Hard work paid off for a group of young writers at Muriel Clayton, and they took some time to celebrate with a book signing yesterday (June 22).

Nick Stabler's fifth grade class has spent a significant part of the year on a project to collaboratively write a book about a Syrian refugee who makes his way to Canada. Under Stabler's guidance, the class planned, researched, wrote, edited, and even designed the cover for the book.

"In the end, the kids wrote a book that was 100 pages. It was about 24,000 words, and it was just a really amazing project for them to put together," said Stabler. "They're really proud of what they've done, and were very excited to open up the boxes on the day the books actually arrived and see their work."

Eva explained the hardest part of the project.

"Probably writing the book, because everyone had a little section so we all had to work together to make sure nothing was overlapping and that it was all properly edited."

Even so, the students enjoyed the project.

"It was fun, and the book is really good," said Emma.

Bryce told us what he learned through the project.

"The biggest thing I learned was what the Syrian war is. That, and I also learned how to be a better author. I'm making my own book too."

Stabler thinks that the students might have actually absorbed more than even they know.

"I think they learned a lot more than they think they did. If you ask them, most of them think they learned a lot about quotation marks and a lot about story writing, but even more than that I think they learned a lot about teamwork and collaboration and giving up on their own personal ideas for the good of the group, lots about other cultures and languages, and just tons of different things."

 

Read More:

Fifth Graders Pen Novel on Syrian Refugee

 

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