International Reading Association Conference - Chicago

I am attending the IRA Conference in Chicago (http://www.reading.org), along with 20,000 other teachers. I am not kidding! It's an exercise in patience, enduring lines, and witnessing cranky teachers.



The session I am attending is about weblogs and wikis, and as a part of the session, we have actually each created our own blog. I am so excited! This is something I have heard about, but now I feel like I really know what it is. Also, creating a blog gives the traditional make-it-take-it teacher workshop a whole new meaning.

My daughter and many of my undergraduate students have blogs with Xanga or My Space, and frankly, I felt a little left out.

What is the purpose of my blog? As a classroom teacher, I had a sign outside of my classroom door that said " I am currently reading...." and I would periodically change a card with a title of whatever I was reading. This card prompted lots of discussion with my students, fellow teachers, and even students from other classes. We made connections based on the text, and other teachers began doing something similar. So I thought a blog might be a good way to continue this activity in a format that my current students could access.

I have the strong belief that for us to be skilled teachers of reading and writing, we must be readers and writers ourselves. The best way I can promote this idea is to share the ways reading and writing are used in my life.

I invite you to read these reflections on my reading and writing experiences and to share connections to your own experiences. In this way, we are creating a community of readers and writers.