Ann Marie Corgill-Dublin Lit

Earlier Lisa blogged about Tim Tyson and how he rocked the house with his message.  My post is about  Ann Marie Corgill's sessions and her book Of Primary Importance.  Whenever I find a professional book that I identify and center my workshops around, the author becomes by Book BFF.  When I began teaching fourth grade, Aimee Buckner was my BFF with her book, Notebook Know-How.

Of Primary Importance author, Ann Marie Corgill is my new BFF. (I even told her that at the conference.  I'm a teacher paparazzi!!) I saw her at NCTE, and read her book afterwards.  I'm rereading it and marking it up with my own personal thoughts.  Her message is simple:  

Children and their work needs to be celebrated and honored daily.
 

Thoughts from the book:

She believes that students succeed when teachers possess the six A's:  

Analyze, Ask, Applaud, Assist, Assess, and Advocate.

The most important thing I learned is that being you, being unique, being the teacher you are while teaching what's expected and what's appropriate for children is what matters most.

If you know the why, you can invent the how to teach it.

Believe that less is more.  If you cover less, you'll uncover more with your students.

Her book isn't a how-to, but more like a GPS guide to keep you moving in the "write" (no pun intended) direction.

I love her message, and I hope there is an opportunity for me to see her again.  But, for now, she's my new BFF.

Authentic Writing

Last week, my daughter had a week of big moments: jumping off the diving board and losing her first tooth. She had been wiggling it for weeks and was full of questions about the process. Once the tooth came out, she became concerned with how to get a message to the tooth fairy. See, she wanted to keep the tooth, but still have the opportunity to reap the tooth fairy rewards.

She came up with the idea to write a letter and place the tooth inside so that there was proof that she actually lost it. She has written notes to friends before, so she knew the basic structure of the letter.

"Dear tooth fairy,
I lost a tooth and I want to keep it.
Love, Addy"

Her message was clear, concise, and to the point. When I look at the NCTE's definition of 21st Century Literacies, this letter falls under DESIGN and SHARE INFORMATION for GLOBAL COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE A VARIETY of PURPOSES element of the framework.

*the audience was the tooth fairy and she had a clear purpose
*she felt the tooth fairy may not have a computer or email, so she wrote her letter with a marker and paper.
*it does not get more global than the tooth fairy

I printed off a hard copy of the framework to use as a GPS guide for my class. How can I create more opportunities for my students to write purposefully in the classroom where they have a clear message and a voice? Other than letters and persuasive texts, what more can I do for authentic writing experiences?