Saturday, June 30, 2012

Today Show

Woke up early today to go to the Weekend Today Show. Was on t.v. for a split second. Also got our picture taken with Jenna from the show. One of the segments was on exercise...something I will need after eating all the delicious food here in New York. Afterwards we took a bus tour around the city in 90 degree heat. We kept telling ourselves that it was cold...mind over matter I guess, but it didn't seem to help. Last night we traveled all over the city. We went to the 9/11 Memorial and saw the new Freedom Tower. Quite an experience. We went to Chinatown and Little Italy. We saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from a distance. After returning from an extremely long day Lisa and I got stuck on the subway train since the doors closed before we could get out. Diane, Chris and Becky were in front of us and had no trouble getting off the subway train...thanks a lot ladies! Remember...head count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 not 1, 2, 3! Lol... Although Chris was yelling at us where the next stop was to get off from outside the train. You wouldn't believe how hard we laughed about our subway incident. What a night! Taking an afternoon break because of the heat but will return soon to discover more! Dana

Friday, June 29, 2012

Finito

What an incredible experience this week has been. Being a seasoned teacher, I have had many fabulous teaching moments, and wondered how many were left. This last week has brought me such renewed energy and purpose, I can't wait for school to begin! (Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration.) Collaboration has been phenomenal, and I would not have traded any experience for the world. Diane

Making an Emotional Connection

I can't believe that our five days of class have come to an end. This has been an incredible learning experience. I have not only a physical connection, but also an emotional connection to this week of learning. I am looking forward to a weekend of exploring the city. Tonight I will have my students in mind as we tour the 9/11 Memorial. After our mini inquiry this year, I can't wait to see this area that we researched and get photos to share with them. Talk about creating some physical and emotional memories. Becky

Thank You!

We had such an incredible experience, it's hard to put into words. I am thankful for our blog which will always help us return to this time. I am thankful for the colleagues who shared it with me. Finally, I am thankful for how this experience has changed me as a teacher. More joy! More joy! More joy! My new chant...Lisa

With Lucy

Saying goodbye!

Our Last Day

We are so sad to see this fantastic experience end.....but so excited to get back and get started! See you all soon!
Lisa, Diane, Becky, Dana, and Chris

Day Quatre

Sorry for the delay, but we had some technical difficulties. I'll keep it short and sweet. It was another extraordinary day. We were again inspired by Lucy and her staff developers. The highlight of the day for me was the closing speaker, children's author, Jack Gantos. He was so entertaining and inspiring. Journaling to him is the heart and soul of good story writing. Our collaboration in the evening was again delicious and thoroughly entertaining. The Broadway show, Sister Act, with little Raven Symone was a hoot! Now off to hear Lucy Calkins. Diane

Another Great Day

Jack Gantos, Lucy Calkins, dinner at Sophia's and Sister Act on Broadway! All with a fabulous group of ladies! Can't possibly top this for a Thursday! Ask me about the fire alarms! Lisa

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Joey Pigza has new meaning for me

Listening to Jack Gantos speak today was motivational. He reinforced the importance of having students write for at least 10 minutes a day to complete a short story. First he talked about using a map of your house to create stories about your life to write about. Then he talked about using the story elements for structure as you write a second draft. He mentioned so many other tips. He writes between 50 and 100 drafts of his books before he has a final draft. I can only think how cool it would be for our students to hear him speak. Becky

It's Already Thursday

Chris and I were so excited to continue to learn so much valuable information again today at Columbia. From mini lessons, conferring one on one and small groups, creating writing folders, making grids to keep track of student teaching points and improving on teacher feedback! I have taken pictures and typed as fast as I could on my iPad. (I have made a lot of progress with typing on this flat screen...that's for sure!) I have enjoyed every minute working and learning from my awesome staff members who have accompanied me here at Lucy Calkins. Lisa and Becky...I think we are all addicted to blogging now! Looking forward to going to Times Square tonight. Hoping to attend a Broadway show! One last day at the institute tomorrow. Sad it's coming to an end! Dana

Hello from C. Gosch

I believe I've had effective, strong training in the past, however, this experience at Columbia rates in the top 2 professional development opportunities I've been a part of in my 20+ years of being an educator. Every Teacher College Staff Developer has been incredibly knowledgeable and articulate with the subject matter. It's a proud feeling to be amongst these educators and around so many others who are passionate about what we do each and every day. Dana and I spent a little time throughout the day talking through the most important pieces we want to share with our primary teachers. There are too many "aha" moments to even count on my fingers and toes. Thank goodness for the iPad, I couldn't possibly write fast enough. Here's what to look forward to: powerful mentor texts, writing partnerships (perfect with our collaboration), new interactive writing ideas, revising verses editing, conferring effectively and consistently, common core in writing and management tools to pull it altogether. We listened to author, Jack Gantos, this morning. He was hysterical! Tonight we are hoping to attend a Broadway production. Melissa, I've got my headband ready for the big night! It matches my tooth. Good-bye for now.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Day Tres

