Play Time

Encinitas fifth-graders watched the plays they wrote come to life this week with the aid of professional actors.

The theatergoing was all part of a grant designed to encourage the love of reading and writing in young students, including those who speak English as a second language. The project started 23 years ago, but school officials are looking for further funding to keep it going.

The Ocean Knoll Elementary School students wrote stories about aliens, talking bombs, George Washington and green snowmen, according to the North County Times. School officials said the program, Playwrights Project,  which is funded by city and county grants, improves writing skills, but they also hope it will motivate the students to become avid readers and writers.

"This could be life-changing for some kid in here who really want to carry on with playwriting, " Encinitas Union School District's arts coordinator Kathie Jenuine said.

Read the North County Times "Ocean Knoll Students Watch Plays Come to Life" for more details.

Contact Us