MANSFIELD — Liesl Shurtliff likes to start her writing workshops upside down.
Shurtliff, a children’s book author and mother of four, told the students at Mifflin Elementary that she can do a handstand. Then she leaned forward, aligned her forearms in a V-shape on the floor and pushed her feet off the floor and into the air.
It’s a trick Shurtliff uses to demonstrate a key writing principle — it’s more powerful to show the reader something than to simply tell them.
“If we show these things, rather than tell them, it’s going to make us feel more connected and in the moment of our story,” Shurtliff said, standing at the white board in the Mifflin Elementary art room.
Then she turned to write a sentence on the board: “He was a grumpy old man.”
“Now, that’s not a wrong sentence,” she began. “You can start any story with, ‘He was a grumpy old man’ and that would be fine. But how can we show that someone is a grumpy old man?”
Tiny hands shot into the air. Students shouted out their answers, their voices occasionally overlapping as their ideas and excitement bubbled up inside them.
The old man stomps, one suggested. He moves slowly, with a walking stick, called out another.
He stays inside all day, playing Fortnite and interacting only with his cat. He has a saggy old face that looks like a blob fish.
Next, Shurtliff asked the students to think about why the old man might be grumpy.
It didn’t take long for students to come up with a litany of tragic backstories: He’s lonely. All of his family has died. He has nobody to talk to. He ran out of Cheerios and Cheerios are all he eats.
Visit part of schoolwide One School, One Book initiative
In addition to offering workshops, Shurtliff spoke to students about fairy tales and signed their books. Her visit was part of the Mifflin’s One School, One Book program.
For the last five months, the school’s staff, students and their families have been reading through Shurtliff’s book Rump: The (Fairly) True Tale of Rumpelstiltskin. Each family received a copy of the book. Students and staff were asked to read a chapter at home each week, while teachers incorporated assignments and activities themed around the book.
“I had read it to my students in previous years and they always loved it,” said Stephanie Bistline, a second grade teacher at Mifflin.
“It’s a mix of different fairy tales. It doesn’t really mention the fairy tales, but if you know your fairy tales, you know how they’re kind of intertwined.”
This is Mifflin’s second year running a One School, One Book program. Eastview Elementary also does one.
“I think it creates a common language across all grade levels. Not just with kids but with the staff as well,” Bistline said.
“Our janitor has loved the book and we’ve had some conversations about the book that I might not have had otherwise.”
First grade teacher Jennifer Porter said her students often aren’t able to read the selected titles on their own, but that reinforces one of the primary goals of One School, One Book — getting families to read together.
“I think my favorite part is just watching first graders enjoy chapter books,” she said. “Just because you can’t read it, doesn’t mean that you can understand it and enjoy it.”
Literacy night brings community together
Mifflin finished up the book this week and celebrated with a literacy night on Thursday. Students and their families walked the halls, decorated with images of castles and fairies. Gold tassels adorned one hallway. Sheets of green and brown construction paper twisted into trees transformed another into a forest.
Teachers said students have been looking forward to the event for months after last year’s One School, One Book kickoff.
“‘Is this going to be like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory night?’ I’ve heard that a lot,” Bistline said.
Principal Nathan Stump said the program helps get students excited about reading.
“Last year, it wasn’t until the literacy night where they were able to see it all come together and really understand how powerful reading is,” Stump said. “This year once we said it was coming, it was an immediate buy in for the kids.”
He said his favorite thing about One School, One Book is seeing the community come together for literacy night.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a kindergartener, it doesn’t matter if you are the oldest staff member of the building,” he said. “We are all united around one common thing. It’s a celebration of education.”
