One Month Prior: Artist Orientation
Interested authors and artists learn the process of facilitating a collaborative group writing project. Once the artists and author are introduced to the I Can! Book Project, they are ready to work with students in the classroom.

Day 1
During the first meeting, the class works to establish exactly what elements are involved in a good story and then create characters, setting, plot, problem, and resolution. Artists sometimes explain these as “somewhere somebody wanted a problem solved.”

Day 2
With the elements of the story in place, the children begin to write the story in earnest. Students offer suggestions for story elements such as characters, plot and problem, and the class votes to resolve any disputes. The artist works to include as many elements of the group’s ideas as possible.

Day 3
The story is nearly complete and the class begins to edit their writing. Artists guide students through this process with suggestions about places where the story can be improved. In this way, students exercise their minds and expand their vocabularies.

Day 4
The class finishes editing text and finalizes illustrations, deciding where each picture will go in relation to the text in the story.

I Can! Book Signing and Celebration
The project culminates a month after students finish writing their stories, and after the Teton Literacy Program staff has prepared the story layout and had it bound as a coloring book. Students and artists come back together to celebrate their work, and each student receives a copy of the bound coloring book. Additional copies of the book are available for $10 each. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of any of the I Can! Books, please call (307) 733-9242 or email us, info@tetonliteracy.org.