Kindergarten students at MDS recently hosted their fifth publishing party. The students finished another unit in their writer’s workshop on how-to books. They learned all about the genre and then each student wrote and illustrated his or her own how-to book. A few of the many topics included how to train a puppy, how to build with LEGO and how to play soccer. Each student had the opportunity to sit in the author’s chair and share his or her finished book with friends and teachers.

“Using a curriculum that builds upon skill-based learning, our students learn to write authentic stories and develop independence as writers,” said Literacy Coordinator Julie Averbuch. “Celebrating early childhood authors is about giving our students, and their writing, a chance to reflect and acknowledge their individual achievements.”

Both the process itself and sharing the finished books were exciting for the students. “You can come up with your own topic and be an author,” said Naftali Solovechik. Charlie Gibber said that after publishing his book he “feels like a real author and illustrator.” Lily Shwebel said that “finishing [her] book feels great because it means I get to start a new one!”

The students are already coming up with ideas for their next novels. Stay tuned for the dates of their upcoming book tours!