IOWA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF - Iowa Association of the Deaf

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Write Me a Story
j
onathan Sanchez’s favorite
super hero is Spiderman. He
would like to be a chef when he
grows up.
And if Jonathan ever forgets
what he liked as an 8-year-old,
he can always refer to his book.
Sanchez and other 3rd and 4th
graders at ISD met with Jeanette
Watson’s high school English
students this fall. The high school
students traded a final exam
in Watson’s class for a project
demonstrating their knowledge of
sentence structure, plots, narratives
and other aspects of creative writing.
Books penned by her students,
decided Watson, would be the
perfect project to combine all those
elements.
Research for the books began with
pairing high school and elementary
students, so
Watson’s
students
could glean
information
about the
younger pupils
and create a
personalized
book for them. Elementary students
provided a piece of artwork for
inclusion in the book.
Cheyenne Terry, who was paired with
Sanchez, smiled as he recalled his
interviews with the younger boy. “He’s
very communicative, loves to talk– a
real social kid,” Terry said. Sanchez’s
book was about Spiderman. Although
the meetings went well, Terry said the
project was not simple.
“Writing a children’s book is
not as easy as you might think,
“he said. “They’ve got to be
8
The Iowa Hawkeye • Fall, 2010
The Iowa Hawkeye Issue 1, 2010/2011
Jonathan Sanchez and
junior Cheyenne Terry
discussed Sanchez’s
favorite super heros,
foods and pastimes.
Terry and his
classmates later wrote
books starring the
younger students.
direct and use simple words,
and can’t be as descriptive
as you would want it to be
for an adult.”
Watson experienced satisfaction
as she watched the projects
evolve. “The elementary students
look up to the high school
students and were in awe,” she
said. “My students exceeded my
expectations. They were very
involved and did a great job.”