It is something you don’t hear about very often, sixth grade students becoming published authors. But that is exactly what has happened at Riverton Elementary School.
On this episode of the Supercast, we take you inside Cassie Crandell’s classroom where students wrote and illustrated a picture book telling the true stories of trees surviving tragedies and natural disasters. The book was inspired by a survivor tree at the 9/11 memorial in New York City. Meet the young authors and find out where you can now buy their book.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is something you don't hear about very often, sixth grade students becoming published authors. But that is exactly what has happened at Riverton Elementary School. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you inside Cassie Crandell's classroom where students wrote and illustrated a picture book telling the true stories of trees surviving tragedies and natural disasters. The book was inspired by a survivor tree at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City. Meet the young authors and find out where you can now buy their book. We're here in Mrs. Crandall's classroom at Riverton Elementary, talking with her sixth graders and with her about a very special project they've been working on. Tell me about that.
Cassie Crandell:
So we started this project called The Tree of Hope, and what we did is we wrote a narrative fiction book about five survivor trees, and my students did all of it. I gave them the trees and they researched them, learned about how they survived, what they went through, and then they narrated the stories and they gave each of the trees a character and a struggle. The whole idea of this book was to create the power of hope and resilience. And then what we did is we created a schoolwide mural. So my students painted a tree, and then they went and explained the project to each class, and each student got a circle and a color that they colored or drew or something that represented hope to them, or just colored it in for the younger kids. And then we put it up on the tree. Then we invited each of the classes to come down and we read them our book about the Tree of Hope and the power of hope and resilience.
Anthony Godfrey:
So what was the impetus for starting a project like this?
Cassie Crandell:
I knew I wanted to do something. I wanted to create something with my students that would be beneficial to not only them but to our community as a school. And now it's kind of reaching out into the community, which I think is amazing. I love the tree from the 9/11, the survivor tree from 9/11. I visited the monument years ago, and I always thought that that was such a powerful story. And I feel like our kids, with everything that they've gone through and the things that continue to happen, sometimes the world can just feel really heavy. But I felt like we could create something that would be beautiful and give hope to not only my students but to the whole school and the community.
Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me how this has been organized and what the creation of the book and publishing and distribution of the book have looked like.
Cassie Crandell:
Yeah. So I essentially gave my students the idea. I told them the idea and asked them how they felt about it and if they wanted to do it. And they were really excited from the beginning. And then I picked five survivor trees. I split them into five different groups, and they got with their groups and they did everything. They did the research, they wrote the narratives. I met with them, I would listen to their stories. I gave them feedback. They met with other groups and got feedback from them. They did multiple revisions. And then we split into new groups after we'd all written. And so then I had another group that wrote the introduction and the conclusion and information about the actual trees. I had another group who was working specifically on just the formatting. I had a group of illustrators who illustrated and met with the writers and what their ideas were, how they wanted the story to be portrayed through pictures. And then I had a group of students who worked just on the mural and designing the tree and taping it up and putting all the circles on. And then I had another group of students who actually went to all of the classrooms and met with the teachers and collected the circles and explained what was going on, wrote the email to the teachers, explaining it and all of that. And so they really have, like, I've just kind of been the director of all of it, but they have really taken it and just done this amazing thing.
And then as far as publishing, they formatted the book. I made a few simple formatting changes and put it into an online website that I found. And then we were able to publish the book and it's available for anybody to buy if they wanted it. And so I know that some of the students' parents have bought the book and it's been a really cool thing. I've seen their confidence in their writing grow. But also this idea that they can make a difference and actually do something that can affect people for good has been awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
It is wonderful for students to get that sense of efficacy. I can do something and it has an impact in a positive way on the lives of others. I love the Hope Tree, we walked by that. Now, sixth graders generally rule the school, but this way, they're leading the school as well by being in classrooms and sharing a message. What was the reception like from teachers when they heard about this idea?
Cassie Crandell:
They were really excited about it. They were really willing to help. And they've been, I mean, they've been willing to take time out of their class to come and have us read the book to them. All of the teachers that I talked to personally were really excited about the project. They were really impressed with what my kids created. And were really willing and helpful and just supportive through the whole thing.
Anthony Godfrey:
What are some of the things that you hope your students have learned through this project?
