Alsup’s Reading Corner

I think I can call my summer reading a success. I finished the Debbie Diller book for work , and I am almost finished with 13 in the Stephanie Plum series. I read Plum Lovin between 12 & 13 and was not impressed. It didn’t seem to flow with the others. Since it was called a between the numbers book, I assumed it would bridge the two. Not really….. I featured a character that she said was from the past-Diesel. I didn’t remember him. Joe and Ranger were both gone on assignments and Diesel just muddied the romantic water. I am now back on track in Lean Mean 13 and am enjoying it. 

I can say that I really enjoyed reading this summer. For the last couple of years I have spent summers working, going to school or remodeling houses…..I didn’t really have time to relax and read. I am going to make an effort to keep reading books during the school year- I usually get lazy and switch to magazine for a quick reading fix during the school year.

It’s back to school time. I have been preparing for training with new teachers. It takes me back to August 1990 when I started my teaching career. I thought I was prepared to change the world. I quickly learned that I didn’t have enough tools in my toolbox ! I look at new teachers now and they seem much better prepared than I was. I think the longer internships and real world teaching experiences have made a huge difference. I never thought I would be one of those veterans that could remember the “good old days” and be able to recognize that they weren’t really that good. Maybe I am just feeling a little nostalgic with my 18th year in teaching and 40th birthday are approaching.

I have met one of my summer reading goals! I started the Stephanie Plum series on our long drive to Kansas City Missouri in June. I am now finishing #6 in the series- 7 more to go. I have laughed out loud, read parts to Ben while laughing so hard he couldn’t understand me, and woke Jackson up from a nap by laughing too loud. All the books so far have been easy to read and entertaining. She isn’t going to save the world or make me a better person in 10 days, but it sure is funny.

I am sorry to say the the professional reading isn’t going as well. I have started the book…..but only got to Chapter 2. Oh well.

I have been working on wrapping up projects from last year. I finished filing all the papers that were piled up on the “Stuff to do” shelf” and tweaked the new teacher training. My next project is to work with Mrs. Gilbert on organizing the Building Academic Vocabulary training for teachers.

So here I am with my second post in how many weeks? I’m trying to get over the block that I have in my mind about blogs- Why would anyone want to read my thoughts on a subject?

 This week I attended a Microsoft Moviemaker class. I really enjoyed using the program and putting pictures and video to music. I could quickly see that it was much easier that creating a slide show in PowerPoint. I think it would be a powerful tool for classroom teachers. Using clips from sites like Power Media Plus with curriculum would be so engaging for the learners.

It didn’t take long to learn the nuts and bolts of the program, but I think teachers need more experience with finding the material to put in the program. I am a fairly tech savy person (At least I think I am?) and I had trouble getting video footage from my camera to the program. I finally decided it was my particular camera. I tried 2 Windows machines with no luck and finally had to dowload with my husband’s ibook. That camcorder fiasco ended up in us buying an imac for our home. I told that story to say that the average teachers need help in troubleshooting issues like that in integrating technology. There are not always enough tech people to go around when a teacher hits a glitch.

 This summer I plan to do a little personal reading mixed in with professional reading. My professional choice is Literacy Work Stations: Making Centers Work by Debbie Diller. I hope to do a book study with teachers next year on this book and need to get a jump start. My personal reading is going to be mindless and funny- the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Several teachers have mentioned how much they enjoy this series so I thought I’d give it a try. It also fits the criteria that I can read it and still keep one eye on the 2 year old playing in the back yard. I couldn’t do that with Tom Clancy or John Grisham!

Here I am, sitting and wondering what I have to say that other people would want to read. Let’s start by me introducing myself. I am Paula Alsup. My current job is elementary Reading Coach. I have been a teacher, librarian, and assistant principal. I really don’t know what I want to be when I grow up!

In this blog, I hope to share some of the projects I work on during the school day and share some of the experience I have from past jobs. Please be patient with me while I figure this all out.