Just a rainy day!

Today in 6th grade ELA enhancement class kids had the opportunity to have an electronics day.  We had finished a test and it's a rainy Friday. What could be better than zoning out in the computer lab, playing your favorite game?  I was pleasantly surprised when they wanted to play Kahoot!.  They didn't want to zone out on their own.  They wanted to do something together!  Yippee!

I have played Kahoot! at workshops, but honestly I really don't know much about it.  So, I was honest and said,  "I don't really know much about it, but, I would love to watch you."  Apparently the kids already have accounts made for other classes (kudos to those teachers!)  This plays into what we talk about all the time.  Don't be afraid to learn from students!  I know I have lots to learn.  I know things... but they know things too and I will be missing out if I don't give up some teacher ego and learn from them.

So, a lazy, rainy Friday afternoon turned into school for the teacher.

Here's a link if you would like to check it out:

Kahoot!


Happy Friday Afternoon!

Kate Messner at Write to Learn Conference

       This past week I attended the Write to Learn Conference at the beautiful Tan-Tar-A resort in Osage Beach, MO.  I know that I'm now a librarian however after looking at the conference brochure I decided that there was a lot there for me as a school librarian.
       Kate Messner was a Thursday pre-conference workshop presenter.  I have followed her career as an author of wonderful children's books and also as a teacher for teachers.  Her revision book is once that I have featured earlier in a blog post.  Unfortunately she was snowed in and couldn't be at the conference in person.  When I found out that she was going to lead the workship via Skype, I wondered how that would translate.  It was fantastic!  Of course I would have loved to have shaken her hand, but she was such a wonderful presenter that sort of thing became not so important.  I was able to see and hear her excitement about writing for about 6 hours. She spoke about mentor texts,  a topic I had read about and sort of understood, but now really understand.  This topic will certainly be applicable to the work I do in the library.

     
         She continued her presentation with teaching the process of revision.  What I gleaned from this is that revision shouldn't be so formal and structured.  It should take place in smaller chunks in such a way that students don't even realize they are doing it.  She spoke to that dreaded phrase that we all hear from students, "I like it the way it is,  I don't want to change anything."  And, the also popular, "My mom thinks it looks great."  Defending against those types of arguments can be daunting.  That is why not giving kids a lot of time, all at once, is so important.  Let the combination of several mini revisions be what sets the stage for learning how to make growth in writing happen.
          This first day set the stage for what was a wonderful conference.  I left the room feeling excited about my place in the world as a teacher librarian.  I figured out that just because I'm not in a classroom, I can still give students what they need to be successful writers.  I'll just be doing that from a different perspective.  And, here's the perk...  I'll get to have a lot of fun and won't have to do the actual grading.  Shshsh,  don't tell my teacher friends that.  They will all want to become librarians!