Demo-Lessons or Demolitions? Day Three of Back-To-Back Writing Lessons with 3rd, 4th, & 5th Grades

Since the beginning of the school year, CWP-Fairfield and I have worked closely with district leaders in Trumbull Public Schools to enhance writing instruction, K-5, and to build teacher leadership and confidence with writing across the content areas. Unique to the plans has been using data from the teachers to address the needs they have (rather than the needs tests have). In month three of our partnership, everyone seems to be happy: teachers are reporting they love the workshops and conversations, the students seems to be picking up their writing pace, the district leaders are doing a wonderful job tying heir willingness to take risks to pushing towards more success with lifelong writing, and the administrators are smiling.

This week, I was invited into school to do demonstrations n narrative writing. I met with teachers for 45 minutes and discussed what it looks like to teach narrative at each grade level. The district paid for subs so that teachers from several schools could attend the one demonstration where I taught one class of kids. Then, kids came. The teachers predicted what they'd likely see and then, after the lesson, reflected on what they saw while they helped me to think about how I could tweak the teaching. We anticipated a 45 minute lesson, but each session has gone longer. Yesterday's session kept the kids engaged for 90 minutes, in fact, which the teachers couldn't believe.

My favorite part of such work, however, has been hearing the teacher who brings her kids to the library reflect on what she witnessed as her students participated with my instruction. It is so rare to have an opportunity to see the kids we teach without having to be in direct supervision of teaching them, too. It allows for new eyes, additional perspectives, and other angles to see what it is our kids are actually capable of doing.

I have been amazed at conversations and insight arriving from each 3-hour jam session (and I'm exhausted. I've been doing two a day)

When I entered on day one and learned what they wanted me to do I knew I was about to have many eyes upon me. "Shoot," I thought to myself. "Did they say demo-lesson or demolition?" I didn't want to ruin the kids or look the fool. The risks could have gone either way.

Lucky for us all, though, it's gone favorably. And today, we finish this next round of work.