Jenna DePollo

Professor Campbell

WRDS 1104

13 September 2021

How-to Not Write a How-to

Learning to read and write was a very exciting part of my childhood. I finally got to put

everything I wanted to say on paper, and it would make sense! Reading books like Junie B. Jones

or Magic Tree House were no longer just words on a page, they were little movies that would

play in my head. I would sit there and create ideas of what I thought the characters would look

like. It was all so fascinating. One of my favorite memories of learning to write was whenever I

was in first grade. My teacher would teach us how to properly write and be descriptive.

My first grade teachers name was Mrs. Loper. All I remember about her at the time was

that she was really pregnant. Back then I really didn’t know what that meant, I just assumed she

had some big ball under her shirt. She was one of my favorite teachers and really seemed to take

an interest in everyone. It was around the middle of the school year and everyone in my class had

a solid group of friends that they would travel around with. It was different from high school and

college where with each class everyone is different. I liked the fact that in elementary school I

got to see the same kids everyday, it almost felt like a family. Our class days were split up into

four different time chunks for each subject. Reading and writing was at the beginning of the day.

I walked into the classroom that day with my sparkly Justice backpack and uncoordinated

outfit excited to learn something new that day. We all sat down at our tables, and doodled as we

waited for Mrs. Loper to give us instructions on what we were going to do. She handed out

worksheets that were blank and titled with how-to make hot chocolate. “Seemed easy enough,” I
thought to myself. I chatted with people at my table as Mrs. Loper made her way to the front of

the classroom. Mrs Loper clapped and said, “Good morning everyone!” The whole class yelled

back, “Good morning!” with the same excitement. She then went on to explain what we were

doing for the day. “Today we are writing our own how-to’s on making hot chocolate, and then we

will actually get to make some.” The whole class squealed with joy. She lined up all the

ingredients and utensils that we would use in order to make the hot chocolate. Including: red solo

cups, packets of hot chocolate mix, mini marshmallows, a gallon of milk, plastic spoons, and a

microwave. She then said, “Okay class, I will give you 10 minutes to write down the instructions

for how to make hot chocolate on your how-to sheets, and then I will come around and follow

your instructions.”

Everyone laughed because it seemed so easy. After the giggling died down, we all

proceeded to pick up our pencils and start writing. The class didn’t even take 5 minutes to finish

writing because it seemed pretty self-explanatory. We all watched as Mrs. Loper walked up to the

first student and followed her written instructions. As Mrs. Loper read, she did EXACTLY what

the girl wrote down. “Put the milk in the cup.” Mrs. Loper then placed the gallon of milk on top

of the cup. Everyone looked puzzled and laughed. Mrs. Loper said, “The instructions told me to

put the milk in the cup, so I did.” Everyone then frantically started erasing what they wrote down

and started over, attempting to be more descriptive this time. One by one, Mrs. Loper made her

way around the classroom and followed everyone's how-to’s.

I would write instructions down, only to erase them 30 seconds later after watching

someone make the same mistakes I did. Mrs. Loper was almost at my table and I was pretty

hopeful that my how-to was perfect. Finally, it was my turn and she picked up my paper and

started making the hot chocolate. She read off my paper, “pour milk in the cup.” She picked up
the gallon of milk and tipped it over the red solo cup, only for nothing to come out. I sat there for

a second and then it hit me, I forgot to write unscrew the cap to the milk!! She looked at me and

said, “Give it another try Jenna, I’ll be right back.” Again and again I heard the same, “Give it

another try Jenna, I’ll be right back.” Slowly I started to get frustrated with myself because I

couldn’t figure out how I kept messing up. All of the sudden more and more kids started to enjoy

their hot chocolate, as I sat there burning the eraser off my pencil. Finally she came back up to

me and read my how-to over again. In my mind I thought, “So far so good...” Mrs. Loper got to

the end of my how-to and there was a steaming cup of hot chocolate sitting in front of me. “Well

done Jenna, I knew you could do it.” I smiled from ear to ear. I was so proud of myself for finally

completing it correctly. For the rest of writing class, I sat there with my friends and finished my

hot chocolate.

Mrs. Loper grabbed our attention by clapping three times. Everyone looked up and she

said, “Everyone did such an amazing job today.” Then she proceeded to say, “I know it was

challenging in the beginning but, now don’t you see why it is so important to be descriptive with

our writing? As you all continue to write I want you to remember this activity.” The whole class

nodded in agreement and she smiled back at us. Even though that assignment was frustrating at

the time and made me want to give up, I never let myself. It made me realize that writing was

fun, and hell I could even get hot chocolate out of it. I loved how my teacher made learning fun

and interactive, I think that's why that story has stuck with me for so long. It made me realize

that I can do anything I put my mind to.