Visual Literacy: A Personal Narrative

Process of Intent:
In this essay I wanted to capture images of things that would tell the story of my current situation, which includes finishing my classes, beginning student-teaching, not exactly planning my wedding, stressing about not having begun looking for a job, (breathe) and keeping it together by spending q-time with friends and family, relaxing with my music, and dreaming of spring.Though, the piece as a whole is a little chaotic and jumbled, it is also colorful and optimistic, and this illustrates how I feel right now.

Tech. Process:

Pulling the pictures and things together and placing them inside a frame doesn't exactly require technological savvy, but since I knew I'd be posting it, I wanted to use big items and pictures that would show up clearly online. I was a little dissapointed to see how small the piece appears on my blog, but overall the application serves its purpose; you can see the piece, and it's nice to have it displayed next to my explanation. The collage of the future? Maybe...

I'm not sure if we need a link this week, but I want to share this with y'all. It's the Official Prince Hip Replacement Thread. Guess the purple one isn't partying like it's 1999...

Collective Intelligence: The Alternative Energy of the Future

There’s a ton of good stuff in the article Media Education for the 21st century. From what I read, the authors mainly describe and label the existing action on the www, and in doing so provide incredible insight for those of us who remember playing Oregon Trail in grade school. I like the way the authors frame the online activities kids invest their time and energy in by describing the necessary skills and positive implications of these activities. The idea of appropriation as a “process of that involves both analysis and commentary” is also a fresh way to look at how kids (and grown ups) create new material using old material. The “What Might Be Done” section in this part includes some stellar unit ideas for English teachers. Finally, the idea of collective intelligence as the fuel of the future really tickles my fancy and reminds me of our cohort :-) I would like to revisit this article and read the rest of it sometime.

My link for this week booklustwiki, a place for people who love books.

writing like a stream

had i not read chapter 6 of the culhan text, i have to say that the idea of editing a third grader's essay for sentence fluency would sound more than a little crazy. but now, i am somewhat sold on the idea. it reminded me to take risks, to never underestimate my students, and while i probably won't produce a class of whitmans, i will have some students who will at least consider the idea of rhythm in they're writing, which is great. the activities for teaching this trait, again, provide opportunties to use music, and i love the idea of focusing on the fluidity of a song and infusing it into your sentences.

from the dornan text i took the idea of purposeful portfolios. i plan on using this approach in my classroom, and for many of the reasons the book provides. i especially appreciate the idea of portfolios as a tool for building ownership of writing by providing writers with a greater sense of creative control than the traditional approach where the teacher simply gives students back their graded assignments and forgets all about them. an anthology is something to be proud of; it reflects growth, flexibilty and hard work, like a greatest hits album.

my link this week is literary kicks. it's a great site that provides a collection of bios, essays, and links on an assorment of topics, one being the beats, information about which i am collecting to build some context for a novel i will be teaching.

not so edited american english

hmmmm. sometimes these reflections are just so, well...they are just like idunno what to say really.... really, i am not sure where this is headed, but what the hell. i'll just list some of the ideas from this week's reading that resonated with me. first, i have to admit that reading about voice and word choice made me feel a little anxious about teaching writing. i consider myself a novice when it comes to these elements. i am always working to avoid the three sins culham describes, sounding trite, mundane or inaccurate, and i just learned last year that superlatives are almost always very unnecessary. that aside, i liked the idea on how to teach voice by listening to different versions of the same song. i think this activity would crystallize the concept of voice and i look forward to opportunities to use music in relevant and effective ways in my classroom. the dornan text provided some much appreciated perspective on the topic of teaching grammar. i was delighted to see the heading "what aspects of grammar, mechanics and usage should we teach?".

my link for this week is pbs.org, where you can find succinct information to provide historical context for the books you teach. the battlefield: vietnam option is a great source with a nifty timeline.

Write-to-Learn

Finally, an authority on the writing process admits that outlines "overlook the very power of language to sort out new ideas" (Dornan, 129). I've always felt this to be true and as a result find myself completing them after I 've already finished writing my papers. I also usually don't begin with a rock solid thesis statement. Instead, it seems that I almost always begin with a vague idea that springs from a quote, a lyric, a scene, or something, and watch, sometimes in amazment, as it develops on my computer screen. Just as chapter 5 explains, "nothing is certain till the end" (Dornan, 130), which is where I believe creating an outline is most helpful. Once I've finished a paper, I can dismantle it and examine the pieces under the scope of an outline to make sure that its clear and coherent, then fortify the thesis so that it relfects the strength of the full grown idea. I think this approach more closely matches the way writers think. It's not a fill in the blank process; we learn as we move along, and sometimes we end up in places that we never imagined we'd go, and that's the beauty in it. My link this week is one that I heard about from Genevieve. Found . It has some great writing and discussion prompts and it's just fun to browse through...

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Culhan provides a beautifully clear picture of the writing process. I regret not having had this type of instruction early on in my writing career, as I remember being baffled by the idea of revision, confused by the notions of development and elaboration, bogged down by punctuation and conventions. In our small group discussion, we concurred that it's some type miracle that we arrived to this place where we have a relatively firm grasp on the elusive process of writing. Thus, we head into our future careers with some apprehension towards trying teach it to others. "Where to begin" is the question I find myself pondering most often. IDEAS, of course, the shiny stones in the sluice box. It seems obvious now, but I think it's like looking for something that is so close that you don't see it. What a revelation, and happy one at that; by focusing on ideas first, I can avoid being the source of confusion and frustration that I remember my Language Arts teachers being. We can cast aside, initially, all else and simply focus on the idea, the genesis and inspiration of the difficult task at hand, and move forward once we have gained the necessary momentum.
In light of my recent revelation, my link provides ideas for writing topics for grades
1-12.