I really enjoyed the "Three Word Essay" introduced to me at the conference.  It is a great way for students to say more with less.  I had my students create a three word essay about animal life cyles as a culmination to the unit.  Students were instructed to take their knowledge from the unit and summarize using only three words.  This was a difficult task but, with modeling by me using other subjects/topics, students were able to succeed.  Students had to communicate what animal life cyles were all about using only three words.  They were able to use pictures or motions to help them show their idea.  Some examples students came up with were, "Animals Cycle Around," "Life Goes Around," "Egg, Tadpole, Frog," "Eggs, Larva, Insect,"  "Egg, Chick, Chicken," and "Life Circles Around."  Students presented their "Three Word Essays" to their classmates.  I think when you are forced to only use three words to tell everything you have learned makes you think and choose your words wisely.  I will use the "Three Word Essay" in the future with other topics and units.

As I reflect on the conference I am questioning how I ensure that my students are reading for pleasure and critical thinking. I think at times I am overwhelemed by the demands of NCSCOS and Common Core I minimize the joy of finding the sweet spot in reading that Kelly Gallagher refers to in Readicide. While reading Deeper Reading I am stuck on the sentence "We live in a world of metaphor, and those who can appreciate it are richer for it". I love when my studnets are able to pick out figurative language out of text when we are having small group discussions. However in my inclusion classes I am still struggling with getting some of my students to see it without me pointing it out. On pg 128 in Deeper Reading Gary Soto's Oranges poem is listed with and without metaphors. Using that as a mentor text was excellent in getting my students to see how figurative language makes text come to life.  So now we have been on a figurative language hunt. We bring a poem, article, rap etc. to class and share with our class the figurative language we have come to appreciate. It has been exciting to see where they find figurative language and how they enjoy sharing with everyone.  Intisar

What a great conference! It was wonderful to hear Kelly Gallagher speak about his work with older students and writing. I teach Kindergarten but the ideas are transferable even to our youngest learners. We often create class books modeled after author's writing and I'd like to extend this into the children's individual writing. I also appreciated the notion of the need for practice. It validates my desire to hang my young writers "not-so-perfect" work in the hallway as a way of displaying the process of becoming a writer. Finally, I enjoyed my time in Katie Stover's session. It is so important to help our young students see writing as a purposeful and meaningful way to convey messages to others! I'd like to continue to explore this next year! Thanks for a great conference!

My PLC partner and I attended the Kelly Gallagher conference together and our 2 1/2 hour drive back home flew by...we had so much to talk about! We have taught 5-paragraph essays in the past, not because we think they are examples of fine writing, but because they are a formula to assist struggling writers who need a "crutch" to boost their confidence. The rote formula and awkward transitions between paragraphs do not help students actually become good writers, though. I gave students a mentor text to aid them with a writing assignment when I returned. The first thing I did was model an essay myself in front of the class...no rehearsing, so I could demonstrate that writing can be ugly and hard. Kelly is right - it is awkward opening ourselves up to that kind of scrutiny, but he also made me feel that it was OK to look less-than-perfect. (Who am I kidding? They never thought I was, anyway!) Kids got right to work after the modeling, and I was so pleased to see them work quickly and quietly. They never asked me how long the writing piece needed to be, and they were anxious to share their work. Initially there were some students who were uncomfortable with this method and asked about plagiarizing. We read Love That Dog last year, which was inspired by a Walter Dean Myers' poem entitled, "Love That Boy." It was easy for students to understand the difference between being inspired by an author and modeling their work while giving them credit vs. taking the credit for something that clearly is someone else's work. Initially, I was afraid they would find it confusing, but it hasn't been an issue. I will definitely continue with this method in the future, particularly with persuasive essays and opinion pieces.

I also like the idea of peer response rather than peer editing. Nominating a partner's writing is a great idea and gives quiet kids who never volunteer the encouragement to share their work. The kids who have a tendency to "take over" learn to give others a chance.

After attending the writing conference, I came back with immediate takeaways for my classroom.  We were in the process of reading a poetry memoir and writing poems that were similar in format, but incorporating the Read, Analyze, Emulate format has made my students far more confident in their writing and sharing of poetry.  Plus, it has given them the opportunity to see examples of figurative language and other literary devices as something that is more accessible to them.  We've talked about "sneeze" writing (a GREAT visual for middle-schoolers).  Overall, the day was a great experience, and I feel like I would benefit from attending again!

It is rare that one can attend professional development in April and become energized to implement new discoveries during these final weeks of preparation for testing. However, that was the case after attending the UNC Charlotte Spring Writing Conference. To have been given the opportunity to listen and participate in various strategies demonstrated and guided by Kelly Gallagher and other colleagues, was a genuine gift. The day was one in which I reaffirmed the need to model, reflect, and inspire students to love reading and writing. The strategies that were modeled are easy to implement, but will take time to perfect. By putting myself in the role of student, I was able to see the benefits of the various strategies.

WOW! What an eye-opening experience this workshop was for me personally. Some of the ideas he presented, such as modeling or the "I go, you go" idea, I have been doing. There are many teachers/administrators who feel this technique is somewhat outdated and ineffective. He just really re-ignited the fire I had for doing things the way I have been when I know they are very effective, efficient and beneficial to my students. I am a firm believer in giving students books they WANT to read, not books they HAVE to read. I get so much more out of them. They want to discuss, to conference, to share their love of that book with other students who are looking a good book to read. To see students gain 2+ reading levels in one school year because a teacher finally shared the secret to reading (find a good book that you enjoy) is a huge boost for any English/Lang Arts teacher! I was able to see the other side of the pen when we, the teachers, became the students. It helped me, and others, remember how it feels to be the one to have to write and then be asked to share your thoughts with strangers. I may have forgotten a little how truly frightening that can be for some less outgoing students. There are so many unique ideas and strategies to use that as teachers and instructors, we should have several tricks up our sleeves to help our students become successful writers. Kelly Gallagher was super inspiring and rejuvenating! Thank you for the opportunity to learn from him. My wish is that my students will continue to improve because I am continuing to improve. Thanks! Kelley Black Warlick Academy