10/30/2026
It's spooky season! And students in EDC 455 recently dealt with an unexpected guest. The visiting arachnid was more than just decor. Students in the writing methods class were tasked with investigating the spider and its web through an assigned disciplinary perspective.
Taking on the roles of scientists, historians, mathematicians, journalists, engineers, civic leaders, and creative writers, groups of students investigated and documented their findings about the spider's appearance in their classroom. They considered various questions to guide their investigations, what kinds of evidence they could gather, and how their disciplinary perspectives influenced their research and writing.
The scientists hypothesized that the spider had escaped from a science lab in the building; the mathematicians calculated the size of the web; the historians investigated the web's origins and estimated the age of the spider (as old as URI?!); the engineers plotted out a plan to return the spider to the lab; the civic leaders addressed safety concerns; and the creative writers drafted a short nightmarish story.
"A scientist, historian, mathematician, and journalist might investigate the exact same event, but they would ask different questions, look for different evidence, and communicate their thinking differently," says Chrissy Johansen, assistant teaching professor of elementary education, who teaches the course. "Writing changes depending on the discipline, the purpose, and the audience."
The guest spider provided an engaging, hands-on activity to demonstrate to students how they can teach about disciplinary writing, an important skill to pass along to their own students. Understanding the various fields of reading and writing helps young readers and writers to apply the appropriate lenses when engaging (whether reading or writing) with text.
Thanks, spooky spider, for your visit and assistance with this lesson! 🕸🕷🕸
