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262 2007 VOLUME 5,NCum6ER 4 TEACHING ARTIST JOURNAL 263
<br /> I saw her point easily:how the transition to MTV culture has changed everything.How fourth/fifth grade) and we'd have a week to create stories to serve as illustrative prompts a..:
<br /> our busy world has robbed many children of reading experiences and all the conversa- for Welsh artist Heloise Godfrey. 3`
<br /> tions they need to feel secure enough to enter school ready to learn.A kindergarten =
<br /> teacher told rue that four-and five-year olds came to her searching her face for the right Collaborative Fiction—Can Et Cross the Ocean?
<br /> answer,lack of security and demand for success robbing them of a willingness to take The night before the residency started my friend advised tae about language differ-
<br /> risks.As if things weren't bad enough,the trend for accountability hit the schools and enter."Say`trousers'because'pants'means underwear and'bum'not'fanny.'In Wales
<br /> testing spread like a plague all over the United States,intensifying with No Child Left 'fanny'refers to the front part of a woman's lower parts."
<br /> Behind. "Thank goodness you told me"I said."`Pant zs part of the 'Sill Willy'song I s'
<br /> I entered a third-grade classroom one August to find children quietly bent over test g y p y y
<br /> with children."
<br /> papers."They're learning how to bubble,"the teacher whispered. "Don't say'Willy'?"she screamed.I could figure out what that meant.But I wondered
<br /> "That's a fine way to begin the school year,"I muttered.She nodded sadly, what other surprises waited for me in the classroom.
<br /> Teaching artists are nothing if they aren't adaptable.I responded to the testing envi- When I arrived at Radnor,I saw uniformed children scatter pell-mell over their con-
<br /> ronment by spending the next several years developing techniques to help teachers meet crete playground much as they would in the States.The school's security system,incon-
<br /> their difficult curriculum goals.I stopped teaching the imaginary fiction I loved and gruous with the cheerful mood of city and school,gave me an opportunity to meet staff
<br /> worked to put a playful spin on writing tests,compare-contrast papers,and paragraphs members who greeted me warmly and didn't seem to mind leaving their work to buzz
<br /> creation assignments.The teachers were pleased with my efforts.But the children were me in.I hoped things would go as well with students. IA
<br /> bored and,frankly,so was I. The school day started as the children offered up a greeting in Welsh.Immediately I 4i
<br /> Last year,the best writing I did with students came when I Lost a crown in the front felt their respect for custom,teachers,peers,and learning.These students were imnzedi- i'I
<br /> of my mouth and couldn't get it fixed before I had to return to teach a fifth-grade class. ately intrigued.Was it my celebrated American accent?Could my process hold their inter-
<br /> To quell my own insecurities,I had _ est? L.
<br /> to do some quick and creative t q.h v . I began by reading aloud Deborah Wiles's Freedom Summer, a story that takes place ixx
<br /> thinking. ,
<br /> Most language arts programs dedicate a small Southern town during the first days of desegregation and tells about a young
<br /> "Notice anything new?"Tasked themselves to writing about personal white boy who comes to understand how much his black best friend longs for equality.I u
<br /> my students,breaking in a huge discovered these well-informed students knew about se e anon in the America.Th lis- "�
<br /> experiences. This is great practice for segregation ey
<br /> grin that exposed my gaping hole. teased attentively to the story and then,in a discussion told me about their perceptions I"
<br /> focusing and observation, but why is '
<br /> o I told them I was in a quandary of inequality in Wales.The students were convinced by the end of this activity that they f¢
<br /> w fiction so underrepresented?M ess is
<br /> u> and asked for help."Would you y would enjoy picture books and begged for another. !ii
<br /> please take five minutes to come that fiction's lack of rules, directions, and
<br /> - --__, I moved us along to the next activity. 1';
<br /> Q up with an answer I can tell people outcomes make it messy and scary for _:�R.. - : : They were just as involved as They analyzed F'`
<br /> w who ask me, 'What happened to most educators. I told them I was in a quandary the book I'd read aloud,relying on the
<br /> ro your tooth?'" and asked for help. "Would you Story Skeleton model I've devised to '
<br /> o There was inventiveness in"rrn really a seven year-old pretending to be a grown-up" l,.
<br /> m n and voice in"Let's just say that bungee jumping off the Empire State Building whe a taxi please take five minutes to come describe structure elements like'setting,
<br /> o is passing below is never fun."One group crossed curriculum with a scientific slant:"I
<br /> up with an answer I can tell character traits,motivation,conflict,climax,
<br /> people who ask me, `What and resolution.
<br /> ;:
<br /> ✓ am really a shark and shed my teeth.".And there was reality in"I tried to eat my bus- ' "How many of you love to write?"I h
<br /> m band's cooking."These children loved creating imaginative fiction! p. happened to your tooth?"'
<br /> w " g a na asked.In American classrooms, often only I
<br /> o .i. two eager hands wave in response,but in these classes I had only two negatives."How i
<br /> ;, many of you like to play games?"As in America,all hands shot up.I promised that we'd A
<br /> m The Cardiff Cure ;�,
<br /> Q '+: play game after game and wind up with a story. PT
<br /> We launched into writin b inventin a list of characters.Each class chose a
<br /> °o Despite this one bright moment,I was despairing about my teaching future when I ;. writing by inventing �' S' i
<br /> • spoke with Suzanne Greenslade,a college friend who had lived in Wales for almost Character,and we played a game I call"Wondering Questions,"In one minute,students
<br /> o years and worked for the Washington Gallery in Penarth,South Wales.Part of her job was ? suggested a.slew of questions that would help us understand the character.We answered
<br /> TD• to send artists into the community and after their residencies honor the participants' ' these and from all our gathered ideas composed our narrative structure with the help of �: _
<br /> w work with an exhibition.I imagined once guiding children as they developed im n' the Story Skeleton. i
<br /> again gu g e3' p agi- � i;r�
<br /> L Then we put"flesh"on our"story bones."In small groups,students focused on
<br /> ES) nary characters and stories they cared about and impulsively told her that I'd already ,, p iy gro p , ,j_.
<br /> in ,a. . scenes,making friends with the chaos of invention.They thought up images to stimulate I.
<br /> c planned a trip to Europe and it wouldn't be difficult to add on a teaching adventure inI ^
<br /> o Wales.The Ian evolved quickly I would work with two Year 5/6 classes (equivalent to , the senses and imagined vivid verbs to move their tales along.A ruddy-cheeked girl 'i
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