Mrs. Joanne DeShetler’s Chardon High School grade eight English I Honors students have embarked on a special book project with Park Elementary School kindergarten students.
CHS and Park Book Project
Mrs. Joanne DeShetler’s Chardon High School grade eight English I Honors students have embarked on a special book project with Park Elementary School kindergarten students. The high school and Park students met each other for the first time on Sept. 9 in the elementary school’s auditorium via one-on-one interviews wherein the older students gathered basic information about the kindergartners via a fun questionnaire.
Questions included birthday/age, pets, favorite subjects, favorite foods and more. The high school students are currently using the personalized information from these interviews to create fictional stories.
“The students enjoyed meeting their kindergarten partners and are now working diligently to create stories based around the interests of their child,” said Mrs. DeShetler. “The stories must follow the plot outline and contain a conflict and an appropriate theme. The students are also implementing writing strategies that they have practiced in class, such as dialogue, literary devices, and imagery. Students will then peer edit each other’s work and give constructive feedback before making the final product.”
Upon completion of the storybooks, the two grades will meet up again for high school students to read their stories to the kindergartners and present the books to them as gifts to take home and keep.
The project, now an annual tradition of Mrs. DeShetler’s and in its third consecutive year at CHS, originated with her many years ago when she was teaching at another school district.
She said it is always a little difficult for the high school students to part with the books after investing so much time into the project, but it is always worth it in the end.
The benefits of this project are far reaching. Mrs. DeShetler said she will often receive feedback from kindergarten parents that the book became their child’s favorite book or they insisted on having their parents read it to them before bed every night.
“The eighth-graders put forth much thought and effort in these books,” said Mrs. DeShetler.
National Merit Recognition
Chardon Schools is proud to have four Chardon High School seniors recognized as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists for the 2019-20 school year. Congratulations to Lauren Dvorak, Natalie Fullerman, Kelly Holl and Ashley Tice on their outstanding achievements.
The district also applauds seniors Natalie Dumm and Karlie Pirnat on their recognition as National Merit commended students.
Munson Book Chat
Book Chat is a regular enrichment installment in the second-grade classroom of Mrs. Leigh Ann Ferguson. It provides an opportunity for kids who love a book to share about it with the whole class. First, they tell a little about the book without spoiling the best parts. Next, they explain to the class why they loved the book. And lastly, they read a short passage that was especially meaningful to them.
Second-grader Thomas Adair gave the first book chat for the 2019-2020 school year, sharing with peers his love of the book called “The Kingdom of Fantasy” by Geronimo Stilton.
Mrs. Ferguson said book chat gets other kids excited about the book and models a love of reading.
“After a child or I book chat about a certain book, it flies off the shelf,” said Ferguson. “I usually end up purchasing more copies of the book just to satisfy their desire. Thank you, Thomas, for giving our first book chat this year.”
Park Mystery Readers
Each Friday, Park Elementary School kindergarten teacher Amy Ridgeway has a different guest, either a parent or staff member, visit the class to read one or two books to the class. For parents, the Mystery Reader program provides them with a chance to explore their child’s world and see their child in a school setting.
In addition to parents, the Mystery Reader program has been host to staff members as well.
“It is always a pleasure when I can snag Superintendent Michael Hanlon to be our first reader for the year,” said Mrs. Ridgeway. “This year he read ‘Try a Little Kindness: A Guide to Being Better’ by Henry Cole.”
