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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Author Linda Stanek spoke to students at Austintown Intermediate School about the process of writing and editing.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Students at the Austintown Intermediate School Literacy Night on May 4 looked at and felt the artifacts that Jen Weber brought for her presentation.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Jen Weber set up artifacts from when she lived in Alaska during her "Living in Alaska" presentation to the fifth-grade Austintown Intermediate School students.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Author Jen Weber presented her "Living in Alaska" program to the fifth-grade students at Austintown Intermediate School on May 4.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Austintown Intermediate School welcomed authors Jen Funk Weber and Linda Stanek to the Family Literacy Night on May 4.
Weber and Stanek have partnered for the 2016-17 school year to visit different schools and talk about Ohio versus Alaska. Weber speaks to the students about what it’s like living in Alaska with her husband, while Stanek talks about what it’s like living in Ohio.
The fifth-grade students had the opportunity to listen to both authors during the school day before the literacy night. Weber presented her “Winter in Alaska” program to the students. The program focused on scientific aspects of living in Alaska during the winter months. The presentation showed several photographs of the scenery taken by Weber’s husband, a professional photographer. Stanek’s presentation focused on the process of writing, concentrating on revising and editing.
“We are hoping after this, it’ll spark the interest to not only reading non-fiction, but also wanting to write about it,” said Kim Freisen, AIS Literacy Coach.
Families who attended the literacy night listened to both authors and their presentations. Weber brought items from Alaska that the students and their families had the chance to look at up close and feel at the end of the presentation. There were antlers, footprints and other items that related to her presentation.
AIS hosts different family programs to bring the students and their families back to the school. Freisen’s goal for the literacy night and bringing in the authors was that it would peak the students’ interest in different areas and show that students can learn in several different ways.