New Materials in the Library

What up y'all? Mrs. Jarvis just received tons of new books and materials in the library, including a decent collection of graphic novels. This DVD set came in as well, which "presents the rich, literary tradition of American storytelling." It is a four DVD set running at about an hour a piece, and it covers 1650-the present. So, if you want to kill 240 minutes of class time...(obviously this is a bad idea...). Here are scans of the DVD contents. Maybe someone can use a little piece or two.

Summer Reading Part Deux

Okay, to move to the next step in the summer reading process, we need volunteers to

• select a book or two from each grade level to eliminate and replace with a work that is in the public domain and therefore free to students
• devise and create materials for this marathon of reading contest. We'll need something we can get into the hands of the students
  

In addition to this, we all need to

• iron out the details. What did we decide the reading requirements would be (was it one book, and accompanying film, and an accompanying article? Then, reward the kids who read widely beyond that (books of their own choosing))?
• What will the September assessment be? I think we've decided this but I forgot.
  
• Blog/automated phone call (I volunteer to work on this aspect.)
  

If I've forgotten something crucial, remind me in the comments. Methinks I need to improve my record keeping (although two weeks off can make a brain wonderfully mushy). I'd love to hit the ground running when we get back so we can get this to students during the 1st or 2nd week of May.

As a quasi deadline, please respond to this post by Thursday evening and we'll call a meeting to order for the following Thursday. Also, if you remember the other major things we were planning to discuss (like portfolio, etc.) pop a comment or a new post. Peace.

Summer Reading Meeting

(Sorry I didn't get this up earlier. Busy day.)

Ok, so we met this morning and man were we ever productive. Has there ever been a department meeting when there a lull in a conversation occured? I can't remember any in the 7 years I've been at Mack High. I seriously think that the comment period on the blog beforehand really made today's meeting successful. So many good ideas. Here's what I recorded, in somewhat randomish I've got to go to bed because I'm exhausted order:

• project bulletin board (to display projects in September)
• eliminate selections and replace with cheap books, online materials, etc.
• howsa bout a film/book/article combo?
• advertising push - teacher visits to classrooms, etc.
• an incentive reward program...a marathon of reading contest
• most active blog participant, 1st person online, most books read, parent signatures, etc.
• other incentives
  
• automated phone call

I know I missed some things, but I'll revisit and update this bad boy tomorrow. In the meantime, if you see that I missed something, drop a comment yo.

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Western New York Writing Project

Hey guys. I've been involved with the Western New York Writing Project since 2003. I went through the Summer Institute in 2003 and have been in charge of the Teen Writing Workshop for the past four years. This experience has helped me immeasurably as it has helped me become part of a progressive and highly motivated group of educators.

I am attaching applications for their Summer Institute in case you're interested. It is a 17 day experience in July and man is it worth it. I don't gush about many things but will freely sing the praises of WNYWP.

I am also attaching a brochure for the Teen Writing Workshop. If you have any students who love to write and are highly motivated, please encourage them to look into the workshop. It is $200, but I can easily procure a $100 scholarship for a student. It really is a great experience. Students meet everyday with a mentor and 7-8 other writers. Students are expected to publish their writing and record podcasts of their writing. It's a great time.

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Also, if anyone is interested, we are holding a free workshop this Saturday at Canisius. Four or five teachers are bringing in materials and stories of experiences related to technology in the classroom. We are meeting at Canisius College in Old Main 214 at 10 am as part of the WNYWP "Saturdays at 10" series. Hope to see you there.

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Lastly, we are having a meeting about our summer reading program. Please visit the blog and add your comments before the meeting. The sooner you comment, the deeper the conversation. We're meeting Thursday at 7:40 in the Library.