Year 8 Storybooks
"Wow! I never thought I'd be able to finish something like that…but I actually wrote a good book!"
In June 2022, Ms Wallenborn's Year 8 English class held a display of their storybooks. One student exclaimed, "Everyone worked really hard on their books to make sure we finished on time for the display, and it was so good". Although some felt nervous, they were proud to display their hard work, delighting in "the cool and creative things others had made." Students also discovered that they could write an effective story when they took the time to apply what they had learnt and drafted their work.
But, creating a narrative and images was only a small part of this task. Students were surprised to find that writing a book was a "long, hard, process" which developed their soft skills including persistence, organisation, and accepting and applying feedback.
So, the students happily took their books home, having learnt transferable skills that should stand them in good stead for future challenges.
"To see the amount of work that our students put into the books was amazing! The stories were encouraging, positive, inspiring, informative and extremely well done! Well done to all involved." - Mr Glossop
"An awesome project! I loved reading these creative, illustrated stories. Well done Ms Wallenborn's class. Stay creative and don't be afraid to put your creative thoughts into words." - Mr Chadwick
Student quotes:
"I felt proud and got feedback to make my book better."
"I learnt that little things like dialogue and details are so important in a story."
"It was fun to plan and prepare the display together, making signs and displaying the books under categories."
"All the books had a good message/life lesson."
"I learned how to build tension, follow narrative structure and write dialogue."
"I had to write so many drafts but it ended up being worth it."
"I thought it was a great idea to let us share what we created with other people."
"I wanted to see what others had made, and their creativity."
"I actually enjoyed reading all the other books."
"I was surprised it went so smoothly. It was clean and organised."
