The Sunrise Story

As I was reading posts a few days ago, I came across this post titled, Slicing Titles Make a Poem . I was intrigued and immediately I thought this would make a great last day post! Rereading through the titles made me smile. I'd already forgotten some. In my work to create a poem, I tried to keep the titles very true to form. I added three words to the entire poem. For me, the revision was mostly about moving around and making the lines fit together. I had fun revising and creating this poem. Here it is... Currently…Introverting Real peek into an ugly moment From grumpy to grateful It’s the small things Like conversations about flamingos and A day with a friend and lots of chocolate Am I a writer? I don’t wanna write How do I notebook? Here’s my day in notebook entries My day in six-word memoirs We are writers Words hurt, words heal The seven writers I’d like to meet You can blog about it Why am I teacher? You teach middle school?!?! ...

This is the next to the last day of the slicing challenge and I'm searching for a meaningful and interesting idea for a post. I have lots of blog posts from other bloggers saved to use as inspiration, but I'm not feeling them right now. I just spent thirty minutes looking through blogs for more ideas. Nope. The only thing that comes to mind is this: "Everything's been written already. What else do I have to say? It's been said." You know what those words tell me?!?! That the judge is taking over. I'm too tired to push it away effectively. I've nudged that voice over enough to compose these words, yet I feel doubt regarding their importance. Writers...We write. We tell stories. We tell the truth. "Is any of it original? Is that even important?" NO. Stop! I showed up here. I searched and listened and searched some more. I tried and failed. I tried again and now I'm writing these words. Are they brilliant? Nope. Why? They tell...

My day (Tuesday) in six-word memoirs... Alarm woke me, well rested. Cheerios. News. Walk dog. Get coffee. Beautiful sun shining over the school. Suddenly, rain pouring from the sky. Thunder and lightning make it exciting. Lots of debating, writing, and reading. Big news. Good news. Transitions. Beginnings. Days almost over, time to write... Only two slices left. I'm sad... but proud of this accomplishment. Yay! Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers .

Yesterday was Monday. It was very Monday-ish too. Mondays usually don't bother me, but yesterday, it got me good! To quote the brilliant Judith Viorst, What happened? Words happened. Words hurt me. Words frustrated me. Words shamed me. Responding to these situations isn't easy. Sometimes I fight back and other times I let go. Today I did a little of both, but most importantly I turned to my own words. Writing helps me sort out issues. Writing brings me peace of mind. Writing often answers questions that I didn't even know I had. Here's a poem that poured out of my day... My notebook became Mine today. I grabbed it in a moment of pain and despair. It’s in this moment when the pages offer comfort and protection they become part of me. It’s in this moment where trust is earned by guarding and preserving these words, these sentences, these stories. Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write ...

At a conference this weekend, I heard a speaker say that writers see and experience the world differently. Something happens and it becomes fodder for our notebooks (or blogs). We see life as a series of stories. I agree with this characterization and I feel grateful that I am a writer. My friend, Christine, is also a writer. We met as writers in a writing group more than ten years ago! Our words connected us immediately and they still do years later. Words are sacred to us. We notice them. We share them. We ask for feedback when we write them. Words are sacred and it seems that only writers truly understand that relationship. Christine lives far away now and we rarely get to see each other, but our friendship remains strong through the sharing of our words. Words from my friend mean so much to me. They lift me when I'm down. They show me who I am when I forget. They guide me to better places. They keep me company when I'm alone. Here are some words shared between us...

It's been a busy week filled with teaching students coaching teachers presenting at a conference meeting new friends and reconnecting with others. Six long days of smiling and asking questions listening and solving problems moving and creating until today Sunday Truly my day of rest my day of introverting. A day of being A day of quiet A day in my pajamas A day of comfort food Introvert as a verb To turn or fold inward I will introvert to recover to recharge to take on a new week with new challenges, discoveries, and opportunities. Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers .

Here is my presentation for the  Northern Virginia Writing Project  Language & Learning Conference!  Enjoy your journey as a notebooker!

I teach students I care about the whole student I want to know what your story is today I teach readers I want to know what book you're reading, and what you think about it and how you found it I don't care what your lexile number is I teach writers I want to hear your story I want you to be messy and creative and I want you to take risks I don't care if you get all of your commas in the right place This is why I am a teacher It's not because of a five paragraph essay It's not because I care what level you are I don't teach numbers I teach students! Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers .

Music brings people together. Music makes memories. Here's my dream road trip... or this... My friend Holly wrote a blog post about theme songs . I loved it. I got lost in the music. Her post inspired this post. I texted my family and a few friends and asked them what song is their theme song. After much discussion, I got lots of good answers. Josie & Jillian: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper Kate: Brown Eyed Girl, Van Morrison Mom: Imagine, John Lennon Mary Jo: Stand By Me, Ben E. King Natural Woman, Aretha Franklin Mary Ann: Having a Party, Southside Johnny Danielle: Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Marvin Gaye & Tami Terrell Love is All Around (Theme song for MTM) Henry: Simple Man, Lynryd Skynyrd Christine from Colorado: Guaranteed by Eddie Vedder Jessica: Lean on Me, Bill Withers Christine: Bless the Broken Road, Rascal Flatts Jenny: The River, Garth Brooks Erin: Insane in the Membrane, Cypress Hill Karen: Brown Eyed Girl, Van...

I messed up. I really messed up. Let me explain, for the past week and a half we have been writing, researching and revising to create original picture books. This project has been going well and the day finally arrived...the groups were going to get the book to publish! Except, I made a HUGE mistake. Numbers got me again! I miscounted the pages in the picture books. I thought sixteen pages meant there were sixteen pages that would turn into thirty-two pages! NO. Sixteen pages meant eight pages with two sides. More than fifty sixth-grade students have been working on these projects for awhile and I felt TERRIBLE! A student discovered this problem at the end of the third block. She brought the book to me and showed me. I was flabberghasted. How could I make a careless mistake like this?!?! When fourth block students came to class, I hung my head and explained my goof. I apologized. I told them how terrible I felt. And then I asked them for help. Students came to the rescue. The...

The school day moves quickly. If you are a teacher, you live that life daily. At the beginning of my sixth-grade classes, we spend a few minutes every day writing in our notebooks. We call it Sacred Writing Time. (In my notebook entries, you'll see my abbreviation, SWT.) It truly is a precious time to me and my students. Here are some blurbs from my entries on Tuesday. Judge for yourself. Do you spend any time writing with your students on a daily basis? If not, I urge you to try it...it's life changing...   Here's why I wrote, "I love Jessica"... Spending the beginning moments of a class, writing together has so many benefits. 1. We live like writers. We show up to the page every single day. 2. Routine breaks down the resistance to writing. 3. We build ourselves as writers...word by word, sentence by sentence, page by page. 4. There's calm and quiet in the middle of chaos and pressure. 5. We learn to have faith that the words wi...

Writers need quiet and space to focus to think to write. On Monday a student completed project work and decided to blog. "Where did she go?" I asked. "Has anyone seen her?" Two other students pointed to the back of the room to the bookcases and there she was   creating writing blogging Tucked into the shelves of the library with her ideas and her laptop... Soon others joined Brilliant. Flexible seating at it's best! Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers .