Preparing for LTAB 2014

Today we had our first LTAB meeting for the 2014 season.  This is one of my favorite days of the year - it's when the returning poets reminice with us about the good times, and the newbies start to have their curiosity piqued.  We watch videos, and more videos, and talk about what makes great spoken word poetry.  For those of you who haven't heard of LTAB (Louder Than a Bomb), here is a quick history from the YCA (youngchicagoauthors.org) website:

Louder Than A Bomb (LTAB) was founded in 2001, by Kevin Coval (YCA Artistic Director) and Anna West. LTAB is the largest youth poetry festival in the world, featuring over 100 zip codes within the Chicago-land area.
LTAB was created to give youth around the city of Chicago a platform to share their stories. The festival has since become a “bridge” for young people from many different backgrounds to come together and find a common ground through their narratives.

 We are part of this movement, and eternally grateful for the opportunity to participate.  In an educational landscape of standardized testing, it's so critical for me to have this outlet for my kiddos.  I will believe, until my dying teacher's breath, that creativity is the highest form of intelligence - the one thing that we've decided is not worth a "standard",worth measuring, worth teaching.  I have the opportunity through Louder Than a Bomb to write and revise and perform some truly creative works of art.  Not only do we get to write hard, but the kids have the genuine opportunity to meet and interact with kids from all over the city.

Tryouts are the week after Thanksgiving.  Tara and I are really looking forward to hearing the pieces from our students!  For now, I'll leave you with a quiet, subtle piece from last year's team.  This is Shannon and her piece is called "We Are the Ivy":

The 2nd Annual Cordes Wine Tasting Party!

This post is coming to you from sleepy eyes of a day-after party hostess.

And no, I'm actually not hungover!  Not quite sure how that one happened...

When I woke up this morning, I cringed at the though of having to get back to business and get planned and graded for this upcoming week at school, but I was so glad that we (my roommate and I) spent as much time as we did this weekend preparing and hosting our party.  All too often, a weekend can completely disappear underneath bottomless stacks of papers and mindless games of Candy Crush to avoid that bottomless stack of papers.  It was good to plan, to cook, and to share a ruckus of an evening with some wonderful friends and family.

Below, I'd like to share with you our wine tasting party menu and some decor ideas.  Thanks for stopping by - and stop grading!  Start planning a party!

A Gathering of Friends:  The 2nd Annual Cordes Wine Tasting Party!

1. The Invitations
• We very simply crafted an evite that we could send to friends via email or via Facebook.  As much as I love crafting, handmade invitations were just not in the cards for this party.  Here's what we asked:

Happy fall, friends!
After the success of last year's first annual wine tasting party, we are bringing the fun back to Apartment 526 for a second run! A fall-inspired menu will be served. Please bring a bottle of wine to share selecting from the types below. When you RSVP, please let us know what wine you plan to purchase so that the great experts hosting our party can do the appropriate research :-)

We will need:
REDS
2 Bottles of Cabernet
2 Bottles of Pinot Noir
2 Bottles of Shiraz (or Syrah)
2 Bottles of Merlot

WHITES
2 Bottles of Chardonay
2 Bottles of Sauvignon blanc
2 Bottles of Pinot Grigio
2 Bottles of Riesling


2. The Menu

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Fall Wine Tasting Party!

~TONIGHT’S MENU~

Inspired by a world of wine, today’s menu features a

global selection of tasty finger food.

PAIR with WHITE

_______________

French Raspberry Brie Puff

raspberry preserves   ●    brie cheese   ●    puff pastry

(http://vanillafringe.com/a/Entertaining+For+The+Holidays++1685)

Greek Salad Hummus

chickpeas   ●   olives  ●   cucumber    ●   red onion    ●   feta

Guatemalan Shrimp Ceviche

shrimp  ●   tomato  ●   jalapeno   ●   lemon

TexMex Jalapeno Poppers

pastry   ●   cream cheese  ●   jalapeno

Spinach Artichoke Dip

spinach  ●   artichokes  ●   cheese

PAIR with RED

_______________

BBQ Cheddar Chicken Bacon Quesadilla

BBQ chicken   ●   cheddar   ●   bacon

Argentine Chimichurri Chicken Quesadilla

herb chicken   ●   mozzarella  ●   caramelized onion

(http://www.stephsfood.com/Stephs_Food/stephs_food./Entries/2011/7/17_Chimichurri_Flank_Steak_Quesadillas.html)

Mexican Taquitos

beans   ●   beef  ●   corn tortilla

Asian Meatballs

beef   ●   scallion  ●   garlic   ●   ginger

(http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/saucy-asian-meatballs/)

Reuben Egg Rolls

corned beef  ●   sauerkraut ●   swiss cheese  ●   thousand island 

(http://livelovepasta.com/2012/03/reuben-eggrolls/)

3. The Decor
I took all of my last minute inspiration from Pinterest. I also forgot to take pictures before the party, so here are some pics of what remained.

