On May 11th, the school where I teach held our annual Cartonera Celebration, a celebration of every student being an author.
That's right....EVERY kindergarten through grade 5 student wrote, edited, illustrated, and published a book. (A cartonera is a book with a cardboard cover. You can find more information about them in this video.)
It was quite an accomplishment, to say the least!
For the Cartonera Celebration Day on May 11th, the entire school took a break from our regular lessons after lunch and for one hour, we walked the hallways, reading and commenting on each other's cartoneras.
Even the teachers got in on the fun.
After reading a cartonera, the reader left a compliment on the Raves From Readers page for the author to see.
Then in the evening, we invited families to school for our Family Cartonera Night to read the cartoneras and to make a family cartonera to take home to write their family story.
The students and families loved the Cartonera Project! They were beaming with pride when they say others reading their books.
Our Cartonera Project 2017 was a HUGE success! Here's what some of the students had to say about it:
"When the books were published, I felt accomplished."
"It was fun to walk around with my buddy to read books without my teacher." :)
"It kind of proves that you don't need to be a pro to write a book."
"I enjoyed getting to fix up a story and make it better."
"It was amazing and I thought it was cool. Everyone should do this!"
Isn't that AWESOME??!!?
Want to bring this amazing experience for your student writers to your school or classroom?
I am working on ways to grow the program and make it even better, including expanding the project to other schools to connect students and classrooms from around the country in the spirit of writing.
If you are interested in learning more about possibly bringing a Cartonera Project to your school or classroom and would like to learn more, please fill out this Google form. I will be in touch with more information.
The Cartonera Project -- Every Student an Author!