Story writing becomes a shared journey
Second-graders help kindergartners develop writing skills
BY ERIN O. STATTEL Correspondent

PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff Students from Village School in Holmdel use a diagram to help kindergartners at Keyport Central School brainstorm story ideas.

HOLMDEL - Second-graders at the Village School are actively teaching students enrolled in Keyport Central School's kindergarten classes how to write stories.

Teachers Karen Bennett and Jaime Panzella brought their secondgrade students to the Keyport Central School on Jan. 17, continuing a program in the Village School that was created by two former teachers who believed in the value of peer-topeer learning.

"It is really more of an enrichment and expansion program," Bennett said. "Anytime a student can teach another student something, it helps both students."

The Holmdel second-graders correspond with Lynn Ferber's and Lisa Snowden's kindergarten classes at Keyport Central School. The liaison was set up by Village School teacher Evelyn King Cote, who also sits on the Keyport Board of Education.

"I'm just the middle-man who enjoys bringing the two districts together," King Cote laughed. "The Keyport parents and students really loved it last year and it is great that the children involved get to see different schools and learning environments."

Keyport kindergartners Brianna Murray (l-r) and Kristen Frothingham get help learning to write stories from a Village School second-grader.

"My class last year did this program and it worked out really well," Ferber said of her Keyport students. "It is a nice, sharing activity that promotes literacy and writing and speaking skills."

Snowden agreed.

"Their stories had meaning and as this year goes on, the children will get more into it and really look forward to receiving the Holmdel students' letters," she said.

The process is fairly simple with the second-graders taking dictation from the kindergarten students on the first leg of the story-writing journey during their primary visit to the Keyport Central School. With the help of graphic organizers and story prompts given to each pair, the students are encouraged to creatively write a storyline, complete with illustrations.

The secondgraders will then take the kindergarten students' stories and organize them into a cohesive tale that will be copied for the children's personal collections.

"It is a lot of work," Ferber said. "There is a lot of dictation to take and illustration has to accompany it."

But the teachers have seen the program work in the past, and it has paid off.

This year, the Holmdel Village School received a $550 grant from the Holmdel Foundation for Educational Excellence, specifically for this project. The money will help the teachers cover the cost of transportation when the classes visit the corresponding schools.

"The parents love it and our administration has been really supportive," Bennett said. "We have been getting great feedback and the students are really excited and when they are excited, they learn more."

"I was very impressed with the program today," said Dr. Dionne Ledford, assistant principal at the Village School, who attended the first meeting of the program last Thursday. "Our students are benefiting probably even more than they realize at this age, and I hope we can continue to do this program with them."

The teachers involved believe that this writing and correspondence program will enrich social skills as well, since the students will be visiting each other's schools and getting to work on the writing process after brief introductions.

"It's amazing the way they [students] can get things accomplished after just meeting one another," Bennett said.

The Keyport kindergarten students will make the final leg of the journey by visiting the Village School in May. The students will read their finished stories and share them with each other, with their newly found speech and writing skills.