UNSINKABLE!!

by Karen Leggett Abouraya

It hardly sounds like nonfiction: “From Russian Orphan to Paralympic Swimming World Champion,” but this is Jessica Long’s autobiography written with her sister Hannah. Born in Siberia with fibular hemimelia, Jessica had no ankles, heels or most of the bones in her lower legs. She was adopted by an American family in Baltimore, Maryland, and eventually had both legs amputated below the knee. There were six children in the Long family, including another little boy adopted from Russia. 

            From early childhood, Jessica was “determined to dominate at everything I did,” including climbing on top of the refrigerator! 

            “I made the daily choice to not let anything hold me back, especially my legs.”

            Initially, she excelled at gymnastics: “I walk on my knees. I’m just a little shorter.” By age 10, she discovered water and started beating girls with legs. “It’s all about technique and how you can work the water. Giving up was never an option.”

            Jessica swam her first Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, in 2004. At the games in Beijing in 2008, she felt she had failed because she won “only” four gold medals, along with a silver and a bronze.  But then she added modeling and public speaking to her accomplishments and has now told her own story in a young adult autobiography.

            Jessica’s story is inspirational and often funny. “My high-heel legs, or ‘sexy legs,’ were created using my sister’s feet…they molded her feet at a four-inch arch and used those molds to make my prosthetic feet.” She showed off her new legs on Twitter!

            Jessica challenges herself in and out of the water, but her experiences will tantalize young writers as well.

            She has rituals before every race, including eating a banana, clapping her hands three times and shaking her arms out.

·       What do you do to calm or inspire yourself or give you good luck before a match, game or special event? Why do you think it helps?

Jessica was always willing to try something new.

·       What is something new you tried to do? How did you feel? What did you learn from the experience?

Jessica is rightly proud of her accomplishments.

·       Write about something in your life that gives you great pride – don’t worry about being boastful. This is your time to “show and tell” on a piece of paper!

Jessica likes posing for photo shoots and often did this with her siblings.  “Elle decided to use a picture of me on a couch, posing on my knees without my prosthetics…It was really cool to be part of something that showed how people with disabilities an do the same things as everyone else, including model.”  

·       Have students pair off and take flattering photos of each other. Write an “artist statement” about your photo, explaining why you chose a particular pose or background and what you want people to learn from the photo.

Finally, think about Jessica’s story overall and write your thoughts about what qualities and factors in her life enabled her to overcome great challenges and contribute to her success. Then think about what qualities and factors in your own life could help you be successful – and unsinkable.

https://childrensbookguild.org/index.php/karen-leggett-abouraya

A FIZZLE BOX OF WRITING IDEAS

by Jacqueline Jules

The beginning of the year is all about establishing routines. Writing workshop is no exception. Very young students will need to know where to find lined paper in your classroom. Older students may decorate a particulate notebook for writing. As you create a writing friendly environment, consider reading Helen Lester’s autobiography Author: A True Story to your students and adding a “Fizzle Box” to your collection of writing supplies.

In Author: A True Story, Helen Lester, the popular children’s author of Tacky the Penguin and Me First, talks about her career as a writer. Her declaration that she began at age three with scribbled grocery lists that looked the same right-side up and upside down validates the early writing efforts of all young children. She also shares the challenges of overcoming a learning disability called “mirror writing.” Lester’s humorous account of her perseverance to become a published writer will delight young writers. She is honest about the effort it takes to write a good story, providing inspiration to students who also struggle. Her description of a “Fizzle Box” where she deposits ideas for future use can became a great resource in your own classroom.

After reading Lester’s autobiography, introduce a “Fizzle Box” of your own. You can use a plain recipe box or a pretty container for boxed greeting cards. Any box with a flip out lid will do. Show it to the class and then distribute index cards to your students. Spend time as a class brainstorming future writing ideas. In the primary classroom, emphasize that everyday experiences can make great writing topics: soccer games, vacations, field trips, picnics, playdates, etc. With older elementary students, encourage the students to go a step further with humorous experiences, lessons learned, firsts, favorites, siblings, embarrassing moments, etc.   

Ask each student to write down one idea on the index card for the classroom “Fizzle Box.” Keep your box in an easily accessible place. The next time you have a student who “can’t think of anything to write about” during writing workshop, ask him or her to flip through the index cards in the classroom “Fizzle Box.” Since many of the ideas inside were generated during classroom discussion, students may find their creative juices flowing the minute they pick up a card.    

www.jacquelinejules.com

The Power of Writing from Your Own Life

Guest Post by Meg Medina

When I’m working with high school students, I like to help them experience the power of their own lives and memory as a source of inspiration for their work. Juniors and seniors are about to leave childhood behind – the joys of it as well as the hurtful parts. What’s ahead is unknown. They often feel ambivalent about what’s ahead, and they are almost always exhausted by the tasks of junior and senior year. It’s the perfect time to have them take a look back.

Depending on my time constraints, I ask students to bring a sample of a favorite toy/game from childhood. (Sometimes, we just make a quick list.) Basically, we spend some time in a free write, allowing our toys to unlock a memory. There is no stopping or crossing out. Just a stream of consciousness about this toy and a memory of how they played with it and with whom. I ask them to consider why they think they remember this event or person. I let them write for about 8 minutes, and then we share (on a volunteer basis, of course).

It’s always amazing to see what young people remember about the people and events that have shaped them. For me, the gold is always when they begin to name what it was like for them to grow up.

BIO: Meg Medina is an award-winning Latino author of picture books, middle grade, and young adult fiction whose work examines how cultures intersect through the eyes of young people. Her novel, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass earned the 2014 Pura Belpré medal, the 2013 CYBILS fiction award, and the International Latino Book Award 2014. Meg is also the 2012 Ezra Jack Keats New Writers medal winner for her picture book Tia Isa Wants A Car. Visit Meg at http://megmedina.com/about/