Teaching Artists in Paradise
Writing
Creative Writing Meets Mathematics
Paul Wood / Bo Kim-Bautista
3rd grade, Wailuku Elementary School
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Working together, third-grade teacher Bo Kim-Bautista and teaching artist Paul Wood explored ways that imagination-based writing activities can inspire student engagement with mathematics. Their premise: when students create numbers-based poems and stories, they deepen their understanding of fundamental math functions—specifically, addition, subtraction, and multiplication. During this residency the students created poetry that personified the primary numbers. Then each student wrote a story with math equations embedded in the plot. Their clearly sequenced writing process, including pre-writing and revision, culminated with simple books that were published within the school community. In the closing reflection, students eagerly remembered this residency’s essential understanding: “Writing is a power, not a punishment.”
Dear Caterpillar
Paul Wood/Joan Patton
1st grade/Lihikai El
Teacher Joan Patton and writer/teaching artist Paul Wood challenged the first-grade students to "wonder" about the monarch caterpillars living on a bush in front of their classroom. Thus, science study was bolstered by creative writing activities that resulted in publication of a book called "When Will I Fly?" Arts-based activities included the composition of two group-made poems, a story scroll, drama games, watercolor painting, and imaginative writing. Observation and creative speculation came together for an unforgettable experience of the life cycle of certain insects.
When Will I Fly?
The first-grade collaboration called "Dear Caterpillar"—teacher Joan Patton and writer / teaching artist Paul Wood—culminated in the publication of a book narrating the life cycle of monarch butterflies. Each student took responsibility for one page in the narrative, providing a watercolor painting and a block original text. The story is told from the first-person perspective of a single insect, and it combines biological facts with the students' speculations about the subjective experiences of a decidedly non-human creature. This slide show presents the entire book, page by page.
Creating Community through Creative Writing
Paul Wood/Janice Acopan
1st grade/Pomaikai El
My work brings to students fundamental experiences of imaginative writing in age-appropriate, skills-appropriate ways. Here, at the beginning of a second-grade school year, teacher Janice Acopan and I devised a sequence of writing activities that we hoped would establish a positive classroom environment. We wanted the students to experience respect for self, respect for others, and enthusiasm for teamwork. We felt that these experiences would boost her successes during the year to come. At the same time, we wanted the students to feel the excitement of self-expression so that they would be receptive to the often tedious discipline of working with a pencil.