Knik Elementary third graders share their earthquake stories after publishing book as a class

WASILLA — Charmaree Cook’s third grade class at Knik Elementary School recently published a hardcover book with all the students’ firsthand stories about the November 30, 2018, 7.0 earthquake.

“They seemed to have fun,” Cook said.

For about three weeks, students wrote and edited their accounts, supplementing them with hand drawn illustrations. They discussed sentence structure, style and other writing techniques. The book also includes Cook’s story of that fateful day.

“I didn’t do much editing at all. I left that up to them. I said you can work with a friend and read each other’s work… So what goes into the book is what’s there: your product,” Cook said.

Cook said this project was an effective way for students to sharpen their writing skills, practicing self-editing and self-expression and to take pride in their work with a glossy, bound book with crisp pages filled with their stories.

“One of the first days back, we had done a writing piece just like a journal entry, and they were really good. Then I thought, well, this is something you’re going to remember for the rest of your life so if we had it documented, an actual published book would be pretty cool to look back on. And they agreed,” Cook said.

The 2018 earthquake was a historic moment for the state. Cook said this book helps capture some of that history and students can use it to recall the details more vividly later in life. She said it’s also a way for the young children to process that dramatic day.

“So you know, having a tangible item that will last throughout the years just because it was such a historic event I think too. I think it would be cool to look back in 20 years,” Cook said.

Each student was affected differently, according to Cook. She said it seemed like the students who were actually at the school were more affected. She said the dust has settled now and it seems like they’ve all moved on.

“They’re pretty much back to normal,” Cook said.

Cook was pleasantly surprised by the parent turnout. Parents purchased the books for about $20 each and the whole class spent about $400, according to Cook. Michael Consalo was one of several parents that showed up to hear the stories.

“I like the book idea that Ms. Cook helped the kids execute. My son was really excited to share his story with other people and be a part of history,” Consalo said.

Consalo’s son Brantley was on the bus when the infamous quake struck. In his story, he said that the bus tilted causing students to scream “like crazy.” The event stirred up all kinds of emotions in Brantley, especially when he was worried about his mother.

“We went home. I started to play board games. And then, I heard there was a tsunami warning and it will hit Anchorage. I got scared because my mom works in Anchorage and then she got home. And then I started to play board games again,” Brantley said as he read his story to the class.

One of the biggest takeaways for Brantley was the fact that he didn’t have to go to school for two weeks.

“…which was awesome!” Brantley said, filling the room with laughter.

“Brantley’s story made me laugh. He didn’t understand it was an earthquake so he yelled at the bus driver to stop shaking the bus,” Consalo said with a laugh. “He also thought that it was great to have no school for a couple weeks, of course.”

Consalo said that this project sparked interested in Brantley.

“He has done a couple projects like this and now he actually enjoys creating the content and making small books,” Consalo said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com