TEENS EMBRACE `CHICKEN SOUP' READING PROJECT : VALLEY STUDENTS CRITIQUING STORIES.Byline: Luz Villarreal Daily News Staff Writer About 1,200 students at John F. Kennedy High School John F. Kennedy High School can refer to one of many schools in North America. The following list is ordered by state/province/territory and then municipality:
The students, most of them 10th- and 11th-graders, are reviewing more than 250 proposed articles in their English classes and helping publishers narrow the list to the token 101 stories for the book. ``It's important that they get our opinions because most of the time adults think they know what we need but we know best what we need,'' said 16-year-old Jessica Austin, who spent her English class recently reading and critiquing a handful of stories. The book will be the eighth in the popular series of anecdotal anecdotal /an·ec·do·tal/ (an?ek-do´t'l) based on case histories rather than on controlled clinical trials. anecdotal adjective Unsubstantiated; occurring as single or isolated event. stories published since 1993 when the original ``Chicken Soup for the Soul'' debuted. The first book is still in the Top 150 books list by USA Today USA Today National U.S. daily general-interest newspaper, the first of its kind. Launched in 1982 by Allen Neuharth, head of the Gannett newspaper chain, it reached a circulation of one million within a year and surpassed two million in the 1990s. . English teacher Willy willy Noun pl -lies Brit, Austral & NZ informal a childish or jocular word for penis Ackerman proposed the idea after learning from her daughter that publishers were planning to come out with a book for teen-agers. Her daughter, Heather McNamara, is a senior editor for the ``Chicken Soup'' books projects. Ackerman hopes to turn students on to reading through the project. ``Our goal is to create life-long learners,'' she said. ``We want them to read for pleasure. Teen-agers tend not to do that.'' So far, the project has been a success, she said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what the magic is,'' Ackerman said. ``I don't think I've ever seen my students read silently to themselves through a whole class. I think part of it was they know this was a real project, that their opinions matter. Several kids asked if they could take the stories home to share with their siblings siblings npl (formal) → frères et sœurs mpl (de mêmes parents) or friends.'' Jason Martinson is one of them. In his review, the 16-year-old junior wrote, ``This book is definitely one I would get, not only for myself, but for my friends as well.'' His comments and some of those from other students will be published in the introduction of the book. Many of the stories have struck a chord with the teen-agers. Others have not. Fortunately for the publishers, most of the students' critiques are blunt and to the point, making their job easier. ``These students were not hesitant to say really wonderful things or to say really awful things,'' said Kimberly Kirberger, co-author co·au·thor or co-au·thor n. A collaborating or joint author. tr.v. co·au·thored, co·au·thor·ing, co·au·thors To be a collaborating or joint author of: "He and a colleague . . . of ``Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul.'' ``There is no gray area,'' she said. ``They'll say things like `if you put this story in the book, it could ruin the entire book.' '' Monica Jimenez of Mission Hills eagerly read stories in her American literature American literature, literature in English produced in what is now the United States of America. Colonial Literature American writing began with the work of English adventurers and colonists in the New World chiefly for the benefit of readers in class. She has never read the other books in the series but has heard about them from her mother, who has two such books at home. ``The stories are good because a lot of them are about things that my friends go through or that I went through,'' she said. ``It's good to see there are other people who went through the same things and got through them.'' In one of her critiques about a story titled ``First Love,'' the 16-year-old cheerleader wrote, ``It's a comforting feeling that people can remain great friends after being involved in the past.'' Martinson, a junior, said he too has never read the earlier ``Chicken Soup'' books, but likes this proposed book because it targets teen-agers. ``It was good, easy reading for teen-agers and it kept your interest,'' he said. ``They had a story about kids playing with boxes and how they learned to use what was around them. ``There was one where a girl was about to commit suicide Verb 1. commit suicide - kill oneself; "the terminally ill patient committed suicide" kill - cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays" and a friend called and talked her out of it. You learn that your friends are always there for you when you need them.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1) English teacher Willy Ackerman, left, talks with students Yoon Nam, Tommy Noh and Sevan Stepanian about stories they read for a book. (2) John F. Kennedy "John Kennedy" and "JFK" redirect here. For other uses, see John Kennedy (disambiguation) and JFK (disambiguation). John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), was the thirty-fifth President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in student Tommy Noh reads a submission for ``Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul.'' BHob Halvorsen/Daily News |
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