MARYSVILLE — Students in David Cort’s fourth-grade class finished their school year having successfully built an iPhone app together.
The Marysville Cooperative Education Program fourth-graders call themselves “Mr. Cort’s Cogitators.” The class of 24 students worked on collections of their o
riginal writing throughout the year to include in the app, “We Love Writing!” “App” is shorthand for application, or a program for smartphones.
Each student wrote thesis statements, bulleted main ideas and revised drafts of the personal narratives, expository essays, fiction, nonfiction and fantasy pieces they chose to include as part of the app. Their original stories and illustrations were scanned onto a computer and their voices were recorded as they read their stories. Cort, who is also an app developer, worked on building the app’s codes.
The project took a lot of work to finish, said Montana Vanover, 10. Knowing more people would read it made her work even harder on her writing.
“It made me want to revise and edit a lot more knowing that not just classmates and people I know would be looking at it, but people from all over the world would actually be reading it,” she said.
Users of the app can choose from a menu of student stories and read text written in the students’ handwriting. They can also listen to students read their own stories. The “We Love Writing!” app costs $4.99 and became available through the iTunes store last week. Proceeds from the sale of the app will be given to the school.
About two apps are sold a day, Cort said, and it has been purchased in England and The Netherlands.
Cort brought up the idea of designing a class app to his students at the beginning of the school year. This is the first time his students have helped him create an app. His students listened intently Thursday morning as he shared fan mail and the first review of the app.
“It’s a new experience for them,” Cort said. “We’ve been pushing and pushing to get it done.”
Mackenzie Konsor wrote “Pacific Ocean,” about a trip she and her family took several years ago. Working on the piece helped her learn to use vivid details when she writes, she said. In her narrative, Mackenzie, 10, described the rocks that she found on the beach and a trick she played on her mom.
“She told me I could only have as many rocks as five but I stuffed some of my favorite rocks in my pants pocket,” she said.
Mackenzie’s story is funny, said her classmate, Hailey Oaks. She wrote a fictional story about a missing girl found in a treasure chest. Hailey, 10, said she didn’t like hearing her voice on the app.
“I think I sound like a 4-year-old preschooler when I read my story,” she said. “It sounds cooler in my head.”
Her family downloaded the app to their iPod, said Kate Michal, 10. Her younger sister enjoys listening to the stories.
“She really, really loves the app,” Kate said. “She can click the ‘Listen’ button and have the stories read to her.”
The app project was a good way to engage students, regardless of their skill level, said Kate’s mother, Kristen Michal.
“All of them have had a lot of fun doing this,” she said. “The stories are hysterical. It’s so fun to see what fourth-graders are thinking about.”
Find the app
The “We Love Writing!” app created by David Cort’s fourth-grade class costs $4.99 and is available through the iTunes store. Search for “We Love Writing!” or “FizzBrain” to locate the app, see a description and view several screenshots. The app works on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
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