Student Reflections:
Caldecott Project by Brian
Process: I think I did the very best on my pictures
because they are very colorful and show great detail, and
I did not use pictures from the computer. I learned how to
show humor much better than I could before, which will help
in other pieces of writing. I also am starting to make my
characters seem real, but I still am lacking something, maybe
dialogue. If I did not include the pictures, the words still
left just about as good of pictures in your head.
Product: I put a lot of thinking into this book, and
it came out great! My final copy goes up and beyond my first
draft since I spent a lot of time revising and editing. I
took hour working on my pictures and coloring them on the
computer.
Caldecott Project by Travis
Process: Fist we read Caldecott books to know what
qualities a good children's book has. Then we read to our
book buddies and interviewed them about what makes a good
children's book. Then I started my first draft on notebook
paper. When I started typing it on Sunburst, I made some changes
to my book. My teacher and editing partner found some errors
but not many. Then I drew my pictures, and Mrs. Stout bound
it for me. Finally, we read our stories to book buddies. I
think he really enjoyed my story.
Product: The book I made was titled "Can Chickens
Fly?" I wrote it myself. I even did my own artwork. Little
chick was very easy to draw, but the problem was drawing his
family. Each character needed his or her own personality,
but not just in writing. They also needed it in their body
and face. This story is about a little chick that has too
many questions. He asks his mom, dad, brother, and grandpa,
"Why can't chickens fly?" He finally gets his answer from
grandpa, but he isn't satisfied and starts asking another
question. This was a great learning experience.
Caldecott Project by Allison
Process: In the process I stayed on top of things
and did my share of work. My favorite part was reading the
Caldecott books to my book buddy and hearing her advice. I
also enjoyed writing the book because I expressed my creativity
and made up a story just like a real author. Doing this, I
learned how and why authors sometimes use repetition and why
they sometimes put in mistakes purposefully.
Product: My final book, I think, is my best piece
of writing ever! The content was interesting with some dance
terms put into it. I didn't make it too easy, but I didn't
make it so hard they couldn't understand it. The photos I
used were taken in my dance class. Since my love for ballet
inspired me, it was great to be able to write about my favorite
topic. I also learned a lot about editing dialogue.
Caldecott Project by Sarah
Process: To begin our Caldecott study we read many
winners and took notes on what we noticed. I enjoyed listening
to the stories, but note taking got in the way of listening.
Next I chose my favorite children's book to read to my book
buddy. I love reading to them; and after reading, I interviewed
them to see what they like best in different books. Reading
the Caldecott Celebration book wasn't a lot of fun, but I
did learn some useful ideas, like how to develop a story when
I had no ideas. Did you know you could put two things together
that don't normally go together and create a story? Chris
Van Allsburg does this in Jumanii, monkeys in a kitchen.
Product: I like the plot line of my story because
I think it is realistic and easy to understand. I did well
on editing, and really understand dialogue now. I'll keep
my children's book as a great example of what I could do in
seventh grade.
Caldecott Project Reflections by Daniel
Process: First, we read all kinds of children's books,
to see which one we'd read to a book buddy. We read our choices
to Center for Inquiry first graders. I really enjoyed them
coming to visit us and giving us advice about writing a winning
story I also got some good information and tips from A Caldecott
Celebration. Writing my story, "Bad Luck Stew," in rhyme was
cool. The software program was great, too.
Product: It was really neat when we finally finished
our books and shared them with our book buddies. To know that
I wrote the story that the kids seemed to really enjoy is
a warm feeling of accomplishment. After this experience I
feel like writing another children's book.
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