Ann Bitter
Ann Bitter is an experienced English teacher at Kohler Middle School in Kohler, Wisconsin, where she teaches both 6th and 7th grade. Known for her creativity and commitment to student growth, Ann constantly seeks ways to make learning meaningful and memorable. Over the years, she has developed innovative projects to meet academic standards while fostering life skills such as self-awareness and personal growth.
"Publishing their autobiographies through StoryJumper gave students a powerful sense of pride. Their work became something they wanted to share, not just submit."
The Challenge
In the past, Ann faced three challenges with her writing curriculum:
- Student Work Felt Disposable: After students submitted their writing in digital formats like Google Docs or Slides, their work often felt temporary and unimportant to them. Without a lasting or visible product, their writing was quickly forgotten and effectively lost over time.
- Parent Visibility: Parents frequently expressed frustration that they couldn’t easily view or appreciate their children’s writing when it existed only in a digital format.
- Time Constraints: With limited class time and a wide range of writing standards to cover, Ann needed a more efficient and impactful way to teach writing.
Streamlined Solution: Autobiography Book Publishing Project
To address these issues, Ann designed a four-chapter autobiography project that integrated narrative and informational writing. The project not only gave students a meaningful writing experience but also efficiently addressed about 80% of the 6th and 7th grade writing standards.
The structure was as follows:
- Chapter 1: About Me
- Chapter 2: Personal Narrative Story #1
- Chapter 3: Personal Narrative Story #2
- Chapter 4: Imagine My Future
Ann modeled the process by writing and publishing her own autobiography using StoryJumper (Read Ann's Book).
Download Planning Guides and Rubrics
To support her students, Ann provided the following planning guides and rubrics (click below to read and download):
- Project Overview
- Chapter 1: Planning Guide and Rubric
- Chapters 2 and 3: Planning Guide and Rubric
- Chapter 4: Planning Guide and Rubric
Chapters 1 and 4 offered structured guidance, while Chapters 2 and 3 were more open-ended to allow for creativity. Although some students initially felt overwhelmed by the scope of the four-chapter book, Ann helped them see that writing about their own lives would make the process easier and more personal. She also incorporated lessons on digital file organization to help students manage their writing efficiently.
Students drafted their chapters between November and February using Google Docs. They then spent two weeks revising and editing before transferring their work into StoryJumper to publish a real book.
Results
The project exceeded Ann’s expectations. Students became deeply engaged and took pride in producing tangible, high-quality work. Beyond meeting academic standards, the project fostered important life skills: self-reflection, goal setting, and personal storytelling. Students gained confidence in their writing abilities and developed a clearer sense of their identity and future.
Funding
Through a grant from her school district’s foundation (see grant proposal), Ann was able to publish paperback versions of every student’s book. This not only gave students a sense of accomplishment, but also allowed parents to finally see and celebrate their child’s writing in a lasting format.
Looking Ahead
Encouraged by the success of the project, Ann plans to run the autobiography book project again next year. She hopes to expand access to paperback copies for her class library and continue refining the process to make it even more efficient and impactful for future classes.
