After weeks of hard work, Wantagh Middle School sixth graders shared their personal memoirs on the morning of Feb. 14. The stories recounted meaningful moments in their lives and reflected the use of advanced writing techniques.

The project began with students brainstorming ideas for topics based on themes in the book “Restart.” After writing a first draft, they edited and revised their pieces before publishing digitally with Book Creator. That allowed them to showcase their creativity by picking fonts and colors, and adding photos and graphics.  

For the nonfiction pieces, students had to include many of the story elements they have been exploring since elementary schools, such as a strong introduction, background information, setting, dialogue and sensory details. They were encouraged to use vivid verbs and adjectives, figurative language, internal thoughts and feelings, and reflective paragraphs that explained a lesson learned from the experience.  

Students on the gold team volunteered to present their memoirs in front of the class, displaying their digital books on the classroom display boards. As it was Valentine’s Day and also the end of Random Acts of Kindness Week, classmates gave compliments to their fellow authors. On the black team, several students volunteered to be readers, and shared their stories with rotating groups over the course of three periods. The listeners were able to ask questions and give positive feedback.

English language arts teachers Antoinette Bruno, Bonnie Hersch, Sharon Pilo and Valentina Gatti commended the students for their hard work and creativity throughout the project. They said the culminating event was an important moment for them to be recognized for a successful outcome.   

“It’s a celebration of the many weeks that they put into the writing process,” Ms. Hersch said. “Our young authors worked very hard.”