Education

Spill and Thrill

August 12, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Throughout his childhood, Steve Tutunick hated writing. That’s why he teaches it.

“As kids, we never learned how to write—you were just told nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and that was really it,” says the educator, who teaches 4th grade at Hunter’s Creek Elementary School in Orlando, Florida. But in his class, writing is more than the sum of its parts. It’s about expressing things animatedly. “I want to laugh, I want to cry, I want to have some kind of emotion when I’m reading these papers.”

Steve Tutunick's students learn writing in a way his boyhood teachers wouldn't recognize: Set aside sentence diagrams and act out a narrative.

To that end, Tutunick’s students learn writing in a way his boyhood teachers wouldn’t recognize: Set aside sentence diagrams and act out a narrative. Use the karaoke machine for accompaniment if it helps. Reach blindly into a box and write a story involving the voodoo doll, the lava lamp, and the Eiffel Tower model you pull out. Play Writing Roulette, rotating an image among three peers and yourself to produce four interrelated stories.

The suite of tactics seems to work, even for the wary. “I couldn’t stand writing in the 3rd grade,” notes student Chad Prom. But now, he adds, “I have five stories at home that I’m working on just because it’s fun.”

And making writing enjoyable, his teacher says, is the key to making it good. “I have kids in here that literally write like adults,” Tutunick exults. “If I had some of them in here with their parents, they could outwrite them.”

Still, Tutunick sees a shadow hovering over his burgeoning writers once they leave his classroom. He knows what the creativity-quashing combination of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and the 5th grade’s shift away from writing instruction can do to a child’s prose. So he’s now creating a teacher kit to help replicate his program in other classes. “It’s really sad to see them work so hard all year to get to a certain point, and it kind of goes downhill,” he explains.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Inside PLCs: Proven Strategies from K-12 Leaders
Join an expert panel to explore strategies for building collaborative PLCs, overcoming common challenges, and using data effectively.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Making Science Stick: The Engaging Power of Hands-On Learning
How can you make science class the highlight of your students’ day while
achieving learning outcomes? Find out in this session.
Content provided by LEGO Education
Teaching Profession Key Insights to Elevate and Inspire Today’s Teachers
Join this free half day virtual event to energize your teaching and cultivate a positive learning experience for students.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz News Quiz: Feb. 6, 2025: Reading Scores | Curriculum | Trump 'Indoctrination' Order | and More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of books on a shelf.
Illustration by Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva
Education Briefly Stated: February 5, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Quiz News Quiz: Jan. 30, 2025: Interim Ed. Dept. Leader | Navigating Immigration Policies | Teacher Evaluations | And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
President Donald Trump speaks in Emancipation Hall after the 60th Presidential Inauguration on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. His administration's order to pause potentially trillions of dollars in federal spending this week sent school districts scrambling to figure out which funds might be halted.
President Donald Trump speaks in Emancipation Hall after the 60th Presidential Inauguration on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. His administration's order to pause potentially trillions of dollars in federal spending this week sent school districts scrambling to figure out which funds might be halted.
Al Drago/AP
Education Briefly Stated: January 29, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read