GSW Pre-K Book Writing Assignment

 
Each student in the education class was assigned one or two students in the GSW Pre-K program to assist in writing and illustrating a book. The assignment covered a period of a couple of weeks in which we met with the students for fifteen minutes a day every Monday and Wednesday. I was given a girl and a boy to help complete a book. The first day got off to a good start. I introduced myself to the students and explained that they were going to write a book and draw pictures to illustrate the story. The boy made up a story about a monster and drew some pictures. The girl chose to write about a female super hero and drew a few pictures. Judging from their excitement on that first day, I thought this was going to be an easy assignment, but I was wrong.
On the second day of the assignment, I knew I was not prepared. Both the students wanted to change their stories. I let them draw and tell me about their pictures and tried to guide them to writing a story with a beginning and an ending. It was difficult keeping them on task. They wanted to go play. I knew I had to try a different strategy, so I googled writing a book with 4 year olds and found a  strategy I thought would be good. I decided we would write one book and let the students each illustrate a page. The teaching format helped guide the students in picking a subject for their story, but there was a lot of discussion about what the story was going to be about. I still had a hard time keeping the students focused on the story. If one was drawing a picture, the other one wanted to draw the same picture. I settled that dispute by letting them both draw the same picture, but then they started drawing random pictures that had nothing to do with the story.  I think part of the problem was that I misjudged the amount of time we would be spending on the book and the attention span of the students. If I had it to do over again, I would have a tentative lesson plan for the three week period. I would begin with getting to know the students and forming a bond with them. Then, I would read them a few short stories pointing out the author, illustrator, and the illustrations. I would point out how the illustrations help tell the story. When we started writing the story, I would use the format as a guide, but I would also be prepared to make changes to their story and modify my lesson plans when needed. I would plan some fun songs or exercises to give the students a break if they became bored with writing and illustrating the book. I would try to give the students more praise to encourage their interest in the book.
In spite of the fact that the students did not stay focused on writing and illustrating the book, I thought the assignment went fairly well. One success was the stimulation of their imaginations. The students could have written several stories about a scarecrow. One of their stories had the scarecrow moving to the North Pole and meeting Santa Claus and Rudolph. Another story included a snake. A second success would be the pride the students had when they saw their pictures on the pages of the book. I think the project helped to build their self-esteem.