I feel that it is important to celebrate the writing that young authors produce. When we make them see their writing
as important, we inspire them to continue to write. In my classroom, we save every book and story to share with parents
at the end of the year, as well as sharing them in the Author's Chair with our peers. But those books still don't look
like the finished products of the authors we read in class- they lack the professional look and feel of the books we
get from the library.
The class has worked this year to "publish" at least one text every month. These books are done as a class and
focus on one form of media for the illustrations and on one topic. (There are no Art Classes in our school system, so
the use of different media for the illustrations is a way to incorporate some art instruction into the classroom and get the
kids familiar with different materials.) We try to tie the books into the themes we are studying or a special time of
the year, as well as to highlight different types of books- pattern books, cookbooks, riddle books, and "scary" books.
When we finish a book, we laminate the originals and bind them for the class library. Other copies are made to
send home, give to the library in town or leave in the doctor or dentist's offices around the county. Turning the pages
of the bound book shows the class that their work is just as important and worth of publishing as the books we read in the
library, and seeing their work outside of school makes them feel like a celebrity. It has been a very beneficial project
for the class, and one that I hope the students remember for a long time!
These are the books that we have published in 2006-2007:
September: "The Important Thing About Friends"
A variation on "The Important Book" by Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrations: crayon
October: "It Didn't Frighten Me"
A variation of "It Didn't Frighten Me" by Jerome Bruner
Illustrations: Watercolors
November: "How to Make Thanksgiving Dinner: A Kindergarten Cookbook"
A collection of recipes for Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Homemade Bread and Pumpkin Pie- from a child's perspective
Illustrations: none
December: "How to Make a Grinch Grin"
Original ideas for how to cheer up the Grinch
Illustrations: Crayon
January: "Our Heroes"
A riddle book with three clues about a hero followed by an illustration
Illustrations: Craypas/ chalk
February: Letters to the President
A class letter to President Bush, as well as individual letters and pictures from the students
March: Dinosaur Fact Books
Each student wrote a flip book with five facts about dinosaurs.
Illustrations: Clay/Playdough sculptures
April: Insect Stories
Each child wrote a problem/solution story about an insect, and named it like an Eric Carle story.
Illustrations: painted paper collages (following Eric Carle's techniques on www.eric-carle.com)
May: When I was in Preschool...
We wrote a pattern book following the pattern "When I was in preschool I _____, but now ______." This
was a culminating project to know what we have learned throughout the year in Kindergarten.
Illustrations: Colored Pencils
