As soon as this semester is over, I’m going back to studying important subjects like grains and yeasts, one of the more useful things I’ve ever learned about. When I started on my scholarly jag in 2000 to get a MEd+36 credits, I didn’t expect much out of it besides money-advancement on the salary schedule. Before going back to school I’d been busy building a house, mushing dogs, and ice climbing…also managed to help make 3 babies in the space of 34 months. I’m on my last lap, almost done, finishing up the final four credits. The University’s Reading Endorsement Program for k-12 teachers came along at the perfect time for me. I got wrapped up in a lot of thinking about definitions of reading, the meaning of comprehension (Is there one?), epistemology, etc., and I’m thoroughly twisted now. Maybe after several kegs of “research” I’ll know what the hell I’m doing again. I used to believe I understood my job, but the more I’ve thought about it, the harder it’s gotten.

I started my students on a research project of their own a couple of weeks ago. I figured we might be able to study science and social studies at the same time, as well as use reading, writing and art - a messy multidisciplinary sort of effort. So far so good. I set up a web space for them to write to, and most of them are going strong with it. We’ve learned a little bit of basic fourth-grader economic theory, like what are resources, and how limited supplies creates the need to make choices. The kids are working their way through books about salmon, and now this week, they’re studying a bit about Alaska’s geographical regions. All the while, they’ve been publishing to our web space in any form they choose. Mostly fiction. I’ve been teaching them to take notes, but I haven’t told them what a research report looks like. Yesterday one of the boys told me that he wanted to write some salmon facts on our class site, Tell the Raven.

I told him, “Go ahead, but don’t write a bunch of separate things in a list because nobody will enjoy reading that.” I’m not sure if I said that he should try to make it a story. He sat down and wrote A Little Salmon Goes a Long Way. It’s a masterpiece. I’m impressed. I couldn’t have taught him to do this if I tried.

There is a cross-genre writing strategy called RAFT (Role of the writer, Audience, Format, Topic), which is really just an exercise in doing what all writers do; it can mix fiction and nonfiction, autobiography or speech-making as a way of making research reports more fun and interesting. I wanted to teach the kids to do this once they got some material together. But there’s nothing like having a good example on hand when you need one! I projected the story up on the screen in front of the class and we read it aloud. We discussed all of the good information that was so seamlessly integrated into the story. I did NOT tell anyone else to write one. I can’t wait to see all of the salmon stories they now want to write.

This job is fun when things seem to work.