March 15, 2024

Young writers at Gilles-Sweet Elementary spent time this year learning what it takes to be a successful writer, including the most exciting part: seeing their work in print.

Since the beginning of the school year, over 40 of Courtney Rushnok’s fifth grade students have been developing their writing skills. In February, the class celebrated the printing of their book, “Tales From Around the Class,” which featured their creative work from throughout the semester.

Rushnok’s first unit on writing focused on the writing community. Students explored a variety of writing styles and authors to determine what interested them the most. These writing styles included fiction, personal narratives, fairytales, poetry, and more. Students also read about how these writers continued to be successful in their craft.  

“With the writing community, it’s about introducing students to a variety of books and different stories,” Rushnok explained. “All the different books they read inspired us for things we could write about ourselves…the books helped inspire the ideas.”

The second unit examined the writing process. After selecting their favorite work from the first unit, Rushnok’s class built a framework for sharing, commenting, and constructively critiquing each other’s work. Some of the work included improving grammar and increasing vocabulary. Other parts focused on improving themes or structure in the story.

“It’s definitely a harder skill to grasp,” Rushnok added. “I gave them a feedback sheet. They had to read each other’s work, find something that they really enjoyed, something that they were still wondering about, and something they should add, edit or fix. We try to incorporate it into the piece we’ve already started and how we can add on or take away from it.”

After going through the writing process in teams and working with each other, students typed out their pieces to see what they looked like and applied any needed changes.

“This is like their third time writing it,” Rushnok added. “By then, most of the kinks had been fixed from the multiple edits, revisions, and readings.”

“Tales From Around the Class” represents this writing process and these students' creativity and vision. 

“One student, during writing time, came up with a character called Broccoli Man,” Rushnok stated. “He had a whole story for him; every day, he would add to this character. He would also incorporate students in the class, and if they said yes, he would add them into his story, too. When he found out he was going to be a published author, he knew he was going to use Broccoli Man.”

After finalizing their work, students submitted them for publication. In early February, the book was officially released in hardback and paperback, and students were able to purchase a copy. Generous donations from Gilles-Sweet families helped students who could not afford a book the ability to receive one.

"Making the class book was fun,” Lailani R., a fifth-grade student expressed. “Making different drafts and editing them was great. I feel it brought the class together. It was a fun class bonding experience."

“The process was good because it helps build teamwork when we looked for mistakes and thoughts about how to make it better," fifth-grader Zulei C. added.

"Honestly, it was very hard,” student Lanie B. explained. “I came up with my poem when I couldn't stay asleep at like 2 am. I couldn't keep my ideas to myself, and got my writing book and wrote some copies. I finally wrote 'My Wish.' Hard work pays off.”

“Some of the feedback I got from one family was that they were cracking up, laughing at the stories,” Rushnok said. “Not only is it bringing the families together to talk about what we’ve been doing, but now they can see what others are writing about and learning from them as well. It might even inspire them to write their own stories.”