Today was my last day of work. As much as I love my students, teaching and the library, I do feel the need for a break. This school year seemed interminable and, with temperatures climbing into the 80s and 90s, it was simply too hot for students to concentrate on learning much longer - at least not in a cramped, stuffy classroom.
As usual, I passed out a bibliography of books for summer reading, but this time I retitled it "100 Books You Should Read Before You Turn 13". I told my fifth graders they were lucky. Unlike the sixth graders, who only had two years to read all the books on the list, they had three whole years. If they got started right away, they might have time to finish all of them. The first thing the kids did was to run through the bibliography and check off all the titles they'd already read. Most of them had read somewhere between five to ten of the books. Today, a girl named Kayla called me as she leaving for summer vacation. "Mrs. Michel, I'm almost done with The Whipping Boy. Next I'm going to read The Secret Garden."
I gave her the thumbs up and smiled. "Happy vacation!" I called.
Now for two months of rest. Oh, and a big stack of books to make my way through.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
SCBWI Conference
Last Saturday I drove up to Poughkeepsie to attend the SCBWI Eastern NY Conference. I'd been to the Long Island SCBWI conference and wanted to try something different. Besides, the upstate conference offered manuscript critiques. The LI conference only offers first page criitques and then only a select few.
The keynote speaker was 1982 Newbery winner, Nancy Willard. She proved to be not only an amazing writer, but an inspirational speaker and captivating storyteller. Like me, she was born and raised in Michigan and has an avid interest in fairy tales, but man, if only I could write like her! I could have listened to her speak for another hour or two, if she'd been so inclined. If you haven't read her book, The Left-handed Story, I recommend it. The book is an eclectic collection of essays on the writer's craft, family stories, failures, successes, muses and the mundane and the mystical.
I also listened to part of author Colleen Paratore's talk on her journey to becoming a successful writer. She didn't talk about good luck so much as hard work, perseverance and butt in chair time. I didn't get to hear all of her talk because I stopped by to listen to agent Tina Wexler speak. She was interesting but not nearly as fascinating as Colleen and I wish I'd hung around to listen to everything she had to say.
Is it just me, or do nearly all these editors and agents look they're fresh out of college?
Alexandra Penfold, associate editor at Paula Wiseman Books (imprint of Simon & Schuster) spoke about what she looks for in a manuscript. She asks herself a couple of questions as she's reading through a submission. Is there an audience for this book? Does the story surprise me? Take me to places I'd like to go? Am I moved by the story? Does the action move at a good pace? Build tension? Is the character somebody I care about?
Tina Wexler, who works for ICM, spoke about the kind of stories she likes. She wants a book that makes her cry, makes her feel, think and not want to put it down. She likes books that take a risk, adventure stories, mysteries, coming of age stories and the quirky. She represents mostly middle grade and YA authors. I'm always mystified by the word "quirky".
Kim Griswell, editor at Highlights Magazine, discussed how to create a sense of place. She suggested we make use of our five senses as we write and to avail ourself to local newspapers, Chambers of Commerce, library archives, etc. to find out more about any particular place.
So went the conference. It's always good to connect with other writers in person instead of through message boards -- to see the faces behind the names. I was not disappointed.
The keynote speaker was 1982 Newbery winner, Nancy Willard. She proved to be not only an amazing writer, but an inspirational speaker and captivating storyteller. Like me, she was born and raised in Michigan and has an avid interest in fairy tales, but man, if only I could write like her! I could have listened to her speak for another hour or two, if she'd been so inclined. If you haven't read her book, The Left-handed Story, I recommend it. The book is an eclectic collection of essays on the writer's craft, family stories, failures, successes, muses and the mundane and the mystical.
I also listened to part of author Colleen Paratore's talk on her journey to becoming a successful writer. She didn't talk about good luck so much as hard work, perseverance and butt in chair time. I didn't get to hear all of her talk because I stopped by to listen to agent Tina Wexler speak. She was interesting but not nearly as fascinating as Colleen and I wish I'd hung around to listen to everything she had to say.
Is it just me, or do nearly all these editors and agents look they're fresh out of college?
Alexandra Penfold, associate editor at Paula Wiseman Books (imprint of Simon & Schuster) spoke about what she looks for in a manuscript. She asks herself a couple of questions as she's reading through a submission. Is there an audience for this book? Does the story surprise me? Take me to places I'd like to go? Am I moved by the story? Does the action move at a good pace? Build tension? Is the character somebody I care about?
Tina Wexler, who works for ICM, spoke about the kind of stories she likes. She wants a book that makes her cry, makes her feel, think and not want to put it down. She likes books that take a risk, adventure stories, mysteries, coming of age stories and the quirky. She represents mostly middle grade and YA authors. I'm always mystified by the word "quirky".
Kim Griswell, editor at Highlights Magazine, discussed how to create a sense of place. She suggested we make use of our five senses as we write and to avail ourself to local newspapers, Chambers of Commerce, library archives, etc. to find out more about any particular place.
So went the conference. It's always good to connect with other writers in person instead of through message boards -- to see the faces behind the names. I was not disappointed.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
How Do You Beat the Heat?
Lately we've been caught in the sticky web of a horrible heat wave. For several days running, the heat index has hovered in the upper 90s to 100s. UGH! And of course school is still in session. On Monday and Tuesday, the classes on the second floor of the school (where the temperature was above 100 degrees) were moved to the ground floor where it was only 98 degrees. I don't even want to venture to say what the temperature was in the kitchen and the nice ladies who work there didn't to talk about it much. Let's just say they weren't smiling.
The library is one of only two rooms in the school that is air conditioned (the office is the other). Our principal decided I needed to share my little oasis with the rest of the students. So, for several days running the library became "Camp Library". At one point, a fifth grade class, a kindergarten, a special ed., an ESL class and some speech students camped out around the library trying to focus on the task of learning. By afternoon, nearly everybody had given up and sat slumped in their seats watching James and the Giant Peach. That sad old air conditioner had about had it, too (it seemed to be wheezing) as had the rest of us. I didn't mind sharing the library, once I decided I just couldn't teach my usual classes there. It's sure been a weird week.
If administrators want us to teach till the end of June, they should give some serious thought to installing air conditioners in the classes. Who can learn or even think when their brain feels as though it's 'bout ready to melt?
The library is one of only two rooms in the school that is air conditioned (the office is the other). Our principal decided I needed to share my little oasis with the rest of the students. So, for several days running the library became "Camp Library". At one point, a fifth grade class, a kindergarten, a special ed., an ESL class and some speech students camped out around the library trying to focus on the task of learning. By afternoon, nearly everybody had given up and sat slumped in their seats watching James and the Giant Peach. That sad old air conditioner had about had it, too (it seemed to be wheezing) as had the rest of us. I didn't mind sharing the library, once I decided I just couldn't teach my usual classes there. It's sure been a weird week.
If administrators want us to teach till the end of June, they should give some serious thought to installing air conditioners in the classes. Who can learn or even think when their brain feels as though it's 'bout ready to melt?
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