Mrs. Monroe’s first semester creative writing class worked on a unique and beneficial project.

 It is Monroe’s first year teaching creative writing, and she wanted to give her students a fun, hands-on assignment.  What she devised was a quarter-long project that taught her students how to publish a successful story.

Monroe’s students worked in small groups to create children’s stories. The group agreed on topics and worked together to complete their stories. By doing this, Monroe gave her students team building and group skills that are vital to success in school and work. Writing an actual story with the intent of being published also provided students with an incentive to create more developed characters, effective dialogue, and clear storylines.

After the groups finalized their stories, they met with the art classes and anonymously viewed several artists’ illustrations. After picking their favorite art style, the writers met with the art students and discussed what illustrations were needed. Once all the illustrations were received, the stories and drawings were sent to a company called Student Treasures. Student Treasures published their books for free, but gave students and parents an option to order books for themselves.

This project taught students skills beneficial to successful writing. Mrs. Monroe indicated that there is no better way to practice dialogue and character building than writing an actual book. Students also furthered their skills in grammar, teamwork, creativity, and consistency.

Overall, projects like these teach students skills that normal assignments can not. Mrs. Monroe’s second semester class has already started their stories, and will be published authors in the next few months. This project has inspired the creative writers to set big goals and work hard to accomplish them. Monroe states,“The point of creating stories like these is to have students step out of their comfort zones and do something that challenges them. They were so proud of their accomplishments. I want my students to know they can do anything they set their mind to, but they must be willing to struggle a little.”