Kaleigh Hall’s first grade students from Tara Elementary School researched and wrote their first books, mostly about animals such as sharks and chicks.
The class visited the library, read National Geographic books in their classroom, and gathered information online.
Students made the colorful illustrations themselves and created 3D animals for display in the classroom.
On Thursday, students held a publishing party and invited Mrs. Wolfe’s fifth grade class to celebrate.
Older students listened intently and asked questions of their younger counterparts. We spoke to them about the experience.
Valentina thinks this will inspire the kids to become authors. Her favorite part was meeting the students.
Fifth grader Ariella said it was nice to see the younger students smiling and learning.
Kassandra loved watching the young writers. “They put a lot of hard work and effort into them,” she said. “It was nice to see the final projects.”
An innovative board outside Mrs. Hall’s classroom displays photos, along with a QR code linked to a video of the young authors.
“I thought it was cool for all the teachers, paras, admin and volunteers to be able to scan and hear the sweet voices reading their books,” she said.
Mrs. Hall says this research project was particularly motivating for students and plans to keep it going every year.
This project is impacting the first-graders’ learning and development, improving their reading, writing, speaking and research skills. It’s going to help them in the future too.
“This is such a good tool for students to apply in everyday situations,” she said. “If they own it and know how to find the answers, ask hard questions, and know where to go for resources – they won’t stop. They’re very excited.”
Watch this #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews video to hear more: