Thursday, 1 p.m.

So what do you do on the first day before there are any sessions? Here’s what I propose to do:

1. Talk about books I can get for you from here.

2. Show you the process I go through in selecting which sessions to attend.

A. Let’s peruse the NCTE bookstore. They have about 300 books on exhibit and I can’t tell you about all of them but let me tell you about a few that caught my eye. I’ll list the title and the author. I’ll bet if any one is of interest to you it can be researched at www.amazon.com where you can see readers’ reviews (click on the book title, page down to the reviews). I’ll also list the price. If you want me to buy you a copy just send me an email (heverlyj@yahoo.com) and I’ll bring it back with me after the Thanksgiving break).

(Or we could share a book and split the cost)

The Writing Process in Action by J. Proett $10.95

Reading Shakespeare with Young Adults by Ellen Dakin

Accent on Meter: Handbook for Readers of Poetry by J.Powell $24.95

Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels by J.B. Carter $22.95

Teaching Poetry in High School by A. Somers $21.95

Reshaping High School English by Bruce Pirie $14.95

Language Learners in the English Classroom by D. Fisher, et. al. $26.95

Substitute Teacher’s Lesson Plans (I found some interesting lesson ideas here) $9.95

Activities for an Interactive Classroom J. Golub $12.95

Teaching Reading in High School English Classes B. Ericson $19.95

Reading and Writing and Teens C. Fleischer $24.95

Engaging Grammar: Practical Advice A. Benjamin $21.95

Dancing with Words: Authentic Vocabulary Instruction R. Lederer $16.95

B. Now let’s look at tomorrow’s first sessions. There are 51 possibilities for 9:30 a.m., Friday.

There are also 14 “Poster Sessions” where someone stands in the hallway and chats with visitors about their subject of research. Lynda did one a couple years ago and it was very interesting. Occasionally these can be more valuable than the hour-long sit down sessions.

There is also an “Author Strand” where you can go hear one or more authors talk about their books.

I quickly scan the descriptions looking for things I can easily eliminate: elementary school sessions; topics I’ve heard before; highly political sessions; and things that just seem too vaguely described:

I’ve narrowed my list to about ten possibilities:

a. Poster Session: “The impact of audio books on reading development”

b. Poster Session: “E-books in the classroom”

c. Regular sit-down session: “The Problem of Background Knowledge and Intertextual awareness in teaching classic and modern texts” {How to teach background info before you teach tough literature}

d. Regular: “Visions and Decisions: Creating Relevant Writing Curriculum” {5 high school teachers talk about how to ‘reclaim’ writing as a tool for understanding and shaping social worlds.}

e. Regular: “Motivating All Students to Write by Focusing on Student strengths, using quality literature, and implementing a school wide collaborative approach”

f. Regular: “Are we doing anything fun today? Creative Fun ways to engage middle school students in reading and writing”

g. Regular: “Then the Powder keg exploded: Examining student resistance to critical literacy in English education” {why do students resist literacy?}

h. Regular: “This Time it’s personal: Teaching Creative Nonfiction” {how personal writing helps students understand their own identities and the larger world}

i. Regular: “Reading for a brighter future: Using graphic novels to transcend apathy”

j. Authors: “Preparing Today’s Students for Tomorrow” this has Jim Burke of Burlingame and Carol Jago, two of the smartest people in NCTE + Arthur Applebee & Mark Bauerline.

I'll let this sit for a couple hours, then narrow down my list to a couple best choices. Then I'll do the same process for the next sessions (there are about six/day!)

For now I'm headed to a session. I found two scheduled for today. I picked one, which I'll describe later today.