American Swedish Institute

What makes a good reader and writer? Why should a writer read a lot of books? How can learning about Pippi Longstocking help us have fun inventing our own characters? These are just a couple of questions we have tackled in the first couple of days of ASI’s 2012 Pippi Project with the 3rd graders at Andersen Elementary. This writer-in-residency opportunity serves approximately 150 students in seven classrooms – three classrooms writing in Spanish and four classrooms writing in English.

The Pippi Project has become an integral part of the 3rd grade curriculum at Andersen Elementary School in Minneapolis and directly supports their writer’s workshop where students learn how to develop fictional characters. We use Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking as our resource or example, with Susan Marie Swanson as our author-in-residence who brings Pippi to life.

Character maps (pictured above) are used to explore the idea that Pippi is a girl made out of words. By reading and studying the text, students learn all sorts of big ideas and details about this 9 year old girl who then inspires them to create their own fictional characters.

The project’s impact on both teachers and students cannot be overemphasized. As one teacher states,

Doing the Pippi Project is truly one of the highlights of the school year for both me and my students. Having Susan Marie in my classroom sharing her knowledge of writing and Astrid Lindgren is such a valuable resource to me as a teacher. She can really get my students to understand the idea of character development. She gets us to stretch our ideas and to use ideas from our own lives.

The Pippi Project, now in its sixth year, supports and inspires 150 third grade students at Andersen Elementary in Minneapolis every year.