A hush fell over the crowd as the authors prepared to share their work. One by one, they stood at the front of the room and read excerpts from the hardback version of their book, Our Class in 20 Years.

“Twenty years from now, I’ll own a food truck where I’ll wear an apron and sell delicious donuts,” said one author.

Another shared, “I’ll be plump and beautiful, working as a YouTube scientist in Arizona.”

A third said, “I will be 28 with glasses and curly hair.  I’ll spend my time at my beach house in Hawaii, where I’ll teach English and Spanish.”

The authors are students in Amy Lengyel’s second-grade class at Field Elementary. Ms. Lengyel asked the students to write about where and with whom they would live in 20 years, what they might look like, and what career they would have. After doing some research, the students created a narrative of their lives in 20 years. With funds from an LPS Foundation educator grant, Ms. Lengyel turned the stories into a hardback book that they shared with friends and family at an author’s tea. 

The project taught the students valuable lessons about writing informative texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section. Beyond academic lessons, seeing their work published and sharing it with friends and family gave students a deep sense of pride.

We wish the students all the best, now and in the future.