Storytellers were everywhere in Oakdale Elementary fifth grade in 2004-05, and they were writing about CC! and bears.

Each fifth-grader first created a bear at the Build-A-Bear Workshop, then wrote a CC!-based story about the animal, and donated it and the story to needy kids.

The decision to make the bears came from the children themselves, and the teachers added and structured the fiction assignment. "We kind of spurred the idea along, but they had the original idea," fifth-grade writing teacher Darlene Short told a reporter from Warrick Publishing.

Teachers provided guidelines for the youngsters, asking each to craft a tale in which:

1. The bear has a problem
2. The bear loses a Pillar out of its character.
3. Five events occur.
4. The bear receives a Pillar (the absent one or another) as a gift.
5. The student shows how the bear used the Pillar to make a difference.

"The fact that it was tied to CHARACTER COUNTS! was kind of neat because they would have a problem and they would identify a character trait that maybe they lost," said Ms. Short.

Almost all the stories showed how the bear grew from its experience. For instance:

Austin Baker wrote about a bear in the military whose gun accidentally fired. He lost the Pillar of responsibility, but took a class in gun safety and earned it back.

Haley Dillingham wrote about a bear named Twinkle whose pet died. She lost caring and, angry and bewildered, defaced school property. Later Twinkle fixed the damage, apologized, and won her caring back.

Kyle Ingram wrote about an animal named Beary who joined a friend in jumping on a couch. Beary's friend got hurt, but he didn't tell his mother because he knew he'd get in trouble. So he lost trustworthiness. Eventually, Beary confessed and sought to atone by aiding his classmates, obeying instructions and helping his mother. At the conclusion, his mother gave him a medal that reminded him to always be trustworthy.