A Writing Time Machine

The LSU Writing Project Hosts Elementary Students at the AgCenter’s Rural Life Museum

Elizabeth Willis, PhD, Director of the LSU Writing Project in the College of Education, wanted to bring history to life.  She worked with teacher consultants, the LSU AgCenter’s Rural Life Museum, and Melrose Elementary School administration, teachers, and students to provide an opportunity for students to develop a greater understanding of rural Louisiana and African American History.  Dr. Willis used a contextual approach to learning through the study of historical fiction and African American authors, real life experiences, and the vivid environment of the Rural Life Museum to stimulate the minds of nearly 60 elementary students in a writing marathon.

The theme behind this writing marathon revolved around Deborah Hopkinson’s book Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, a story about a quilted map of the Underground Railroad. Seeing depictions of the living conditions of the characters in the book and creating a “legacy quilt,” just as Clara did in the book, allowed the students to understand more deeply life during the late 19th and 20th centuries.

“The book allowed us to weave many disciplines into the writing marathon,” said Dr. Willis, “We had activities dealing with the geography of the Underground Railroad and the local Baton Rouge area; we had hands-on exercises in quilting, sketching, and crafts.”

The Rural Life Writing Marathon began with a literary performance of Sweet Clara by Dr. Willis and Mrs. Shana Wilson, a fourth grade teacher at Melrose Elementary School and teacher consultant with the LSU Writing Project.  Melrose 2nd and 4th graders then broke into groups of six and toured the museum with their teachers and rural life guides, taking part in exhibits and pausing to write in their journals and share their writings with the group.

“A simple reading of the book would have exposed our students to the feelings of desperation, loneliness, disassociation, companionship, compassion, hope, fear, and triumph associated with slavery,” said Mrs. Wilson.  “Yet, breathing life into these feelings by giving our students the Rural Life Museum experience, was far more effective,” added Dr. Willis.

Dr. Willis commented on how the writing marathon connects students’ knowledge to new information through sights, feel, and sounds, “It gives them freedom to express themselves in exciting ways—poems, stories, song lyrics, notes to friends, games, Instant or Text Messages.”

After five cycles through various exhibits in the museum, the students then translated their writings from the marathon into a quilt.  They used special transfer paper to copy their drawings and sketches onto a patch and then stitched the patches all together

Dr. Willis declared that the whole notion behind the LSU Writing Project’s writing marathons is to create demonstrations for teachers to take back to their campuses and share with their colleagues, “We want to create a cadre of teacher leaders who help other teachers.” Dr. Willis said that aside from the joy and sense of accomplishment it gives her to see children so excited about writing, reading, and learning, the workshop’s success lies in the fact that it revolves around “Teachers teaching teachers.”

Established in 1984, the Louisiana State University Writing Project is a collaborative university-school partnership dedicated to improving the quality of student writing in the schools. It brings successful teachers of writing together in invitational Summer Writing Institutes, and preparing them to lead workshops for other teachers. Participants join a network of teacher consultants who actively provide ongoing professional development for schools and districts. Other programs of this 300-member network include rural open institutes, administrators’ writing retreats, youth writing activities, quarterly meetings, and an annual convocation. The LSU Writing Project is one of 189 sites in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands that comprise the National Writing Project. It is centered in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction of the College of Education of Louisiana State University, from which it serves ten parishes in the southern part of the state. Elizabeth Willis, PhD, Assistant Professor of Education at LSU, serves as director of the LSU Writing Project; Co-directors are Susan Weinstein, PhD, Assistant Professor of English at LSU, and Kenneth Farizo, PhD, Curriculum Specialist in St. Charles Parish Schools. Visit http://www.lsuwritingproject.org for more information on events and activities.

Angela Owings Broussard | College of Education
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