PUPILS LEARN TO READ BY WRITING AND PUBLISHING

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 14, 1993                   TAG: 9301140372
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: E-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARY JO SHANNON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
PUPILS LEARN TO READ BY WRITING AND PUBLISHING
Most elementary school pupils spend the day learning to read books. At Mount Pleasant Elementary, each pupil is helping write one.
"Pleasant Views," an anthology of poetry, short stories and art work representing the entire student body, will be published in the spring.
Bob Ham, parent of a fourth-grader and author of 15 adventure and horror novels published by Bantam Doubleday Dell, says he may be able to find a publisher willing to undertake the project.
"If we don't find a publisher, we'll self publish," he said.
The book was Ham's idea. He suggested publication as a fund-raising project to help pay for computers currently on loan from IBM. "The project provides an opportunity for the children to be creative and learn about the process of publishing a book," Ham said. He has provided guidance in formatting and finding a publisher.
Faculty, parents and students have been involved in the production. Amanda Cockrell, a Roanoke Valley writer and director of the Summer Institute in Children's Literature at Hollins College, worked with the students for six days last fall.
In cooperation with Cathy Steorts, reading specialist, and Chapter I teachers Cathy Mason and Nancy Myers, Cockrell helped each class or individual student develop a work for publication in the anthology. All 340 students will be represented in the completed work.
Special-education classes provided handprints to illustrate a group poem about hands, written by Cockrell. Kindergarten classes spent four sessions listing, categorizing and adding input from the five senses to produce the final form of a group poem.
Children in first- and second-grade composed individual poems reflecting such themes as holidays, seasons and growing things, while fourth- and fifth-graders undertook the short story form.
With Cockrell's help, students were amazed to find new and fresh ways to express their thoughts. Walton and Steorts worked as editors with individual students, preparing the manuscripts for typing by parent volunteers.
Walton was a bit concerned about allowing "some creative spelling," for fear readers would judge the school unfairly for "not catching mistakes," but decided an explanation in the foreword might suffice.
The Virginia Commission for the Arts provided a grant of $300 toward the project, and Eric Fitzpatrick has donated a print for the cover.
Walton hopes to have copies of "Pleasant Views" available this spring, with sufficient income from sales to make a substantial down payment on the computers.
She credits Richard Garman, second-grade teacher, with acquiring the computers on a trial basis.
Garman attended an IBM seminar for Roanoke County schools last spring, and persuaded IBM to install the system for a six-month trial.
"This would allow us to decide which equipment and software we should purchase," he said. "Once we knew what we wanted, we could have up to five years to pay for it."
Garman said fluctuating prices make it impossible to say exactly how much money must be raised. He hopes to raise additional money through grants from foundations and other fund-raising projects.
The current network system has seven work stations, but could support 100 work stations throughout the school, he said.
Garman uses the computers in his second-grade classroom, introducing the children to touch typing for beginners and keyboarding skills.
"Computers provide a great incentive," he said. "Children want to finish their work so they can go to the computers. The network allows each student to work on a different program at a different level, and at his or her own speed."
During lunch, fourth- and fifth-graders come to his room and use the computers as word processors. The Homework Club uses the computers on Monday through Thursday. Garman also introduces other teachers to the new technology, hoping to expand the system.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB