Volume 6, Issue 2 Los Angeles Writing Project October 2007 LAWP Newsflash LAWP CALENDAR September Inservices at Washington October Inservices at Holy Angels Inservices at Wilson October 27th Saturday Seminar From the Desk of Carolyn Frank: November 10th Saturday Seminar First, big congratulations to our di- Blau, Joan Cotich, George Hillocks, and Erick Gordon were visitors to our rector, Bob Land, for being awarded December 1st an Outstanding Professors at Cal project along with our own LAWP pre- State LA. He is truly an amazing edu- senters (Eddie Munoz, Laura Straus, LAWP Renewal cator. Karin Kroener, and My Lihn Le). As always dinners with our guest pre- senters from out of town allowed our During the 2007 Summer Institute, fellows to meet and get to know these we invited 21 exemplary teachers guests on an informal basis. Please from grades kindergarten through nominate a teacher for our 2008 college to join our writing project. We Summer Institute. also invited back three returning fel- lows, Shahe Mankerian, Beverly Glass, and Marina Haven. In May, we We continue to receive support from This issue: also tried a pilot program for year- the National Writing Project and the round teachers and offered a May California Writing Project. Our fellows Institute for three weeks. In that in- will have a chance to meet together in ∗ From the desk of stitute, Jose Moreno acted as our Re- New York this fall as Bob is leading a Carolyn Frank turning Fellow and we invited 18 group to the NWP/NCTE annual con- ∗ Saturday Seminars teachers to participate. Since the SI ference. We also have fellows present- quickly followed the May Institute in ing at the Ethnography in Education ∗ My Writing Project July, Bob and I were almost dead at Conference in February and CATE in Experience the end of the summer. That means March. Fellows have volunteered for ∗ A New October Memory that the Los Angeles Writing Project Saturday Seminars coming up in Oc- totals over 160 teachers. The presen- tober and November and we will need ∗ Bob Wins Award tations by these fellows ranged from more presenters for the new year. ∗ Fellow Buzz Living Word Walls to The Soundtrack Contact me if you wish to be in- of My Life, from Prewriting with ELD cluded. Our Renewal this year will be ∗ Cat’s chat Students to Jigsaw with SQ3R, from on December 1, 2007 in KH2091 and ∗ Fall Recipe Co-op Strip Paragraph to Metamor- will focus on Women Authors. phosis, and many more. Sheridan (Continued on page 4) 1 Saturday Seminar Series! Hello Everyone! The Writing Project has received wonderful feedback from those that have had the chance to sit in on our Saturday Seminar presentations. This year we are starting with a few new presenters from this spring and summer! Please help us support our Saturday Seminars by “spreading the word”! These are FREE workshops/presentations! October 27, 2007 : 10am-2pm November 10,2007: 10am-2pm My Writing Project Experience…. Dear Fellows, I must admit, from day one of being back at school I have been imple- menting all of your wonderful ideas. I began the year with introductions and I adapted Lovelyn's presentation on personal narrative about one's name as my introductory lesson. We implemented all kinds of activities including art and drawing that I adapted from the Elementary school teachers. We have been writing everyday using the Writing Workshop model and sharing out daily with Author's Chair, and we are still in our 3rd week of school. The kids are motivated and excited about writing and they are thoroughly engaged in the lessons. This is how it went: 1) began with name game (adjective + name) like we did on 1st day 2) Read Aloud Chrysanthemum and The Name Jar as a precursor to writing. 3) wrote in journals daily regarding student's feelings about their name, origin, mean- ings, etc. and share out 4) research name on internet and interview family members on background and history of names 5) prewriting: bubble map 6) read and deconstruct Sandra Cisneros "My Name" from House on Mango Street 7) Begin Drafts + Author's Chair 8) Read "Names/Nombres" by Julia Alvarez and Revise Drafts, add figurative language and Author's Chair 9) Create "name aliens" and write name poem using acrostic poem and Author's Chair for revisions (this is where we are now) 10) revise and edit final drafts....Publishing party and Author's chair As you can see, there are many elements derived from several fellows presentations. Not mentioned was the use of music and personal story telling, but there is so much more to tell. Thanks again for an amazing summer and all the great ideas. Because of all of you, I look like an expert in the classroom. Please stay in touch and keep us all updated with your activities Srpuhie Agdaian ‘07 Irving MS 2 A New October Memory By: Denise Mesdjian, 2003 LAWP Fellow What does October remind you of? For me, October has always made me think of long shadows on the sidewalks and crunchy autumn leaves swirling through the air, just the kind of images that one would find in a Ray Bradbury story like The Pedestrian, The Halloween Tree, or Fahrenheit 451. On Saturday, October 6, I felt like I won the lottery when I met one of the most prolific science fiction writers of all time, and one of my favorites, Ray Bradbury. He was the featured speaker at the Duarte festival of authors. His hu- morous anecdotes and his amusing candor encouraged me and other young writers to go out there and write. He told stories of his child- hood and of all his great loves. burning books, and that his- encouraged his listeners, “As tory repeated itself with Hitler commander, I command all of Bradbury talked about and Mussolini in their totali- you to go home and to start when he was 3 and his grandfather tarian societies burning books. writing about all of those things who told him to go out into the His fascination kindled inside that you love. Do it now.” backyard to pick as many dandeli- him until he sat down for nine ons as he could find. At the time, Bradbury admitted that days straight “beating the hell he says he didn’t realize that his everyone he has loved and ad- out of his typewriter” and grandfather would run them mired appears in his novels as wrote The Fireman, what was through a press and bottle them to characters and that all of the later to become Fahrenheit create dandelion wine. He jokingly comic book people like Buck said, “Dandelion wine tastes awful, 451. Rogers and Flash Gordon, and but what the hell.” He went on to Perhaps, most passion- all of the things that sparked say, years later, after collecting ately, he spoke of Shakespeare his interest ended up being top- dandelions for his grandfather, he and of his love for the library. ics that he spun into over 600 wrote his critically acclaimed book, When asked about school, he short stories and many award- Dandelion Wine, and received a replied, “I was bored to death winning novels. huge honor when the Apollo astro- in school, but I fell in love with I left the festival of au- nauts named a crater of the moon all of those beautiful books.” thors feeling energized and the Dandelion Crater. In so many of his own books ready to write. Now, October will and short stories, one can find He spoke of his deep fasci- not only remind me of allusions to everything from nation for Mars and said that he’d Bradbury’s wonderful images Shakespeare to Edgar Allan read everything that scientists and and metaphors, but of the won- Poe. other science fiction writers were derful man who brought all of saying about Mars. His fascination In his final words to those things to life. led him to write story after story the crowd, Bradbury spoke of about Mars, which eventually be- an award that he was given in came The Martian Chronicles. France—he was named a Com- mander of Literature, which he He told of the interest he jokingly referred to as if he had in learning about the Romans were a space ship captain. He Page 3 LAWP Newsflash 3 Bob wins the CSULA Outstanding Professor Award! Taken from CSLA News Release: “Cal State LA salutes its Outstanding Professors” For m ore than half a century at California S tate U niver- sity, Los A ngeles, som e of the m ost gifted and honored educators in the nation have given students the benefit of their expertise and w isdom . U ndergraduates and graduate students pursuing degrees have been guided in their spe- cific disciplines w hile learning critical thinking skills from the prom inent scientists, scholars, and artists w ho teach at Cal S tate L.A . Faculty at Cal S tate L.A . involve students in their research projects in a w ay rarely found at the private and larger public universities. W hether in the laboratory, the dance studio, or the elem entary school classroom , w hether col- lecting data for surveys or gathering oral histories in the com m unity, students have been able to w ork side by side w ith these experts, am ong the m ost honored professors in the California S tate U niversity system . W e take this opportunity to recognize the excellence of all Cal S tate L.A . faculty m em bers and salute those w ho have been especially honored by the U niver- sity and the CS U over the years.