#3 Work is Play

So, my Denver blog countdown was cast aside, temporarily. Instead of writing about experiencing Denver, I was experiencing Denver. I still have the stories swirling in my head so I'll be adding them from Santa Fe!



Curious about how they do school in other communities, I decided to volunteer. I knew I wanted to observe various school settings and broaden my skills and experience. But I also wanted to keep in line with one of my goals this year, which is to play. So, I picked my favorite part of the work day- teaching writing- and sent a letter to every principal in Denver Public Schools. Here’s what it said:

Dear Principal,

     I’m a veteran teacher in a unique situation this year. I have taken a leave of absence from my beloved career to support my partner as he works in different cities. I would like to offer your teachers some of my time, expertise and passion for writing instruction.

     Although I’m open to a conversation, I imagine myself volunteering to be a “writing teacher in residence.” I will spend around a week with each class, focusing on personal narratives. I follow the Lucy Calkins writer’s workshop model, in which writing time starts with a teacher led mini-lesson, then kids write on self-selected topics while teacher confers with individuals. We end with sharing our work and reflecting on the writing strategies we used. Here’s what one teacher said about my time in her classroom:

“Your lessons ignited a new passion for writing in the hearts of my students! Throughout the school day they started asking how much longer until writing time. One student in particular told me after your second day that he used to hate writing and now he loves it. Watching the kids build their writing fluency was also very exciting. Thanks for making such a difference for my students and helping them find the author inside themselves!” 

–Carrie Kondor, 3^rd grade teacher

     In addition to being motivated by a love of writing, I am motivated by the chance to give hard-working teachers a breather during their teaching day. Not only will they be able to step away from the “spotlight” for a bit, it’s likely they’ll come away with inspiration and new ideas when given the chance to watch another teacher. As teachers, we don’t get enough opportunities to learn from each other through observation. It’s the easiest way to refresh our techniques!

     [...boring logistics about my experience and availability...]

     It may seem like a leap of faith, but I am absolutely certain it will be a positive experience for everyone involved.

Thanks for your time,

Rhea Larsen

I would like to thank Carrie, an exemplary educator, and a follower of this blog, for inspiring me with the idea to teach writing in other classrooms. I enjoyed her Beaverton third graders so much, I decided to take it on the road. Also, thank you for providing a quote that vouched for me so generously.

The first Denver educator who took a leap of faith was a first grade teacher at Sabin World School.  What a cool place! They are one of six in Denver schools that follow the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. It’s a fancy title that means they approach all subjects with questions, and teachers and students seek answers together. You’d also see lots of integration of subjects. For example, you may see a writing assignment for explaining fractions, reading lesson that uses a text from their weather unit, or a math graphing skill integrated with a science lesson on the human body. There’s a HUGE focus on critical thinking and problem solving and developing skills that can be used across settings, for lifelong learning.

See the letters ib? Stands for International Baccalaureate.

Mrs. S. had her kiddos pretty well-versed on ingredients for complete sentences and they had lots of practice writing on one topic together. She was hoping to get them seeing themselves as independent writers. Wanted them to be able to come up with their own topics and add to their ideas instead of squawking the phrase of every teacher’s nightmares: “I’m done!” So, that’s what we did for five days. We got super excited and fascinated with the topics that each kiddo chose, no matter how short or seemingly insignificant the message. We chanted “When I’m done, I’ve just begun--- I can add to the pictures, add to the words or start a new piece!*” I like to think that many of them realized the power in their messages. They were able to see that they have important stories to tell. That if they can talk about their experiences, they can write them. One little girl said, in a thank you note to me, I nevr rote that much befor. Another little guy wrote, I lrnd wen im dun im just begun. I got the joy and art of teaching writing without being tired at the end of the day. I was also reminded of how much I love the first-grade-style celebration of each new accomplishment. Mrs. S. got a week of bathroom breaks at 10am, which I’m sure will increase the lifespan of her bladder.

On my way to teach first grade writing!

