In my Professional Communication class, students recently took on the exciting challenge of writing and designing original children’s books—a creative project that seamlessly integrated CTE objectives with ELAR standards while targeting critical TELPAS skill areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
This wasn’t just a fun project (although it absolutely was)—it was an intentional, standards-aligned activity that promoted language development, digital literacy, and storytelling skills. Here’s how it worked—and why it matters.
📘 The Project: Creating a Children’s Book from Start to Finish
Working in pairs, students were given a week to create a 10–15 page children’s book for a target audience of 4–8-year-olds. The goal? To demonstrate mastery of storytelling elements, craft age-appropriate text, and use AI tools or original art to illustrate their narratives.
🌟 Key Project Elements:
• A clear beginning, middle, and end
• A problem and solution (conflict and resolution)
• A meaningful theme (like kindness, perseverance, or friendship)
• At least two developed characters
• Dialogue and storytelling techniques like repetition and rhyme
• Visuals that match the story’s tone and content
Each student group also gave a dramatic reading of their finished book to the class in a story-time format, showcasing both their oral language proficiency and their creative thinking.
🎯 TELPAS Skill Alignment
This project was intentionally designed to target the four domains of TELPAS (Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System), making it ideal for English learners at all proficiency levels.
| TELPAS Domain | How the Project Supported It |
|---|---|
| Listening | Students listened to their peers’ ideas, story pitches, and presentations. Class discussions, peer critiques, and group planning reinforced active listening. |
| Speaking | Students participated in group collaboration, decision-making, and a formal “story time” presentation to the class—practicing fluency, clarity, and expression. |
| Reading | Students read model texts, reviewed children’s books for structure and style, and analyzed vocabulary and sentence length for age-appropriate readability. |
| Writing | Students brainstormed, outlined, drafted, revised, and finalized original written work. They practiced crafting dialogue, simplifying complex ideas, and developing themes—all aligned to ELAR objectives. |
✍️ Supporting ELAR in a CTE Classroom
This project wasn’t just about storytelling—it was about language acquisition, creative expression, and career-connected skills. Students practiced:
• Narrative structure and literary elements
• Audience adaptation, a key speech and writing skill
• Team-based collaboration and project management
• Researching illustration styles and visual storytelling
• Using AI tools thoughtfully and ethically in media creation
By embedding ELAR skill-building into a Professional Communication course, students developed language fluency and confidence while practicing communication for real-world and career-ready contexts.
📅 Project Timeline
| Day | Task |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Brainstorm theme, assign roles, and research age-appropriate writing/illustration styles |
| Day 2 | Draft story outline and begin writing |
| Day 3 | Revise story and begin AI or hand-drawn illustrations |
| Day 4 | Finalize layout, covers, and prep for dramatic reading |
| Day 5 | Present final books in story-time format and explain the theme and process |
🎤 Final Presentations: Where Language Comes to Life
The dramatic readings were a highlight. Students presented their books with energy and expression, explaining the inspiration behind their stories and their creative process. These presentations provided an authentic audience and reinforced oral fluency, tone, and pacing—all essential TELPAS speaking traits.
🧠 Why It Works
This project combined the best of CTE, ELAR, and TELPAS-focused instruction by:
✅ Encouraging collaboration and peer support
✅ Differentiating instruction through roles and flexible tech use
✅ Promoting creative risk-taking in a supportive environment
✅ Reinforcing TEKS-aligned communication goals
✅ Giving students a meaningful platform to share their voice
📌 Takeaway for Educators
Whether you teach CTE, ELAR, or electives, children’s book creation is a powerful tool for cross-curricular learning. It challenges students to think critically, write purposefully, and speak confidently—all while creating something they can be proud of.
If you’re looking for a way to meet TELPAS goals while supporting ELAR growth in a non-traditional setting—this project delivers.
Would you like a free template or AI prompt bank for children’s book generation? Drop a comment or message, and I’ll send one your way!
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