Cassie Crandell:
First and foremost, I hope that they have learned the power of hope and resilience. Life is not an easy thing and these kids have been through a lot. You know, they've been through a pandemic and war and inflation, and that's not it. That's not gonna be the only things that they deal with. And my hope is that through these stories and through doing this project, that they will really realize that they are resilient. And that they can choose to find hope, and that they can have that hope and keep that hope. They don't know this, but my husband recently lost his job. And it was a really, really hard thing. And as I sat there struggling with it, I remembered this project that I had done with my students and the power of hope that we had talked about. And it was such a good reminder to me to remind myself that what I had tried to teach my students and what we have been trying to teach the community, that when we rise together, when we work together, when we come together, we can always find hope. And it doesn't necessarily mean that everything's the way we want it to be, but it does mean that we can be okay.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's had a huge personal impact for you, obviously.
Cassie Crandell:
It has. Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
And for these students, I think it has probably shifted the way that they view the world and their own capacity for making it better.
Cassie Crandell:
I hope so. That's the hope.
Anthony Godfrey:
There are a lot of academic concepts embedded in this project as well.
Cassie Crandell:
Oh yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Absolutely. Talk to us about that.
Cassie Crandell:
Yeah. So this is my first year doing any kind of project like this. So in sixth grade I teach narrative writing and generally, we write a personal narrative. So this was kind of a different shift on that, but it was such a fun experience. And I feel like my students have really grown as writers and they really see themselves as writers because they were able to take these stories and really narrate them. And so each of the trees actually has something that real people might struggle with. Depression, anxiety, overconfidence, the innocence of youth, and the loss of family members and friends. And so they were able to take real-life things and put it into a narrative and use descriptive language, and dialogue, and all of these really great narrative techniques. And then on top of that, bringing in the art, and writing the emails, and the formatting, and working with groups, and the revision, and the editing, and just all of that has been so amazing to see my kids really take on the process of a writer and what that really looks like, rather than just writing a paper.
Anthony Godfrey:
I like the way that you described that they get to see themselves as writers, so they envision something beyond what they might have otherwise. Because too often we may look at just the assignment in front of us, instead of what that means about us, the fact that we're engaging in this activity.
Cassie Crandell:
Right. I agree. I think it's been really good for them.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's amazing that you're giving them such great experiences to have this deep emotional connection to their learning as they're helping other people and really connecting to the work that they do in class. So thank you for providing that opportunity.
Cassie Crandell:
Thank you. I appreciate it. It's really important to me. I think academics are obviously why I'm here, but at the end of the day, if my students can walk out better people and better citizens and didn't learn as much math as they needed to, or didn't score as high as they wanted to on a test, then I still feel like I've done my job as a teacher.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, connecting the academic learning to learning how to be a better person makes both types of learning last even longer.
Cassie Crandell:
Right, exactly.
Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back the book’s authors share their story and excitement over being published authors.
Break:
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Student reading aloud from the book:
The ground started shaking and the tides seemed to retreat from the shore. On the horizon, I saw small waves slowly growing and marching across the ocean.
“Tsunami! Earthquake!” The lifeguard shouted, jumping up from the shade of my branches.
All I could do was hope as the wave shortened the distance between us. Wave after wave, quake after quake, my family fell around me.
“No!” I wailed as my close friend fell. “Why?”
The salty water felt like my tears. It sickened me to know that my family was falling without me. I had known that the tsunami was coming. I was the only one that knew. When the dominant wave finally washed back, the devastation was real. Entire buildings crumbled. Families separated. Nothing was as it was before. It would never be the same again.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me exactly how would you define a survivor tree?
Cassie Crandell:
I think a survivor tree is a tree that has survived against the odds in a natural disaster or even a manmade disaster. Some of these were bombs that were dropped, those obviously weren't natural disasters. Some of them survived earthquakes and tsunamis and hurricanes. And while most of the other trees were lost, these trees were nurtured back to health. Mostly because people came and found them and saved them. And I think that that's a really important lesson, that because often it's hard to find hope alone, but we can find hope in those around us, and this with the support of others. And so, like one of my students mentioned one of the trees did end up dying, but it was still a symbol of hope because it did survive initially. And I think a survivor tree gives hope to us because if a tree can survive, then so can we.
Anthony Godfrey:
Anyone who wants to buy the book, how do they do that?
Cassie Crandell:
It's on a website called Bookemon. Like Pokémon, but Bookemon.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay. Gotta catch 'em all.
Cassie Crandell:
Yeah, that's right. And it's called Trees of Hope by Mrs. Crandall's class. There's a link that I don't know if you want it.
