Umpqua Valley Arts Association
Arts in Education
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Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse (Mess with Words)
About the Artist
Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse is the founding director of the award-winning Young Writers Association, as well as a storyteller and a poet.
For over 15 years, Louisa has provided standards-based literary arts education in classrooms, for teacher groups, to teachers-in-training coursework at the University of Oregon, and as community enrichment.
She also publishes UpStarts,a creative writing journal for school aged youth, and produces a poetry program on KLCC called Mixed Voices, featuring young voices and aired once a month.
Grade Levels
K-8
Teaching Objectives
Inspired by classic literature, biography, and/or folktales, students engage in creative problem solving with an interdisciplinary approach which encourages higher order thinking, using different modes of thought and a playful, investigative approach to writing.
Sharing her love for words, imagination and the adventure of learning, Louisa threads four strands of arts education into her residencies:
- cultural/historical context
- terminology/technique
- expressive outcomes
- responding to creative work (aesthetics/arts criticism).
Residencies
Louisa's residencies focus on developing voice and mood to communicate meaning as learners play with word choice and structure for vivid writing. She designs unit themes which teachers may choose to link to classroom curriculum.
Mess with Words Residencies: Students practice creative problem-solving in literary arts labs. They write, tell, illustrate, and use physical theatre to explore, both solo and in teams. Experimentation is key as they test different writing tips and prepare for publishing.
Some recent themes: (Louisa is open to suggestion for others)
- Ancient Greece
- Leonardo
- Shakespeare
- Mark Twain
- The Jabberwocky
- Flight
- Quests
- Stones/Bones/Dirt
- Edison
- Creatures
- Pirates
- Folktales from Around the World
Staff Development
Louisa is available for staff development in several ways, including:
1.) Take it from Here: Looking at core ideas and links to classroom subject matter, design open-ended lessons that continue practicing the expressive skills of the residency. Learn to build in criteria- how will you assess the expressive work?
2.) Tremendous Triads: Practice noticing connections between two subjects, then strengthen learning by linking shared ideas and vocabulary to an expressive arts lesson.
3.) Play with Words Active arts labs for teachers who would like more creative play in their lives. Creative Writing, Drama, Physical Theatre, Storytelling… be serious, silly and educationally sound.
Facility/Supplies
No additional supplies are required other than standard school materials and a willingness to let the imagination soar.
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