Express Yourself

Be who you are and say how you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
--Dr. Seuss

Monday, March 2, 2015

Great Day! From the Archives of Just Write Baby!

hanks to everyone who attended my exploring writer's craft today!  It was a "Bird by Bird" Bird By Bird Article kind of day!  I wish I had taken photos of today, but I didn't have the opportunity to do so.  I am going to take some photos of some of the artifacts that we used today to trigger ideas.  Wow!  You were such a deep and thoughtful group of educators from SBISD! 

I really liked the discussion all day.  The Anne Lemott article was so deep.  We discussed our ideas about writing and how we see ourselves as writers and then read the article of Anne Lemott's book Bird by Bird. We compared our experiences and learned from hers.  So much stays with me.  On another post I am going to post all the profound words that resonated or echoed with me!  ECHO!

We explored revision through the lens of Replace, Add, Delete, And Reorder (RADAR) from the work of Jeff Anderson and Kelly Gallagher.  I used Jerry Seinfeld's book about Halloween to use for my Reading and Writing connection.  Fun to read and remember!

We explored our revision and tracked the movement of our minds by using different colors as we revised.  We coded the revision process and discussed our moves on that piece of writing.  One teacher commented that revision was now fun and purposeful.  Why didn't someone tell about this before? If I had known this last year, it would have made a big difference. These were some of the reflections.

Then we moved onto the indelible moments idea from Gretchen Bernabei's book The Story of My Thinking. We watched the Wanna Get Away commercials from the Southwest Airlines.  We then watched the touching Extra Gum commercial and discussed indelible moments.  I then gave everyone a telephone pink slip for missed calls.  We used this artifact to write down ideas about an indelible moment that can be associated with a phone call or some type of electronic communication.  Everyone wrote.  The moment came flooding over me.  This little pink piece of paper brought me back immediately to the place and time.  It was if I were in slow motion and I was a bystander watching my own movie that took place back in 1991.  It was the time I received a phone call at 2 am in the morning in Yoro, Yoro Honduras.  The phone was ringing off the hook.  Myrna, the matriarch of the family, came and knocked on my door.  I knew it was bad news.  Who calls from the United States that late, if it wasn't a death in the family?  Marina, Marina. Su papa de estados unidos esta llamando. Your dad from the United States is on the phone.  I will leave it at that and add more in another post.  I want to take some photos of the process tomorrow or over the weekend, when I have more time. 

This little pink slip took me places today!  I was transported to Myrna's house. I lay in the my hand made bed with a mattress that was 7 inches thick.  It has wooden slats below.  I covered up with a savana or light cover that had the designs woven in orange, red and yellow of the ruins of St. Rosa de Copan.  It definitely brought me back to my Peace Corps days in Honduras.

A simple paper plate brought me back to my Mammaw's delicious tuna salad sandwhiches that she made with great care.  Toasted wheat bread, tuna with mayo and pickle relish garnished with romaine lettuce.  It was accompanied with an cold iced tea in her iced tea glass.  My wonderful, beautiful, caring Mammaw!  Boy do I miss her! It has been over 20 years since she passed onto the Other Side.  A simple paper plate...

Then there is the used daily calendar quotes of the cartoon character Maxine.  It brought back the memories of Katherine Porter and her biscuits, thick hamburgers, sweet, sweet, sweet, iced tea and plate sized pancakes.  It brought me back to Mom talking to her on the porch on hot Summer nights.  It brought me back to the gossip and those words well, Betty you know that....I can see myself huddled right next to my mom smoothe legs and I clutched them and listened and wait for the laugh to come soon.  Then Katherine would say, Why do I have kids?  Why do I have so many...I use those words today when my cats or dogs are acting badly.  If my cats knock over my ice tea I scream to my daughter and say Why do I have cats?  Can you believe all of that comes from looking at an daily calendar of Maxine quotes?  Certainly did!  Unforgettable and indelible!

Thanks Noemi Leon-Garcia for planning this and presenting with me!  It was truly a Bird by Bird day!
You don't have to be perfect, after all!

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