This morning could not have been better. In fact, the entire day, in my opinion, was one for the record books, but let's take one thing at a time... (Warning: This could get lengthy. But stick with me because there are some great messages, pictures, downloads, websites, and stories below.)
I ended up being a good quarter of an hour early to the start of today's general session, but it allowed me to secure a pretty good seat and to plan my "attack" (a.k.a. itinerary) for the day. (It also allowed me to jot down some original poetry, but I'll save that for another time.)
Our first speaker was
Steven L. Layne, and after only listening to him for a few minutes, I knew why he was such a dynamic motivational speaker. His focus was on whom he termed "balcony" people - those people you have in your life (family, friends,
teachers) who have (and who continue) to "cheer you on" as you continue your life's journey. He spoke of his own teachers and also of others who hold a special place in his heart because of the impact they made in his life. Steven even posed the question, "What would have happened if I wasn't in Mrs. ___'s first grade class?" and it got me thinking about the impact we have as teachers every day in the classroom. Will they grow into special someones because they were in our class?
As the second part of the session commenced, I thought it would be impossible to top Steven Layne. Boy, was I wrong. All of a sudden,
Ron Clark came bounding up the steps of the stage. He began speaking with such passion and enthusiasm that I couldn't help but hang on his every word. He spoke of balancing hard/high expectations and fun. And what he said really resonated with me, as he spoke of
very unconventional, creative teaching practices that work and that are fun. The problem in attempting such unconventional practices is that people (including administrators and/or coworkers) might think you're crazy and discourage such practices. Ah, he said so many great things - I wish I could relay them all here - but he got me thinking about shaking things up in the classroom to keep the students engaged and
wanting to learn.
Wow, all of that happened and it wasn't even 10:30 yet.
And so the morning progressed. I attended a couple of stop-in sessions in the exhibit hall, including one by Scholastic on
summer reading. While I was purchasing a few books for my classroom library, I ran into the librarian and middle school language arts teachers from my school. They filled me in on where to get a few free things from the vendors. And, just after lamenting the fact that I am not very good at getting free stuff at conferences, I headed over to a book seller, happened to ask about Sharon Creech's upcoming novel's release date, and found myself with an "advanced reader's" copy in my hands. (When I asked how much it cost, the ladies told me I could have it for FREE!) As you can imagine, I was beyond excited because a) it's
Sharon Creech and b) I've never really had the opportunity to read a book before the mass public before - it's kind of cool.
If my day had ended there, I would have been satisfied.
But, it didn't. For me, there were still a few GREAT things to come, the first one being a presentation by
Kelly Gallagher about using mentor texts to teach writing. [He also made us aware of a free download called "
Writing Next" (strategies for improving writing in the upper and middle grades).] It's all about the preparation. In fact, he said that the three things we should focus on in teaching writing are 1) Read (What is the text saying?); 2) Analyze (How are the thoughts being said/written?); and 3) Emulate (What did the writer do that I can do?). He proceeded to say that students need 2 kinds of writing: Mentor Texts
AND a teacher who models. Ain't it the truth? You can't teach writing if you, yourself, don't write. Last, but not least, Kelly Gallagher gave me one more reason to love NPR -
This I Believe (see also this
site, where the project lives on) - while it is probably more effectively used by educators in middle and high school classrooms, I still see potential for upper elementary kiddos.
That session finished up just in time to make it over to the exhibition hall for a book signing with Christopher Paul Curtis, author of
Bud, Not Buddy and
The Watsons Go to Birmingham (to name a few). Such a down-to-earth and friendly guy, he even took the time to take a picture with me after signing my books. In addition, I received a teacher's guide to
Bud, Not Buddy and bookmarks for students. Woo hoo!
Finally, it was time to head home. What a day, what a day. Tomorrow should not be as packed, but I do need to arrive early (7:45!) for a focus group on acquiring and selecting paperbacks (with freebies promised!). There are a few sessions tomorrow I definitely want to make sure I see, including one about using humor in the classroom. Plus, I heard tell that towards the end of the afternoon, the vendors start giving away books for free - I will definitely need to check that out. Wish me luck!
Ok, by now you're probably exhausted from my lengthy summary/reflection of my day, but, as an added (reading) treat tonight (and as a tribute to the power and joy of truly good books), I've embedded the video of the Oscar winner for best short film, "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." (When you watch it, you'll see why it won. That's all I'm going to say.)