Thanks to Sherry Fisher for reading and responding to my blog. What a special family. It was a beautiful, sunny day in New York. A favorite part of my day is the short trip each morning and afternoon on the subway. We have met some of the kindest and most interesting people. So many stories each could tell. As for the educational part of our day, we have moved on to how to write effective and interesting essays. The writing workshop concept is also becoming much more familiar and comfortable for us all. As for the rest of our collaboration this evening, I don't know if it can top yesterday's adventures in Central Park, but we'll sure try. I'll be back tomorrow. Diane

Another Amazing Day

To start off hearing a fabulous key note speaker this morning stressing the importance of working together as a community to build on a child's learning from year to year and teacher to teacher really jump started my day. It really reinforced the importance of collaborating with one another to make sure we build on upon our students' prior writing knowledge. The Institute has taught me more than just strategies to use when teaching. It has also made me a better writer. Being immersed in the workshop model and going through the process has made me realize that writing essays is easier for me than writing narrative stories. I was a student in a conference and a small group lesson today and it really helped my writing grow. I can only imagine how important this feedback will be for my students. See the charts below of the anchor charts from the writing lesson I was part of today. Becky

Subway

Just got back from Columbia on the subway. We are able to navigate the city from Times Square to Central Park to Columbia. Met some very intersting people. Going to meet another WAWM Pershing staff member tonight for dinner. Talk about collaboration! Can't wait to see you Nicole! Dana

Lunch time Day 3

What techies we are becoming! Here we sit in the Columbia Cafe, blogging, adding pictures and apps! If we heard it once, we heard it a hundred times today:"vertical teaming is essential". We are seeing how important it truly is for developing our student writers.--Lisa

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Went to the the Boathouse today! Can't wait to find out the history. Inquiry project anyone? What a beautiful place to discuss with colleagues our new learning. Will never forget my first trip to Central Park. Time to do some homework! Dana. PS Thanks Melissa for responding! You rock!

Hillbilly

Besides, #1... valuable bonding time with Wilson team members and #2... new ideas to keep students actively engaged in writing, today's highlights included yet another incredible outdoor Italian dinner and a 45 minutes run/walk in Central Park. The park was much more than I had anticipated. I enjoyed every moment. We are so very excited to share today's new knowledge with our vertical teams. Goodnight from hillbilly Chris (lost part of my tooth again). Is anyone reading this blog???

Super Mom on the subway

Started our morning on the subway being amazed by an adorable mom and son combo. The son was probably 6 or 7, decked out in khaki shorts, a white polo, and a Madras plaid jacket. We were introduced to mom's super powers as she pushed the doors to our subway car open so her son could hop in. Needless to say, watching them together made us all say ahhhhhhh! Our day in class was amazing again! Carl Anderson should be a beginning of the year speaker for our district. His approach to appreciating the writing of students was eye opening! Lucy Calkins talked again about planning the "bends in the road". She outlined a basic unit plan for us that really made it seem do-able. Conferring was also a big theme in large group as well as our small group session. I took pictures of all of the suggested anchor charts to share with everyone when we get back. The way they have done this learning experience is amazing......I am starting to feel like a writer. I'm sure it helps that we are in this fantastic city! -----Lisa

Day 2

What a beautiful day it was today in New York. I didn't lose my Metro card today, so I am very happy. We learned lots again today in all the sessions I was in. We learned more about narrative writing and the workshop process itself. It is truly all starting to come together. I can't wait to share. As for the rest of the day, it was grand. We walked,strolled, and even jogged through Central Park. How cool was that! To finish the night, we sat outside at a lovely Italian cafe and collaborated as we ate wonderful cuisine. The butternut squash ravioli was to die for! Well, off to do my homework. I will report back tomorrow. Love, Diane

An item checked off my bucket list...

Today was another fabulous day in NYC. I have learned so much. Two new pieces of learning that I will share...writing is hard work and you need an environment where students can accomplish all this hard work and writing conferences should be natural and it is okay if they bomb, you just move on. The most exciting part of my day was my run through Central Park. I truly felt like a New Yorker as I ran along side all the people in the park. It was on my bucket list and now I can check it off. I even ran into a celebrity. He is not super famous or drop dead gorgeous, but famous nonetheless. I saw Elmo as I was coming around the south end of the park. I need to go back to the park to get some pictures...it is an amazing park...statues, lakes, and trees. I will treasure this event for the rest of my life! Becky

Columbia Day Two

Halfway through day two and have picked up so many tips for teaching writing. Sometimes I wonder to myself, "Why didn't I think of that!" Will be learning about conferring, small group strategy lessons, partner work and mid-workshop interruptions in this next session. We are about to start...gotta go! Dana

Monday, June 25, 2012

Columbia University...5 Wilson Teachers...we've made it to the ivy league

I have learned a lot of new information and had a lot of fun. I should be showing and not telling; however, I will save that for writing about the small moments in my journal later tonight. Listening to Lucy Calkins speak today has rejuvenated my energy for teaching. I like listening to the insights and stories that she has to share and I can't wait for the rest of the week. Here are some of my bits of new learning...IADD's are important to writing...inner thought, action, description, and details. I may be crazy, but that is what makes my writing personal...what an important idea to keep in my mind. Classroom set-up is important...you can't rearrange an engineering classroom with tables in rows unless you remove the bolts from the floor...they must not use a workshop model in their classes in Mudd Hall. I can't wait to collaborate and share my new learning with everyone else. Day 1 was filled with so much...what will day 2 bring?Becky
Very impressed with Diane and Chris...can't get them away from their iPad to blog! First day at the writing institute was amazing! I have learned so much already in only one day. Hoping the weather clears up...although we do have fantastic Beacon Hotel umbrellas to borrow. Our hotel is awesome and we are super close to the subway! Off to Times Square! Dana

Quote of the day!

"It's Ok to ride the crazy train, because the crazy train is real". When teaching students to write narratives they need to start by writing what is real. They need to write in a way only they can, use language (names,places,events,feelings) only they can! Lessons I learned: 1.the true work is in using the precise word. When writing your focus should be to find which words best match the situation. 2. Revision can happen at 5 levels: word,sentence,part,piece,"a little something special". 3.Dialogue,action and descriptive language are the most important pieces. We are riding the crazy train! Lisa

day 1

Rain began our first complete day at the Writing Institute. That was the only negative part of the day. We began by listening to an inspiring and heartfelt message from Lucy Calkins herself. She inspires everyone who teaches writing to inspire their students as well. Writing should be a core subject, just as reading and math are, and explicit instruction is essential. From there we broke off into grade level sections, and then listened again to Lucy Calkins give us details about the nuts and bolts of a successful writer's workshop. We have some great ideas. Traveling through the underground hallways was a trip in itself for Lisa and me. The afternoon was filled with small group work on how a workshop in your classroom can be successful and very workable at the same time. So much for our first educational day, and now for some more important collaboration. I'll be back tomorrow. P.S. How about me blogging! Love, Diane

I'm okay!

Yes, today started with a little fall down the stairs at Columbia due to the rain. I almost lost my shoe but I'm okay, no surprise to my family. Today's sessions were fabulous! New management techniques for writer's workshop, writing partners, and an inspirational keynote from Lucy were a few highlights. I can visualize how this will fit together with our C & C skills. I'm truly inspired and, hooray, we still have another four days of classes! The five of us are anxious to jigsaw all of the information we gathered today. Collaboration time! Mrs. Gosch

Columbia!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Wilson goes to New York!

There have been many "small moments" to write about already ... Manhattan skyline, incredible hotel, beautiful Central Park, amazing Italian dinner, fascinating architecture, and more. I should have brought my Wonder Book! I am very anxious to go to Columbia University tomorrow morning. Sure wish the whole Wilson Family was here! Christine Gosch *C.S., we didn't get the name of our cab driver. *B.K., look at me, I'm blogging! *M.T., very vintage here!

First Day in New York

What an amazing opportunity to travel to New York to attend Lucy Calkins Writing Institute. I am truly excited for our first day of class! We enjoyed our first dinner at Coppola's tonight and went shopping at Fairway Market. Looking forward to traveling on the subway tomorrow morning on our way to Columbia! Dana

Welcome to the Big Apple

We arrived in New York this evening! It is amazing. I love all the buildings and can't stop staring at all the sights. Our hotel is fabulous. We arrived in La Guardia and took a ride to our hotel. After checking we went to dinner at Coppola's. It was a quaint little Italian restaurant. We stopped at the market to get food for breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Now we are getting ready for our first day at Columbia University tomorrow! Becky

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Countdown to departure

Thursday and we need to start thinking about packing.  We have plans to tour the 9/11 Memorial, but nothing else set in stone.  Fund for Teachers sent us a list of Fellows we may run in to at Columbia.  It will be interesting meeting teachers from all over the United States!

Friday, June 8, 2012

School is out and we are into the countdown for our trip to New York City!  Keep checking back for our updates on the trip, our learning and our adventures!