Music Production Children's Books
Our students write and record original children's stories that emphasize positive character development traits (honesty, anti-bullying, friendship, self-discipline, integrity, etc.). The stories are recorded with sound effects added and our students portray the characters of the book. Once the recording is edited, we collaborate with graphic art students in our school to illustrate the books. We look at several versions of the stories and pick the illustrations that best represent the story. We use whatever funds we can get from our school account to have copies of the book printed and make presentations to third through fifth graders at elementary schools in our district. In our latest presentation, we talk about why bullying is wrong and give simple strategies to avoid being bullied (1. ask the bully to stop, 2. walk away from the confrontation, and 3. tell the nearest adult). Our students split into groups and have the elementary students read the story and discuss the concepts. We pull the group back together and review the strategies mentioned above. At the end, we donate copies of the books and audio CDs of the books to the media center, reading specialist, or counselor at the school.