More on Storm Prep, More on Classroom Collaging

My brain snapped awake at 1:30, and for awhile, I tried to fall back asleep.  Finally around 2 or so, I thought, I recognize what my brain is doing--I recognize this pattern from Hurricane Watch days.  I want to see if the track has shifted, even though I don't need to do much if it has.  I want to see what various forecasters and commenters are saying, even if they're all saying the same thing.

I thought about the food in the freezer, which happily, is less food than we had in the freezer 6 weeks ago; we've made a concentrated effort to eat what we have.  I thought about what we might make tomorrow to use even more of it, so that if we lose power, we don't lose as much food.  My brain started making a grocery list.

Of course, if we lose power in an ice storm (unlike in a hurricane) we could put the food outside, where the temps are expected to be low through next week.

Finally, I decided to just get up.  Let me capture a success story from my Advanced Creative Writing class.  The collaging that I described in this blog post went so well that I decided to expand on it.

I got to class early and moved tables so that we had 9 tables against the walls.  I put a collage on each table, along with a stack of feedback worksheets, and an envelope.  The worksheets asked students to tell what colors are predominant, what words they noticed, what images were prominent and what larger symbolic meaning they might have,  what story ideas the collage inspired, and other insight that the collage viewer has for the collage maker.

I had students sit at the table with their collage first.  I had them write a bit about what they saw now, with the benefit of 48 hours of being away from the collage, of coming to it with fresh eyes.  Then I had them get up and move to the next table.

We did the same process across 8 collages.  First I had students stare at the collage for 30-60 seconds without writing anything; I was surprised by how many students had trouble with this aspect.  Then I had them fill in the worksheet for 4-5 minutes.  Some students zipped through this part, while others had trouble getting all the feedback on paper.  I had them put the feedback sheet in the envelope that was on the table, so that they wouldn't be distracting to the next person who came to the table.

When they got back to their collage, I had them fill out the worksheet for their own collage.  And then I had them write for daily writing credit:  4 strengths, 2 weaknesses, and 1 suggestion, along with an overview of the process kind of paragraph writing.

I realize that there are some who might ask what this process has to do with creative writing.  But my students seemed to understand that it's an interesting way to access parts of their brain that might not emerge if they stared at a blank sheet of paper waiting for words to appear.

I am so grateful to be at a school where this kind of classroom experience is valued, not denigrated.  I am so grateful to be at a school where I get to teach these kinds of classes.

Tomorrow I'll say more about a poetry writing experience in English 102 classes.  But this morning, I'm leaving early so that I can stop by the grocery store.  No, not to buy milk or bread--if we're going to have a weather event, I want luxury treats like honey roasted cashews and Cadbury fruit and nut candy bars.