Unity College Students Help Elementary Students to Become Published Authors, Event Scheduled for December 4

Unity, Maine – November, 2007 — Not many elementary school students are published authors, but soon students in a third grade class at Unity Elementary School will lay claim to this achievement.

On Tuesday, December 4, Unity College students will join with pupils in the third grade class of Irene Woodford at Unity Elementary School at 2 p.m. for a book release party. 

Associate Professor Kathryn Miles

The third grade students at Unity Elementary School are about to become published authors thanks in large part to a grant from the Maine Campus Compact (MCC) and the guidance of Unity College students.  The grade school and college students have come together as part of a service learning project designed by Unity College Associate Professor and Director of Writing Kathryn Miles.  Last year, Miles received money from the MCC to launch a new writing initiative entitled The Young Author and Writer Project (Y.A.W.P.).

“We took the name from Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself,’” says Miles.  “Whitman was legendary for ‘shouting his barbaric yawp across the rooftops.’  We believe grade school students should have the same opportunity to share their vision with the world.  Thanks to this grant, the students will have the tools they need to do just that.”

Miles and her students have been helping the third grade students write and publish their own books throughout the fall.  That is an admittedly tall assignment for local 8-year-olds, but Miles says the students have more than risen to the challenge.  The children have written fictional stories depicting everything from adventurous fleas and rampaging ferrets to magical dance recitals and cavemen sculptors.  Several children are also writing nonfiction books and environmental depletion, animal species, and the charms of the Windsor Fair.

“The stories are just wonderful,” says Miles.  “They are creative, vibrant, and full of the wonderful personalities that make up this third grade classroom.”

Miles and Irene Woodford, the third grade teacher, began planning the project last summer.  Their students have been meeting with one another weekly to brainstorm, draft, revise, and print the children’s stories as hardback books.

“One interesting fact I noticed as a third grade teacher is that the student’s writing shifted from a simple short story to one that had more depth and complexities,” noted Woodford.  “Being encouraged by the Unity College students gave my students the opportunity to think and write more deeply about their stories.  This was a productively supported program that showed each third grader what it was like to be an author and have your story published."

Unity College is a small private college in rural Maine that provides dedicated, engaged students with a liberal arts education which emphasizes the environment and natural resources.  Unity College graduates are prepared to be environmental stewards, effective leaders, and responsible citizens through active learning experiences within a supportive community.