So what do fourth graders do with their passions beyond the classroom?

Recently I was sitting with three students at recess talking about their interests in reading, and I was captivated by their ideas and conversation. Radha talked about a website she had created where she reviews books that she has read. The site is called https://kidzpageturners.com/2019/02/ and she invites other children to submit their reviews of books they have read and enjoyed. The site explains how to submit reviews. She additionally offers her editing services if people need support. Radha also has a very strong interest in animals. She is hoping to have so much traffic over time on her site that she could generate money through advertising. When this happens she would donate all the revenue to the World Wildlife Foundation.

One of the other students, Hattie, was immediately interested in writing reviews for the site and inquired if she could write a review of a short story she had read in a magazine recently and starting brainstorming ideas on how to get the word out about the website. At this point a third student, Stella, shared that she was writing a book and was hoping to self publish and hoped that her local bookstore in Elkins Park would carry it. She asked Radha if she would review it when she was finished. Fourth graders spend the year stretching and growing their skills as readers and writers. What better way is there to demonstrate their skills and passions than creating ways to share them?