6th Graders on 9&10 News!

Some of our 6th graders will be featured on 9&10 News' "The Four" in a series of several segments that showcase their writing talents! These segments will be posted over the course of a week, and as soon as we know when they will air, we will pass along the information so that you can tune in!

Here's the background information on our writing assignment and why our students have been chosen for the show! I wish we could have had more students join in....their "This I Believe" writings were so heartfelt, and fun to read!

'This I Believe' is an essay project that had a four year run on NPR. Writers from all walks of life wrote essays and created podcasts that centered around the writer's core beliefs that guided their daily lives. You can check it out on NPR & ThisIBelieve.org We found these essays to be really engaging for our students and it sparked a lot of ideas and conversations. From there, students wrote their own essays based off of their own core values.

This project was part of our personal narrative unit that kicked off our school year in English Language Arts (ELA). We used it as a "get to know you" writing assignment so that I could get to know my students better, and also gauge their initial writing abilities coming in to 6th grade. Mrs. Schaefer used it for her class at the end of the Personal Narrative unit as a free write. In the classroom, we wanted to students to write for their peers and teachers so that we could get to know them better. We held a gallery walk and students practiced giving their peers meaningful feedback to help encourage the author, validate what they did well as a writer, and even challenge their thinking/open up a little bit of a debate at times. We found that many of the students had really great beliefs/values, they displayed strong writing skills for 6th grade, and we wanted to be able to share their writing beyond our classroom walls. As teachers, we know that is is important for our writers to have an audience in order to make their writing really meaningful. Writing for parents, teachers, and classmates is one thing, but writing for a larger audience beyond our classroom walls brings a new meaning to writing & revising with a purpose.

It is easy for this generation to be seen as 'gamers' and 'YouTubers', because that is what is popular right now in their free time. We are so fortunate to be able to see our students in a different light - where they are writers, critical thinkers, and young adults that are forming their core beliefs based on the wonderful teachings of their families, friends, teachers, coaches, and other important people in their life. We are excited to share what we see in the classroom with our whole community!