Chapter 6: Telling the Story
The Crumpled Paper Coloring Page
"It's okay to make mistakes. Just try again!"
A bin full of crumpled paper. The character looks determined.
About this page
The bin is overflowing with crumpled paper, but look at that face, pure determination. This page tells children the truth about writing, and about research in general, that good work almost never comes out right the first time. Every crumpled ball is evidence of trying, and trying again is the whole game. That resilient spirit is the same one that powers science fair success later on. By making the messy middle visible and even a little funny, the page turns mistakes from something to hide into something to color.
The research skill
The wastebasket is overflowing, and the bunny is crumpling yet another page with a determined face. This is revision: trying a version, judging what does not work, and making a better one. Researchers revise their writing many times before anyone else reads it, and each discarded draft teaches them something about what they really want to say. In Chapter 6, revision is what turns a messy first attempt into a clear report. At school, your child will see the same cycle as "rough copy, good copy," and in sketching before painting.
Try it at home
Try a three-draft drawing. Ask your child to draw one object from the room, like a chair or a mug, on scrap paper in one minute. Look at it together and pick one thing to improve, such as the number of legs or the shape of the handle. Draw it again, then once more with one more change. Lay all three drafts side by side, and instead of throwing them away, talk about what got better each time. The pile is proof of learning.
Talk about it while you color
- How many crumpled papers can you count in the bin?
- What do you think was written on the paper that got crumpled first?
- What is something you kept practicing until you got it right?