Attention Mr. Spielberg! Yes, that Mr. Spielberg! Unfortunately, your invitation to the second grade’s publishing party at Friends Academy was lost in the mail. But you weren’t forgotten. One boy dedicated his debut book to his dog, Luna, and “the creator of Jaws.”
His book was about piranhas, not sharks, and he’s never seen Jaws (which is good parenting). But that he’s even discovering such a master storyteller at his age speaks to the heart of the writing curriculum in Mrs. Sara Weinstein and Mrs. Paige Atwood’s classes.
After finishing his nonfiction book about piranhas, the boy was inspired to keep writing, researching, and learning more. He wondered if it would be possible to go beyond the realm of nonfiction and write “a scary story about an animal, like a shark.” In support of the brainstorming, his parents casually mentioned the movie Jaws, which they said will remain on the watch-later list until he’s ready for a much bigger boat.
This student wasn’t the only one who wanted to dig in and keep writing — which Mrs. Weinstein and Mrs. Atwood both attribute to a new way of helping their students become published authors.
In the past, students had to write everything by hand, which meant muscle fatigue often dictated how many drafts students could produce (very few!). This year, the teachers implemented a hybrid approach with hand-drawn elements and technology, which empowered students to keep iterating their stories with the Book Creator app.
“They had to draw elements by hand,” Mrs. Weinstein says. “We wanted to make sure parts of this project were still done with paper and pencil so they had that traditional experience. But the digital part allowed them to keep making edits — to fix mistakes and add new details. They took ownership over their books in ways that we have never seen before.”
Says Mrs. Atwood: “This is the first year that we did this project digitally and they loved it. It really sparked their love of writing. They kept asking if they could do more and more.”
Students were assigned to research and write about animals: narwhals, jaguars, jellyfish, howler monkeys, anacondas, macaws, piranhas, capybaras, and arctic foxes. On a recent Wednesday morning, they read their books aloud in front of the class (with parents in attendance).
“This is a research and writing project, but the presentation skills are just as important,” Mrs. Atwood says. “It’s not easy to stand up in front of a room full of people, but it’s a skill that they’re all developing. It’s never too early to start building confidence with public speaking.”
Beyond their books, students also read their author bio pages aloud. They shared that they want to grow up and become a doctor, an engineer, a teacher, a singer, a football player, a designer, a zoologist, an actor, a ninja, a fisherman, and a famous video game player.
With gusto, one student shared that he wants to be a combination of an F1 driver and a spy agent. The room erupted with laughter, and Mrs. Weinstein later quipped: “Now that sounds like the beginning of a new Spielberg movie.”
Photos by Alvin Caal / Friends Academy
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