Dear WinkWorld Readers,

ALERT: Self-promotion post coming your way.  One of the most difficult aspects of being an author is that you also have to help market your own books–all I want to do is write the next book, but I am learning that in today’s publishing world, I also need to market.

Hence the following article from The Guardian really caught my eye.

Ditch The Grammar and Teach Storytelling Instead by Tim Lott, May 19, 2017 in his blog, Tim Lott’s Family Column.  I do not know Tim, but I have read that he is a secondary teacher, and his students knew dependent clauses, fronted adverbs, character arcs, and all-things-grammar, but the students simply could not tell a compelling story.

A-ha, and if Tim (or, you) wanted to use storytelling, how can you learn?  Careful, here come the personal plug.

The Power of Story

What is this book about?  Well, you can go to JoanWink.com and click on the book icon at the top, and it will show you the Table of Contents, with a few live links.

Or, here is a visual table of contents of the chapter headings, which my friend, Missy Urbaniak, drew for me.

Click to view larger image.

Or, here are all of the chapters and headings, which Missy drew for me.

Or, here is a little one-page tri-fold which you can download and print.

The Power of Story TOC 9.29.17

Or, here are some images which Katie Knox drew for me to use in the book.

How to learn to tell stories–here are two ways, which I do.  First, I read stories. Lots of stories. Second, I listen when someone talks to me, and I try to find connections to something in my own life.

The Power of Story has multiple ways of incorporating story into  your own life.  Just saying….okay, the self-promotion is over.  For awhile.

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

In the previous WinkWorld, I wrote about Free-range Reading*, a literacy activity which celebrates the freedom to read on the range. In this previous blog, I mentioned Jennifer and John Churchman’s books, which were new for me within the last few years. The purpose of this blog post is to share their books, which the students at Atall School (a two-room school on the prairies) love. So do I.

The first Churchman book, which I discovered was Sweet Pea & Friends: The SheepOver

The kids and I loved this story and the beautiful artwork.

Eventually, my collection of Churchman books grew.  Each book makes a perfect Read-Aloud.

This spring the teacher, Missy Urbaniak and students presented me with The Easter Surprise by Jennifer and John Churchman.

I had so much fun reading this story to the kids, but I worried that they would crawl right into the book, as I read.  Each page of the book has a hidden bunny, and they loved to find that bunny. Please note the kids find the hidden bunny on this page.

Previously, my friend and colleague, Sherry Bunting, wrote a beautiful blog post about the Churchman’s book, “Sweet Pea & Friends: The SheepOver.”  Sherry gave me permission to share with all of you. Thank you, Sherry. I hope you enjoy reading this, as much as I did.  Also, the Churchmans are now quite active on social media, and they have their own webpages.

December 18, 2015

“Sweet Pea & Friends: The SheepOver,” and a story about this book and Jennifer and John Churchman.

*Ok,ok,  I confess–I made up that term, just to describe choice and access: 2 principles of learning to read.  Kids need access to books, and choice matters.

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

In the previous WinkWorld (re-posted at the bottom of this blog), I mentioned that I was going to Atall School for a literacy activity, which we were calling Free-range Reading–meaning nothing more than we were free on the range to read and remember our favorite books from the past year.  We told the kids that we would talk about the books, and then eventually, they would have to choose their favorite and draw an image, which reflected the book.

Here is some of what happened during those 2 fabulous hours.

Lots of our treasured books, which the K-8 students had read during the year, were placed around the room. We had planned to discuss these books for maybe 30 minutes.  However, this lively discussion took at least an hour, and then the students wanted me to read some specific books again.  I read….

The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith and illustrations by Katz Cowley

The Book With No Pictures by BJ Novak

If You’re Not From the Prairie. . . by David Bouchard and images by Henry Ripplinger

Many of the students chose Patricia Polacco books as their favorites, and we didn’t even get to all of the chapter books in the classroom.

After talking about the stories and reading together, we asked the students to make a poster which represented their favorite book of the year.  In the photo below, you can see them creating a representation of their favorites.

The community of Atall School is always sad to say good-bye to the eighth grade students, who in the fall will have to commute to Sturgis (50 miles away) to attend high school.  Usually the country kids stay in town with someone during the school week.  This year Atall is losing two very, very special 8th graders, Shaniah and Mariah, twins–we love them dearly.

