First Time Attendees

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23 Comments

Comment by Katrina Gonzales on November 9, 2009 at 6:57am

Jacinta---That is helpful info. I appreciate that! I'm coming from Texas, and I've compared the weather to Philly in the last couple of weeks. We're having the unpredictable weather as well and have actually been colder here than in Philly on several days. I do think layering will be the way to go!
Katrina

Comment by Jacinta on November 9, 2009 at 6:36am

Hey Barbra,

I've never been to Philadelphia, but a quick glance at weather.com shows me that they're experiencing similar weather to what we're getting here in Indiana. It's slightly unpredictable. Normally, you'd expect the weather to be getting fairly cold now, and you might even expect some snow. However, we had like 30 degree days in October, and these past few days have been close to 70s. It looks like it's going to be around 50s those days we're in Philadelphia, which still isn't super cold. If I were you, I'd bring things that I can layer, some sweaters and/or long sleeve shirts, and a light coat or jacket.

Comment by Barbra McKenzie on November 8, 2009 at 11:39pm

Hi from Australia. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's feeling overwhelmed at the diversity of sessions available. My strategy? I think I'll limit myself to the Whole Language Strand offerings to give me a bit more control. As we are coming into our Summer in this part of the world I'd appreciate any advice on appropriate clothing choices for Philadelphia in mid November. I'm looking forward to the conference and the interactions with other teachers

Comment by Katrina Gonzales on October 26, 2009 at 4:38pm

Jacinta, I had to laugh when I saw your post. That summed up exactly how I felt when I looked at the online guide. Like an enormous buffet, you want to make sure you taste the things that you need to taste, try the new things, and maybe revisit some old favorites, but it is overwhelming, for sure.

Comment by Jacinta on October 26, 2009 at 2:37pm

On the ncte.org site, there's a section for the conference and they have all the sessions listed I think. I started reading some of it, got through like two sessions, and felt like my head was going to explode from all the information.

Comment by Gabrielle Plastrik on October 26, 2009 at 2:31pm

I will be attending for the first time too. Does anybody know how to find out what specific presentations are available. I went through the magazine-like guide that came in the mail, but it felt like there should be a list of presenters/sessions that was more specific. Is that true?

Comment by Jacinta on October 22, 2009 at 10:48am

Hey all! I'm a first timer too. I'm actually going with a big group of preservice teachers from my university. We're all pretty excited :).

Comment by Jim Sitar on October 20, 2009 at 9:41am

Hi everyone, this will be my first NCTE as well, and I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of great teachers. I'm specifically interested in hearing about different approaches to teaching poetry in different classroom settings. My goal is to help promote the art of poetry and to develop online resources for teachers so they can bring poems to life in their classrooms. Come by the Poetry Out Loud booth if you want to learn more!

Comment by Katrina Gonzales on October 19, 2009 at 1:07pm

As a first-time attendee, I'm hoping to keep from being too overwhelmed. There's so many sessions I want to attend that it's hard to choose! I'm on my state board in Texas, TCTELA, and have always attended our state conference, which is top-notch. One thing I hope to get out of this discussion on the NING is a strategy for creating my NCTE conference schedule.

Comment by Steve McKee on October 19, 2009 at 12:58pm

HI, everyone. I'm a first-timer, too, though it's been YEARS since I was actually a teacher of English (more on that in a minute). Last October I attended the Pennsylvania Council's state convention and presented my memoir, "My Father's Heart: A Son's Reckoning With the Legacy of Heart Disease" as a reading-list recommendation for juniors and seniors in high school. I'll be at the NCTE as a guest of the Pennsylvania Council, part of its "Pennsylvania Showcase." F.58, 8 a.m. Saturday, Room 107B. Read the book! See the movie: http://ncte2008.ning.com/video/f58-green-gold-a-run-through
Now about my teacher of English cred: In 1975-1977 I taught English and reading and co-directed four plays ("Christmas Carol," "South Pacific," "Diary of Anne Frank" & "Annie, Get Your Gun") at St. Mary's High School in St. Mary's, Alaska, an Eskimo-Indian boarding school about a mile from the Yukon River and 90 miles from the Bering Sea. True story.
I'll be spending lots of time at the PCTELA booth. Hope to see you there! www.steve-mckee.com

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