Mentor Text's meme. Click the graphic above to join the fun!

Last week I really struggled to get any new books read -- something about finishing 21 narrative report cards, getting ready for this week's STAAR writing test, among other things.

Over the weekend, I started reading The Sister's Grimm: The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley.

One of my student's had recommended it, and I can never turn them down! I'm currently on page 153 -- so about halfway done. It's a fast paced read and I can see why my students enjoy it so much. More on that when I finish. My reading goal this week is to finish it by Friday.

I'm also reading Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

Since I'm participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge in April, I'm finding this book to be a huge help! I've been cataloging my own list of possible encyclopedia entries about my life, and plan to use my list to keep me writing throughout April. Regardless of whether or not you're in need of inspiration for a month of alphabetized writing, I highly recommend Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life.

Since my goal is to finish both these weeks by Friday, I'm already browsing my to-read list for my next great read. I've had my eye on The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

I fell instantly in love with Home of the Brave, and I'm fiercely devoted to an author once I'm hooked, so this book could be about nearly anything and I'd read it -- but I'm delighted to see that it's something I'm actually happy to read. Now, to get my hands on a copy!

I'm also pining for a good YA book, but nothing sounds quite right just now. I've read a lot of dystopian fiction lately (it's been a favorite genre since I actually WAS a young adult), and I'm feeling a little tired of the same old story lines. It doesn't help that I'm elbow deep in my own dystopian YA novel edits. So maybe something else? Fantasy perhaps? A good mystery?

I'm just not sure -- what do you recommend?

In Which I'm Proven Wrong, Yet Again

Remember how I promised my kids I would actively seek out publication for some of my writing? (And then threw a big hissy fit, positive it was going to kill me?)

And then got this crazy idea to write a completely new picture book manuscript, and take it through all the steps that lead to having an actual-factual book sitting in the stores? (Also: resulting in hissy fit.)

Yeah. I'm still pondering what on earth I was thinking, but it appears -- and I know this will shock you -- it's not quite as bad as I had imagined it to be...

I've followed the Face Book group Writers Support 4U! for a while now. Mostly I just lurk the posts, feeling sorry for myself -- look at all these writers writing! look at all these writers publishing their work! look at all these writers interacting!


Seriously, yo. I'm not really sure why I even joined if I just wanted to creep up on them Peeping Tom style, and not actually participate.

But last week I finally did more than hit the "like" button on a random post.

I asked about critique groups.

The response was quick and painless, and as a result I'm the newest member of a weekly Skyping writer's group and an online critique site.

The picture book has been critiqued twice on the site so far, with some really great feedback! I've got some ideas on a few changes to perk it up a bit, and both critics left me feeling hopeful about sending it out to publishers.

I also read the manuscript to my class, proving to them that I am, indeed, sticking to my word -- they had the same reaction as my own Littles, which was another plus. Laughed in all the right places, and because we so often critique each other's work, they also let me know what was strong and what needed help! What amazing little writers they are becoming!

This weekend I'll participate in my very first Skype critique group. I expect w(h)ine to be involved. (You didn't think I would give up complaining that easily, did you?)

It's good to be moving forward. New possibilities keep springing to mind. And I'm sort of falling in love with that.

What's Possible in Possibility?

Possibility. That's my one little word for 2012.

It's interesting to me how one word can wrap itself around you and take on a life of its own.

Impossible spells "I'm possible." (We love you, Audrey.)

Dwell in possibility.  (Thank you, Emily.)

LIVE with possibility.

One month ago I felt overwhelmed -- eaten up by -- possibility. The choices and chances in the coming months swirled around me, leaving me feeling lost in the fog -- of possibility.

Now I see it differently. I see the bliss and the blessing in all this possibility. I see adventure and opportunity. I see a life lived out loud. A life worth living.

I decided I needed to track down the root of this word that has become the framework of my year.

Possibility led me to possible, which led me further down the path to the Latin word posse, which means "be able." Following this still further I found that posse and potent both mean "power."

There is also the Latin verb possum (no, not opossum!), meaning "I am able," or "I can."

Follow the etymology around long enough and you'll find your way through the Latin potis (which leads to pote, meaning vessel -- how beautiful is that?) to the Sanskrit word  पति, or páti, which means "lord, master, rule, sovereign."

And what more is possibility, than to dwell in the brilliant truth that each day I get to choose what path to take. To dwell in "I can." To toss out the lists and the schedules and the must-have's and never-do's, and just get on with the business of living.

The words found in possibility are beautifully empowering. I found myself thinking of the words from Invictus by William Ernest Henley; the last stanza in particular:

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul. 

With all these delicious words wandering through my mind, I was reminded of Bob Raczka'a book Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed From a Single Word. I looked up Andrew Russ, whose work Raczka was inspired by, and found even more words to ponder.

So I decided to give it a try with possibility. After much shifting around of letters and words, I realized it's much more difficult than I thought! But here it is, and here I am, dwelling in possibility: