International school teacher and author Jaime Yorke visited Stockbridge American International School last March 25 and conducted a series of workshops and learning sessions with the students.
For the The Kindergarten and Grade 1 students, Jaime Yorke did a storytelling session. The Power 5 storybook characters highlight embracing change and demonstrate what it means to be true friends, celebrating success and loving life. For Grades 2 to 4 students, he conducted a workshop on the process of writing a book and the students had the chance to go through the process of writing their own books. They also did their own story narratives. The Pre-Kindergarten students were thrilled to meet and greet a real life storybook author.
“Meeting Jaime Yorke was a wonderful way to foster students’ love for writing and reading. Students saw that an author is a real person, which makes the writing process, books and authors more easily understood. The children could relate to all the Power 5 stories and enthusiastically participated with the writing activities that followed. It was a wonderful enhancement to the literacy learning unit and a special experience to meet an author of books that we love!” VP for Operations, Ms. Careen Bian said.
Stockbridge American International School Language Arts continuum offers a literacy program which focuses on developing skills that readers and writers possess. It provides many hands on learning opportunities as part of its curriculum. Meeting an author allows students to learn what they love about their work, where they find their inspiration — as well as stories behind some beloved books. What makes these stories stand out: they highlight unique lifestyle of international school students; International school communities connect well with the characters, settings, opportunities and challenges and they are filled with easy to identify teachable moments of values, attitudes and conflict resolution.
Jaime Yorke has been living an international lifestyle for more than fifteen years, teaching in Hong Kong, Korea, and Singapore. Over the years, he has learned a lot about the unique lifestyle of children attending international schools. He decided to try his hand at being an author and started writing fiction short stories that showcase some of the many opportunities and challenges that living abroad provides children. The international community refers to these children as TCK’s (Third Culture Kids), living in a culture that is different from their parent’s culture.
The Power 5 welcomes kids into the lives of five talented international school students as they learn the importance of cultural diversity and self-empowerment as third culture kids. As we follow the lives of Yuka, Julia, Shania, Sam and Jessica through a series of short stories, we learn about the unique challenges faced by third culture kids and we are reminded of the important role that our school plays in their lives.
Writing makes for better readers and improves comprehension and critical thinking.
