Jo Ann Nash

“Reading is the skill. Teaching students to unlock the full meaning of the texts they read is the single most powerful outcome a teacher can foster. If your students can read well, they can essentially do anything.”

Doug Lemov in Teach Like a Champion (Jossey-Bass, 2010, p. 249)

http://www.texasbookfestival.org/2011_Festival_Details.php

René Saldaña, Jr.

http://www.texasbookfestival.org/Author_Page.php?aid=4464

"Mr. Ramirez says we've all got a story."
Finding Our Way
"Alternative"
http://renesaldanajr.blogspot.com/

“It’s not the load that breaks you down; it’s the way that you carry it.” Lena Horne

Lindsay’s Blog:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lindsayjones/journal/33
"Today we got both great news and bad news. The great news is we learned that B Jones is a little girl! She has all her fingers and toes, a strong heart, and the ultrasound tech said she had very pretty Angelina Jolie lips. Basically, she's the prettiest little 20-week-old girl anybody has ever had. We're going to name her Reese Elizabeth Jones.
The bad news - we found out that I have stage 3 melanoma."
 

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lindsayjones/journal/5
"I want to warn you that this post will look diffeerent than most of my others - I am usually  very concrous of spelling and grammar,..."

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lindsayjones
"'No, Momma, I am going bald today.'  So, off we went to Target with her head held high."

And from her guestbook:
"Every time I look for the perfect book for a lesson, I think of you.  Every time I try to find a way to make children love reading and writing, I think of you.  Every time I think something is too challenging for me, I think of you.  You have enriched my life and the lives of countless others.  You are my Superhero, my Fancy Nancy, and my Library Mouse all rolled into one.  You brought books to life for thousands of children."

AND Congrats to Texas Teacher of the Year:

RRHS Reading Specialist, Stephanie Stoebe
"...offers hope to kids when they have none."

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/education/entries/2011/10/14/stephanie_stoebe_has_just_been.html

“The writer will also discover surprises in the process of editing and the writer should delight in them.”

Don Murray A Writer Teaches Writing

Friday Night Lights “Underdogs” - Landry peer edits Tara’s college admission essay:

http://www.nbc.com/Friday_Night_Lights/video/episodes/#vid=1081084

OR

http://www.hulu.com/watch/66275/friday-night-lights-underdogs

The first scene when Landry criticizes Tara' essay - 13:18-14:00

Second scene when Landry is begging Tara to take him to the game since he was too hung over and missed the bus - 21:15-23:21

The revised essay scene - 25:40-27:45

OR (like meJ) purchase the episode on iTunes

Goodwill Hunting clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM-gZintWDc

" The essence of personal responsibility is responding wisely to life's opportunities and challenges, rather than waiting passively for luck or other people to make the choices for us."

-Skip Downing

“And I said I need dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need
And if I share with you my story would you share your dollar with me

Bad times are comin and I reap what I don't sow
hey hey
Well let me tell you somthin all that glitters ain't gold
hey hey
It's been a long old trouble long old troublesome road
And I'm looking for somebody come and help me carry this load.”

And if I share with you my story would you share your dollar with me?

 “I Need a Dollar” Aloe Blacc Good Things

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6oYX1D-0w

"These people are very unskilled in arms... with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished." Christopher Columbus
"Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I Need a Dollar” Aloe Blacc Good Things
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6oYX1D-0w

Mark Cuban Blog

“Getting there requires being ready when opportunity presents itself.”
And...
"Save your money. Save as much money as you possibly can. Every penny you can. Instead of coffee, drink water. Instead of going to McDonald’s, eat Mac and Cheese. Cut up your credit cards. If you use a credit card, you don’t want to be rich. The first step to getting rich, requires discipline. If you really want to be rich, you need to find the discipline, can you ?"

 http://blogmaverick.com/2011/08/04/how-to-get-rich-2/

Mark Cuban Interview – thanks Brian!

“Successful people think for themselves.”

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2011/08/31/mark-cuban/

"By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination." - Christopher Columbus 

Mentor Text – “A Day in My Life”

A day in my life

Tea in bed. Second cup.

Dislodge cats.Get up.

Son to school. Spouse to work.

Sit at desk – mustn’t shirk.

Scratch head. Dream up snail.

Maybe team her up with whale?

Chew pen. What next?

Can’t think. Feel vexed.

Feed cats. Open post.

Read it, over slice of toast.

Little boy wants to know

Date of birth of Gruffalo.

Little girl wonders why

Giant gave away his tie.

Out to shops. Get idea

(Big grin, ear to ear):

Brilliant climax – whale gets beached!

(Rhyme a problem . . . reached? Beseeched?

Leeched? Well never mind, just now.)

Snail then rescues whale – but how???

Back home, get stuck.

Go off snail. Consider duck.

Phone rings. Who is it?

School, requesting author visit.

Check diary . . . shocked to see

“Monday, Brookwood Library”.

That’s today! Leap in car.

Thank goodness, not far.

Tell a story, act and sing.

Kids join in with everything.

(Teacher sits there marking books,

Blind to my accusing looks.)

Answer questions. Back to house.

Joined by son, later spouse.

Open bottle. Cook salmon.

Practise piano. Play Backgammon.

Have bath - that’s when

Inspiration strikes again:

Snail could learn to write with slime!

(Quite an easy word to rhyme.)

Crawls on blackboard, leaves a trail . . .

Children run and save the whale.

Story planned! Tomorrow, start

Writing it – the easy part.

http://www.juliadonaldson.co.uk/about.htm

"You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose
sight of the shore."
-- Christopher Columbus

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.”  ~Richard Buckminster Fuller

The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity.  ~Attributed to George Carlin

“The Monarch Butterflies Are Back, but Struggling”

September 29, 2011 by: Mose Buchele

“Put yourself in the shoes of a beautiful monarch butterfly. It’s late summer. You’ve popped out of your chrysalis on a milkweed plant up north. Now it’s time to ride the winds down to your wintering grounds in Mexico. On your way, you plan to bulk up on some delicious nectar, so that you arrive fat and ready to hibernate. Things are going pretty well, until you hit Southern Kansas, then Oklahoma, then Texas. Dry, shriveled landscape, as far as the eye can see.”

http://kut.org/2011/09/the-monarch-butterflies-are-back-but-struggling/

And “butterfly” Bryant’s poetry scrolling on the announcements:

Calling all "butterflies"...
http://www.ptareflections.org/cs/about_reflections
http://www.poeticpower.com/contest.php

Mac or PC?  Steve Jobs touched all our lives…

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/06/141101764/apple-co-founder-steve-jobs-dies-at-56 

Steve Jobs Redefined Digital Age

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/business/steve-jobs-of-apple-dies-at-56.html

“Creation Myth” by Malcolm Gladwell The New Yorker

May 16, 2011

Ernest Hemingway was once prodded to compose a complete story in six words. His answer was "For sale: baby shoes, never used." Some people say it was to settle a bar bet. Others say it was a personal challenge directed at other famous authors.
Can you come up with a six-word story of your own?
http://american-literature-projects.blogspot.com/2007/04/hemingways-6-word-story.html
http://www.smithmag.net/

 “Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes”

“Homegrown Tomatoes” Guy Clark Keepers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caQalpjDqGg

The love–of-my-life’s blog:

http://www.organicgreendoctor.com/