Small Moments

The second and third graders are proud to have published their small moments stories! They took part in a writing workshop where they realized that they can learn to be better writers by studying other authors. Angela Johnson, Ezra Jack Keats and our fellow New Schooler Jonah became mentor authors to the students. Through their study of small moments stories by these mentor authors, the students learned how they could turn a true life event into a short, or “small moment” story. They noticed techniques their mentor authors used such as “...” to add suspense or keep the reader on their toes. They noticed all the details Angela Johnson used and that details made the book come to life and described who, what, where, when and how. They noticed that the story was broken up into pages and the author repeated phrases, words or the title to make the reader think and feel. Each student put these techniques in their own small moments stories about making clay tablets, a maze they went through in England, a day at the fair, their halloween, a summer day, the fist time they met their friends, playing in the mud, getting their boot stuck in the mud at Highland Forest, their trip to California and the first time they caught a fish.