Kent Primary Students Write with Their Senses

“A few years ago, my mom and I made bread,” Liara wrote. “It was so fluffy, and I remember it came out soft. I couldn’t wait to eat it. We were in the kitchen, and I saw my mom preheating the oven and getting the ingredients ready. Soon, I joined in to help. I carried the flour to the counter. It was so heavy it felt like a huge weight on my hands. “It’s so heavy,” I exclaimed.  

Fourth grader Liara grabbed her teacher’s attention with those opening lines of her Food Experience story.   

“To write the Food Experience story, the students had to use sensory details and tell what things looked and felt like, and how they smelled and tasted,” said Amy Constantinides, who teaches fourth grade at Kent Primary School. “They also had to organize events in sequential order. It’s a good writing experience.”   

The lesson stems from the Carmel Central School District’s new reading program Core Knowledge Language Arts, or CKLA. The district implemented the program last year in kindergarten through fifth grades with an extension of the program in sixth grade. The approach is based on research into the science of reading, which has shown that students have greater success when rules for phonics, decoding and writing are explicitly spelled out, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Lauren Santabarbara said.     

“The program is doing really well,” Santabarbara said. “Our students shared that they love it and so do our teachers. It is exciting to see the positive progress with the implementation of the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) literacy program across our four schools. This program, designed to strengthen foundational reading skills while fostering a deep love for knowledge, has already demonstrated significant impact.” 

Just ask 9-year-old Ben. 

“Have you ever tasted something disgusting? Well, I have, and it was so disgusting I wondered why it exists.” 

Ben wrote about playing the Harry Potter edition of Bean Boozled with his family and having to eat a jellybean flavor called “wet dog.”  

Constantinides had her students read their stories aloud to a partner and then draw a scene from the story. Ben laughed when he read his story and said he liked writing the story but did not like eating the wet dog jellybean.  

“This success would not be possible without the commitment of our dedicated educators, who have embraced the CKLA program with enthusiasm and diligence,” Santabarbara said. “They’ve participated in ongoing professional development to ensure they are well-equipped to guide students through this innovative curriculum, and their efforts are evident in the classroom outcomes.” 

Joey wrote about eating at a Hibachi restaurant and having the best sushi ever. Gray described eating some soup that was more than a little too spicy. Johannes wrote about the worst cupcake ever. “How could you give that to me?” And Jailyn wrote about going to her favorite restaurant, Four Brothers Pizza, while Grace, who sits next to Jailyn, wrote about making pizza with her four brothers.  

“Everybody loved this assignment, Constantinides said. “They had a lot of fun doing it.”