Judson ISD Students Publish Books
Judson ISD middle school students publish first books with help from 6th grade English teacher.
Kitty Hawk middle school students become published authors
School is all about learning new things and applying those things in the real world, and Judson ISD’s Kitty Hawk Middle School students got a first-hand account of both. Thanks to one English teacher, Ms. Misty Ferrell, students were able to write, illustrate and publish their own books using a publishing site called StoryJumper, a publishing site that publishes children’s books. She discovered the site in college and because it was so easy to use, she turned it into a project for her students when she began teaching at Kitty Hawk.
Funding projects can be challenging, so Ms. Ferrell reached out to various community organizations to help with the fees necessary for publishing books. Teachers donated money, and First Baptist Church of Universal City paid for all of the books for the first year. Because of the outpouring of donations from businesses and individuals, Ms. Ferrell was able to expand the project so that the entire 6th grade English team could have their students publish books. 400 students are now published authors!
The purpose of this project is for the students to learn the writing process from start to finish as well as how the publishing process works. Students leave with something they can be proud of. Students feel a sense of accomplishment and sometimes change their attitudes about writing in general. Ferrell hopes to continue the project so that every one of her students can leave Kitty Hawk a published author.
Blog Post by: Lauren Castelo, GoPublic Intern, Marketing Major, UTSA Class of 2023