And Sh'Zaam! Boom! POW! Just Like That. The Power of Words, 6th edition, Is Currently in My Possession

We've been waiting for the 6th edition of POW! Power of Words, since November. 27 teachers helped to edit round one, then a graduate student and I worked on it from August until November. We tried so hard to get the 237 pages to print before the holidays. This time, however, it was not our fault - the publisher fell behind this season.

Even so, it's here. 6 weeks of incredible teaching, including a 5-week teacher institute, and data to support our work - This is the outcome when students and teachers are motivated to use tools, divide the labor, explore the rules of genres, and most importantly, take part in a community to accomplish writing goals.

I can't believe we're on the 6th edition and this summer will be year 7 since the Young Adult Literacy Labs we're created.

And I knew they'd arrive on the day of my first class, when I was thinking I might be able to catch up on Thursday and Friday. NOPE. For the next two days, I will be mailing these complimentary puppies out to our 200+ authors. The postal department on campus hate when I arrive with this particular mailing. Ah, but I always bring elves to help me.

It really does take a tremendous community to pull off this work every year and we are so lucky to have the teachers and students that we do. They make me smarter and offer me a text I can use in professional development each year (and in my courses).

This is ongoing action research. I have the greatest job on Earth.