CENTER TWP — The students have become the authors in a new project at Center Township Elementary School.

The idea, created by teacher Megan Ratica, allows the students to learn about different genres of books and the elements of storytelling in a new way, she said.

All 187 third-graders at Center Township have written the books through the Creative Teaching Grants provided by the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation.

Ratica wrote the grant application with the other third-grade teachers at Center Township, providing $600 of Scholastic books to the students and blank books that the students copied their finished books into, Ratica said.

To prepare the students for their authorial debut, local author Michael J. Wick spoke to the students about writing his own book, “I Love You All the Time.”

For Wick's daughter, Liza Wick, a third-grader at Center Township, she feels like she has an advantage when it comes to writing her own books.

In fact, she's done this before, she said.

Liza loves to write, but she doesn't need the help of her father, she said. At least, she hasn't asked for much help yet.

“I love to write books as much as I like to read them,” she said.

Liza hopes to be a published author one day, and her book for the school project is a mystery driven by the need to catch what she calls “an Easter thief.”

After someone steals the eggs at a grandmother's Easter dinner, the rest of the characters in Liza's book have to find the thief to save the holiday.

Other students wrote fairy tales and how-to books.

Brennan Michael, another third-grader, wrote a fairy tale about a boy who faces bullying because of his differences.

“It's a boy that was excluded because he was actually made out of string,” he said. “People used to tie him to things so he couldn't get out and tie him into knots.”

Brennan said that his book ends with the string-boy finding a string girl who he can relate to and the two become good friends.

Although Brennan was excited to have the chance to create his own book, he did feel a little bit nervous and intimidated by the task, he said.

Brayden Hardsock's book is grounded a little more in reality since he chose a how-to book as his genre.

Because Brayden loves hockey, he wants to share his joy of playing the game by teaching others how to play, even though he admitted that it's “probably not super easy to learn.”

For beginners, stopping on the ice skates is likely the hardest part of the game, so Brayden included tips on that in his book, he said.

Because the students get to pick their own topics, they were more excited and interested in the project, Ratica said.

At the end of the day, that authorial role gave them a different perspective on the elements of stories and genres of books, according to Joy Bernhard, another third- grade teacher at Center Township.

“They're used to reading the story, not developing their own,” she said.

While the students were good at fleshing out the characters and setting, they had a little more trouble with the plot. Regardless, it was a good exercise in creativity and problem-solving, Bernhard said.

“It's hard when you have the problem, but then you have to get through it to a solution,” she said.

This is why the student's writing process began with graphic organizer worksheets to work through the plot. The project was highly collective with the students providing feedback in small groups during the planning process. Not only does that help the students improve their stories, it also helps them learn more about their classmates.

“It's a good sharing process,” Bernhard said. “They get to be creative and connect with each other.”

The third-graders will finish the project by reading their books to the younger students at Center Township, a mix of kindergarten and first- grade classes, according to Ratica.

The completed books were on display at the FAB Showcase, an annual fundraiser through the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation, this past weekend.