ILA report

Hi everyone,

Home from Austin with many new good memories in spite of heat that reached 105-109 for record setting daily highs. Attendance was down somewhat but still several thousand people from here and abroad were there and it was time well spent.

I was grateful to Sandy for going with me and I know that Mary Jo was glad that Hank came too. The four of us have a good time together and when conference work kept Mary Jo and me busy, Sandy and Hank amused themselves sightseeing and shopping.

Mary Jo Fresch and I enjoyed doing a Facebook Live broadcast that has been viewed more then 8,400 times already, and on Sunday afternoon we had excellent attendance for our two-hour workshop. Also hooked up with Laura Robb to discuss a book we might do together and touched base with Glenda Nugent about the poetry article I’m writing for Missouri Reader. Had a good visit with Su Hutchens and talked her into contributing to my article about her experiences in using poetry in the classroom.

My thanks to the folks at Teacher Created Materials for their generous support and lovely breakfast on Sunday morning, and to my friends at Scholastic for their usual stellar author reception on Saturday evening as well as for putting us on Facebook Live and proving a signing time/space at their display area.

Facebook Live this morning

Hi everyone,

This morning at 11:30 EST I’ll be on Facebook Live with Mary Jo Fresch for an interview about our new book, 7 KEYS TO RESEARCH FOR SUCCESSFUL WRITING. If you’re interested, or know someone who might be, I hope you’ll check it out.

Not all play and no work

Hi everyone,

Although I’m on a limited schedule for now, there is still work to do. My first priority is to finish bringing my thoughts together for the ILA workshop Mary Jo Fresch and I are doing this month in Austin on the 22nd @InternationalLiteracyAssociation and @ILAToday

In case you will be attending and might like to sit in on our hands-on workshop, here’s the location and time:
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 22
Event: 0132 – 7 steps to writing success:
Changing how students research
Type: Hands-On Workshop
Location: Austin Convention Center
Meeting Room 3 – Banquet

From 10:00 – 11:00 that morning Mary Jo and will be signing our recent book, 7 KEYS TO RESEARCH FOR WRITING SUCCESS, at the Scholastic booth.

For my part I have nine speaking slots about various topics relative to our theme of helping students learn how to prepare before they begin writing.

Most of my turns are set for six minutes, which is roughly the equivalent of three double-spaced pages. These are subjects I know but I don’t trust myself to stand before an audience and fill six minutes without knowing what I want to say. I don’t stand and read a script. I speak from notes. They just need to be good ones.

New essay on getting kids ready to write

Hi everyone,

Here's the link to Sam Bommarito's blog site. https://doctorsam7.blog/2018/06/21/using-the-author-as-a-mentor-helping-students-learn-strong-research-skills-by-david-harrison-and-mary-jo-fresch
Mary Jo Fresch and I have a new post there and I invite anyone interested to drop over to give it a look.

Sam co-edits "Missouri Reader" with Glenda Nugent, and he will also be the next president of Missouri ILA. It was generous of Sam to invite us to contribute to his blog. Hope you like our post.

Wrapping up the week

REMINDER: Don’t forget today is the big day when everyone is headed over to Matt Forrest’s house for a summer virtual blog party! Here’s the link. https://mattforrest.wordpress.com . See you there!

Hi everyone,

It has been a pleasant week. I didn’t get everything on my list done but progress was made. Mary Jo Fresch and I wrote a 1,500 word essay for Sam Bommarito’s blog. Sam is co-editor of The Missouri Reader, a publication of the Missouri ILA, and he’ll be the next state president. I’ve also committed to doing an article for this fall’s edition of The Missouri Reader.

I wrote 500 words about my work to enter for an opportunity to write a 1,000 word column for the November/December issue of Knowledge Quest, a collaborative effort by AASL and the CBC.

Mary Jo and I got word that our newest book proposal is going out for peer review soon, a necessary next step before a contract can be offered. It shouldn’t be more than a few weeks before we’ll know if it’s going to be a go.

The week also saw the official publication date for CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN THE READING PROGRAM. That was a huge highlight!

Early in the week I finished the 3rd telling of the desert middle grade novel. Please keep your fingers crossed that I finally got it right!

And I spent parts of the last two days getting back into the third middle grade story. I started it some time ago and had to set it aside so it took a while to settle back into the groove. I already see changes to make, the benefit of putting a story aside for a while and coming back with fresh eyes.

All in all, a super keeper!

I’m headed over to Matt’s blog party. See you there?