I have spent most of the day putting in a comma and the rest of the day taking it out.

— Oscar Wilde

This quote reminds me of my students and the comma. Once taught, they want to put the comma everywhere. I would like to know about commas and the word because. I know that you use a comma with because when it starts the sentence. So, do you place a comma before the word “because” when it’s in the middle of the sentence? If yes, why?Maybe an example would be nice.

How often do you take up writer’s notebooks?

I am trying to decide this b/c I have 88 students. I want to figure out a system that I can use so that I am not bogged down. It would be simple if I didn’t take up 48 response logs every week with 6th grade. I have thought about the every other week taking up response logs and then writer’s notebooks, but just want to see if there is a better way.

Any thoughts???

School seems to be going pretty smoothly for me now. We have been in school for about 4 weeks. In each 6th grade class I have 24 students, which I am used to 18-20. I am amazed of how well my new middle school students are getting the hang of “middle school.” They love writing in their writer’s notebooks and want to share more than ever. I am so excited that they are excited about writing. I can’t wait to take up their writer’s notebooks to see the creativity going on.

I have been using Aimee Buckner’s Notebook Know How to get ideas on writer’s notebooks. I love her rubric she uses to grade notebooks too. I have also used her idea of cutting and pasting notes/handouts in the notebooks–what a time saver! Her idea on how to keep notes and entries separate is priceless. Last year I got tired of thumbing through notebooks to find their entries b/c their notes were mixed. I even told my students to turn their notebook upside down if they didn’t like writing from the back of the notebook. I have learned a lot from last year’s trial and error with notebooks — I am still learning!

I am in the process of revamping my writer’s workshop because it is not working for me. I am curious to how you manage your writer’s workshop. I teach middle school so time is a factor. I have read that it needs to be at a consistent time each week–whether you do it 3 days a week or 5 days. I am considering 3 days a week, but what do you do on the days you don’t have writer’s workshop? Do you incorporate grammar within your writer’s workshop? How do you manage the noise level? (you know middle schoolers like to talk and it’s not usually about school) Is writer’s workshop only for lower grades? Most of the books I have read deal with grades 1-5.  How do you incorporate writer’s notebooks into writing workshop? So many questions!!!!

Next week is my last week of being lazy. I can’t believe how fast the summer went. The crazy thing is–I don’t feel ready for the school year to begin. I haven’t planned a thing. I kinda got side-tracked, but for a good cause. I found out on July 3rd that I was pregnant. Since then my emotions and insides have gone on a very twisty roller coaster. This week has been the first in many that I have actually felt well enough to get in-front of a computer, go outside, and eat. My appetite consisted of pretzels and peanut butter for the past three weeks.

My goal next week is to start planning for the school year. School offically begins August 18; however, I have meetings to attend in Memphis and then of course in-service. I do have some thoughts in mind of how I want to manage my classroom this year. I have been reading literature on managing a successful writing workshop. I still need to figure out my kinks– time is always a factor.

Tonight I cooked something new–Parmesan pesto chicken!  Wow! It was delicious. I got the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens 100 Best Chicken Recipes 2003. I made the pesto using sweet basil from my garden. The chicken was so tender and juicy. I paired it with pine nut couscous, steamed fresh zucchini and yellow squash. Below is the recipe:

prep: 30 minutes  cook: 20 minutes

6 skinless; boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds total)

salt

ground black pepper

1/2 cup Parmesan Pesto * see recipe

2 T butter

1 T olive oil

Parmesan Pesto:

1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

1 small garlic clove

cover and blend in food processor until smooth, stopping as necessary and scraping side of container. makes 1/2 to 2/3 cup

Chicken:

1. place chicken breasts in between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Pound lightly into rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Remove plastic wrap. Salt and pepper.

2. Spoon a slightly rounded tablespoon of the Parmesan Pesto onto each chicken breast; spread pesto over chicken. Fold in sides of each chicken breast; roll up into a spiral. Secure w/ wooden toothpicks.

3. Heat butter and oil in a 12 in. skillet over medium heat. Add chicken rolls; cook, uncovered, about 20 min. or until chicken is no longer pink, turning occasionally to brown evenly. Remove toothpicks.

4. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with basil sprigs if desired.

makes 6 servings.

nutrition facts per serving: 333 cal, 21 g total fat, 87 mg chol, 397 mg sodium, 4 g carbo. 

Dog

Days of

My summer

Slowly evolve

With lazy escapes

Under the sunny skies

Sun-kissed skin glistening bright

Afternoons quickly rush evenings

Of buzzing, chirping, and nightly sounds

Bringing contentment close to you daily

I wrote this etheree today at our annual writing marathon for The West Tennessee Writing Project. It was fun getting into groups and writing. I got to meet new people and it was invigoratingto my writing needs. I just love writing etherees because they force you to use good, concise words. They also make you edit and revise. I think students writing etherees would be a good first step to editing and revising their work because they have to choose what works best for them. My first draft of this poem wasn’t perfect the first time writing it. If my scanner was working, I would show you my revisions. I plan on doing more modeling of revision and editing for my students.

Today I wrapped up all of the loose ends. I ended the school year by locking my door at 3:00. I checked out. The process of checking out is tedious, but worth it in August. I have to take everything down from the walls, wash the book cases & dry erase boards, take down bulletin boards, roll up the rugs, label everything, unhook computers, and cover the book cases with paper. I organized my desk by going through papers and files that I haven’t used. It’s so neat and clean–organized! It’s wierd seeing your room bare when you’re used to it being bright and colorful.

Even though I don’t like this process, it does have its benefits. The pros are you get to start with a clean slate for the next school year, you get to have a nice oorganized desk, and you don’t have as much purging in August.

I am not wrapped up with my teaching though. I have been thinking over in my mind of how I want next year to go. The third week in June I will be participating in our first advanced institute with teacher inquiry. I am eager to learn new things about my teaching and I expect a great outcome for my teaching too. In the school year 2008-2009 I plan on implementing my writer’s notebooks, but I am planning on tweaking them a lot. I did get input from my students on writer’s notebooks and can’t wait to look at that data.

Today I came home from organizing my classroom to an empty house. It was an odd feeling because no one was here to greet me as I walked in. Usually my two dogs, Belle and Mimi, are wagging their tails and smiling when I arrive. It’s going to be this way for a few days because they are visiting their grandma, Sophie. Tony and I are going out of town and my parents agreed to watch over them. I know that they will be happier with Sophie and not at the kennel. I will see my two girls next Wednesday when we go to pick them up in Kentucky.

The 2007-2008 school year is over! Last Friday was the last day of school. It went by so fast this year, but I am glad it’s over. I am ready for some R & R. The only thing about the end of the year is the process of packing up everything. At my school we have to take everything off of the walls and store it. It’s a daunting task, but I guess it’s a good thing because you start the next year off fresh.

This summer I am looking forward to reading literature about writer’s notebooks and how to implement them better. I will be attending an advanced institute where I’ll be researching more of my inquiries. Right now I am thinking of the following questions:

How can I better implement a writer’s notebook into my writer’s workshop?

How can I use a writer’s notebook to model and teach revision and editing?

If you have any ideas, I would love to hear about them on either topic…