June 19, 2008 - It’s not everyday that students communicate with the author of a book they just read—but that’s exactly what Boght Hills fifth graders did in John McNamara’s class.

After reading Robert Kimmel Smith’s book, The War with Grandpa, about a young boy who fights back when his grandfather moves into his home and takes over his room, students wrote letters to the author asking questions about and commenting on aspects of the book they enjoyed.

“I wanted the students to have a real-life, authentic experience that tied in with their unit of study on friendly letter and business letter writing,” said McNamara. “We discussed that business letters must have a specific sense of purpose and use respectful language.”
 

Some of the questions students asked included:

• Where did you get the idea for the book?

• Why did some of the characters stop appearing in the book after only a few chapters?

• Is Grandpa Jack like your grandfather?

• What grade did Peter get on his writing project?

In response, Smith wrote one letter addressing the entire class and their

 individual questions, which was shared during reading time.

“The kids loved it,” said McNamara. “They didn’t fully believe it was from him until I showed them the handwritten note I received, and then they grinned.”

Smith’s handwritten note thanked McNamara for being a teacher and promoting literacy.

“That’s a keeper for me,” McNamara said.

“I’m very happy we did this assignment,” he continued. “It promoted a sense of communal spirit in our classroom, and I’d definitely like to repeat something similar in the future.”

View the letter from Robert Kimmel Smith.