Shaniah chose A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Iam Winston.

Here is a page from the book, and you can see how the image of the ocean is really created with words from a story.  Many of the pages are similar.

After choosing this book, I vaguely remember Shaniah asking if she had to draw an exact picture from the book, and I assured her that she only needed to represent what the book meant to her.  And, then she sort of disappeared, but Missy found her going through a basket of my books which I had carried over for the day.

When she turned in her image, we could see that her favorite book was really many, many books, which give her happy memories.

Mariah, the other 8th grader chose The Word Collector by Peter Reynolds.

And, now you understand why we love Mariah and Shaniah so much.

Meet Missy Urbaniak, the teacher, and the two 8th graders, Mariah and Shaniah.  The twins remind me of how much I used to love my classes of 8th graders in Benson, AZ, circa late 70s.

The students also asked me to read one of the John and Jennifer Churchman books–but, more about that in the next WinkWorld.  Here is a sneak-peek of how the kids seemed to dive right into the book as I was reading.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Critical Pedagogy 4th Ed – The Benson Kids

Dear WinkWorld Readers, 

If you are a reader of this blog, you are aware of my interest in prairie pedagogy, which is nothing more than teaching and learning in a rural setting–very rural.  These isolated schools on the prairies with 10 to 15 kids and one or two teachers are fascinating for me.  Presently, I am absolutely smitten with a particular group of kids, who are sort of like the din-in-my-head, because I think about them so much.  Sometimes, I think of this as “kid-din.”

Below I am posting two previous blogs, which I have written about “Kid-din.”

Research Rapture and The Din In The Head

Research Rapture and The Din In The Head: Part Two

These are the kids, who have captured my heart*, as they enjoyed a field trip to Wind Cave in the Black Hills.

In addition, if you are a reader of this blog, you know that I am a big believer in real reading, not fake reading. Real reading is independent reading–just like we, adults, do in real life.  When we have access, choice, and time, we grab a book and see what is going to happen.  If a child or adult say they don’t like to read, it is only because they have not yet grabbed the right book.  Keep grabbing.

When we, adults, do real reading,  we don’t take tests on our reading, and we don’t fill out work-sheets on our reading. We might ask a family member what an unfamiliar word means, or if we bump into that new word two or three times, we might figure it out from context.  If not, we might then actually Google it to find the meaning…but, only when all else fails. 

We read for a purpose: to relax, to learn, to escape, etc. Does real reading really help reading? Yes.

Does real reading really help real reading? The Book Whisperer answers.

Sometimes in my passion to turn all of you into avid readers, I have to make-up new words–words like kid-din, real reading, fake reading, or even road warrior reading. What in the world is that?

Road Warrior Literacy

Or, junk literacy: Huh?

Do I make up silly words about serious stuff? Yes, I’m guilty. 

Today I want to add to my tongue-in-cheek-terminology, with a new term: Free-range reading, which is designed specifically for one way to end the school year on the prairies, but I am pretty sure that this can be adapted to fit urban areas, too.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

•An impassioned teacher who has been leading kids to literacy all year.

•Wild and crazy readers and/or reluctant readers, who still have not yet found the right book.

•Stacks of books, which have been loved and read throughout the school year.

•One sheet of blank paper on each child’s desk…just in case they have something they need to write or draw during the forthcoming discussion.  Teacher quickly grabs these, when the activity is finished  One never knows what kids will need to write.

•One long sheet of poster paper. (If your class has more than 15 students, you will probably need several long sheets of poster paper as you may want to adapt the activity to be a small group activity.  In our small K-8 rural school, I can guarantee that we will do this as a whole class activity–I love the interaction among the assortment of K-8 students.)

AGE GROUPS:

Any age. In our particular case it will be for readers from 5 to 75.

PURPOSE:

To capture our memories of lovin’ that literacy in 2018-2019 Academic Year.

HOW TO BEGIN:

Teacher begins by holding up one book and asks questions about it.  I promise that the teacher will soon be interrupted by ideas and memories from the kids.  Eventually, this first book will end up being passed around and will finally land on the desk of the student, who really loved it the most.  

Teacher grabs second book, and repeats this process.

Teacher grabs third book, etc.

