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For the past four years, Erica Moyer’s Intro to Anatomy students have had the opportunity to get creative, turning what they learned about the systems of the human body into original children’s books and stories.

This year, the assignment had an added bonus. Last Friday, the class ventured to Krout Elementary School in Tiffin, where, for the first time, they read their books to 32 inquisitive third-graders at the school.

Turns out, the ‘Berg students learned some valuable, transferable skills along the way.

“This is designed to take place toward the end of the semester when they’ve completed the majority of the curriculum,” Erica explains. “They get to put their creative side to work and put what they have learned into a children’s book.”

Students get to choose the format of the book and the age group for which they wrote. Regardless of their choices, they stepped outside their comfort zone and into the mindset of a different demographic.

Although met with some eyerolls and maybe even a little bit of skepticism when first given the assignment, Erica said the students quickly embraced it, even surprising themselves with their illustrative and literary creativity. It didn’t take long for them to see the value in the assignment.

“This allows them to be a mentor to the kids,” she said, “and pique their interest in STEM while increasing their literacy in anatomy and physiology.”

The ‘Berg authors incorporated at least three body systems into their literary masterpieces while considering the elements that make a good children’s book. One student themed their book around a day at the beach. Another chose the topic of asthma on the playground. Another wrote a story about a pumpkin and a dinosaur. One student even turned her book into a music video, in which she starred, and produced the video on campus.

The students’ creativity “makes the subject of the human body more approachable,” Erica said.

Prior to the ‘Berg students visiting Krout, the third-graders had completed a full unit on anatomy, so the topic was familiar. “They had a lot of creative questions and they were very curious,” Erica said, “so that was very exciting for our students.”

The receptive Krout audience appreciated the Berg visitors, with the elementary school teachers requesting that next year’s biology students return again for reading day. That was a proud moment for Erica and a confidence boost for her students.

“That was huge for the students and me to know we carried out the mission of the project,” she said. “It was a great bridging of the university and the community."