Anne - TS #17

TS #17 - Anne

Date/Time:  Thursday, February 11, 2016, 6:00-7:00

Location:  Hecht House

Topic/Skills:  Creative Writing/writing

Teacher Presentation:  I started the session with a discussion about what “imagination” is and how authors use imagination to write stories, especially those that cannot be true, llike Charlotte’s Web in which the animals talk and the spider spells.  I showed the student three sheets of paper on which were printed many pictures, fantastic and real.  For example, in one picture, an elephant had butterfly wings for ears; on another a sea monster is emerging from a wave; and on another, a man is riding a rooster the size of a horse.  There was a picture of kids playing baseball, a chimpanzee making a face, and two young bears standing nose to nose.  I asked the student to pick a picture and to tell me a story, prompting him with questions:  What’s the elephant’s name?  Why does he have butterfly wings for ears?  Does he like them or not?  What do the other elephants think? Etc.  The student seemed to have difficulty entering into the imaginative process at first, creating minimal story lines or dismissing photos as “impossible,” thus not possible as a story.  But he caught on and told two or three stories, providing some details when prompted.  I asked him to write each story in a paragraph of at least 5 sentences.  He did this. We spent the last 15 minutes of the session reading Charlotte’s Web.  

Feedback provided to tutee:  We corrected spelling, grammatical, and syntactical errors in his stories.  I clarified vocabulary in the reading and checked for understanding.  He seemed to comprehend this part of the story better than the first, though the vocabulary is more difficult.

Lessons learned:  I am often surprised by how difficult it is for some thinkers to imagine impossible story lines.  I believe this is more of a personal than a cultural difference.  Although fantasy story-telling may not be part of the student’s orientation, if he is not already, he will be expected to do some creative writing in school,.  The ability to call on imagination is important. 

This is my last session working with this student.  I have enjoyed our sessions, though I do not think that I am at my best working with children.  I’d say that I’m too formal or serious, though when I try to be playful, it feels forced, at least to me. It’s the “teacher survival” thing: Did I make a difference?   I’d love to know what he thought!