Roadtripping & Writing: On the Road by Lisa Laker

Roadtripping & Writing:

On the Road  

By Lisa Laker

Lisa.Laker@ftcsc.org 

Franklin Central High School

 Indianapolis, IN

“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road…” (Kerouac).  Need an engaging lesson in the days leading up to fall or spring break?  Kerouac’s On the Road is your answer. Before each fall and spring break in my one-semester, Dual Credit Creative Writing course, I introduce an “On the Road” mini-unit. Students are challenged to write–and even excited for– the end-product: a 120-foot scroll the class creates describing a cross country roadtrip where the rules of writing are challenged to reflect the Beat Generation and Kerouac’s style. 

 “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn” (Kerouac). Because this class consists of all seniors, they are of driving age and find that adventure is on their horizons, too. When the 120-feet of scroll is finally written, assembled, read-aloud, and then rolled up—there is a ruckus of cheers in our hallway! It is such a celebration of writing, adventure, and excitement for our upcoming break. No one misses the day before break–they want to be a part of the final product.

The creative possibilities of this mini-unit are limitless.  “...there was nowhere to go but everywhere” (Kerouac). Enjoy! 

Listed below is our timeline with links as well as photos. 

Pre-Unit/Materials:

• Our school media center staff will cut bulletin-board paper into however many sections you need to make 120 feet of scroll. For example, with 25 students, they each get 4.8 feet of paper to write on during the unit. 

• I order mini cars and rulers for each student. 

• My Dad makes a scroll dial to mimic Kerouac’s iconic piece of writing. I saw it on display at the American Writers Museum in Chicago–pretty cool!  If you don’t have a woodworking friend, you can just roll up your paper in scroll form or McGuyver it. 

Unit Goals:

11-12.W.3: Students will use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, settings

11-12.CC.3: Students will expand conversations by posing and responding to text  that probes,  challenges ideas, and promotes divergent thinking and creative perspectives.

Day 1/45 minutes:

• Hook: Students write down a city or spot in the U.S. they’d love to road trip to and visit and throw it into a basket. Examples have included NYC, the Grand Canyon, Seattle, Zion National Park, etc. 

• Lesson: Introduce Kerouac’s model text, On the Road. Note stream of consciousness, first person POV, and imagery writing techniques.

• Students draw their road trip destination spot from the basket! I play Willie Nelson’s On the Road Again as students get their surprise writing destination. If you want to use actual locations from the book instead of having kids brainstorm them, here ‘ya go! 

• Practice: Students model Kerouac’s use of imagery, and post on Padlet a) a picture of their destination; b) at least 4-5 lines focusing on imagery and first person POV stream-of-consciousness. 

• Closing: students fill out an exit ticket by quoting developed imagery from their peers’ Padlet posts. Ex. “We could smell the musky thick air and could hardly see through the river’s fog..”

Day 2/45 minutes:

• Optional Hook: Students are given their own little “On the Road” car I purchase from Amazon. We have a drag race in the hall to see whose car makes it the farthest. 

• Fun Fact Hook: Student glean this article. Did you know that the Indianapolis Colts owner, Jim Irsay, owns The Kerouac Scroll?

• Supplies distributed: Students receive their scroll paper (about 4.8 feet) to make 120 feet total in the class. They measure 2” per line with their rulers, so everyone is writing the same amount. I play Dierks Bentley’s Free & Easy when they are getting their paper in order for mood music. 

• Writing time: They begin writing with these requirements: a) Imagery describing your destination is highly developed; b) first person, stream-of-consciousness point of view is highly evident; c) Dean (from original text) or a buddy must be a side-kick on your adventure; d) transitions are highly evident. Students are encouraged to edit, cross out, and revise as they go—because Kerouac did, too! 

Day 3/90 minutes long block

• Students are given 30 minutes to complete their writing.

• The last hour of class, we assemble the scroll to make 120 continuous feet of manuscript writing by taping together each part (Kerouac taped 120 feet of paper for a continuous typewriter feed)! We take a “scroll walk” and each person reveals their destination and their best 2-3 lines in a read-aloud. We take photos, and the kids cheer when we roll the scroll and close it all up! It really is such a fun writing occasion, and students are excited for their own fall/spring break adventures! 

The Process: (*students gave permission to have their pictures used in this blog)

The Product: