Hemlock 8th Graders Author Children’s Books

Hemlock Middle School 8th-grade students in Ms. Ludlum’s enrichment class completed a project where they worked in small groups to make a children’s book for each of the students in Miss Kenny’s Young 5’s class.  

 

The 8th-grade students started off the unit by participating in several book reviews where they studied and analyzed various children’s books.  The students then reviewed how the dialogue was used in children’s books and how different authors used text to create a tone, mood, or show emphasis.  After this lesson, the students thought of a topic for their own children’s book and used different graphic organizers to plan out and organize their thoughts and ideas.  The 8th graders used the next several days to write or type their story, draw pictures, and put their book together.  After the books were completed, the students wrote a letter that would go home with the Y5 students that provided information about who wrote the book and why it was written.  

 

On Tuesday, February 5th, the 8th-grade students traveled to Hemlock Elementary School and read the children’s books that they had written to the Y5 student(s) that they were paired with.  The students spent time reading their book, talking about the topic, and getting to know each other.  At the end of the visit, Miss Kenny’s students were able to ask the 8th graders questions about the middle school, their day, interests, classes, etc.  The students did an amazing job representing our middle school.  

Principal, Terry Keyser said, “Our students did a fantastic job of studying the author’s craft, putting together books that young kids would want to have read to them, and then presenting their work to our Young 5’s students in ways that held their interest and made it fun for them.  I am very proud of their efforts.”