April 26, 2001
There is a hole in the story
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
There was something missing in stories that were told to fifth graders throughout the county schools Wednesday.
Author Nathan Levy was there to help them find the missing pieces on their own.
Levy, the author of three book series, encouraged youngsters as well as their teacher to unlock the creative thinker inside of them. He used one of his "stories with holes'' to spur the children to think beyond their own preconceived boundaries. His visit was hosted by the North Central Ohio Educational Service Center's Gifted and Talented program.
During a morning session at Republic Elementary, Levy revved up his audience by asking them to guess some things about him.
"What do you think I do for a full time job?'' Levy asked them. Answers varied, including those of author and teacher. However, Levy is a principal, watching over 1,200 students in an elementary building of fifth and sixth graders. It took awhile for the students to guess his next question, concerning where he was from. Levy lives and works in Princeton, N.J.
He then read one of his stories to the youngsters.
"I will read it aloud and you try to figure it out by asking questions,'' he explained. "You find out the answer by asking yes and no questions.''
The story read was, "The man was afraid to go home because the man with the mask was there.''
Excited children's hands started shooting up in the air at the chance to solve the puzzle.
"Was it his wife?'' one asked.
"No,'' responded Levy.
"Was it furry?'' a young girl asked.
After several more minutes, another boy queried as to the mask's color. Another helped determine that he mask was used to protect the wearer's face.
When the children hit a snag in the questioning, Levy encouraged them by reviewing what they had learned so far. Finally, after almost 15 minutes of trying, one boy guessed correctly that it was a catcher's mask. The man afraid to go home was the runner on the opposing team who was on third base.
He asked several students to stand up and repeat the answer to the "hole'' in the story. Looking towards the teachers present, Levy told them that he was checking the students for understanding.
"When the man was on third base, in regulation baseball, how far was the man from home base?'' Levy asked the students. "How far is it between the bases?'' he asked again, testing their knowledge of regulation baseball.
After the children heard that it was 90 feet, Levy had them extrapolate this knowledge further, by having them figure out the distance if a runner ran all of the bases.
"See, stories with holes can be kind of interesting,'' he said. "I just shared some information with you that most of you will sit here and not pay attention to at all.''
"Yet two or three of you will,'' Levy added. "If you pay real close attention to what I say, I can almost promise that you will do better in school.''
He told them there were two kinds of thinking: divergent or creative thinking; and convergent thinking.
Levy then gave the students a test in "cultural literacy,'' or what every child should know by the time he or she is nine years old.
"When I was a principal, I created this test,'' he said. "And every kid in our school had to take it at the beginning of the second grade. The passing grade was 100 percent and they had to keep taking it until they passed.''
Among the questions Levy asked them from his book, "Basic Knowledge for Every American Over 9 years old,'' were how many original colonies there were in the U.S., the name of a continent, and what states the cities of Dallas, San Francisco and Miami are in.
"These are things you need to know when you go out in the world,'' he said. "You need to know these so that people don't wonder where you received your education.''
For teachers, he recommended constant repetition of basic facts.
"They need constant drill and practice,'' he suggested. "If students don't know cultural diversity, you need to go over it and over it.''
He also stressed the use of voice to keep the student's interest, and to encourage them to try harder to solve the problem themselves.
"My belief in their ability to do this was so pivotal,'' Levy said of the story. "By just keeping them doing it, the next time it will be easier for them.''
Levy had been a principal for more than 30 years and has recently retired. He said he will be talking to students, parents and educators during nearly 100 programs this year. He has written three series of books, "Stories With Holes,'' "Who Am I?'' and "Intriguing Questions,'' totaling 36 titles.
During his two day area visit, Levy also spoke to area educators and parents in two separate workshops hosted by the North Central Ohio Educational Service Center.