Second, third grade Hurley students pen book

HURLEY — Second and third grade students in Kristin Kolesar’s class at the Hurley K-12 School are now authors, penning a book on the history of the Titanic.

On Wednesday, students read and signed copies of the book, “Journeys on the Titanic,” for parents and grandparents at the school to celebrate it being published.

The book consists of fictional stories each student wrote about a passenger on the ship.

The stories highlight the passengers’ trips from Southampton, England, to New York in April 1912. Each student also drew illustrations.

“Each story was a fictional character that the kids created, and they chose what gender they were, what age they were and what class they traveled in,” Kolesar said.

Students read their stories aloud and ate Titanic-themed snacks, including life-preserver cupcakes and iceberg gelatin.

Students also toasted sparkling apple and grape juice to celebrate the book.

“The students had never done this before, so they were really excited,” Kolesar said. “This really helped them see that they are authors.”

Kolesar’s plan is to continue the have the students write stories next year.

“Writing the book helped them understand the Titanic more, and I hope to continuing doing this project in the future,” Kolesar said.