In early October, 8th Grade Honors students from Benjamin Franklin Middle School walked down to Memorial Elementary to read stories the the kindergarten and first grade. These stories are special - not only did the eighth graders write the children’s book, it was also illustrated by them.
The stories that were told ranged from making friends to feeling lonely. The students were prompted by their art teacher, Karyn Wenger, to start with a message and then try to relate to the message to create a powerful storyline. Each student then created characters and developed characteristics that would be enjoyed by the kindergarten and first grade audience.
From there, they spent 6 weeks developing each page and deciding what type of medium they would be using. Throughout the 7-week program, they had peer critiques and checkpoints had to be met. It was amazing and fun to see the 8th grade students read their own stories and have their audience get excited. Walking back from Memorial I was proud to hear them giddy with comments like, “They gave me a high five”.
Sometimes the roles can be reversed, and the kindergarten and first graders were very excited to see the older kids come read. Overall my eighth graders were just as excited to hear the response from the kindergarten and first graders be proud of the books.