Story of My Thinking-Gretchen Bernabei

I just started reading Gretchen Bernabei's new book.  I am up to page 38 and onto chapter 5.  I have taken some notes and am learning so much.  I love the way she shares and tracks the movement of her thinking as she shares her questions about expository writing.  She went from Newkirk to James Moffett to Harvey Daniels to name a few.  I like her pure honesty.  It's refreshing and not in the least snobby.  It's like having a conversation with a friend across the hall or having lunch with a friend.  These are some of the questions I wonder about too but maybe not in the same way.  All in all,(I remember learning the all in all way of concluding from my 8th grade English teacher Ms. West.  She was one tough English teacher who mentored me and showed me that I could do anything if I worked hard at it.)  Anyhow, I try not to deviate too much.  All in all, I really like this book so far.  It's thought provoking, teacher friendly, and human!  That's what I like about Gretchen's books and attending her inservices. 

• Indelible moments-I really like that chapter.  I like the ideas of using different types of stimuli in forms of paper to record those indelible moments in our lives.  From using a coffee filter to a moving tag to an invitation to graduation paper.  These are sort of artifacts we can use to trigger the memory. I often want to add those things to my writer's notebook so as not to forget.  When I was in the hospital visiting my sister a nurse came in and cut off her wrist band because she was being transferred to another hospital.  I wanted to ask her to keep it but I thought she might think I was crazy or something.  So I didn't ask. I did keep the check stub with her room number on it so I can put it there. I want to remember how she survived an impossible situation.  I love the idea.  I also love the idea of them trying out three of them and using a trifold to write what happened before and after.  
• Personal Narrative with Reflection-I always like the idea of generating ideas with a quicklist.  Then we try out three memory kernels.  We always share out.  One thing that I have never tried but want to consider doing is having the kids start the final part of the kernel with, " I have learned that..." to go with the final thought.  You bring truisms full circle. I like interrogating the final details.  Asking the questions and considering the reader.  I love it!
• Elastic essays from narrative-taking something written and seeing it from a different perspective whether it be expository and defining that and then exploring the use of persuasive.  This is clearly multigenre thinking.  I like the planning sheet and taking an idea and running it through the genre filter.  Cool idea.
• Mining Journals-I have often wondered how this was done.  Now I get it and I like the idea.  If we have had our students adding quickwrites and entries into the writer's notebook and students are given choice to what they have the "itch" to write about, then mining the journel brings it all back to the context.  What have I written and where would I categorize this? I like the different categories.  It stretches the study of writing genre while analyzing ones own writing.  This definitely has great connections with reading and writing.  If you are worried about AYP, then you this will help with literary analysis big time.  There are great connections as she stipulated in the introduction.  It's too late for me to get the quote but I'll be back with it!  

So far, so excellent!  Great job Gretchen!