"When Governor DeWine closed schools, teachers everywhere, myself included, had to figure out a plan B.”

-Susan Tenon

by Susan Tenon

Like every other teacher across the state of Ohio, I had made plans for the spring semester. And just like my colleagues across the state, those plans did not involve teaching and learning remotely. But when Governor DeWine closed schools, teachers everywhere, myself included, had to figure out a plan B. My ELA 7 class was half way through our “Tools of the Trades” grant project in March when we were sent home for what eventually would be the remainder of the school year. The project involved inviting a published author and union carpenter, Darlene Glass, to my classroom to instruct the students in building their own writing toolboxes. In addition to the sawing and measuring needed to build a proper toolbox, students responded to writing prompts Ms. Glass provided and then met with her for individual conferences where she gave them feedback on their writing. The plan was for my students to build their own toolboxes and then fill their writing toolboxes with everything they would need to advance their writing skills such as notebooks, pens, and books they had chosen.

Covid-19 changed all of that.

When I heard that we would not be returning to school for the remainder of the school year, Darlene Glass and I had to figure out a way to finish this project. She volunteered to finish assembling the toolboxes for the students. I arranged for the toolboxes to be available for students to pick them up at school and finish the writing assignments at home. Once I received their writing responses, I organized a virtual writing conference with Darlene and the student writer via Google Hangout. The students are happy with the toolboxes and books for the summer. They are looking forward to decorating them and have already started reading their books. It wasn’t how I intended, but we made it work this year.

What about next year?

With so much uncertainty surrounding the 20-21 school year and the role distance learning will have, could a hands-on project that involves the principles of deep learning be possible? Darlene Glass thinks so, “Initially, I would conduct a virtual class to introduce the toolbox and the writing components. The students would have to be provided with everything they needed to assemble the toolbox at home.” Instead of solely in-person instruction at a certain time or location, she would post videos guiding the students through each step of the process. “That way, students could work on building their boxes whenever and wherever,” she said. From there she could conduct the writing instruction and conferences virtually. However next year looks, flexibility is going to be a key component.

Editor’s Note: Susan Tenon teaches middle school and high school ELA at Fairport Harding High School in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. She received a Grant-to-Educators from the Jennings Foundation in January 2020 for a project called “Tools of the Trade.” In describing the initiative, she writes: “In his memoir On Writing, Stephen King uses a toolbox as a metaphor for the writing process. Just like the actual toolbox he remembers from his childhood, King suggests writers should have a metaphorical toolbox of their own. He suggests writing toolboxes have three levels. The most common level is vocabulary and grammar, then comes style and finally the paragraph. Focusing on those foundational skills, while also reading A LOT, King says writers will move from being competent writers to good writers. My ELA 7 are going to explore King’s metaphor of the writing toolbox by inviting a published author and union carpenter, Darlene Glass, to lead students in a six-session project.”