After about 30 minutes of remembering books throughout the year, we will move to one table with our one long piece of butcher paper.  Larger classes may want to use small groups.  Each child is asked to draw one picture, which captures the story of one of the books. In addition to the title of the book, authors’ and illustrators’ names must be included on the poster paper.  Below each drawing, each student is asked to write this one sentence:

The thing I remember most about this book is…

The following photos were all taken on a magical day in 2017, when the teacher, Missy Urbaniak, created this activity….I am just the storyteller.

Meet our treasured teacher, Missy Urbaniak.

Thanks for reading my blog, WinkWorld.

*Just as the Benson Kids did; just as the Turlock teachers did.

Critical Pedagogy 4th Ed – The Benson Kids

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

This is the week that we are all honoring teachers.  There is not doubt in my mind that I have been blessed with some of the very best, but if  I had to choose just one, I know who it would be: Profe Beto.  This story was published in Teaching Passionately: What’s Love Got To Do With It?, which Dawn and I published with Pearson in 2004, pp. 12-14.  I am thrilled that Profe Beto and I have recently reconnected, and we will meet again this summer.

This is a photo of Dawn and me, during the years when Profe Beto was my teacher.

I share this with the hope that some of you will also reconnect with some of your former and favorite teachers.  Thanks, TEACHERS everywhere, we love you and so appreciate all you do for our greatest resource: children.

Teaching Passionately – Professor Beto

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

Those who can adapt to change are those who will thrive in the future.  

I thought of this during the past week at Black Hills State University for the Board of Regents meetings. Thank you, BHSU, you were all so welcoming and supportive.  We really appreciate all of your efforts to make our stay a success.  The meals were gorgeous and yummy. And, the BH students were stellar!  I loved meeting them and hearing their stories.

BHSU, I have loved you since the days when my Grammie and Grampy used to take us for picnics on the sloping hill in front of the administration building.  Oh, how I love to visit BHSU and then make a quick stop at the local cemetery when I am leaving town.

BHSU just cannot understand what they mean to me, as they are one of the last links I have to my mother, who grew up near campus, but left us far too soon when I was three years-old.

I digress–back to our BOR meeting at BHSU.

The questions we, on the BOR, wrestle with, are tough: guns on campus, First Amendment,* intellectual diversity,  increasing student debt, cost of tuition, efficiencies, lack of money, etc.: No simple answers. Our days are long, intense, cognitively-demanding, and emotionally-draining:  And, I LOVE it.  I am honored to work with such marvelous colleagues on the BOR and the students, faculty, staff, administrators from all of our regental universities and special schools. 

As we focus on the rapid changes in education, I marvel at the nimble adaptations in all of the institutions.  Traditionally, academic institutions have been known to move like a sloth.  Not true in South Dakota today.  Our institutions are adapting fast, which makes me believe that they will thrive in the future. Thank you to each campus for all of the work you do to bring forward clean course/program proposals, and thank you to the staff of BOR, who vet everything so carefully before we are the BOR review the documents.

Here is just a little peak at some of the adaptations to the future.  Click here to read to see some of these changes.

*Yes, I believe in the First Amendment.

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

The Wink family March Madness Birthday Bash has finally come to a successful end–much to the relief of all of the Fall Wink babies…. However, it was a month-long love fest, and I  thank you from the bottom of my heart and my hard-drive for all of the amazing messages on my special birthday.  I am feeling the love.  Luke, Wyatt, Wyatt’s friend, Natasha, Dawn all have March birthdays, too.  In addition, I think it is also way cool that I can share my birthday with Big Bird and the first day of spring. 

Dawn and fam were able to come to Tucson to celebrate with us. Bo and fam could not get away from work/school, but they sent a great early a.m. message which noted that I hit 75 with a “strong head of steam behind me.”  Cracked me up.  When I was 62, I was diagnosed with two different types of cancer, and I did not think I would see 63. I feel so grateful to be healthy and active still.

A special shout-out to my former TCNJ/Mallorca colleagues, friends, students whose messages started pouring in from all over the world right after midnight. Here are a few of the birthday photos.

A dinner at our favorite Blue Willow in Tucson.

University of Arizona library.

Mary Ann Dobras and I–friends since the mid-70s, when I got lost going to church one Sunday and quickly pulled into the nearest church, and met her and family: Friends for Life.

Darryl Dobras and Dean

University of AZ Comedy Club to cheer wildly for Luke.

Super moon over Tucson the morning of my birthday.

Tousled and happy.

Of course, we also had to celebrate RBG’s 86th birthday by planking on campus.

One part of the great birthday party was a trip to Kartchner Caverns.  When I was teaching in Benson years ago, I taught many of the Kartchner kids, when this unbelievable cave was still a family secret. 

When we came back to the ranch, we went to Mobridge to celebrate Betty Jay’s special 93rd birthday.

In addition, we were happy to take part in the celebration of Life of Betty (Cuz) Larson, who died during her 99th year. We love that we can go and spend time with the friends of many decades in Mobridge.

Memories of my birthday:

75: I highly recommend it.

Kartchner Caverns: I highly recommend it.

To celebrate this special year in my life, I finally decided to read the entire Harry Potter series in order to know what my grandkids are referring to.  The truth is that I have been a reluctant reader when it comes to fantasy books, and I have only read bits and pieces of the Potter series.  However, I now know Harry, Hagrid, Hedwig and Hermione.  In addition, I know the difference among Gryffindor, HufflePuff, Slytherin, and Ravinclaw. I have met Professors Quirrel, Dumbledore, and McGonagall.  Turns out that the famous Professor McGonagall is a woman, and I had always imagined her to be a man.  

And, let’s just say that I have met a Muggle or two in my long life.

Harry Potter: I highly recommend him. 

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

This poem, Lovebrarians, comes from a new book, SHOUT: A Poetry Memoir by Laurie Halse Anderson, available now on Amazon.  I am copying the poem and attaching the PDF at the end. 

Thank you, Lovebrarians, whoever you may be.

Lovebrarians

I hated reading. Loathed the ants

swarming across the page, lost

my excitement about school, fought, reduced

to a puzzle with missing pieces.

Once branded, the feeling of stupid never fades

no matter how many medals you win.

But then we rode the bus downtown

me and Leslie, who majored in music

and lived in our attic, Mary Poppins

with a Jersey accent, we rode the bus downtown,

the coins hot from my hand plink, plink

in the box next to the driver, all the way downtown

to a Carnegie library built by an immigrant

so everyone could read, free

and untrammeled by politicians seeking

to bind them into ignorance,

chain them to the wheel.

Leslie promised she’d read me the books

so I didn’t have to be afraid of mistakes

and I wrote My Name in big letters

got my first badge, a library card

I asked the librarian “Can I take out all the books?”

and she answered quite seriously

“Of course, dear, just not at the same time.”

And so, with extra Leslie help and a chorus

of angels disguised as teachers and librarians

for years unstinting with love and hours

of practice, those ants finally marched

in straight lines for me

shaped words, danced sentences,

constructed worlds

for a girl finally learning how to read

I unlocked the treasure chest

And swallowed the key.

Lovebrarians by Laurie Halse Anderson

Dear WinkWorld Readers, 

This issue will be very different from my usual posts, but I want to share some of my friends’ art. I have many friends with lots of artistic talent, but I chose these three for a specific reason: They each started painting later in life.  I have known each of them for many years professionally and personally, but I had no idea that they had this talent.  

Dr. Janet Towell was my dear colleague and friend during my years at California State University, Stanislaus. Our offices were right beside each other, and we lived in the same neighborhood.  I have such happy memories of our time together.  She was an passionate children’s literature professor, but never once did I see her draw or paint anything.  However, now that she has retired, she paints a lot.  I believe Janet does mostly water colors.

Sometimes this little mouse is holding a book or a heart, and I’m guessing that it even held a shamrock on St. Patrick’s Day.

You may recognized the painting above: Venice.  Janet and her husband took Janet’s mom on this trip for her 96th birthday, which was her FIRST European trip, and she loved it.  Below here is a photo of Janet and her mom in a gondola in Venice.

Janet also likes to paint sunflowers. Some of Janet’s art is available at Etsy. 

Dr. Sharon Whitehead-van Loben Sels

Sharon was once a graduate student in one of my night classes, and I used to notice a CA Highway Patrol (CHIPS) officer walking the halls by our classroom.  I thought he was simply doing his duty and helping with security. Eventually, he came into the room during one of our classes, and quietly sat down in the back by himself.  I thought he was just interested, and I asked him if he had his homework ready.  By the end of the semester, he became an informal member of this class, and we all thoroughly enjoyed him and his contributions to our class.  Several years later, he and Sharon married, and the two of them became (and still are) great family friends. Jan (CHIPS) officer even came to the ranch in the early 90s and help Wink calve out 450 heifers.  Oh, the stories!

