Allentown, PA (February 23, 2017) On Saturday, February 25, students from Building 21 Allentown High School will be the featured authors for the day at Barnes and Noble, Whitehall. From 12:00 noon – 4:00 p.m., the student authors, illustrators, and editors will exhibit their “Spanish for Kids” Picture Books and read to the store’s audience. Building 21 Allentown teacher, Nadia Thalassinos, led the Children’s Picture Book Project and engaged over 100 students in the writing, illustrating, and editing of high quality children’s literature.
Thalassinos commented, “When students take their product to the world beyond the classroom -as they will do this Saturday- they impact the community through their voice. For most, this will be the first time their name appears on the front cover of a book.”
The Children’s Picture Book Project provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate language skills at various levels of world language proficiency. On any given day, a single Spanish classroom hosts students ranging from novice learners to those that are native speakers of the language. With this type of classroom demographic, it is of great importance to group students by similar proficiency levels.
Through the “Spanish for Kids” book development, students were able to explore their storyline and characters. At this stage, student engagement, personal interests, and cultural relevance became evident in the project. Some students explored colors of the rainbow vocabulary and others preferred number countdown using animal characters. A few began imagining conflicts and stories that infused a moral standing, while some addressed their individual struggles with disabilities. The result was not only the finished project – a complete book – but also tailor-made curriculum created by groups of 4 to 5 students that met their needs and interests.
Building 21, a non-profit organization works in partnership with school districts to develop new models for secondary education. Their mission is to empower learners through unique instructional opportunities and choices, based on the student’s personal interest, enabling them to master competencies on their journey to graduation and life-long success. Building 21’s competency-based learning model and real world learning experiences guide graduates on a path to be college or career ready.
About Allentown School District
ASD serves more than 17,000 students in a network of 22 early childhood, elementary, middle and high schools throughout the City of Allentown, PA. The District is the third largest urban school district out of 500 districts in the Commonwealth. The District’s Mission focuses on providing a safe, rigorous, and engaging educational experience that prepares all students to excel in learning and life to guide ASD students on their individual journey to realize their aspirations whether they be college, career or technical focus. ASD goals are aligned and compatible with the Pathways to Success Framework while providing a balanced education to all students. Allentown School District employs approximately 2,200 teachers, staff and administrators. The District, founded in 1866, serves students from 51 countries speaking 26 languages with nearly 90 percent of households qualifying as low income. ASD is committed to ensuring that all students have equal access to education programs and resources.
Information provided by:
Kimberly Golden Benner
Director of Communications
Allentown School District
