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Puxi Campus G4-5: Author’s Week Celebration

June 2, 2026

Our Grade 4 and Grade 5 students celebrated the joy of reading, creativity, and storytelling during our exciting Author’s Week! Through hands-on activities, writing experiences, and collaborative projects, students explored the works of influential authors while making meaningful connections to the reading and writing skills they have been developing throughout the year. Author’s Week provided students with opportunities to strengthen comprehension, creativity, characterization, point of view, figurative language, and narrative writing skills in engaging and memorable ways.


Grade 4: “Greek Week” — Exploring the World of Rick Riordan

Fourth-grade students participated in a themed “Greek Week” centered on an author study of Rick Riordan and his mythology-inspired novels. Throughout the week, students learned about Rick Riordan’s background and how his passion for mythology inspired him to create imaginative stories that connect ancient myths to modern readers. Students explored how authors draw inspiration from history, culture, and personal experiences to develop engaging narratives, connecting directly to our curriculum focus on theme, character development, and mythology.


Students also participated in a variety of creative activities designed to strengthen their understanding of figurative language and characterization. During the popular Idiom Dress-Up Bingo activity, students dressed as common idioms and used clues and discussion to identify figurative meanings, reinforcing the work they have been doing in class with idioms and nonliteral language. Later in the week, students designed and created their own mythical monsters while applying the character traits lessons they have been practicing in English. By considering a creature’s appearance, actions, strengths, and weaknesses, students demonstrated their understanding of how authors develop characters and personalities in literature.


The week concluded with students dressing as Greek mythology characters and participating in a scavenger hunt that encouraged collaboration, critical thinking, and engagement with mythology-related content. These activities supported several Common Core standards connected to reading literature and writing, including analyzing characters and themes, interpreting figurative language, and developing narrative and creative writing skills. Students deepened their understanding of literary elements while celebrating the excitement and creativity stories can inspire.


Grade 5: Discovering the Magical Worlds of Cornelia Funke

Fifth-grade students explored the imaginative storytelling of Cornelia Funke through a series of activities focused on characterization, point of view, and narrative writing. Throughout the week, students examined how authors create vivid fictional worlds and memorable characters that allow readers to immerse themselves in stories fully.


Students began the week by creating characters “coming out of a book,” encouraging them to think deeply about characterization and how authors reveal personality traits through actions, dialogue, and appearance. The following day, students imagined themselves as characters entering a story, which allowed them to explore point of view and perspective-taking while making personal connections to literature. Midweek, students applied these skills by writing their own original stories, demonstrating their understanding of narrative structure, descriptive language, and creative storytelling techniques. To conclude the week, students illustrated scenes and characters from their stories, bringing their ideas to life through visual representation and artistic expression. These experiences are directly connected to our Grade 5 English curriculum and Common Core standards related to narrative writing, characterization, point of view, and creative expression. By combining reading, writing, and art, students strengthened their ability to analyze literature while also developing confidence as writers and storytellers.


In addition to grade-level activities, all students in Grades 4 and 5 participated in our special “Reading is Magical” Bookmark Competition. Students designed and illustrated original bookmarks inspired by imagination, creativity, and the joy of reading. After students voted for their favorite designs, the winning bookmark was professionally printed and shared across the division. This activity encouraged artistic creativity while celebrating reading as a meaningful and imaginative experience for all students.





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(Written by Alyssa Chapin, Yutong Zhu, Cathy Cao

Pictures by Minxuan Cao

Reviewed by Ms. Lu Luting, Shiyu Wu, Hannah Kloeber)