Inspector GO-GO Helps Students

Wearing many "hats" - Before retiring to paint, I taught elementary school for 31 wonderful years. One of the other "hats" I wear in retirement is to serve as an educational consultant for a local school district. The district is currently using a writing program I developed for 4th grade students. The program is designed to provide students with a solid foundation for effective and successful writing. "Inspector GO-GO" is a puppet who accompanies me to the classroom to help students learn to organize their thoughts and ideas using graphic organizers, thus the acronym for his name "GO-GO" - Get Organized with Graphic Organizers. If you notice, Inspector GO-GO has a paintbrush in his hand. This is to remind students to expand and elaborate their writing by "painting a picture with words". I use art in many other ways as I demonstrate to students the effective traits of writing.

Using art to teach - One of the most effective lessons I taught this year was when I was trying to show students how important it is to organize their thoughts and ideas for their compositions. They are required as 4th graders to pass a written composition as part of the state's standardized testing. They know one of the requirements to "earn" a passing grade (or better) on their compositions is that there must be some system of organization of thought. I held up a painting I had done whose subject matter was "scattered", disjointed, disconnected, lacking of meaning/organization, etc. They commented that the painting didn't make sense and they had no idea what it was. Then I showed them the painting that was redone with organization, purpose, meaning, etc. and they loved it! I told them what I charge for a painting, and asked them if they thought anyone would pay me that much for the 1st painting, and of course they laughed at the thought of it. But they all agreed that the second painting was certainly worth that. So.....a "picture was worth 1,000 words". They really understood that just as I must "earn" the price I ask for a painting, they must "earn" their grade for their compositions.

Inspector GO-GO and I had many other great adventures with the students, incorporating art to "teach writing"!

FYI - I am wearing "ladders" hanging from my glasses. This is in reference to a wonderful children's book In the Attic by Hiawyn Oram. The main character finds a "ladder" to the attic in his home where he has many imaginative adventures. I encourage students to use their own "ladder" to their imagination as they are creating their wonderful narratives.