Local author Christian Burch visited 5th grade students on October 14th and 15th to promote his new book and share some writing hints with our student authors. Burch’s new book, “Hit the Road, Manny” is a continuation of the characters introduced in “The Manny Files.” Burch based both books’ characters on real children he nannied in Jackson. Male + Nanny = Manny…get it?
Three 5th grade classes heard him read aloud each day, and asked him questions about the difference between fact & fiction in his books. Students were intrigued by which plot details really happened, and which were figments of the author’s imagination.
Burch shared his “3 Rules” for writing with aspiring 5th grade authors.
1. Write what you know.
2. Show, don’t tell. (Burch’s examples: “I walked into the classroom and the kids were talking.” vs. “I walked into the classroom and it was like monkey island.”)
3. Don’t be afraid to get feedback.
The third rule is something student writers grapple with as they navigate the revision process. Burch was sympathetic to students who feel rejected when they get many comments for improvements on their writing, but he encouraged them to keep working. According to the author, who frequently gets hundreds of edited pages back in the process of writing novels, revision is just “making writing the best that it can be, and it doesn’t mean that you’re bad at it.”
“Is it frustrating to get your story back so many times?” One student asked Burch.
“Yes,” he replied, “but it’s also fun. The hard part is writing it the first time.”
November 13th, 2008
Greg Mortenson; humanitarian, mountaineer, author and founder of the nonprofit Central Asia Institute, stopped by Colter Elementary to visit with 5th grade students on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Teton County Library hosted Mr. Mortenson’s visit to Jackson, and we were fortunate to see him after he presented at the Jackson Hole High School.
Colter’s 5th graders presented Mortenson with a symbolic $2,000 check for a previous donation students made to the nonprofit with funds from the 5th grade’s annual fall apple sale. An individual student gave Mortenson an additional check for $200 from his grandmother, who had read Three Cups of Tea and wanted to contribute to Mortenson’s cause. Two students spoke about the class’s reasons for contributing to the organization, saying: “We felt the best way to change the world is for kids to help kids.”
Mr. Mortenson asked students to think for a moment about things that we have in America that children in other countries around the world might not have. iPods, clean water, and schools were a few items mentioned. When he asked what other countries have that Americans might not have, students chimed in with the it’s-almost-spring-break inspired”warm weather,” and a more serious presence in many children’s lives; war.
Mr. Mortenson showed students a DVD narrated by his daughter, which explained a child-centered fund-raising effort called “Pennies for Peace.” She describes places “where a penny can buy a pencil, and enough pennies can build a school;” rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mortenson has started 55 schools in these areas, and his presence in our school was a quiet reminder to be globally conscious, and to take advantage of the benefits of education that we enjoy so freely in America.
April 4th, 2008
