Today, the air was filled with tangible excitement, a classmate’s aunt was visiting and that was special enough. But that was not all my students would receive. Walking into the room, Aunty Yvonne was greeted with smiles, cheers and even questions. She settled nicely on the puff while the students clustered at her feet on their favorite rug spots. Then it began! She wove syllables into words, and words into characters that came alive with the rise and fall of her voice. Right there in the room, all the kids journeyed into the safari, with events highlighting problems and problems being resolved in an oh so beautiful climax. They hung on to her every word. Such was the experience a great storyteller and writer bequeathed my students. All the adults in the room were enthralled by the smoothness of the narration.
To my students, it was not that they met a famous and excellent writer, no! It was that a famous and amazing writer shared their space and took them into the world of narrative writing. Oh, the sparks that were ignited that day, every student, each one of them running to get a pen to do exactly what she modeled — weaving words into events and events into stories. It was a catalytic experience that birthed amazing budding authors.
The beauty of this event lies in the satisfaction that my K/1 students have gone on to write, enjoy writing and receive affirmation by African Storybooks Ambassador for their short stories. The event was a trigger, a propeller more or less for my students. For me as a teacher, I have come to treasure valuable lessons from the experience:
- My guest was an aunt to one of my 1st graders, a published prize winning Kenyan author who was visiting from out of the country. Knowing the little I knew about her as a writer, I thought it perfect to jump on the opportunity of using her visit for a real life meet with an author. I talked with my student’s mum and she was more than willing to make the visit a possibility. Aunt Yvonne was nothing short of pleased to drop in on her niece’s class which she had heard so much about (I later discovered). Relationships are a treasure!
- There are many ways to an engaging classroom and memorable learning experiences. Sometimes it is an expert panel made up of your students, external experts, teacher colleagues or knowledgeable adults in the community. Do not underestimate the learning that takes place when you are not the one doing the “teaching”. Create memorable Learning experiences!
- Take the leap, teach the ropes, the vocabulary, and the strategies, of fiction and nonfiction writing to your elementary students. It is not too early to set them on the “write” track. Model, Scaffold and practice. Get help if need be. I found help in Jen Jones and Lanesha Tabb who have been of great help even from afar off. Take the leap! Do that writer’s workshop today!
