February 12, 2003

Elementary students learn to tell a good story

Dallas author Joe Reese shares writing expertise with classes at Immaculate Conception Elementary School

By LISA PERKINS
Herald staff writer

      Setting, hero, villain, conflict - the parts of a good story according to author Joe Reese who visited Immaculate Conception Elementary School last week. Reese shared his writing expertise with the fourth, fifth and sixth-grade students as they composed stories of their own.
      With Reese's guidance, the students in groups of 10 or 12, came up with an idea for one element that would eventually become part of an original story. Once all the ingredients were set, the young writers regrouped and combined them to come up with a whole story.
      "It's important to me that the kids see that they can write, that it is possible to write something that could actually be published," said Reese, a retired comparative literature professor and published writer who lives on a farm south of Dallas, Texas.
      "Typically I go into schools as a visiting author and read from my novel, 'Letters From a Texas Farm Girl.' When I was here earlier in the fall they asked if I could come back and work with the students," Reese said.
      Reese, who visits the Traverse City area regularly, struck a deal with his hosts at Immaculate Conception - he would work with their students if they would set up dates for him to visit other area schools.
      "We asked him, what would you do if you could spend a day with 80 fourth-graders and this workshop is what he came up with. I think it's great," said Cecelia Wise, Immaculate Conception's librarian.
      Fourth-grader Sarah Arthur echoed that enthusiasm.
      "It has been a lot of fun. We wrote about evil monkeys in a toxic oasis. We also learned that you have to listen to everyone and what they want to say," Arthur said.
      According to fourth-grade teacher Jean Britten, team building was an extra bonus from the day's program.
      "What's really going on here is cooperative learning. They have to listen to one another and learn to brainstorm," Britten said.
      Before leaving, Reese had one more idea to spark the youngster's imaginations. With a sequel to his first novel just complete, Reese proposed that the students come up with the illustrations for "More Letters from a Texas Farm Girl." Reese plans to share profits from the book with the school.