Robert Kaneko and Shauna Yusko

Kaneko and Yusko’s innovative project, “Beyond Reading”, is a program that involves writing, illustrating, and publishing for students at Evergreen Junior High School. By combining multiple subjects including art, literature, math, science, technology, and/or foreign language, seventh-grade students will design self-published children’s picture books. After repurposing their content of the book, recording audio books, and creating eBooks, they will take field trips to five local-area elementary schools to share their work with kindergarten classes. Copies of the books will be selected and donated to the elementary schools to become a part of the library collection at each school. Through the project, students have the rare opportunity to explore creative writing rather than expository or persuasive writing. They also experience the differences between traditional media such as paperback and hardback books versus new media such as audio books and eBooks. The goal of the program is to extend its reach into new areas opened up by devices such as the Apple iPad, Nook, and Kindle. With the funds from the ING grant, Kaneko and Yusko will purchase iPads, microphones, and other items to help make the goal a reality.