May 17, 2023

For a recent opinion writing unit, Layna and her fellow Kehrs Mill Elementary first-graders’ assignment was to write a review. The students’ task was to state an opinion, support it with reasons and examples and persuade the reader.

Layna’s piece was so compelling that it persuaded a local business to post it on social media and reward her with store credit.

Layna wrote about how much she and her family love shopping at Once Upon a Child, a nationwide chain that buys and sells gently used children’s items such as clothing, shoes, toys and baby gear.

Layna’s mother shared her writing with staff members at the Ballwin location of the store, who liked the piece so much that they posted it on the store’s social media accounts.

“It’s exciting to see that their writing can make a difference. That was the whole purpose of the unit, to show kids that they have a voice, too,” said Kimberly Henning, Layna’s teacher. “It shows them that things that they write can persuade other people. It was good to see that they had power in their writing.”

“She’s a great writer,” Henning added. “She loves to write so much she always wants to bring her writing out to recess, or during reading time, she’ll ask if she can work on her writing, too.”