Anthony Godfrey:
We'll put a link in the show notes.
Cassie Crandell:
Yeah, you can put a link in the show notes. I know that the Riverton Journal is doing an article on it as well, and they'll have a link to it as well. But yeah, it's a great book. And obviously, we don't make any profits from it. We're just here to kind of spread hope and joy.
Anthony Godfrey:
I'll hop on and get a copy. Thank you.
Cassie Crandell:
Thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now let's talk about the trees that you guys covered. Tell me your name.
Parker:
My name is Parker.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Parker, what tree did you write about?
Parker:
I wrote about the Oklahoma City bombing tree. It was about it happened in Oklahoma City in a big work building and a truck pulled up with a bomb in the back. And then when the bomb blew up, basically the entire building was destroyed. But the tree was like the only thing left.
Anthony Godfrey:
And you wrote from the tree's perspective as a narrator in the story, right?
Parker:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
What issues in the story was the tree dealing with?
Parker:
The tree was really dealing with anxiety a lot because it was like a near-death experience and in the tree's mind we tried to convey that the tree was riddled with anxiety forever but still could get over it because it had hope.
Anthony Godfrey:
What were some of the things that you learned from this project?
Parker:
I learned that hope is a very powerful thing and that you shouldn't give up on things. Even though it's hard, you should always keep on trying, keep on fighting.
Anthony Godfrey:
Does this make you want to keep writing?
Parker:
Actually, yes it does. I really like this story. It was a lot of fun to create.
Anthony Godfrey:
Great. Thank you. Tell me your name.
Ellie:
My name is Ellie.
Anthony Godfrey:
And Ellie, what tree did you write about?
Ellie:
I wrote about the Miracle Pine.
Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the Miracle Pine.
Ellie:
The Miracle Pine was one of the thousands of trees that survived a tsunami and an earthquake in Japan. And sadly it died a few years later, but they're rebuilding a monument of it so that everyone can still come visit and see.
Anthony Godfrey:
What did you like most about this project?
Ellie:
What I like most about this project is that I was able to explore more of my writing capabilities cuz I've hardly ever written true stories.
Anthony Godfrey:
And does this make you want to do more of that?
Ellie:
Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, great. Thank you. Tell me your name.
Sophie:
My name is Sophie.
Anthony Godfrey:
And, Sophie, what was your tree?
Sophie:
I did the Puerto Rico banyan tree.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Tell me about a banyan tree.
Sophie:
The banyan is a kind of fig tree and the one in the story was by the San Juan Gate in Puerto Rico. And Hurricane Marina came through and tore it and threw it into the sea, pretty much.
Anthony Godfrey:
And what did you, what did you learn going through this project?
Sophie:
I learned that hope is powerful and it can save lives.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, wonderful. Thank you. Tell me your name and what tree you covered.
Wyatt:
My name is Wyatt and I covered the bonsai tree in Japan that survived the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. The bonsai was like in its outdoor nursery and it was like surrounded by walls. And then when the bomb was dropped it exploded the walls around it. But the wall protected it from the bigger blast. And like, it didn't feel the blast much, it just felt the pieces of rocks from the wall.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And what did you learn from this project?
Wyatt:
I learned that, like Parker said, hope is a very powerful thing and you can learn lots of things from it and you should never give up on things even though they might seem hard.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Awesome. And tell me your name.
Claire:
I'm Claire.
Anthony Godfrey:
And Claire, what tree did you cover?
Claire:
I did the 9/11 Callery pear tree.
Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me about the Callery pear tree.
Claire:
It is a tree and it was during 9/11. It was around 30 years old and about eight feet tall. In the book, the tree is living its perfect life and nothing hard or anything. And then terrorists took over two planes in New York City and crashed them into the Twin Towers and it covered the 9/11 tree in debris. He lost all hope and his perfect life just vanished in a few moments, but people found him and like nurtured him back to health, and he survived.
Anthony Godfrey:
So what did you learn from being a part of this project?
Claire:
I learned that like Parker and Wyatt said, hope is very powerful and it can save you from the most difficult circumstances. And whenever you are in a hard spot in your life, you can always find hope.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wonderful, does this make you want to do more writing?
Claire:
Yes, definitely.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Had you been doing much writing before this project?
Claire:
Kind of, but this project has really made me wanna write more.
Anthony Godfrey:
Awesome. All right. Thanks you guys. Fantastic.
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.