Some ideas can be found below:

Paper Pumpkins

http://www.craftberrybush.com/2010/09/fall-in-love-with-fall.html

Apple Votive Candles

http://www.designmom.com/2012/09/apple-votive-diy/

Paper Bag flowers

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/at-home/how-to-make-cute-flowers-from-brown-paper-bags/

Or check out my Pinterest board!

 http://www.pinterest.com/amandacordes1/wine-tasting-party/

Taking the Common Core Challenge!

   

     Every week, I take time to catch up on the latest blogs and videos at Teaching Channel.  I'm at this

website more often than any other educational website for so many reasons, but mainly I love watching other teachers teach; it inspires me and motivates me to keep trying new lessons, better understand Common Core, and connect with other educators outside of my little bubble.

     When I logged in this week, I noticed that they were hosting a Common Core Challenge.  Naturally, I accepted.  I watched several videos of teachers in action, reinvented their strategies into my own new lesson, taught it, and now have the lesson to share with you!  I actually did this for an observation with my secondary evaluator and it went pretty well (a few technology glitches with polleverywhere.com, but that was okay).  So here you go, world!  This is how I took on Common Core Challenge 2013:

1. Accept the challenge:  I registered here to officially accept the challenge
   
   (https://www.teachingchannel.org/challenge/steps)
2. Watch the videos:  I watched Sarah's videos for "Meeting our Monsters" and Sayuri's "The Omnivore's Dilemma:  Close Reading of a Non-Fiction Text".  I don't think I followed the challenge exactly, but both videos inspired my lesson for the week as I somehow combined my favorite elements of each.  I needed to do a close reading activity, and I really liked the group think strategies that Sarah used.
3. Write/Plan the lesson:  Using the CCSS Instructional Practice Guide, I crafted my lesson to use with The Hunger Games.  We did a close reading analyzing Katniss' complex characterization.  You can check out my lesson here and my handouts below:
   
   
   Dystopia KQL (my spin off of the KWL)
   Close-read notes sheet
   Close read text
   
   
4. Send feedback:  the final step in the challenge was to report back to Teaching Channel about how the Challenge went.  I send mine in today!  Overall, the lesson went really well.  I have the videos to thank for that.  There's something about watching another teacher in action that makes doing it yourself feel so much more successful.  The use of polleverywhere was a great success.  With the kiddos, it was a bit rough (they kept getting confused with which number to text, how to start the message, etc.) but they LOVED seeing their responses pop up on the screen in the front of the room.  The passages were also a really nice scaffold:   because they were long, every student could close read as much or as little as they could handle.  Then, when they turned and talked to each other, they were still able to have a shared text and help each other see it through the eyes of their annotations.

Check out the Common Core Challenge videos here:

One year with my hunny bunny

Today's a pretty special day...today I'm celebrating one year with my main squeeze, Luis.  It's been a fantastic year with my co-pilot.  We've been on many adventures and I wouldn't be the teacher I am today without him by my side.  Thanks babe for taking me across the map and being my best friend!

Off roading on the black sand beaches in Gay, MI on the Upper Peninsula

For his gift, I made a really sweet scrapbook, but I also found this cool Etsy shop called Snappin Studio.  I customized a copper wallet insert with my own little poem written especially for this special guy.  The work was beautiful and Luis loved it (and I love that every time he grabs his credit card he is also holding a little piece of me)!

Since we had planned our big Traverse City trip to celebrate our anniversary, we spent the actual day relaxing at home.  For dinner, we whipped up these delicious braided calzones.  Sometimes, some pizza, wings, and a salad are all you need for a cozy night at home.

I found the recipe here on this food blog.  The picture above are our results!

#epicgrammarfail

Every now and again, I'm handed a little treat while grading.  Today, it's your treat too :-)  Enjoy yet another #epicgrammarfail