Tulsa Trail 2nd-Graders Learn to Write—By Writing a Book

Michelle Tumminelli’s second grade class at Tulsa Trail Elementary School is filled with authors: As its first project of the new school year, the class came together to write a book.

"If You Take a Bear to Tulsa Trail" was modeled after Laura Numeroff’s "If You Take a Mouse to School." Each child in the class got to take the class bear, Chief, and have a photo taken with him in a location in the school or in the classroom. Students then wrote mini-essays on what Chief might do would do in the context of the photographed setting.

The ideas the kids came up with include saying the Pledge of Allegiance proudly while holding a U.S. flag, making photocopies of his face, getting a check-up from the nurse, mixing up the days of the week on the calendar, and tapping out spelling words during class.

Tumminelli reports that the boys and girls enjoyed learning about the writing process and had fun editing and publishing the volume.

The book itself is proudly displayed in the second grade classroom.