During those days, Sharon read/wrote and read/wrote, but I never saw any artistic doodling or drawing from her.  Now, in retirement, Sharon paints with oils and acrylics.  Here are a few of her treasures.

Balloon Ladies (oil)

Swaying Women (acrylic)

Moonlight Swim (acrylic)

Boy in Cart (oil)

Vicki Reid

Vicki was also once one of my graduate students.  Today she and her family contribute in many ways in her celebration of community through all of the seasons, and she also has started painting; I am posting a few examples including one of her husband. 

In addition, Sharon and her husband, maintain an very active Little Free Library, which magically changes its look for the holidays.

I am also constantly amazed at what I learn about former students, once a few years have passed.  When Vicki was in my classes, I had no idea that she had once been a former body builder, who was involved in competitions.  Looks to me like she was probably a very good body builder, too!

It seems people are multifaceted.

Dear WinkWorld Readers,

This weekend is the Tucson Festival of Books (TFoB), when more than 100,000 are expected to come to the University of Arizona to celebrate literacy!  Posted below is one of my favorite images from a  previous TFoB.  This little boy was quietly reading his free book (Thank you, Stocker Foundation) to his Dad.

My schedule: Saturday, noon to 3, College of Education professional development table. Love the Tucson teachers! I hope you can stop by and say hello.

In addition, I am honored to moderate a panel of scholars, who love all-things-Latino-and-language, just like me. Of course, my first question will be: How do you use the words, Hispanic, Chicano, Latino, Latinx, and Latin@?  Oh, this will be fun! Hope you can come to hear this panel.

Sunday: El Norte: Beyond Standard Narratives
Location: UA Library – Special Collections
Date/Time: Sunday, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Panelists: Carrie Gibson (carriegibson@me.com),
Ilan Stavans (istavans@amherst.edu),
Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez (carlos.velez-ibanez@asu.edu)
Moderator: Joan Wink
Genre: History / Biography
Escort: Charles O’Hara
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area – Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)
The history of the Southwest is multi-layered and complex. A historian, an anthropologist, and a culture critic and essayist discuss the Spanish in North America and their on-going influence on our region.

Sunday, March 3, 11:30 to 12:30, UF Library Special Collections

Carrie Gibson was a journalist for The Guardian, before she decided to pursue her MA and Ph.D.  She has written much of the Spanish-speaking world: Cuba, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, and now México.  She consistently tries to make historical sense of the Latino experience in North America.

Carrie Gibson   On her webpage, Carrie lists the names for each of her social media platforms.

Carrie is an immigrant (moving from US to England), and she is the granddaughter of Italian immigrants.  I suspect she is now focused on the US context, and another book will eventually come, which will shed light on our present situation here in the US.

Sunday Carrie will highlight her book, El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic America.  Previously, she published Empire’s Crossroads: A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to the Present Day.

Ilan Stavans is a teacher, a journalist, a translator, a radio host, and a publisher, and he writes in Spanish and English.  His focus is immigration, Latino and Jewish cultures, politics, and language.  He is also The Lewis Sebring Professor of Humanities, Latin America, and Latino Culture at Amherst College. Ilan is the Co-Founder and Academic Director of Great Books Summer Camp at Amherst.

Ilan will focus on The Wall (poetry), Don Quijote (a graphic novel adaptation in English and Spanish), and Sor Juana: Or, the Persistence of Pop (a biographical meditation). 

Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez is the Regents’ Professor of the School of Transborder Studies and School of Human Evolution and Social Change of Arizona State University. In 2011, Carlos founded this Transborder Studies program. Throughout his career, Carlos has received many honors and awards. He has written and published books of Mexico and the Southwest of North America.

Carlos will focus on Hegemonies of Language and Their Discontents: The Southwest North American Region since 1540, a book which shines a bright light on history, power, duality, and promise of language. His most recent previous publication is U.S. – Mexico Transborder Region: Cultural Dynamics and Historical Interactions, a book of essays on border studies.

More memories:  

CJ Box and JA Jance are always great attractions at the TFoB.  In the photo below, I am not sure who is photo-bombing whom?

A treasured moment listening to Sandra Day O’Connor, former Supreme Court Justice.