“They are so heartfelt, sometimes sad and sometimes hilarious,” Diane Berner, Hawthorne teacher, said about her young first grade authors who recently met a variety of literacy standards by writing and publishing fiction stories to share with an audience. Students created characters, settings and problems and wrote and typed the story, as well as illustrated each page. The students also included a dedication and a personal biography.
“This is a huge project, but the final products are always amazing,” Diane Berner, Hawthorne teacher, said. “When is a good time to learn how to write dialogue? When you want your characters to talk. The standards mean more when applied to an authentic task.”
Berner invited KCSD instructional coach Candy Berquam and Hawthorne Principal Meghan Davis to attend when the young authors read their stories.
“It’s hard to type,” Caris Higbie, Hawthorne student, said about writing. But “I liked reading my story.” Katherine Houseweart, another Hawthorne student, also said, “I liked naming the characters.”