Students publish book

(Courtesy photo/Dr. Cash Elementary School)

By ARABELLA SERRATA
editor@sbnewspaper.com

Students at Dr. C.M. Cash Elementary School in San Benito recently wrote and published a book titled, “Things I Love.” Their teacher, Mrs. Irene Sojak, helped organize the project.

“It [the book] is about specific things that each student loves. It was wonderful to see that their choices range from pizza to school to the park, and many other different things in between,” said Sojak.

When writing the book, the students started with a “brainstorm map” to help them decide what they wanted to contribute. Sojak and her teacher assistant, Mariandrea Espinosa, worked with the students to walk them through the process. “They chose one thing that they loved and had to give reasons why they chose that specific thing. Then they wrote a rough draft for practice. Their final copy was written in black pen. They also drew a picture that related to their writing,” said Sojak.

The students used a lot of the skills they learned in class. “We write daily in class, so it was great to see them using their finger space between words, using a capital letter to begin the sentences, and completing the sentences with a punctuation mark,” said Sojak. According to Sojak, the students took on the project with enthusiasm and were eager to see the finished product.

After the students finished the book, they received the hardcover copy and enjoyed the fruits of their labor. “It feels wonderful because when the book arrived, I read it to the students, and they were proud to see their writings in an actual book. This is something that they will remember for a very long time. With the completion of the class book, these kids will always have that connection,” said Sojak.

Sojak utilized Student Treasures Publishing, a website that provides kits for teachers to easily publish books as a class. Sojak utilized the website as an opportunity to show her students see the writing “as a creation and not a chore.”

According to the Student Treasures Publishing website, teachers can choose from up to three different kit layouts for the class. The teacher picks a due date for the kits to be sent back to Student Treasures, and the finished books arrive within seven to ten business days. Parents of the students can purchase a copy for themselves. According to the website, preorders of the book start at $25.95.

For more information on Student Treasures, visit their website at studentreasures.com. Dr. C. M. Cash Elementary School is a part of the San Benito Consolidated Independent School District [SBCISD].

According to its official website, the San Benito CISD provides a “Premier education” to its students and works to be the “Gold Standard in all areas of public education.”