Allendale-Fairfax students become published authors through storytelling project
Kinard’s Gifted and Talented students left Allendale-Fairfax Middle School as published authors, then shared their book with families at a school author event.
Students in Felicia Kinard’s Gifted and Talented class at Allendale-Fairfax Middle School ended the school year as published authors, turning a classroom assignment into a finished book built around “The Power of Storytelling.” The school marked the milestone with an author event that brought family members, teachers and community supporters together to hear the students share their work, and families were invited to contact the school if they wanted to purchase a copy.
The project began with mentor texts and lessons on the building blocks of storytelling, including character development, theme, voice and structure. From there, students brainstormed ideas, drafted stories and revised them several times before moving into peer review sessions that helped them sharpen their writing. English Language Arts teachers also reviewed each story with a rubric aligned to Text-Dependent Analysis expectations, giving the project both a creative focus and a strong academic foundation.
Kinard organized the work so students would see themselves as more than classroom learners. She wanted them to think of themselves as authors, thinkers and creators, and the project asked them to do the kind of sustained writing that builds confidence as well as skill. Students selected titles, polished their pages and considered illustrations and design elements so the final book would feel complete rather than temporary.
The finished project carried added weight at Allendale-Fairfax Middle School, the only middle school in Allendale 01 School District. The school serves about 196 students in grades 6-8 and offers both a Gifted & Talented program and Project Lead The Way curriculum, making a publishing project stand out even more on a small rural campus in Fairfax.
By the time students held their completed book, the assignment had become something visible and lasting for Allendale County families. It gave young writers a chance to move from classroom drafts to a printed collection they could share, keep and point to long after the school year ended.
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