owp05

Paper #4--Inspired

Put twenty teachers of all grade levels together for four weeks to focus on writing and good things happen. Teaching ideas are shared, personal growth in writing occurs and plans are made to improve the writing skills of our students. I find myself thinking about my classroom, looking forward to trying out new ideas, considering changes and most of all finding ways to inspire my first graders to write.
    I have always made writing an integral part of my literacy program. My first graders write everyday and I believe in their ability to communicate in writing. I have had other teachers tell me, ”You can’t do that with a first grader” and, “First graders can’t write very much,” but I’ve never agreed. I have had six and seven year olds rise to the challenge of writing every year in a variety of ways: journalling, story writing, letter and nonfiction writing. I give them the opportunity to write and it is expected that they do so. The themes covered at OWP and the several books I enjoyed reading and reviewing have supported my beliefs and challenged me to do even more with my students. What will I incorporate in my writing program this next school year?

Paper #3--A Simple Joy

    A few things that bring me joy...when did they become “joys”?  Reading good books: for as long as I can remember; Saturday afternoons at  Duck football games: during college; a cup of tea every morning: post college; following March Madness basketball games: 4 years ago when I joined an “office pool” and won; making chocolate chip cookies: age 3; and going to Broadway musicals: summer 1982.
    It was early that summer when my Aunt Val announced, “We need culture in our lives.”  “Culture? Oh great... “ my cousins and I thought. She already woke us up every morning by playing John Phillip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” as loud as she could get the old record player to go. Wasn’t that enough “culture”  for us? We definitely thought so. My Aunt ignored our rolling eyes and didn’t seem to notice the way we put our heads down on the table. “Next month we are going to Portland to see a musical!” she proudly announced.
   

Paper #2--How's My Hair

    “Always turn into a skid.” I think I remember reading that, being told that, maybe even being tested on that. I only wish I had remembered that small rather important “rule”  that cold winter evening on Deerhorn Road up the McKenzie River.
    I remember the day well, not so much because it was the day I totaled my car, or thought I might die, but because it was on that particular day that I got my hair permed for the first time. Getting a perm was no small thing for me. It was a HUGE decision. I had agonized for weeks, looked at pictures, and talked seriously to friends and roommates. “Will it be cute? What if it turns out too poofy? Will it look ridiculous?” These were just a few of the questions we pondered quite seriously for days on end. I finally decided to make an appointment with my hairdresser. Of course, the questions continued, “Are you sure? Should I cancel?  Am I making a terrible mistake?”   
   

Paper #1-- A Distant Memory

    I did not feel the earthquake early that morning. I remember feeling like I missed out on something “big” as everyone around me talked about the force of it waking them up. I was eight years old and about to experience the powerful affect a tsunami can have on a small beach town on the Big Island of Hawaii.
     The day started out cloudy. The clouds grew thicker and darker as the day went on and it got very windy. Tree branches blew wildly and coconuts fell to the ground. The most curious sight of all was seeing the tide go out. It kept going out. Every time I looked at what should have been ocean I saw an endless expanse of coral reef. The water was too far away. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I did have an uncomfortable feeling that something was very wrong.