Another school that was pretty neat was Denver Green School (DGS). I got picked up there, not because of my letter to principals, but because Patrick’s friends invited me to a Sausage-Fest while he was traveling. One of the founding principals at DGS was imbibing dogs and beer out back. When I told him I was a teacher and writing was my favorite, he said, “Done. You had me at writing.”

I didn’t get overly invested in the 6^th grade classroom I was assigned to, because the students had a Harvest Festival, two subs and a snow day in the week that I was there to help. But I did get a tour of the school and learned about the unique concept they have going. In Denver Public Schools, you can apply to be an innovation school, which excuses you from district mandates of your choice. DGS is excluded from 16 different mandates. One of them is their length of school day. They go 45 minutes longer so the whole school can participate in a block of time dedicated to managing campus waste, tending to the vegetable garden and other environmental initiatives. They sell vegetables from their garden every Wednesday, and an environmental component is integrated into all subject areas. As the sixth graders wrote about a food they were making for the Harvest Festival, they had to explain where each ingredient came from. They included a map to show how far the food traveled, whether it was from the school garden, southern Colorado, Florida or Chile.

Sixth grade writing time is broken up with technical problems because they use laptops. Typing and googledocs, as well as a homework assignment (mostly missing) that was an integral part of writing time kinda took away some of the momentum. Of course I found joy in hearing their stories, but the preteen kids were generally less excited about getting a message to readers and more interested in what they had to do to meet requirements.

Park Hill Elementary was my last school. The principal called me the same day I sent out the letter, selling myself. I thought they’d be the easiest to coordinate because she was so excited about having me, but I couldn’t nail her down on any details. We corresponded sporadically for six weeks. I really thought it would fall through after the string of directionless emails and phone messages. Once we finally scheduled a meeting (with a day’s notice) I could see why. She was a doctor of education and had been a superintendent of an entire district before this gig, which was “taking a rest” professionally. Anyone who says being an elementary school principal is restful, must be super special.

The teacher she put me with was informed about me the morning of my arrival. Luckily, he was super laid back. Ashton Kutcher but taller and bearded- a rare male at the first grade level. He loved having me in his room and once again, I was energized by those little ones. Every single kid in his class saw him/herself as a writer (which is the most important part for young writers!) and spent the whole time focused on writing. He was trying to get them to write about a small moment8 from their lives- an experience, rather than a string of sentences. I created some first grade writing so the students could see the difference. Patrick had to read my fake stories with their mixed capitals and misspellings and try to guess which one was on the right track. Let’s see if you can guess:

Example A-
I love my famly. My mom is nise. My dad is tall. They love me a lot. We read books at nite. My mom is 41 years old. My dad is 43 years old. My cat died last year. I was sad. My famly is awsum!

Example B-
At NiTeTim MY mommy AND daddy reed to ME    I get my bear and get uNdr  the    cuvvrs.  My bear Lisns to the SToree to.  I all WAYs pick a TRUCK buk   When mommy reeds she maKs a funne voys when daddy reeds he maKs the TRUCKS driv on MY hed!   Evn when I beg WE onle get to reed 1 SToree     Then its LiTs owT!    I get slEEpE and kiss good NiTe. I luV  bed Time wif mommy AND daddy. good NiT!

Which one gets the idea of writing about small moments*?? You got it- Writer B. Even though Writer A understands the rules of writing, has good spelling and knows where periods and capitals go, she doesn’t have a sense of story. A sense of sharing the details of an experience so clearly, the reader feels something.

The concept of writing about small moments* is something I was never taught. I learned it by teaching. During my own school days, I caught few glimpses of the joy of writing. By teaching it, I feel that joy often. Writing is a form of entertainment for me now. And reading the writing of students? Like the song of a bird... A tickling breeze.. Dancing in my ears and in my heart. See, wasn't that was fun? Imagine that- work taught me a new way to play.

*Writing instruction technique from Lucy Calkins, writing guru, trainer of teachers, and to some, a super hero.